Fw: the fruits of roots

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2016 7:17 AM
Subject: the fruits of roots

The other day I was watching my grandson Joey at T-Ball.  I noticed a magnificent old tree way back in left field.  It stood alone and filled a large space with its massive trunk and perfectly symmetrical branches.  It truly was a gorgeous sight...despite not having leaves yet in early spring.  As I thought about the beauty of that tree it occurred to me that it was a beauty linked to "hanging in there".  The tree had never gone anywhere...never accomplished great things...never promoted itself.  But as a result of just remaining, growing, surviving and thriving it had lasted for far more years than a human life.  This tree was a testimony to life itself and to remaining close to the things that are essential.  Perhaps there is a lesson for us, as well, about "hanging in there" and continuing to feed from the healthy sources of life...God's word; His personal relationship with us; Keeping a clean heart record with Him and with others; Looking out for and caring for others.  Strong roots will surely lead to pleasing and lasting fruits.

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Revelation 22:1-2 22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. 

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blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: reservoir of love

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 7:26 AM
Subject: reservoir of love

This morning a thin layer of fog hovered just above the pond's surface.  I thought about the cause.  It was due to the temperature difference between the water and the air.  All the warmth of yesterday was locked into the pond while the cold of today was carried by the air.  And I remembered that the love of the Lord...that carried me through yesterday...is ready for the cold of today's unknowns.  The fog represented the contrast between the reservoir of love we have in the Lord and the foreboding of all that we don't know.  The small amount of moisture given up by the pond to form the mist is like the grace given up by the Lord as His reservoir of love addresses the cold of my uncertainties and fears.

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Psalm 46:¹ God is our refuge and strength,
    always ready to help in times of trouble.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

color from the ground

This time of year...spring...is so refreshing.  Our senses are awakened from winter...visually we see beauty rising from the ground...sweet fragrances also fill the air and mild temperatures wash over us.  Yesterday I snapped a picture of a bush growing in front of our office.  The brilliant color just stopped me in my tracks.  Isn't it amazing to consider how the Lord can bring such stunning colors up from the earth...from the dirt beneath our feet?  And isn't it encouraging that we, who are made from the earth, can also spring up with color before our maker as well?  Sometimes I think we forget who our designer is!  And we may forget that our potential is realized as we are planted in Him and washed in His warmth.

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Matthew 6:28...Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

moon in the mist

Sometimes our walk in life is like the "moon in the mist".  That's the way the moon appeared to me this morning down by the pond.  We'd had a day of rain on Easter and now the ground was giving back the moisture to the sky in fog and mist.  The three-quarter moon peered eerily through the partially shrouded sky like a detective's flashlight looking for clues in a damp basement.  The heavy air felt close and I was reminded of the nearness of the Lord.  It occurred to me that on the day after Easter that it was good to reflect on the 'other purpose' of Jesus' resurrection.  It seems clear the primary purpose was to conquer death...to remove the final barrier between our temporary earthly lives and life forever.  The Cross had meant payment for my sin and the cave releasing Jesus to life meant we also are released from sin's penalty of death.  But the resurrection also meant that Jesus was now available to be with us all, across the world, across the generations.  No longer constrained to the limits of an earthly body He was launched to reach us and dwell even within us in spirit.

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And we, too, are resurrected to new life as we trust in Him.  Not just saved from sin's curse...not just escaping hell...but saved for His fulfilled plan within.  Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun...even through heavy mist and fog...so we can reflect the Son even through the fog of earthly living.  We can do this because He was raised from the dead, to raise us also, and then to dwell within and shine through to others.  Sometimes the mist and fog can clarify.

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Job 26:⁹ He covers the face of the full moon
    and spreads over it his cloud.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

Mary Magdalene

I was reading the account of the resurrection this morning in the book of John.  According to that Gospel, Mary Magdalene was the first one to find the stone rolled away and the body missing.  Her immediate response was to run back and tell Peter and John.  These two then ran to the tomb and saw the grave clothes.  They had not understood what Jesus had meant when He'd told them He'd rise again but now they believed and returned to their homes.  But Mary remained and continued to be troubled.  As she peered into the empty tomb two angels tried to address her questions.  They asked her why she was weeping and she explained that she thought Jesus' body had been removed and she didn't know where it was.  She turned and Jesus was there and He also asked why she was weeping.  Mary didn't recognize that it was Jesus at first...not until Jesus softly called her name.  Jesus gave her a task.  He told her to go and tell all the disciples that Jesus was risen and that He was ascending to His God and to their God.

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I was struck by this account of Mary Magdalene and after doing a little research found out that she was the only person who scripture says was present for the crucifixion, the burial and the resurrection.  Her loyalty was strong and unique.  Mary had first come to follow the Lord after He had delivered her from seven demons (Luke 8:2).  She is named 12 times in the gospels, which is more than some of the disciples.  It seems that after Jesus had delivered Mary from the evil spirits her total devotion...her orientation in life...was found from being near Jesus.  She was determined to stay with Him because she found hope in no other.  When He was ripped from her ability to follow through the crucifixion and His death she was devastated and she may have wondered how she could go on.  As a result of her loyal devotion and oneness of focus, Jesus made it clear that she would be able to continue to follow Him and she now would also go for Him.  The message He gave her to tell the disciples must have been so encouraging to her:  'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' (from John 20:17).  Jesus had not left Mary or the disciples, He had made it possible through His death and resurrection to be restored to the Father.

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Mary's devoted following had led to a place of lasting peace. 

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blessings this day when we remember that the empty tomb has led to full hearts and completed promises in our lives as well!

