My daughter has told me many times that I should have a blog.
OK, I guess it it time.
I'm one of those guys who wanted to be the perfect dad, the perfect husband, the perfect Christian and though I tried with all of my heart I failed miserably at all three.
I am so thankful for God's Amazing power to forgive and forget and I want to honor Him with the life that He is slowly putting back together.
When we enter into His presence we, like Isaiah , find that we are unclean and unworthy for anything from God and we dwell with people who are unclean and unworthy. Here is a modern parable that God has vgiven me.
A certain man bought a house and in the back yard was a tree. It was wintertime and there was nothing special about the tree, just an ordinary tree.
Then Spring came and lovely pink buds appeared on the tree. The man thought to himself, "Great, I have a blossoming flower tree in my back yard and I will watch it all summer long." But A heavy wind came and blew all the blossoms all over the place. The man thought, "What a terrible tree!"
But that's not the end of the story of the tree.
The spring winds blew the blossoms away and summer passed, and one day the owner of that house looked out the back door and noticed large growths on that tree, about the size of a large nut. They were green. He said, "What is this?" and he went out, took one off the tree and took a bite of it, and said,"Yuck! What a horrible and bitter flavor!" He threw it away and said to himself, I'm going to have to cut down that tree it's good for nothing.
But that's not the end of the story of the tree.
Now as you have probably guessed the tree took little notice of the man, but the tree did notice the graciousness and abundant provision of God, the Father. That tree continued determinedly to draw water from the ground and to gain sympathy and warmth from the sun.
In the late fall, that tree produced crisp, red, delicious apples.
In Mark's Gospel 14:52 a young man fled away from the soldiers as they come to take Jesus. The verse says he fled away without his clothes. He was so afraid.
Later in Acts 13 The young man fails again as he can't stand the rigors of the mission journey and he gives up. The apostle Paul has a hard time forgiving John Mark for that failure.
But like the apple tree, in 2 Timothy 4 Paul commends this same man, no longer young for being one of his best friends and one he wants with him at his death.
Some of us see Christians with their early pink blossoms of happiness and think they should stay that way forever. Or we see nut sized green apples of bitterness in their lives and we're sure they will never bear the fruit of Joy. Could it be that we forget some of the best fruit is still to come?
-Tucker
OK, I guess it it time.
I'm one of those guys who wanted to be the perfect dad, the perfect husband, the perfect Christian and though I tried with all of my heart I failed miserably at all three.
I am so thankful for God's Amazing power to forgive and forget and I want to honor Him with the life that He is slowly putting back together.
When we enter into His presence we, like Isaiah , find that we are unclean and unworthy for anything from God and we dwell with people who are unclean and unworthy. Here is a modern parable that God has vgiven me.
A certain man bought a house and in the back yard was a tree. It was wintertime and there was nothing special about the tree, just an ordinary tree.
Then Spring came and lovely pink buds appeared on the tree. The man thought to himself, "Great, I have a blossoming flower tree in my back yard and I will watch it all summer long." But A heavy wind came and blew all the blossoms all over the place. The man thought, "What a terrible tree!"
But that's not the end of the story of the tree.
The spring winds blew the blossoms away and summer passed, and one day the owner of that house looked out the back door and noticed large growths on that tree, about the size of a large nut. They were green. He said, "What is this?" and he went out, took one off the tree and took a bite of it, and said,"Yuck! What a horrible and bitter flavor!" He threw it away and said to himself, I'm going to have to cut down that tree it's good for nothing.
But that's not the end of the story of the tree.
Now as you have probably guessed the tree took little notice of the man, but the tree did notice the graciousness and abundant provision of God, the Father. That tree continued determinedly to draw water from the ground and to gain sympathy and warmth from the sun.
In the late fall, that tree produced crisp, red, delicious apples.
In Mark's Gospel 14:52 a young man fled away from the soldiers as they come to take Jesus. The verse says he fled away without his clothes. He was so afraid.
Later in Acts 13 The young man fails again as he can't stand the rigors of the mission journey and he gives up. The apostle Paul has a hard time forgiving John Mark for that failure.
But like the apple tree, in 2 Timothy 4 Paul commends this same man, no longer young for being one of his best friends and one he wants with him at his death.
Some of us see Christians with their early pink blossoms of happiness and think they should stay that way forever. Or we see nut sized green apples of bitterness in their lives and we're sure they will never bear the fruit of Joy. Could it be that we forget some of the best fruit is still to come?
-Tucker
