Planting and Watering

Posted on by korgrocker

“For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”
1 Corinthians 3:4-6 NIVUK

Paul planted the seed of the Gospel, the Message about Christ, in the hearts of the Corinthians believers. But not just in Corinth. Paul journeyed around the Middle East planting seeds in places like Ephesus, Galatia, Malta, Pamphylia, Antioch, and others, and in the process, Christianity spread eventually around the whole world, propagated by missionaries and ordinary people telling others about Jesus, many sent out by churches established by Paul. The heart of the Gospel is in the first two letters – “Go” – just as Jesus commanded in His last words on this earth in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. We pilgrims, too, tell people about Jesus, people in our generation who are heading for a lost eternity. The Gospel is unstoppable, just as God’s love and grace are unstoppable. And of course, we remember that although the “seed” that we plant in people’s hearts is precious, it is not in short supply. The Gospel will never be rationed, but one day it will produce its final harvest when Jesus returns.

Jesus told a well-known parable about seed, and Bible translators call it the Parable of the Sower, but perhaps it should really be called the Parable of the Soils. This was a parable where Jesus helpfully explained what it meant to His disciples. The gist of the story is that the Farmer broadcast his seeds at random, leading to different results according to the ground where the seeds fell. The seed fell on the footpath, rocky soil, amongst weeds, and finally good soil. The seed that fell on the footpath failed to germinate, indicating that those who heard the message failed to understand what it meant, and the seed soon disappeared, snatched away by the devil. The seed that found itself amongst poor quality soil soon sprang up, but the soil was unable to sustain it because the roots could not grow. The problems of being a believer soon ensured that no fruit resulted because, although the person accepted and even believed the Message, their roots in the faith were insufficient to see them through. They started the journey on the narrow way, but soon decided that this wasn’t for them. The seed that found itself amongst the weeds and thorns found that although they were growing roots, the worldliness around them became a greater lure, and they too abandoned the narrow way that leads to Glory, and instead returned to their old ways. The Covid lockdown exposed many believers who found other things to do on a Sunday, and they ended up abandoning their faith, the golf course proving to be a better lure for a Sunday than a pew in their local church. The final type of soil was called good soil, and Jesus said, “The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (Matthew 19:23).  

So Paul planted the seed of the Gospel in the hearts of the Corinthian believers, but before it could produce any fruit, it had to grow. How does that happen? In a natural environment, a seed grows using nutrients coming from the soil and the environment around it, always assisted by water, and it grows to produce fruit, such as wheat or barley. The analogy continues into the spiritual world, because the seed must grow to produce fruit in the lives of believers. Although it is possible for a believer to find their own source of sustenance, reading the Word and praying, it is always helpful to receive the nutrition of the preaching of the Word and the fellowship with other Christians. And that is what Apollos did. We know that he was an eloquent preacher from Acts 18:24-25a, “Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. … “. In other words, Apollos was good at spiritual husbandry, and “watered” the church in Corinth with his preaching of the Word “to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word”, (Ephesians 5:26). 

But we note that neither Paul nor Apollos were able to produce growth in the Corinthian Christians. Only God could do that. Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”. Of course, if the seed remained a seed, then there would be no fruit. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives” ( John 12:24). I once knew a man who accepted the Gospel and prayed the sinner’s prayer. But he thought that now he was a Christian, he needed to do no more, and he continued his life as it always had been. That is not God’s way, because He wants us to become more like Jesus. 

So we pilgrims are like seeds planted in good soil. The growth process may be slow. We may get discouraged and despondent sometimes, because the going can be tough. But nevertheless, we allow the Holy Spirit to grow us, step by step. We remember what Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). James wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2-4). And like Paul, each of us says, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us”  (Philippians 3:12-14). Three Scriptures that remind us that life for a believer will be hard sometimes, but we look ahead, allowing God to “water” us day by day, with deep thanks that we were a “seed” once but now growing up and producing the fruit of our salvation.

Dear Father God. You and You alone are the One we worship, and we thank You for caring so much about us as we walk on towards the goal of receiving the Heavenly prize to which we have been called. Amen.

Wait Patiently

Posted on by korgrocker

“Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”
Psalm 27:13-14 NLT

We will have a last look at Psalm 27 before we move on. In the last verse of this Psalm, David advised the singers and readers to “wait patiently”. God’s timing is not always as we would wish but it is always perfect, so David included with “patience” the necessity to “be brave and courageous”. There are many times in life when we believers have to be so. 

