Trees planted on flat, level ground grow straight up. Trees planted on a steep slope or on a hill do not grow perpendicular to the ground. Instead, they also grow straight up regardless of the angle of the ground. Trees naturally always try to reach up toward the sky and seek as much light as possible. The motivation is survival. The scientific name for this process is phototropism.

Phototropism is the growth of living cells toward the greatest source of light. Light provides trees with the energy and food that enable them to grow in the first place. The principle of phototropism is not just a natural law; it is also a spiritual one. For a spiritual life to grow, it too must always seek as much light as possible. Spiritual energy and growth are dependent upon light. The motivation is spiritual survival.

John 1:3-4, in reference to the logos, says, "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." The natural, physical world was created through the Word of Yahweh. The Word was made flesh and named Jesus. Although few recognized or acknowledged who he was, life was in and through him. He was and is the light of men.

In John 8:12, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." Jesus stated clearly that He was the light. He told us about the source and power of that light. He explained the effect it could have on us.

The Apostle Paul verifies and clarifies all this in his second letter to the Corinthians (4:6). He ties together the concept of Yahweh's creating light by the spoken Word and the light and revelation of Yahweh by means of Jesus. "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

There is also, however, another tropism at work both in the natural and spiritual worlds. (A tropism is an involuntary movement toward or away from a stimulus.) Geotropism is the movement away from the pull of gravity. The pull of gravity is, even on a hill or slope, directly down. The greatest source of light is directly up.

Spiritually you and I need both phototropism and geotropism. We need to learn to instinctively stretch and reach for our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest source of our light. But we likewise need to learn to instinctively and steadfastly move away from the pull of gravity. Anything that holds us down, keeps us rooted in the physical world, pulls us back to our natural and sinful tendencies must be resisted and defeated.

While natural tropisms are involuntary, spiritual ones are voluntary. We have a choice. The neat principle in all this is that the more we seek the light, the more easily we will move away from the darkness. But be clear about this: phototropism comes before geotropism.

We cannot resist evil successfully in our own power. We do not have the might necessary to change ourselves. We can never make ourselves good enough or worthy of the Christian way. It is only as we acknowledge our need for Christ and His power to save and regenerate us that we can begin to grow in the light. And then if we commit to Him fully, there is nothing that can stop our growth.

A beggar lived near the king's palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted outside the palace gate. The king was giving a great dinner. Anyone dressed in royal garments was invited to the party.

The beggar went on his way. He looked at the rags he was wearing and sighed. Surely only kings and their families wore royal robes, he thought. Slowly an idea crept into his mind. The audacity of it made him tremble. Would he dare?

He made his way back to the palace. He approached the guard at the gate. "Please, sire, I would like to speak to the king." "Wait here," the guard replied. In a few minutes, he was back. "His majesty will see you," he said, and led the beggar in.

"You wish to see me?" asked the king. "Yes, your majesty. I want so much to attend the banquet, but I have no royal robes to wear. Please, sir, if I may be so bold, may I have one of your old garments so that I, too, may come to the banquet?"

The beggar shook so hard that he could not see the faint smile that was on the king's face. "You have been wise in coming to me," the king said. He called to his son, the young prince. "Take this man to your room and array him in some of your clothes."

The prince did as he was told and soon the beggar was standing before a mirror, clothed in garments that he had never dared hope for. "You are now eligible to attend the king's banquet tomorrow night," said the prince. "But even more important, you will never need any other clothes. These garments will last forever." The beggar dropped to his knees. "Oh, thank you," he cried. But as he started to leave, he looked back at his pile of dirty rags on the floor. He hesitated. What if the prince was wrong? What if he would need his old clothes again? Quickly he gathered them up.

The banquet was far greater than he had ever imagined, but he could not enjoy himself as he should. He had made a small bundle of his old rags and it kept falling off his lap. The food was passed quickly and the beggar missed some of the greatest delicacies.

