Sycamine Trees

We had a great camp meeting this year.  I wanted to write about it earlier but what I thought was going to be a slow relaxing week turned out to be not so much!! So for the last several days I’ve just been meditating on the word that we heard… letting it sink down into my soul and do it’s work.

The message that I keep coming back to was from Luke 17:6 “And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”

What sycamine trees do you have in your life?  What is holding you back in your walk with God?  What is keeping you from just totally selling out to Him?

To often instead of totally rooting sin out of our lives we just try to prune in back some.  We think we can handle it, use will power if you will… prune it back, beat it down and walk on with God. 

But the thing is, even if you cut that tree off at the ground the roots are still there.

From my Bible commentary: Now, look at this tree - its ample girth, its wide-spread arms branching off from the parent trunk only a few feet from the ground; then examine its enormous roots, as thick, as numerous, and as wide-spread into the deep soil below as the branches extend into the air above the very best type of invincible steadfastness.

The roots are still alive.  The temptation is still there, it’s still a struggle.  Maybe not a constant struggle, but as long as those roots are still alive they will continue to send up shoots that you will have to constantly be on the look out for to prune back.

Or…. we can do what Jesus said.  He didn’t say prune it back, He said “say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea.”

Speak to that sin, pluck it out by the roots and plant it in the sea.  As someone  at  church brought out, planting it in the sea doesn’t just get it under the blood of Jesus…. that salty sea water kills it.  It’s not just gone and forgiven, it’s dead!

I know for myself to often I’m guilty of trying to do it under my own steam instead of resting in Jesus and allowing Him to do the work for me.  And it’s exhausting!!  What I think is “I’ve got this one Lord, thanks for the offer but I can handle it”, but in reality I’m just not ready to let go yet.

And what I’ve found is that when I try to handle it myself I’m just pruning it back.  Sooner or later that old tree will shoot back up again.  It’s time to stop pruning  and start plucking out by the roots!!

My Daily Prayer

 

Dear Lord.  So far today I've done all right. 
I have not gossiped. 
I have not lost my temper, lied or cheated.
I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or overindulgent.
I am very thankful for that.
But in a few minutes, Lord, I am going to get out of bed,
and from that moment on I am going to need a lot more help.

~ Anon

Why I’m In Love With Dave Ramsey

 

A few months ago I started Financial Peace University.  At the time I really didn’t think I needed the class.  We were on a plan to pay off debt and had already made a dent in it.  While we never had just loads of money… we always had enough to do the things we wanted to do.  So I got a stomach ache every Friday when I paid bills… they were always paid in full and usually on time… so what’s a little stomach ache!!!

Fast forward to now… I am SO glad I took the class!! 

For the first time ever, we have an emergency fund!  No more panic when something unexpected pops up… and it always does. 

We have a budget… and it’s not near as hard as I thought it’d be!!  So all those extras… insurance, taxes, car repairs, CHRISTMAS!… are budgeted for with money set aside every month.  Now instead of scrimping and borrowing and panicking when it’s time to get the oil changed or buy a birthday present we can just go get the cash that we’ve been budgeting!   How freeing is that!?

We have an accelerated debt payoff plan.  And because everything else is budgeted for the plan is easy to stick to!  It’s so cool to see that total debt balance falling each month.

Dave also walked us through how to invest and make our money work FOR us!  We’re not there yet, but someday that will be really cool!!

My favorite part of the plan though is that the focus is not on “let’s see how much money we can get and spoil ourselves with.”  Instead it’s all about “let’s see how much money we can get to use for God’s kingdom and help others.”  The first item on the budget each month is tithes/giving and he never loses that focus.  The videos are full of testimonials from people who have followed the plan and now are in a position to really help others.  How cool would it be to be able to give someone $10,000 to go back to school, or buy a car for someone who was in a real bind!?!?

We still have a ways to go, but that’s my goal!