There is always a tendency to get ahead of the Lord. King Saul and his men were facing into a Philistine army of impressive proportions. Many of the Israelite soldiers were running away. We pick up the story in 1 Samuel 13:6-7, “The men of Israel saw what a tight spot they were in; and because they were hard pressed by the enemy, they tried to hide in caves, thickets, rocks, holes, and cisterns. Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped into the land of Gad and Gilead. Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear“. Samuel was going to join Saul at Gilgal, to offer the usual sacrifices, but Saul failed to “wait patiently” and took it upon himself to sacrifice the burnt offering, a sin of huge implications because that was a priest’s responsibility. But, “Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him” (1 Samuel 13:10). Saul made loads of excuses for making the sacrifice instead of Samuel, but had to suffer the consequences of his impetuous behaviour, ““How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command”” (1 Samuel 13:13-14). 

In another Psalm, David wrote, “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes” (Psalm 37:7). Certainly David had to wait many years between his anointing as king-elect and his coronation as King, a time involving a lot of patience, but also a need to be “brave and courageous”, as Saul attempted to have him killed. There is a poignant start to Psalm 40, which reads, “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord”(Psalm 40:1-3). David certainly knew all about the virtue of being patient in his life. There was a time in David’s pre-king days when he was in the wilderness accompanied by a small army of men who had defected from a life under King Saul. He was living in a city called Ziklag but while he and his men were away, the Amalekites attacked his city and destroyed it, taking all of value away with them, including the women and children. But instead of rushing off after the raiders, we find that he waited even though the situation was difficult. 1 Samuel 30:6, “David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God“. Before he took any further action David asked the Lord about what he should do, and by waiting until he had a green light he succeeded in recovering all the wives, children and property that had been stolen. A fascinating story that started with a conversation between David and his Lord.

Patience is one of the examples of the fruit of the Spirit, as Paul wrote in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Nine flavours of a fruit that grows within us as we journey through life. Patience develops in believers as they learn to trust the Lord in their daily lives. They don’t rush on impetuously, or respond without thinking, because they learn, often the hard way, to stop and think and wait. And that involves patience. The writer to the Hebrews followed the great chapter about faith with this, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). Other translations use the words perseverance and endurance instead of patience, all building a picture of waiting and seeking the Lord before making any significant decisions, no matter how big or small. James started his epistle with, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow“. We pilgrims believe in the Lord who supplies all that we need, when we need it. In life there are many adverse situations that develop around us, but we wait patiently for the Lord to act in them, obediently deciding against choosing a wrong path.

How do we learn the patience we need? Through prayer and power. Colossians 1:11, “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. …”. James wrote to the believers “scattered abroad”, “Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near” (James 5:7-8). And that, in the end, is why we’re patient. In the context of eternity our natural lives are but a moment; surely we can learn patience just for such a brief time. Can’t we?

Dear Lord Jesus, we pray for more power and patience in our lives, as we look forward to Your return to this planet. There will be many situations to be patient though in our lives, but we know that You will help us in each one of them. Thank You. Amen.

Filled With Joy

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.”
John 17:13-19 NLT

There is something about the Words of Jesus that fills us with joy. But as we look around us in our societies and see issues such as drug abuse, alcoholism, mental ill-health, physical problems, despair and more, all symptoms of a people without hope, we see a people who are looking for a remedy to their pain. These are all people who have a lack of joy, because they have either never heard the words of Jesus, or have heard them and discarded them as being irrelevant to them in their miserable lives, lives without joy, hope, and any definitive sense of purpose. Of course, in Jesus’ day there was no social budget to support a section of the population who fall into the hopeless and joyless category, but the pain was still there, and people flocked to hear Jesus’ Words, because they contained the message of hope and life eternal. 

Two disciples were walking to a place called Emmaus, and we can pick up the account in Luke 24. A Man, who the disciples later realised was Jesus, came up to them and asked them, “ … What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces” (Luke 24:17). Graphic details of two men in pain and grief, hope destroyed, joy taken away. They said, “We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago” (Luke 24:21). As they journeyed on towards Emmaus we then read what happened next. “Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). But the Words of Jesus had an amazing impact on them. We read, “They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”” (Luke 24:32). His Words restored their hope and joy.

Today, regardless of the pressures of living in democratic and capitalistic societies, we can still access the Words of Jesus and live a life of joy. Jesus’ Words are timeless and unaffected by circumstances because they sit high above any worldly and humanistic environment. But sometimes we may experience periods of a lack of joy, as our circumstances overpower us. Sometimes like David we cry out, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness” (Psalm 55:6-7). We take our eyes off our Creator God and instead focus on what is causing us so much pain. Sadly, joy and hope become lost in a sea of self-pity and misery. 