Time proved that the prince was right. The clothes lasted forever. Still the poor beggar grew fonder and fonder of his old rags. As time passed people seemed to forget the royal robes he was wearing. They saw only the little bundle of filthy rags that he clung to wherever he went. They even spoke of him as the old man with the rags.

One day as he lay dying, the king visited him. The beggar saw the sad look on the king's face when he looked at the small bundle of rags by the bed. Suddenly the beggar remembered the prince's words and he realized that his bundle of rags had cost him a lifetime of true royalty. He wept bitterly at his folly.

And the king wept with him.

We have been invited into a royal family, the Family of God. To feast at God's dinner table, all we have to do is shed our old rags and put on the "new clothes" of faith, which has been provided by God's Son, Jesus Christ. But we cannot hold onto our old rags. When we put our faith in Christ, we must let go of the sin in our life, and our old ways of living. Those things must be discarded if we are to experience the true royalty and abundant life in Christ. "Behold, the old is passed away; the new has come!" (2 Cor. 5:17) "Go now; leave your bonds of slavery. Put Babylon behind you, with everything it represents, for it is unclean to you. You are the Lord's holy people." (Isa. 52:11)

Isaiah 30:15 - "For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." (KJV)

There we go rushing around again. "I’ve got to do this, that and the other thing!" we too often say. I know for myself, when I regress back to that attitude, I squeeze my Master right out of my life. My god becomes my "to do" list rather than my Father in heaven. If the "to do" list isn’t long enough, we also have the exasperating problem of needing noise at all times in our waking hours. As Dennis Thorfeldt pointed out in his Sermon last Sunday, "God’s Waiting Room," we always need something to fill our thoughts for us. We can’t go for a walk without a walkman or work around the kitchen or drive in the car without the radio going. I’m sure your list of noise might be slightly different but quietness is not something we are generally comfortable with. But having quietness is THE most effective way for God to speak to us. Psalm 46:10 reminds us that we need to “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Find a place of quietness

It can take us a while to create that stillness. The most effective stillness or quietness for me is early in the morning. As I drag my carcass out of bed and head down to our living room, I certainly don’t start out with a bang, but it grows over the first few minutes. I love to look out the window and look at the trees and birds. It helps me to focus on the creator of nature. No big theological drama is needed. Just a simple praise for the beautiful things he does as I watch the morning breeze kick up from the stillness of dawn. The living room for me is where I sit and think and listen to God in prayer and meditation, a lot of times using the Psalms. I have taken to praying for those in church who are undergoing trials; praying for each body of servants, especially the elders; I now pray for the sermon and worship that is coming up. I’d love to see a bunch of us arrive at church early enough on Sunday to take our seats and pray for the Holy Spirit to fill the sanctuary for the worship services of the morning.

Solitude

I’ve also learned recently that I don’t have to be in a particular place to have solitude with God. Another place I’ve learned to think and pray is driving in the car. It took a long time for me to get comfortable without music or radio but I finally can now. I think about how my day should go or how it went. I’ve learned to accept the rush hour as a nice time to ponder the things of God and to pray some. I’m still a rookie at this but I’m convinced that if I can do it, you can too.

Confidence

Just as important as the quietness and solitude is confidence in our God and our Savior. It can be deafeningly quiet but if we don’t EXPECT to hear a message from God, we certainly will remain in severe discomfort. It’s hard to believe that we don’t see that He is anxiously waiting to pour out a blessing on his child. For those of us who are parents, our greatest parental joy is having our children communicate with us while expecting something back. It isn’t any different with our Father. Once we believe that He is going to bless us, we will be blessed beyond our deepest thoughts.

Conclusion

For those of you who struggle with quietness, don’t be discouraged with the "failures." Start with low expectations and slowly you will begin to see progress. It does take discipline to get going. However, when mixed with joyful anticipation, the blessings of heaven will start to fill that void in your heart. If you don’t have the joy, ask Him for it. If you find the discipline hard to come by, ask him for it. Matthew 7:11 tells us, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

All you have to do is ask and expect. He will do the rest!

