Consider The Birds, Consider The Flowers: Chapter 3

Welcome back to the stress free, worry free blog. Trust as you let go of all your worries, concerns, and fears, all into God's capable and loving hands, He'll take care of everything. Not only will God take care of everything, He will graciously take care of everything! Just let not your heart be troubled, and wait and watch the Lord move powerfully on your behalf.

Let's talk about food and clothes.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? - Matthew 6:25

Consider how God takes care of the bird's basics, food and drink. They always have more than enough.. Not only do they have more than enough food and drink, its always FRESH. Their food is freshly served every day. To set up today's meditation, and to clarify, God extravagantly provides for a bird's essentials. There is nothing basic about the way God takes care of a bird's basics. How much more us! If God didn't hold back in giving us His Son Jesus, how much more does He freely, graciously, give us all things.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? - Romans 8:32

Jesus says "is not life more than food.." Life has so much more too it than food. There is playing, dancing, and singing in life. There is star gazing, eating around tables with family and friends, and chatting around camp fires. Life has expanding business opportunities, new trees to plant, and gardens to grow. Jesus points to food, because it's something we all have daily. Just like clothes. We always have clothes, we always have food. The presence of our food and clothes is a constant reminder of the Presence of God. Our Father has clothed us today, faithful as ever. Our Father feeds us today, faithful and good. Check out how Israel (previously Jacob) acknowledges God as providing all his food, "feeding him."

And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, - Genesis 48:15

I think its beautiful and true, giving thanks and acknowledging God in "feeding you" and "clothing you." Where ever you find yourself, do you have food? Do you have clothing? Praise God for it! God has graciously fed you today, and there's more where that came from! God has graciously clothed you today. If God takes care of these basic essentials for you, don't worry, don't stress, He's going to take care of everything else too. What is complicated to you is not complicated to God. God has the know how and the capability to handle it all. So let it go, and let His supply and power flow! Let the Wisdom of God (Jesus) take the complexities of your situation and simplify it. Let it go, lean not on your own understanding, instead lean on God, who is present with you, faithfully feeding and clothing you.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. - Proverbs 3:6-7

I'll conclude with this today. You don't have to know how, or understand, for things to be taken care of. Completely ditch leaning on your own understanding. Acknowledge God, trust in God with all of your heart, be aware and think about the knowledge of God's presence. Know and understand His great love for you. Know and understand His preference of you remaining in His perfect peace, positioned to receive more from Him. The bird doesn't have to know how the seed gets there. The bird's food and the flower's clothes are there by the love and capability of Our Heavenly Father. The bird is fed by the goodness of God! They have no clue "how" God does it. The flower doesn't understand "how" God clothes them. Remember, how much more does God love us. Remain in God's gift of peace beloved of God. Sink back in the love of God and rest. Rest as God makes all adversity a footstool for your feet! God wants to make all your enemies elevate and promote your feet into a more comfortable posture of rest! Just rest in His great love for you.

The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." - Psalm 110:1

Grace & Peace, be multiplied to you, in the knowledge of God.

CL

Consider The Birds, Consider The Flowers: Chapter 2

Welcome back to the blog series. My prayer and hope, is that these posts have helped you relax and trust in the great love of Our Heavenly Father more. You see, the life and maturity as a Christian is marked by ever increasing fruit. Notice stress and worry are not apart of these fruits. Christianity is all about entering to God's rest, that has been provided in Christ and His finished work on the cross.

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Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control"

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Lets talk about flowers, trees, and abiding in God's love.

“Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom.”

―Matshona Dhliwayo

Flowers weren't made to lift or carry burdens. Flowers weren't made for labor. Flowers are light, soft, gentle, and delicate. Flowers were made for pleasure and joy. As C.S. Lewis said "Joy is the serious business of heaven." Flowers bring joy and pleasure, to God and the whole earth. Think of how much time and patience goes into growing flowers. God isn't in a rush creating their beauty. First the seed is planted, then it sprouts, focuses its resources and energy in its roots, proceeds to grow its stalk/base, and finally at the right time the flower graciously blossoms to reveal its beauty. Flowers not only bring joy and pleasure to the eyes, they smell extraordinary. Flowers attract bees for pollination. Their beauty and smell attract what they need. God causes what they need to come to them. The flower remains stationary, at rest, while God delivers (serves) them goods out of His abundant and rich earth. The flowers have to simply rest and trust the Gardener. The Gardener takes care of the fertilizing, the pruning, the watering, the amount of sun light, and safety.

