SHEPHERD
TO SHEEP
THOUGHTS FROM THE REDWOODS
This year Cheryl and I traveled up to northern California to see
the coastal Redwoods. Once you enter the
redwood forests there is an instant canopy of towering trees that envelop you as
dappled sunlight peeks through. After
many days of camping and walking in the inspiring woods came these THOUGHTS FROM
THE REDWOODS:
TALL – Fact: The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) towers over
all other trees in the world. There are 135 known redwoods that reach higher
than 350 feet. When you are around a
redwood your head naturally tilts back and your eyes want to follow its trunk
all the way to the top. (I even had to
twist my baseball hat around backward to achieve this.) Lesson:
Live in an upright and godly way so that people will look to heaven and
be saved. (Mat 5:16) Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in
heaven.
LONGEVITY – Fact: With an
average lifespan of 500-700 years, coastal redwoods can live to more than 2,000
years. Lesson: Long life and quality of
days for the godly is a general principle of scripture. (Psa
34:12-13) Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see
good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. (Job
42:17) So Job died, old and full of days.
But if a believer suffers a premature death there is still the
promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord! (John
11:25-26) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and
believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
DURABILITY - Fact: Redwoods
have few natural enemies. Tannic acid
makes them resistant to disease and insect infestation, and their up to 12
inches thick fibrous bark effectively resists fire. Lesson:
Through the strength that comes from the Lord and His Word we as
believers will be able to resist the world, the flesh, and the devil and stand
resilient to the glory of God and the service of our King. (1 John
2:14)…I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of
God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. (Psa 27:1)…The LORD is the strength of my
life; of whom shall I be afraid?
DEATH FROM LIFE: Fact:
Nursery trees are where a fallen or cut redwood is surrounded by a circle of
younger redwoods, all receiving nutrients from the original tree's root
system. You see this all over the redwood
forests. Lesson: When we die to ourselves
and our desires, life springs up in others by our sacrifice. (2 Cor
4:11) For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the
life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Also, Jesus died that we might live. (1 John
4:9)…that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through Him.
Back to the hustle and bustle of So Cal but in my mind are THOUGHTS
FROM THE REDWOODS.
Louie
I lived in those redwoods, until I was 14 years old. (Arcata, McKinleyville) Awesome!
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