“Grace to You All” is an expression often used in the New Testament writings. The fundamental meaning of the word “grace “is favor. Oh, there is so much more encompassed in that word! The definition also incorporates the concepts of goodwill, pleasure, delight, kindness, Divine Influence on the heart, and power to fulfill God’s explicit purposes. The Hebrew word for grace has the thought of “to bend or stoop to an inferior.” The definition has been extended to include favor to anyone who does not deserve favor. Divine favor is not earned and cannot be purchased. All human efforts are insufficient to meet the requirements of the holy God Jehovah. “Heaven is His home and earth is His footstool. (Isaiah 66) “He has the storehouse for snow (Job 38:22) and owns the planet and everything in it (Psalm 50:10-11)

Consequently any grace received is a gift. Grace is for the helpless, those in need of forgivenes: for all who need a Savior. In other words, grace is for Adam and everyone who has lived since he did. As Christians, we are among the first to receive this gift. The gift of grace is embodied in Jesus Christ. The explanation is given in the 5th chapter of the book of Romans. The key points are:
Death started with Adam, passed on to all (vs 14) While we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly (vs 6)
God’s love demonstrated because the death of Jesus reconciled enemies (vs 8, 10)
The grace of God and the FREE GIFT ABOUNDED in JESUS CHRIST (vs 15)

As ambassadors of Christ our responsibility is to model the grace of Jesus Christ. We have spiritually discerned the glory of Jesus (John 1:14). Of his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace (John 1:16). Jesus gives us, His disciples, the following instructions recorded in Matthew chapter 10 verse 8: FREELY GIVE since you have freely received. As the salt of the earth, we want to encourage others to thirst for Jesus. He is the one who has “living water” (John 4:10). With Jesus, truth and grace are fully experienced!

The action plan of sharing winsome, contagious grace to all is recorded in Roman 12: 9-17 (I especially recommend reading the Phillips translation for this passage):
Genuinely Love others: that is to love without hypocrisy
Abhor evil: meaning you can’t stand it!
Cling to what is good.
Be devoted to prayer.
Practice hospitality.
Bless those who make or try to make your life miserable.
Share the happiness and sorrow of others.
Show respect to all.
Pay back evil with good.
Live peaceably with others without compromising God’s laws.

The Father has especially helped me to experience the power of grace in action points 1 and 6. LOVE WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. Accept the individual as a person God loves. You do not accept attitudes and behaviors that are contrary to Jehovah’s standards. Extending grace to others means allowing others the freedom of choice and the attendant benefit or consequence of that choice.

Adam exercised his will and was disobedient to God. Jehovah certainly had the power to intercede and prevent that disastrous action. The ultimate consequence was death and the other miseries in between birth and having your last breath. Fortunately, God extended grace- a favor that was in NO MANNER DESERVED! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. Whoever believes in him (Jesus) should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Grace does not overlook or condone wrong. It shows the path to righteousness. An example is Jesus’ conversation with the woman caught in adultery that is referenced in John 8:11. The woman was indisputably guilty. According to God’s law she could have been executed on the spot. (Exodus 20:13, Leviticus 20:10)

Jesus acknowledged the sin and told the woman not to sin anymore. We extend grace by praying with specific requests. The world is captive to Satan’s influence. We can pray that the individual would come to experience the liberty and peace that Christ gives.

BLESS THOSE WHO MAKE /TRY TO MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE (Action point 6)
Pray for discernment of how to accomplish this without enabling undesirable attitudes or behaviors. Pray for discernment of the underlying problem that causes the person to behave in that manner.

