[Billie]

[The Mayor]

October 25, 2007

Growth Persuasion

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READ: Hebrews 12:7-11

No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but . . . it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. —Hebrews 12:11

My Uncle Lester, who lived in Florida, was discouraged by the lack of fruit on his grapefruit tree. Someone told him he needed to whack the trunk of the tree a few times with a board.

Apparently, there is some truth to this unusual method of encouraging growth. One gardening expert says: "At times, the flowering hormone in the tree seems to get stuck and no flowers appear. Carefully persuade the tree to flower by shocking it. Hit the trunk . . . several times, [which will cause] small bruises in the bark." This advice may stimulate growth.

When trouble comes into our lives, we sometimes feel as if we’ve been hit broadside. We feel desperation and then we wonder, Why is this happening to me?

One possibility is that God is using a painful experience to get our attention. In Psalm 119:71, David wrote, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes." And Hebrews 12:11 says that chastening "yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness."

Is God using pain in your life to lovingly persuade you to change? The season of trouble may not be easy, but if we let ourselves be trained by it, new growth will result as we become more like His Son (Phil. 3:10).

We shrink from the purging and pruning,
Forgetting the Gardener knows
The deeper the cutting and paring
The richer the cluster that grows.  —Anon.

Affliction for God’s people can be the pruning knife to prepare us for greater fruitfulness.

Bible in One Year:   Jeremiah 6-8; 1 Timothy 5

[jaycee]

That was such a sweet picture. Wish I was there!

[jaycee]

The picture described these as Seabirds at Navaro Beach, Florida. They are the same as Seagulls, aren't they?

[MEG33]

Good Morning To The Finest

Seaside Goldenrod ...October Wildflower
Delaware Seashore State Park

[GodBlessUSA]

Good Morning Billie :)
Last night I really enjoyed reading the thread. It's very interesting and fun. :)

Terrific ping! Beautiful photo! I remember when I was kid we would go feed the seagulls. It would start with a few and then there were hundreds of them in just minutes. They seem to come from the entire bay. LOL They made me so nervous. LOL I still love to see them.