Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Psalm 51:12.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6.
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33.
Thinking about a lot for things over this busy weekend. As Christians it’s very easy to get discouraged and bogged down with things and stresses in this life and with what’s going on in the world right now. However, no matter what happens, we got it made in the end either way, so don’t worry about a thing!
If Kamala gets elected, don’t get upset. We have our King in Jesus and I’m going to live joyfully in Him no matter who is elected President!
If Christ doesn’t rapture us out of here by 2033, don’t get upset. That just means we have our time and calendar all messed up and God’s clock is not going to be dictated by how we feel or how we think things should go or when they should happen. God never specifically said He was going to come at any specific date anywhere in the Bible, so the Lord cant be tied to any expected date. Don’t get upset. He will come when He comes!
Don’t have a good job? Don’t get upset. Sometimes the Lord makes us wait longer than we think we should because certain things have to happen first.
Don’t have a wife? Don’t get upset. Sometimes the Lord has to mature you first before you’re ready for a wife.
Family not saved? Don’t get upset. Pray through it and trust in the Lord!Too many bills? Don’t get upset. Pray the Lord will make them go away some way some how.
Won’t be a good Christmas this year? Don’t get upset. If you have Jesus, you have the Perfect Gift already!
Don’t have a car? Don’t get upset. Jesus walked everywhere. Pray through it.
Other problems? Don’t get upset! Pray and trust the Lord and everything works out in the end IF YOU TRUST HIM! Do you?
Then don’t get upset!
Pray through the pain, pray through the worry, pray through the stress, pray through the depression, pray through the trials. Pray through it! Praise through it! Read through it! Fast through it! Don’t get upset. Don’t give up! You got the Book, the Blood and the Spirit! You got this! God’s got this! Amen!
Are you fortunate enough to live among trees? The Word of God is replete with references to trees – in the histories and prophecies. I often think of the old adage – “he can’t see the forest for the trees,” when faced with the obstinate refusal of sinners to see the sin that they are mired in. As they are in the midst of it – they fail to see how immense sin truly is. The Lord made all trees and plants on the third day of creation – and He made them very, very good. . . not just good for food, shelter, clothing, and outright beauty. . .but good for our souls.
Trees Really Are ‘Pleasant to the Sight’
by Brian Thomas, M.S. *
Genesis 2:9 records one of the Lord’s original intentions for creating trees, saying, “Out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” A new study has quantified just how pleasant to the sight trees can be, inadvertently confirming the truthfulness of this ancient biblical passage.
Professor William Sullivan and lecturer Bin Jiang of the University of Illinois’ department of landscape architecture measured stress levels in participants who watched six-minute-long 3D panoramic videos of neighborhoods. The amount of tree canopy coverage in the various neighborhoods ranged from 2 to 62 percent.1
The researchers used three tactics to gauge stress: measuring salivary cortisol levels, detecting skin conductance, and conducting self-reports. Adrenal glands secrete cortisol hormone in response to stress, and sweaty skin—another response to stress—conducts electricity more efficiently than dry skin.
Their analysis revealed that those participants exposed to 62 percent tree coverage experienced a 60 percent reduction in stress.
Their results also showed that 41 percent of participants showed no change in stress levels when only a quarter or less of the neighborhood canopies had trees. However, according to University of Illinois news, “when the percentage of tree canopy increased to 36 percent, more than 90 percent of viewers reported feeling calm or relaxed while watching the videos.”1
These findings support the idea that urban planners and landscape architects who incorporate green spaces into their plans could help foster a healthier, calmer populace.
How could the calming sense of pleasure that comes from looking at trees have evolved? Did it somehow help mankind out-compete some ancient and unfeeling animals from which we supposedly emerged?
Rather, God built trees to meet humanity’s God-given ability to appreciate them and thus their Maker. What better disposition from which to appreciate the Lord than one of simple pleasure? Viewed from a biblical perspective, the positive effect of merely looking at tree canopies confirms the words of Genesis that God made certain trees—not just the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—to be pleasant to the eyes.
* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
Deuteronomy 20:18-20
18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the Lord your God.
19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege:
20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.
Revelation 22:1-3
22 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him
Please enjoy this lovely rendition of Joyce Kilmer’s/Oscar Rasbach’s “Trees,” sung by Bob McGrath, in classical Irish tenor style...
The next time you are outside, stop and take a whiff of the oxygen and fragrance that trees provide. Really pause, and look up at their branches moving in the wind. Thank our Creator for giving us such beautiful, wonderful things, things that we so often overlook in our busy lives.
The Vine Vigil 