Plant A Good Tree This 2009!

Boy O boy! ... what a way to start a new year ... in bed for 6 days with a fever that won't go away! Never missed a watch-night service before save this 2008. What a bomber! But fact remain, God is still the same God that He is ... CONSTANT ... constantly good, constantly faithful, constantly merciful! Three cheers for our God!

I was just thinking about the goodness of God. Here's the thought. God is good. He is unchangeably good. And a GOOD tress can only produce good fruits while a BAD tree bears forth bad fruits. So with God on out side, we can expect to harvest good fruits this 2009! You and I can yet have the best year in our lives this year irregardless of the global recession that has yet to hit our nation. The trick here is to ABIDE. Jesus said in John ....

(John 15:4) Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (15:5) "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (15:6) If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

God is indeed the good tree and we are the branches. As long as we remain in Him, how can 2009 go wrong? Unless of course we detach ourselves from Him. Then we become that branch that is thrown away and withers, picked up by someone else, thrown into the fire and burned. Dig? (Old Hippie term for "got it?").

Jesus cursed a Fig tree once. After having spoken to that particular tree (yup ... Jesus spoke to a tree) the disciples must have examined it to see if anything was happening. Maybe some of the onlookers hanged around couple hours to see if anything would happen. Nothing. At least not during that day. Problem with us today, we want everything like NOW!. This world is moving at such a fast phase that we have come to the point that we are are not very good at waiting anymore. Look at the youngsters today. They just cannot wait. They must go steady now. Just as soon as they got together they broke up just as fast. Hello ... damage control!!!

Well, something in the realm of the unseen did happen immediately after Jesus spoke to that Fig tree. Something that even the laws of nature cannot grasp. By the time morning came, the tree dried up roots up. Church, God is always working behind the scenes. Just because we don't see anything happening doesn't mean nothing is happening. God controls both the seen and the unseen realm. My encouragement to you is "hold on fast to the confession of your faith". Don't let your own words rob you of a good year this year. If you truly want to know what your future looks like 5 years down the road, listen to what you are saying. With our mouth, we "call those things that be not as though they were".

I've seen you guys played Pet Society in Facebook. You have this pet that you need to tend to virtually everyday. Let me challenge you. In your mind, picture yourself planting a tree this 2009. Every day, see yourself watering it, trimming it. Watch it grow. See yourself sitting under it's shadows eventually enjoying the shade from the sun. Watch it bear fruits.

2009 is like a blank cheque from God. Fruitfulness is GUARANTEED. Trick is to ABIDE at all times. Have a blessed 2009.