Remove the Logs - Sunday October 18, 2015
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." John 11:44 NIV
Years ago I planted bulbs just outside the gate from the backyard leading to our undeveloped lot (except for the poured cement basketball court). The lot is where we stack logs and collect wood from the forest behind it for our fireplaces and woodstoves (a father-adult son event in the fall now). In the spring I noticed that a pile of logs had been placed right where my bulbs were planted!
Soon after my discovery John and I moved the logs back to their usual place. I had noticed a few green shoots poking out under the logs originally, but when I revisited the spot days later, there were 25 new little plants emerging strongly. I was so relieved at their health!
One of our jobs as Christians is to "remove logs" for each other. In each of us humans is the image of the living God, but it is often blurred, messed up, or buried. Life happens-we sin, others sin against us, we believe lies about God or ourselves-but the inherent worth and beauty of each soul remains, sometimes barely visible.
How do we "remove logs" preventing growth? We do it by receiving and loving one another in gentleness and kindness, by speaking the truth of the Word to one another, by listening to and praying for one another. The unique beauty God has planted in each life is revealed as love is received, sins are confessed, others forgiven, and lies replaced with truth. Only God gives life and brings to life-but we must do our part: take off the grave clothes, remove the logs.
Submitted by:
Dotty Vanderhorst
Cornerstone Community Church
Overland Park, Kansas
One-Year Reading Plan:
Jeremiah 31:27-32:44
1 Timothy 3:1-16
Psalms 88:1-18
Proverbs 25:20-22
[Read
Online]
© 2024 Great Commission Association of Churches, Inc All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
Online Bible Services provided by
The Bible Gateway (TM) a service of
Gospel
Communications Network.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.