‘It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.’ Psalms 100:3 NASB Do you need motivation today? Take a look at the palm tree. 1) You can cut it, but you can't kill it! The minerals and nutrients most trees need to survive are found on the surface, just below the bark, so, when you [...]
by Bob and Debby Gass
Are You Flourishing? (1)
‘It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.’ Psalms 100:3 NASB
Do you need motivation today? Take a look at the palm tree.
1) You can cut it, but you can't kill it! The minerals and nutrients most trees need to survive are found on the surface, just below the bark, so, when you cut them, they die. But not the palm tree. Its life comes from within, so it flourishes, even under attack. Listen: '… we have this treasure in earthen vessels…' (2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV). How wonderful; even though the earthen vessel without may be cut and wounded, the treasure within is secure, beyond the enemy's reach!
2) It will bend, but it won't break. Tropical winds can blow most trees away, but not the palm tree. The stronger the wind, the further it bends – sometimes all the way to the ground. Yet when the storm ceases, it straightens up again and is actually stronger in the place where it bent. What a picture! We were made to bend, but not break. ‘being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance …' (Colossians 1:11 CSB).
3) Its depth always exceeds its height! While the roots of the average plant go only a few feet under the ground, the palm tree's roots can go down hundreds of yards in search of water. David said, 'As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God' (Psalm 42:1 NIV). Go deep, work on your own connection to God, and you'll never be uprooted or barren or blown away!
SoulFood: Josh 11-13 John 14:26-15:4 Ps 147:12-20 Pro 29:6-10
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2023
Tap here to get this reading each day directly in your inbox
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
‘While he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.’ Luke 22:60 NASB The Bible says: ‘... while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed … the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he [...]
Today God is calling you (3)
‘I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail.’ Luke 22:32 NASB God wants you to do His will, but you’ll never reach the place of spiritual maturity in which you’re free of Satan. You can overcome him, but you can’t eliminate him. Look at Peter. He had only one gear: overdrive. He was always [...]
Today God is calling you (2)
‘Before you were born I sanctified you.’ Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV The word sanctified means to be set apart for the exclusive use of. The word ordained means ordered according to a plan. Here are two things you need to know: God doesn’t waste anything He created, and He doesn’t waste anything He can use. Before you were [...]
Today God is calling you (1)
‘Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle.’ Romans 1:1 NKJV God reached into a part of Paul’s background that had been formed before he became a Christian, and He found some very useful things there. And they weren’t all spiritual things. They were also academic and cultural. Even though Paul seemed unqualified because [...]
Your position and your condition
‘Having now been justified by His blood …’ Romans 5:9 NASB The Bible says: ‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him ... And not [...]
What can I do?
‘To set at liberty those who are oppressed.’ Luke 4:18 NKJV The United Nations estimates that as many as 2 million children and young people are exploited in the worldwide sex trade every year – that’s four every minute. Can you imagine what the governments of the world would do if a city of two million people [...]