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I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever - Psalm 52:8

Tree roots grow deep. The quality level of their total well-being and health is dependent on the source and quality of where they are planted, where their roots rest and drink. Trees like flowers are stationary, they are slow and steady in their growth. Growing trees is a patient activity, taking years, decades, and sometimes centuries. If your growing fruit trees, it's a patient activity waiting years for proper fruit to develop to be able to eat. Are you starting to see and notice God's rhythm and pace through meditating on the flower and tree? God's pace is slow and steady, not in a rush for flower and fruit. God knows the flower and fruit take time to develop. God's expectations are gentle and unforced. God is patient, God is kind. What matters is where the tree has been planted, who has planted the tree, and who is taking care of the the tree. The trees well-being and growth success is totally dependent on these things.

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Where we have been planted.

God in His Word says Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches (John 15:5). The Bible also says that we are planted in the House of God (Psalm 52:8), with our roots growing down deep in the rivers of God's love (Psalm 1, Ephesians 3:17). We have been planted in the highest quality environment, in heaven, in God.

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We have been planted by God Himself.

It is because of him (Heavenly Father) that you are in union with Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. - 1 Corinthians 1:30

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

yielding its fruit in season,

whose leaf does not wither,

and who prospers in all he does. Psalm 1:3

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God, Our Heavenly Father is our gardener.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. - John 15:1

Like the flower, like the tree, our fruit and flowers depend on God. Fruits and flowers cannot be forced. They come in God's perfect timing. God isn't in a rush. His rhythm is unforced, slow, steady, and full of grace. Fruit and flowers come in their season. I'll conclude with a quote from Jesus. Sounds like He was meditating on flowers and trees before he delivered this world changing statement.

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” - Matthew 11

Consider The Birds, Consider the Flowers : Chapter 1

Welcome back to this blog series. In this series we are meditating specifically on Jesus' words from Matthew 6:25-34 where our Good Shepherd alleviated all stress and worry from his people. God's heart remains the same for us today. God wants us to relax and receive from Him. It is always easier to receive more from God (faith) from a relaxed state. This is why when Jesus preached in Matthew 6:25-34 he had to bring stillness and peace to everyone's souls, so they could see and receive more from Him. It's even hard to "hear" properly when the soul is troubled. Jesus preached and alleviated worry and stress, to help people see our Father in Heaven and His kingdom, where everything is already provided. Please feel free to reference Matthew 6:24-34, located at the bottom of this post. I encourage you to memorize Matthew 6:24-34, or at least read it often until it gets hidden in your heart. Psalm 23 pairs well with Matthew 6:24-34 by the way. Both of these passages help your soul relax in God.

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A relaxed heart is God's desire for you always. Psalm 23 is all about relaxing deeper in our Good Shepherds gracious care. Notice how relaxing and supply go hand in hand with God.

Let's learn some Hebrew!

Rapha means; cure, cause to heal, physician, repair, thoroughly, make whole.

This Hebrew word "Rapha" - stems from Raphah.

Raphah means; RELAX.

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In this passage from Exodus 15:26 God declares himself as Jehovah Rapha. "I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I Am the LORD that healeth thee" (Jehovah Rapha in Hebrew).

Jesus Himself IS the cure, Jesus is the health, Jesus is the physician, Jesus is the repair, Jesus is our wholeness, Jesus is the healing, Jesus is our relaxation and rest. Hallelujah!

On the cross, Jesus became our healing, by His stripes we have been healed. We have been relaxed in Christ. We have been rested in Christ. We have been finished in Christ. We have been made complete in Christ. We have been made sound in Christ.

Concluding today's restful meditation; I want you to see that God wants you to be relaxed, live relaxed, and remain relaxed. A relaxed heart is your default mode in Christ. A troubled heart, a stressed heart is the abnormal now in Christ. As Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled". Jesus said this because He loves us so much. As a father, I don't like it when my daughter's heart is troubled even for a moment. One second of stress or fear is one second too much. My desire, out of a deep and rich love, is for my daughter to never have a troubled heart, even for a moment. As a Parent I rest in this scripture, its a WIN WIN. All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children - Isaiah 54:13.

Just imagine how much more God loves and cares for our hearts!

The birds can sing because they are well fed and relaxed in the care of Our Heavenly Father. They sing from rest and relaxation, not strife. They sing from health and wholeness, not to it!

The flower is always in its relaxed state. Thats how all the water and nutrients can absorb and flow freely!

Grace - unmerited, undeserved, favor and blessing be yours and multiplied in your life.

Peace - Shalom, wholeness, completeness, sounds, health, safety, prosperity, and tranquility be yours and multiplied in your life.

All from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

CL

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. - Matthew 6:25-33