Leave Your Leaves
Rise and
Shine for Jesus! \O/
By Pam
Iannello (my late mother)
Fall is my
favorite time of the year and it brilliantly adorns the countryside of Tennessee
Mark 8:24
(KJV)
And he looked up, and said, I see men as
trees, walking.
So many Christians are like
the old oak tree that said in the fall of the year, "I am perfectly
satisfied with my this year's leaves, therefore I will not allow them to fall
to the earth; I will hold on to them."
As a result, the north wind blew and the leaves faded, but the old oak
clung to it's last summer's leaves. In
that unsightly condition it passed the whole winter through, the wind rustling
through it's dry, dead leaves. Thus it is with a great many Christians... Instead of allowing their past experiences to
fall, they cling to them and do not prepare for a new and better experience as
it may come daily. It is only by the tree
shedding it's leaves that it can hope to put on the beautiful foliage in the
springtime.
When I came
across this little analogy above, I immediately thought of Isaiah 64:6 that
says:
But we are all as an unclean thing, and
all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as the leaf;
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Ladies, when
we hold onto our sin day after day, year after year and do not repent of it, we
cannot possibly expect to bloom anew with spiritual beauty, as does a tree in
the time of spring! Our spirits dry up
and fade away, they simply do not prosper.
Like Adam and Even in Genesis 3:7, we keep every leaf and work at sewing
them together to cover our sins instead of letting the Lord carry them away as
He sees fit. We fail to consider that
there comes a time when God will visit our tree expecting to find fruit
thereon…
Matthew 21:19 (KJV)
And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he
came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let
no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever.
And presently the fig tree withered away.
A false
profession usually withers in this world, and it is the effect of Christ’s
curse! You see ladies; God looks for a flourishing
in those who profess Him. Will He find
fruit upon your tree? Believers must allow the touch of Christ to make a
noticeable difference upon their lives!
We must allow God to take each sinful leaf away from us one at a time
before our sins carry us away from Him completely… Otherwise, you and I will
become nothing more than a tree "in the way" as Jesus described this
one. I certainly don't want to hinder
God’s perfect work, do you?
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature: OLD THINGS ARE PASSED
AWAY; behold, all things are become new.
Ladies, we
must let go of old things - don't hold on to them so tightly, for there is no
beauty there! Each year we should be
experiencing continual growth as a child of God. We must not carry our leaves from one season
to the next! Those old, dry, dead, fall
leaves will look so out of place come spring, amen? In order to purposely
loosen fleshly foliage, the Lord will lovingly send a timely wind our way in
order that future growth could take place in our lives! Will you resist the
wisdom of your Creator, dear lady? When you stubbornly oppose the plan for all
seasons, God will only be forced to send a stronger wind your way to do it’s
perfect work upon those old leaves of which you tightly clutch…
Jonah 1:4 (KJV)
But the Lord sent out a great wind into
the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like
to be broken.
Yes, we all
remember the story of Jonah's resistance and how God stirred up a whale of a
storm that shook loose Jonah's disobedience from within his heart. His old habits and attitudes had to fall to
the ground in order for God to bring forth growth and obedience in his life. As
a tree, Jonah became taller and stronger, had a wider spreading capability,
thereby
bringing shade to many a soul and abounding with more fruit. Yet let us also
remember ladies, that we can never become proud of our growth, we must not stop
to cling even to these radiant leaves year after year. How foolish and boastful
would a red tree look in the green of springtime! Bright fall leaves must also
be yielded to the Lord in order for their witness to hold their proper place in
our lives…
Daniel 2:21 (KJV)
And he changeth the times and the seasons:
he removeth kings, and setteth up kings…
Self-righteous
Christians would pridefully cling to their celebrated change - an exhibition
without end, yet even these must fall to the ground. The Lord in His wisdom
designed their brilliance to soon fade away, reminding us that the seasons are
HIS, not ours! GOD’S glory is the only
glory that deserves to stand out at all times, not our own, amen? Though
victory may be experienced in certain areas, new growth must again be
considered and prepared for, a new season of life is fast on its way! These
time frames are set that we may always have something to develop for God’s
glory. Ladies, let us seize favorable opportunity for every good purpose and
work and render unto God what is required of us in each period of our lives…
Eccles. 3:1 (KJV)
To every thing there is a season, and a
time to every purpose under the heaven:
I read
recently that the average elm drops 26,6000 leaves each autumn. Imagine that!
Let this and everything else you have learned today to cause you to enjoy
the beauty of this fall season thoughtfully. No matter what tree it
may be, I pray that as each of you observe the leaves falling one by one, you
would ask the Lord to help you let go of old things and allow Him to bring
forth new things into your life, season by season. Trust Him for your beauty and growth - let
God have every one of those leaves on your tree and make the required changes!
Revelation 21:5 (KJV)
And he that sat upon the throne said,
Behold I make all things new...
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:
1&2
Copyright
2000 Pamela A. Iannello
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