Rob Smith

focused on flight

I was enjoying some peaceful moments by the pond this morning when a few blue herons flew by, about 80 feet above the water.  I thought about the beauty of their flight and was impressed with their powerful wings.  I thought about flight and how these birds have relatively lightweight and small body structures (though long legs) while also having the large and powerful wings.  A quick search on Wikipedia revealed that the wingspan of the great blue heron is about two feet longer than the height of the bird.  In God's design, that is a serious commitment to flight.  Wouldn't it be great to fly?

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I thought about spiritual soaring...since the physical kind isn't going to work with my kind of wingspan.  How can I boost the spiritual wingspan to permit me to soar over problems and issues and ride the currents of God's holy wind?

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Isaiah 40:³¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

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Waiting for the Lord...how often do I do that really?  I'm afraid too often that I charge ahead and expect the Lord to catch up with me!  Who would associate flight with waiting?  They seem contradictory...but that's the flight plan with God.  We need to wait for his arms to carry us; His Spirit to lift us; His wings to fly for us.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

hope

Sometimes we forget that Jesus was not only God, he was human.  Right before entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday Jesus performed the great miracle of raising his friend Lazarus from the dead.  Remember how Lazarus' sisters had sent word to Jesus that their brother was very ill and asked Jesus to come and heal him?  Jesus reacted strangely it seemed.  Here's what the apostle John says:

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John 11:⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

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What kind of response is that to the 911 call of Mary and Martha?  But before that Jesus had made this interesting prediction:

⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

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The disciples aren't all that eager for Jesus to go help Lazarus because that means returning to Judah, near Jerusalem, where many enemies of Jesus have plans to kill him (and they fear their own lives are in danger).

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But Jesus has one advantage over the fears of the disciples and the concerns and grief of Mary and Martha.  He is not only human...He is God.  He knows that He will raise Lazarus from the dead...an even greater miracle than healing him.

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but here's the part where we see His humanity and His deity come together.  The shortest verse in the bible is John 11:35 "Jesus wept".  I have always felt that he wept over the grief of the sisters and the sadness of their friends at the death of Lazarus.  That may be the whole story.  But it occurred to me that the Father may have used this incident of Jesus opening a stone tomb and calling forth a dead man back to life to prepare Jesus, himself, for an almost identical experience that would unfold within a few days.  I think, very possibly, as Jesus was with Mary, Martha and the Jews who knew and loved Lazarus that He got a sharp picture of how it would be for His followers when He was put to death.  Perhaps the Father was painting a sharp picture for the Son right before the events of Calvary and the tomb to prepare the Son.  And perhaps that is why Jesus wept.  It wasn't just the awesomeness of bringing his friend back to life...it was His own impending death and resurrection that was being pictured.

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Jesus was not only God, he was human.  Jesus was not only human, he was God.  His relationship with the Father was complete in its oneness and perhaps the greatest reason Jesus wept was the coming hours when, for a brief time, he would be separated from the Father he had always been one with.

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blessings to you all this very good Friday!

Rob Smith

Fw: the other side of life

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2016 7:20 AM
Subject: the other side of life

Easter is this coming Sunday.  What an amazing historical event is remembered.  Jesus, who had been publicly executed for the world to see burst from the confines of death and showed himself to hundreds of people as He was alive again.  I think the second amazing thing that Easter means is that we also can follow in Jesus' path.  Because He showed that death could not hold Him we have confidence that there is life for us, as well, on the far side of death.  That confidence, though, means moving from an historical awareness of Easter to a personal faith that we will also move through death to life.   

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Interestingly this means actually moving from spiritual death to life before we die.  The apostle John put it this way (John 5:24) ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.  So, in a very real way, our personal resurrection actually happens while we are still here, in this body, as we hear the words of Jesus and believe in the Father, who sent Him.

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And as our bodies eventually weaken and fail we are confident that we will have new bodies and live in eternity with the one who pioneered the path from death to life forever.

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1 Corinthians 15:⁴² So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

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May your joy rise with your confidence that you can live forever!

Rob Smith

anticipating the sun

Right now the sun is rising about 7:08 am.  When I go out to spend some time with the Lord it is before that.  This morning I really wanted to experience the excitement of a sunrise but I couldn't wait that long so I stood on a rise and looked east at the pre-dawn light that was washing the sky in soft oranges and blues.  I realized that even before the sun rises its light begins to do the work of brightening the sky and illuminating the day.  You might say that this time of morning is 'anticipating the sun'.  Then I thought about Jesus, the Son who seeks to rise in human hearts.  He shines His light into our lives even before we accept Him.  He prepares us by revealing His reality and our limits and begins to make us ready for His entrance into our lives.  As we wait for the sun to rise in the morning we are prepared by the early light and as we wait for the Son to rise in our hearts we are prepared by the light that searches us out and begins to warm us, even before He arrives.

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Luke 1:⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God,
    whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

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blessings,

Rob Smith

little light, little reflection

I headed down to the pond this morning before the sun was up.  There was enough background light from the early morning sky to just make out the surface of the water and there was enough light to see a dull reflection of the surrounding trees on the water.  It occurred to me that where there is little light there is also little reflection.  If I am not walking in the brightness and full light of the Lord...through time in His word...time in conversation with Him...time considering who He is and who I am...if I am walking in a dim light then I am not able to reflect much of Him.  Not only will I essentially be in darkness....I will not help others to see the one who needs to be seen.  Just as the sun will shortly illuminate my day (even if hiding behind clouds and rain) so I need Him to shine on my life and reflect Himself.  It's interesting that we have choice when it comes to the amount of light that we allow to wash over us.  Psalm 91 tells us that if we dwell in the light of His care we can find another kind of shadow...the shadow of His protection.

[Note:  I tried to take a picture of the dull shadows on the pond but it may be too dark to show them]

Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

blessings,

Rob Smith