Is the issue anger?
“A soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1) consider your choice of words and the tone used. Also consider the timing of the conversation

Is the issue insecurity?
Commend the individual on something good that they do

Go well beyond what is expected of you: ** 2KINGS 6: 8-23***
I really get excited when I consider this passage of scripture! Elisha was a prophet to the 10 tribe kingdom of Israel. The King of Aram was at war with Israel. Elisha always advised the King of Israel on how to avoid the conflict. This made the King of Aram mighty mad! When he heard that Elisha was in the city of Dothan the King of Aram gathered a large army and surrounded the city. The intent was to bring Elisha to an unpleasant end. What transpires next is amazing! The Aramean soldiers were blinded and led into Israel. When their sight was restored they realized Israeli soldiers surrounded them! They were neither executed nor taken as prisoners of war. Instead “a great feast was prepared for them and they were sent home to their king.”

What an example of grace! That undeserved act of kindness caused the Arameans to leave Elisha alone and to stop sinning against Israel. God empowers us to demonstrate that same type of grace to others as well. Jehovah God is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and abundent in loving-kindness. He causes the brightness of the sun to rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. As we have received the gift of grace, let us shower it upon all.

Naboth Doesn’t Sell Out
1 Kings 21

We know two basic facts about Naboth of Jezreel. Fact 1: Naboth was the owner of a beautiful vineyard which he worked, his father had worked, and his father’ father had worked. Fact 2: Nothing would persuade Naboth to trade or sell his inheritance.

Enter a top ten contender for most pathetic Bible character: the miserably inadequate King Ahab! It seems Ahab had a vacation palace in Jezreel, which was next door to Naboth’s vineyard. Now Ahab had a beautiful palace with a really nice vineyard and gorgeous grounds. But Ahab wanted more: he coveted his neighbor’s vineyard. The idea consumed him.

Ahab offered Naboth wealth and lands for his vineyard, but he would not sell. For Naboth, it was a matter of heritage and honor. For Ahab, it was a matter of self-indulgence and greed. When Ahab could not get what he wanted, he reverted to pouting. He curled up in his bed, stared at the wall, and refused to eat. What a baby!

Enter a top ten contender for most despicable Bible character: the contemptible Queen Jezebel. It seems Jezebel had a plan to obtain Naboth’s vineyard for her husband Ahab. She wrote letters with the king’s seal in which she falsely accused Naboth of blasphemy against God. She also sent two false witnesses to seal the deal. The people of Jezreel responded by stoning Naboth to death.

This is a case where we stand on the sidelines yelling, “Unfair, unfair!” Naboth was the victim of a miserably inadequate king and his contemptible wife. Yet, the bottom line for us is trust and faith in God. Even in cases like this, our trust and faith must cling to the Lord.

Jezebel was very pleased with herself when she told her pouting husband that Naboth was dead, and he could take possession of the precious vineyard. It also was painfully obvious that Ahab couldn’t have cared less how Naboth died: the fact was that Naboth was dead and Ahab got what he pouted for. He rushed to Jezreel to revel in his new vineyard. Now Ahab was pleased as punch as he walked about his new vineyard, but these ill-gotten gains were about to evaporate, for justice lay straight ahead.

Enter a top ten contender for best Bible prophet: the righteous Elijah the Tishbite. You see, the Lord gave Elijah the lowdown on what happened and His judgment on Ahab and Jezebel. So, as Ahab was taking his victory lap through Naboth’s vineyard, he came upon Elijah, and said, “My enemy has found me.”

Why did Ahab see the man of God as his enemy? Because, as Elijah said, “Ahab had sold himself to evil.” When Ahab took possession of the vineyard, in effect, he gave his full endorsement of his wicked wife’s villainy. Elijah then enumerated the consequences.

Quite suddenly, Ahab’s infatuation with Naboth’s vineyard was gone. The prospect of our death will very often do that; Ahab rent his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted in an attempt to bring God’s mercy. For this, the Lord showed mercy and delayed His judgments; but they came, nonetheless.

There are many lessons in this story, but I’ll only focus on one: integrity. Jezebel seemingly had none, and Ahab’s was pathetic, while Elijah adhered to moral and ethical principles.

That’s what people of God do!