In John 15:10-11, we read Jesus’ Words, “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”‭‭ As we soak ourselves in the Words of Jesus, joy will become more resilient within us, as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts. A series of circumstances will help the fruit of joy to grow within us. The Apostle Paul, suffering and languishing in a Roman prison, wrote, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). When Paul and Silas were in Philippi they antagonised a certain section of the population and we read, “A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening” (Acts 16:22-25). That’s joy in action. There is a Christian man alive today called Nick Vujicic, who lacks arms and legs, a condition he has had since birth. One of his strap lines is, “I’ve got no arms and legs, what’s your problem“. He has no lack of joy in spite of his circumstances. And he is an inspiration to many people throughout the world.

Whatever we are facing into today we have a loving Heavenly Father who has a remedy that starts with the Words of Jesus. Those words will point us to a life of joy, but there is a problem. We have to read them first. 

Dear God. We need to read Your Word more so that we can benefit from all Your truths. Please open the Scriptures before us so that we can know and understand, and live a life of joy. Amen.

Much Fruit

Posted on by korgrocker

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 
When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
John 15:5, 8 NLT

It sounds so simple. We only have to stay wired into Jesus, remaining in Him, and He will remain in us. The problem is that we are human, and behave in ways that are not always Jesus-friendly. Paul wrote about this dilemma in Romans 7:21-23, where he wrote, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me”. He then went on to write in the following verse, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” But then we have the climax in Romans 7:25-8:2, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death“.

It is because of the power of the Holy Spirit within us that we are able to remain in Jesus, and have the potential to “produce much fruit”. But what is the fruit referred to by Jesus? We must turn to Galatians 5:22-23 to find out, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”‭‭ We notice that Paul referred to fruit, not fruits. We have one fruit with nine flavours, and the Holy Spirit grows each within us, in every passing day. 

Jesus also taught about fruit in His Sermon on the Mount, as we can read what He said in Matthew 7:15-20. He finished by saying, “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions“. Many years ago I attended a church business meeting, where the pastor’s remuneration was discussed. As a new Christian, I looked up to the people I had become acquainted with through the Sunday services, with their lofty prayers and knowledge of the Bible, their friendliness and gracious platitudes, but at the business meeting several of them behaved in ways I did not expect. They were angry, abusive, disagreeable and disrespectful. I was left disillusioned and it was only through a gracious and wise pastor that I continued my journey in the faith. Bad fruit? There’s a danger in behaving in that way, as Jesus said in Matthew 7:19, “So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire”.

But we all stumble and fall at times. Thankfully, God is gracious and kind and forgives all repentant sinners. He picks us up, dusts us down, and puts us back on the road to Glory. And the fruit continues to grow. 

Dear Patient and Loving Father. Through Jesus You know all our human frailties and help us in our times of need. Thank You. Amen.

Holy Roots

Posted on by korgrocker

“And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.”
Romans 11:16 NLT

Paul made a controversial statement in our verse today, which perhaps we could take issue with. Did he mean that the Jews could claim to be holy in God’s sight just because they had Abraham, or one of the other patriarchs, as their ancestor? To bring it up to date, just because I had Christian parents, does that mean my salvation in God is assured? But we can’t take this verse in isolation, because, as we find out later in this chapter in Romans, the link can be broken by personal choice.

Paul uses two analogies – branches and dough. Analogies that Jesus used as well. One of the well known, go-to, Scriptures about branches can be found in John 15. Jesus very clearly sets out a scenario based on a grape vine. Perhaps He was standing next to one as He taught His disciples. But we read in John 15:1-4, “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me”. Jesus portrayed Himself as the grapevine, a vibrant and vigorous bush that was deeply rooted into the soil and which sprouted many branches, from which the grapes were picked. The grapevine produced all the nourishment needed for the branches to survive and grow the fruit intended. But to the people of His day, they knew it was important that a branch was connected to the vine to maintain its life and health. But Jesus made it clear that if a branch doesn’t produce the fruit, His Father, portrayed as the Gardener, would remove it. It would be cut off and burned. And those branches that do produce fruit would find themselves pruned so that their fruit harvest gets even better. 

Some years ago, as the Charismatic renewal was flowing over the UK, I remember a conference speaker warning the Christians caught up in the excitement of the Holy Spirit visitation. He used the grapevine scenario to provide a picture of the branches producing lots of leaves, green and succulent. But there was no fruit. God, he said, wasn’t looking for leaves. It was fruit He was after. And branches producing no fruit would end up cut off and burnt. A warning, timely and relevant. Perhaps we can ask where so many of those Charismatics are today? Jesus gave another illustration through the parable of the wicked farmers, and He ends it with this verse, “I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit” (Matthew 21:43). 

Well, fellow pilgrims, how fruitful are we? What fruits are we producing? We mustn’t forget that there are good fruits and bad fruits, and, because of sin, the latter is more common. But we can read Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things“! This is the fruit that God is looking for, and, for most Christians, fruit takes a long time to grow. But as we allow the Holy Spirit to gently, but persuasively, work in our lives, fruit will grow. Our faithful Father loves us too much to allow otherwise.

