Spring is here! What an incredible time to watch as the beauty of          creation begins to sprout forth all of its radiance. One can easily be caught up in wonder of how each rain drop, each particle of pollen (yes even the horribly  aggravating, allergy causing, vehicle coating, yellow stuff), plays a unique, God ordained and decreed part of nourishment that brings for new life. The bees are busy fulfilling their roles as workers for the glory of God; birds are offering their songs of praise, the blooms of Dogwood trees, the smell of the flowers; all things great and small joining in their praises to the Creator and Sustainer of life. This line of thought brings to mind one of the great comforts we find in Scripture as Jesus reminds us that our Father in heaven has great love for his people. 

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your  heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:25-33

Today, I am thankful that the seasons obey. They testify to the majesty of the   Father, the provision of his hands. Even now thinking on this idea of new growth and the transition from death to life, I am also reminded that it is by God’s power and love towards me that I was able to spring forth into new life, a new season, one that I pray reflects the glory of the Father, realizing that this is only possible through the Son. As the flowers blossom, and the trees put out their buds, so does the vine. Its branches are readying to bear fruit, nourished by the connection to the root, cared for by the vinedresser, healthy and productive. In John 15 Jesus uses the parable of a vine to help us understand the importance of being connected to him, the reason behind the “pruning” of the vinedresser, it is so that in our “season” of new life that we bear much fruit. Also reminding us that apart from Christ, the true vine, we can not do anything (John 15:8). Are you            connected to him, is he the source of your life? I encourage you, take sometime as the drear of winter breaks forth into a world full of color, take it all in and      remember the God who intimately, as the masterful, magnificent, maestro, who conducts the beautiful sound of an orchestra, brings it all to completion; and worship. 

~ Pastor Matt