Dear friends, good morning. I wrote a nice or what I hoped was a nice devotional, and computer woes sent it not the yahoogroups for distribution but who knows where. This conference year has given me more than my share of computer dilemmas. I spent eight hours on the phone with representatives of this computer company. And the problem was not resolved. "Restoring" my computer BACK to a date when it was believed this computer WAS working did NOT restore anything instead sent everything back to my saying, "Woah, this wasn't where I wanted to be today!"
Our brother Ted Breihan has a minor surgical procedure this morning and we ask you remember him in prayer.
Sunday I preached on "Pruning Problems For Greater Growth" and started my sermon with a video clip of the first four minutes from The Wizard of Oz. I, as probably most of you, grew up with that movie. I had to confess that it would be years before I knew the movie was really in color as well as black and white. But I had never noticed that Dorothy was such a worrier! Those first few moments of the movie show a young woman who couldn't get anyone's lasting attention either because everyone was so busy or because Dorothy was always worried.
The dictionary gives one defintion of a problem as being "a source of perplexion, distress, or vexation." No one should live with that kind of source constantly spring up these things. I shared how I believed that Dorothy lived not in Kansas as many of the audience already knew, but in worry! And when you live in worry you have undesirable neighbors, such as doubt, fear and panic. You need to either move or have someone prune away these things. And pruning being a gardening thing I shared how the risen Lord was confused for being the gardener by Mary Magdalene. Coincidence? Jesus has the power to take away those things that limit our growth as believers. Jesus can prune away the source of worry so that we can move into a better neighborhood called peace.
PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus and prune away the source of anything that is hindering my being a better believer and servant of yours. Speak to me this day what I need to do to better serve You and yours. I pray in Thy name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
