** Jeremiah 31 ** Verse 12 * Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. (King James Version) ****************************************************** Grace be unto you, from me my beloved Christian brothers & sisters. Giving Him thanks for allowing the fellowship of His word through this group once more. Take out some time in your daily schedule to give God praise & glory for all He has done for you. Last Saturday as I drove around, my mind pondered over some thoughts of: What If & Would Have? I had married another person, My children been different, My relationship been closer or further from God, My life been more successful. The list seemed to continue, but have you, dear friends asked yourselves these questions or others? I am sure that we all at one time or another has done so. As a believer of God's fate for our lives, He has placed us in His divine guidance, in that, no matter on what decisions we make, we are guided by His hand to where he can get the glory from our lives. I thought to myself, how does God accomplish such a task in seemingly a beautiful situation with bad outcomes & on the other hand a not so wonderful situation, but with good fruits showing forth? My thinking cap working overtime, I began to see God as an everlasting supreme gardener & what plants had he created that was beautiful, but had toxic qualities & the other, a not so pretty plant, emitting a sweet fragrance as of perfume. Let's take a walk in the botanical paradise of God's word. For this brings me to my topic this week: (A Flower In God's Garden) <<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>> David as a shepherd boy saw God as a caretaker of His flock as he did watching his father's flock. God means many things to many people. For some, He is their living water, someone else he is their daily bread & so on. So let's take a look at two different flowers in God's garden. (1) The vivid grape-leaved passionflower (Passiflora vitifolia) native to Central and South America, from Nicaragua to Venezuela. Throughout their range, species of Passiflora have evolved an arsenal of cyanogenetic glucosides to fend off ravenous insects, particularly the hungry larvae (caterpillars) of butterflies. When the larvae begin chewing on the vine's leaves, enzymes in the cells of the foliage break down the cyanogenetic glucosides, releasing deadly cyanide. Cyanide, also known as hydrocyanic or prussic acid (HCN), is a universal poison that interferes with cellular respiration. The effects of hydrocyanic acid (cyanide) on the human body is disastrous because it inhibits the action of the vital enzyme cytochrome oxidase during cellular respiration. Without the oxidation of glucose, ATP production ceases. Therefore, HCN poisoning is essentially asphyxiation at the cellular level, because oxygen is not utilized at key steps in the Kreb's (citric acid) cycle. The cells thus die from lack of oxygen even though oxygen is plentiful in the blood. My dear Christian brothers & sisters, how can this be, such a beautiful flower, but it's underlying characteristics are plain deadly. We face people on this same level in our daily walk in this life, beautiful skin, hair, eyes, body, but their underlying motives & actions are just down right deadly. They often have wealth, a sophisticated education, & seem to believe that God has bestowed a certain right unto them to think more highly of themselves than they ought. Let us not confuse keeping one's self groomed & to pursue a level of financial responsibility for our life & not being ignorant to acquire employment suitable to our God given talents, but to just simply think that since you have money or other vain insecurities, you are somehow better, I hear God saying though His word. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. (Galatians 6:3) In (Romans 12:3) Paul says, we are to not think more highly of ourselves, but soberly. You know friends, in the church, often are found such people, some will speak in tongues & not speak to you, that is not of God & through this division, He is not pleased with the church. I propose a question to all who think they are above anyone & that is: "Where Is Your Throne & What Planet Have You Created"? (Isaiah 66:1-2) **** Am I Right About It *** O, Lord (2) Catalina Currant (Ribes viburnifolium) The tiny, insignificant flowers bloom in late winter through mid-spring, producing a perfume-like fragrance; hence its other name, Catalina Perfume. After a rain the foliage also produces a sweet, woodsy odor. Here is a flower not as pretty as the passionflower, but in it's nature a sweet smell as of perfume issues forth. O, my beloved so many of us are just regular folk, like me, not as wealthy, not as pretty or handsome, not possessing a beautiful figure or ripped stomach, not very educated in status scenario, but just as a dam has a leak & the water ushers forth, so does these people issue forth a sincere kindness, a true love for our brothers & sisters in & out of Christ. O Help Me Lord A meek & gentle spirit emits from them as they understand it is not of their own power that they are blessed & are sustained in this life. It is if God sprinkled dew drops of His perfume on them. Some of the most powerful people in Christ are those who are humble & lowly. (James 2:5) shares with us that God says, "has He not chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, & heirs to the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? Dear friends we are to be like the beatitude: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. To be emptied of all the self-will, prejudices, habits, & views we have, renouncing them to find our place in God. One of the most saddest stories in the bible is the one of the Rich Young Man for in his vain way of thinking & holding on to what was not even his, missed out on a great opportunity in history, for "he turned away sorrowful because he had great possessions. You know friends, generally this is the story of mankind. Well, I know by know a lot of you are saying, what is the relationship between the flowers & our situations? Our heavenly father who loves us so much, is a Great Gardener, He cares for us, He nurtures us, for He knew us before we were in our mother's womb. He is ever mindful of us. He takes the weeds of our life & casts them out to help us grow & detox us, remember the first flower? A family could seem to have it all together with all of the glitter & status life can offer, but maybe there is a wayward child or spouse in this family, God can take that poison from that situation, allowing the family to be abased & through faith trusting Him to bring them closer to Him. Another family could seem to never be as prosperous as the other family members, never being introduced into society as the others, but God has blessed them with more than enough with peace & contentment, their children obey them & fear the Lord as they have been taught to do so, thus being a sweet odor to their parents. Dear friends, we should always be like the second flower, as we know one day we shall wither away, but as we put God first in our life & trust Him, after the gentle rain, we shall spring forth in God's garden for all eternity, sending out a sweet perfume unto His nostrils. **** Am I Right About It *** ****************************************************** My dear friends, this was a true word from God & I have encouraged myself on today. I pray that you will be blessed by this word & continue to obey God. I wanted to leave you with a good lesson from God & I believe I have done just that, in that, this could very well be my last letter to you, unless God will intervene in my situation. Circumstances beyond my control has crept in my life leaving me to just trust Him for the solution. I am not dying, so do not be alarmed. I shall always be with you in spirit & if I never talk or see any of you anymore, just like I tell my children, "live rightly unto God & in that great day, we shall see each other again". Always read Psalm 121 for your strength. Pray for one another in the uplifting of spirit & healing. May God always walk with you & you with God. Peace Don ** Dare To Be A Disciple For Christ **