Dear Heavenly Gardener. We pray for more of You in our lives, as we walk on in our journey to Glory. We know that we will encounter all sorts of obstacles but through them all, the encounters will help in growing and ripening our fruit. Please help us. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Roman Fruit

Posted on by korgrocker

“I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles.”
Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT

Paul was a worker. He laboured unceasingly in doing what God, through Jesus, had asked him to do, ever since that encounter on the Damascus Road. His desire was to disciple, to teach, to encourage, all to build up the Christians in Rome and see the spiritual fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit start to ripen and mature in their lives. Paul knew it was possible, because he had seen other Gentile Christians blossom in the light and presence of the Holy Spirit.

What spiritual fruit would Paul have expected to see? In several places in his letters, Paul takes on misdemeanours manifesting themselves in the local congregation. For example, in the Corinthian church Paul was concerned about disunity. We read in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose”. In the same church, sexual misconduct was also his concern. We read in 1 Corinthians 5:1, “I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother”. So there was probably some basic “spiritual fruit” potential at the back or Paul’s mind, dealing with issues that he had heard about on the early church grapevine.

The early Christian church everywhere suffered persecution, and Paul would have encouraged the Christians to respond in a way that amplified the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Gifts such as wisdom, helping them to deal with difficult situations. Or discernment, enabling them to change course perhaps in the face of societal difficulties. But they found out something about persecution that may be foreign to us Western pilgrims. It refines our faith and commitment. There are no half-hearted, lukewarm Christians around when persecution is present. 

So, on arrival in Rome, Paul would have immediately been able to put his spiritual finger on the issues of immaturity that perhaps were present in the Roman church, and he would have encouraged growth in those areas that needed his support and teaching. Also, if anyone knew how to live with persecution it was Paul. Paul’s work amongst the Christians in Rome would have been invaluable and life changing to those in the congregation.

Have we ever noticed our human tendencies to rationalise or fail to focus on the right issues? Where even our pastors teach one thing but, really, we need teaching or guidance on something else? That is where an apostolic visitation can sometimes help; an external prophetic voice is often able to put his or her finger on the important issues affecting a local church and bring a new perspective, turning the church, and all those within it, around and back on track. We pilgrims must always pray that we stay on the narrow path, and don’t get diverted into dead ends or, worse, back onto the broad way that leads to destruction. But we must also be thankful for the men and women of God, who He sends our way to help us grow, to bring us the spiritual fruit so beloved by Paul.

Dear Father God. You are so faithful. You lead us into green pastures as we follow our Heavenly Shepherd. We are so grateful. Amen.

The Real Greens

Posted on by korgrocker

“But the godly will flourish like palm trees 
and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. 
For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. 
They flourish in the courts of our God. 
Even in old age they will still produce fruit; 
they will remain vital and green. 
They will declare, “The Lord is just! 
He is my rock! 
There is no evil in him!””
‭Psalms‬ ‭92:12-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Are there any palm trees and cedars amongst my readers today? Godly people, flourishing and strong? The Psalmist is comparing the life of a Godly person to the growth and stature of Middle Eastern trees that exemplify life as it should be – fully functioning as designed. And he goes on to say that the godly person flourishes, living a life as designed, in God’s presence. Because it is from Him that their life comes from. There are no spiritual deserts in God’s presence, stunting and even eliminating growth. In God’s presence there is an unlimited supply of all the nutrients needed to maintain life, as He designed it. 

But the Psalmist goes on to say that the flourishing taking place is not just for the early part of life – the vitality of the person continues until they take their last breath. Producing the fruit of a Godly life. Across the road from me there is a Rowan Tree. It has faithfully produced berries and green leaves for nearly fifty years from when it was first planted. But sadly, it’s days are numbered because a split has emerged in its trunk and the wood inside has started to rot. It is grimly hanging on but it is no longer as vital and green as it once was. Is that how we will end our days? Rotten and bitter inside, no more fruit, grimly hanging onto life? The Psalmist’s view of senior citizens in God’s presence is one of a different person. There may be a few wrinkles. They may be a bit stiffer and less able. But still living a fruitful life, doing God’s work in these godless days. Still with a twinkled eye. Still allowing God’s spiritual nutrients to flow through verdant and vital veins. 

And the oldies finish these verses with a timeless statement about God‘s justice, righteousness and dependability. Such sentiments are the fruit of a life that doesn’t end but transitions into God’s presence, continuing to produce fruit. Continuing in a green vitality. Continuing with God forever. The real Greens. God’s Greens.