Fallen Trees (devotion)

For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.

Luke 12:2



During a recent storm in our area, we had very high winds. We didn’t realize the severity of the storm until we surveyed some of the damage it had done. A few people lost their roofs, an empty grain bin was overturned, and a semi-truck was blown over. It was an amazing sight to see all of the limbs and even large trees that had been felled by the wind. Trees that had stood tall and strong for decades were now lying split and splintered on roads and front lawns.



As I observed the trees, I noticed that almost all of them were rotten or decaying in the center. From the outside they looked like healthy trees. Before the storm split them open for all to see, no one would have guessed that there was anything wrong with them. But then came the test and revealed what was inside. Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees and called them hypocrites because, although they appeared righteous, they were corrupt inside.



What about you and me? How deep does my Christianity go? Is it just an outward thing that I do to impress others? If that is all the further it goes, I will be just like those trees that had no inner strength to stand when the storm came.



We need the kind of experience that Paul had. Even though his outward man took a beating—troubled, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down, this was his testimony:

“For which cause we faint not: but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). Is this your testimony? It can be.



Jeff Martin, Hicksville, OH



~What will the storms of life reveal about you?~




I recieved this in my inbox the other day and thought it was something worth sharing.

How deep does our Christianity go? When you say you are praying for a person, are you? Do you pray for them more than just once? Is it a desire of your heart to see their prayers get answered? Oh I hope so. Prayer is so very important.

Our churches are filled with outward expressing Christians. There are men and women who pride themselves as being a deacon or church librarian or nursery worker but yet, they are empty inside. They wave the Christian banner but their life away from church is anything but Christ like.

Oh that we, as the body of Christ would not become like that. That's satan pulling a 'sleep' over the eyes of the luke warm Christian world.

We need to be viligant and on guard every day. We need to be on our knees daily praying for one another, praying for our wishy washy brothers and sisters in Christ. We can't allow them to succumb to the traps of satan.
The worldliness in our churches is enough to make me weep. Does it bother you when you Pastor preaches about the latest movie or football scores instead of the meat of God's Word?
Does it bother you too see teenagers texting on their cell phone in the pews right next to you?
Does it bother you too see young children talk back to their parents and their parents just stand their and take it?
Does it bother you that your fellow church members probably know more what's going on in the life of Angelina Jolie than what the word of God says?
Does it bother you to see women walking in church like they just got out of the club?

Well it should bother you! These are just a few of the ways the world has crept in our church.
Our churches are no longer a holy place of worship, they are mere entertainment spectacles.
They are just buildings for people to come and play church each week.

Doesn't that just stir you up?

Oh Christian...open your eyes. Many people come to me and ask me to pray for them. And of course I do. I love to pray. I love to sit at God's feet and weep with those that weep and rejoice with those that rejoice.
However many of these prayer requests are by women who have no spiritual victory in their lives. They have no passion or zeal for God. They are content living the way they are and see no need to change.
I see them talk about movies and the mall and all these worldy things in emails but I don't ever see them just in awe of God. They make excuses to miss church and then wonder why they have all these problems and issues and are sad and lonely. These ladies let satan walk all over them.

GET AHOLD OF GOD. GET OFF THE INTERNET, TURN THE TV OFF, AND IT'S TIME TO CATCH ON FIRE FOR THE LORD!!!! In order to be victorious for God, you are going to have to desire it, to want it, to thirst it, to crave His Holy Spirit like never before.
What's holding you back? We can't blame people and circumstances around us. We are only as close to God as we want Him to be.


Is your Christianty an outward thing you do to impress others?
You know, I get the most criticism from Christian women about the way I look.
I have been called legalistic by some of the very same women who claim Christ as their Saviour.
Even after explaining myself, my answers were not good enough for them and they stopped talking to me. Oh well, their loss, not mine.
I don't dress this way to get attention or because some man made me....that is so far from the truth.
I dress this way to honor my Lord and to honor my husband.
I don't look down upon others who aren't like me, I mean, it's just clothes! They didn't save me. They don't make me any more holy.
I don't dress the way I do to keep my salvation. I do it because of the Lord's conviction on my life and nothing more.

Satan tries to cause division amongst us Christian women over modesty issues!


Oh dear reader, may we not be outward Christians only, but may the fire and the passion of the Holy Ghost rise up within each of us to actually live a life devoted to Him.

With love,
Dawn