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Goin’ Out To Cali

The Elder brought me on a business trip this week to northern California as a mini-vacation to rekindle and regroup. I thought it would be chillax time, but, of course, God has other things in mind…

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In The Armstrong Redwoods

Gain PERSPECTIVE:

  1. You’re not as big as you think you are.
  2. Your life is but a breath. Things, both good and bad, have been happening on earth for awhile before you got here.
  3. Eternity is a lot longer than the temporary temptations and issues you face in this moment. Take heart. Choose well.
  4. Go where God whispers in your sacred times and places; how and where do we hear Him?
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On the Pacific Coastline

How vast and deep and wide and powerful is the love of our God, the one who cups the oceans in the palm of His capable hands!

  1. He is holding back End Times destruction because of His mercy and grace for us, as if to say “no farther shall you come just yet; I am awaiting the full count of all my people to come to me in my perfect timing.” (2 Peter 3:8-10)
  2. How quickly we can go under water and be swept away and brought into the depths of despair by temptation and sin? Guard your heart and your testimony.
  3. “So I will call upon Your name and keep my eyes above the waves, when oceans rise, my soul will rest in your embrace, for I am Yours…and You are mine.” (click to watch Oceans by Hillsong United)
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The Church on a Hill

Do we make it hard to get to Jesus?

  1. Is it an uphill battle for the Lost to enter into a relationship with Christ because of how we do ministry?
  2. Is the Church so pristine, beautiful and seemingly perfect that we look untouchable and unreachable to people who need what we have…an intimate personal relationship with Christ?

From the Fruit Trees

  1. How many times have we missed low-hanging fruit—opportunities to share the Gospel with people who are SEEKING Jesus and asking spiritual questions—because we were too afraid of saying the name of Jesus and too concerned about offending our listeners? Do they rot on the ground right in front of us?
  2. How can people KNOW Jesus if they’ve never been told who He is?
  3. How many of us have been given gifts and talents and refuse to serve and grow those for the benefit and edification of the Body of believers? (1 Peter 4:10-11)
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In the Fields

In our lives, some areas are wild and some are cultivated. There’s beauty in both when it lies within the context of Scripture.

Vines and Branches

We go through seasons.

  1. After a dormant winter, every spring, vines are heavily trimmed, the long stems thrown into the fires along with any plants that aren’t producing or are diseased. Every fall is harvest and in between is growing.
  2. Older, well-pruned vines produce the best fruit and have the best root systems…some have been producing grapes for the best wines here in California for 135 years. You’re never too old to be fruitful and productive!
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The Tiny Flower in the Woods

You grow in the shadow of giants, Little One, more delicate and beautiful, more fragile. Mostly overlooked simply because the redwood trees command attention, but you are precious and important, too. I made you exactly the way I did. Flourish and bloom and be exactly what I created you to be. ~God

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