Under The Oakes

For me, as a kid, watching the movie Twister, was terrifying, thankfully I’ve never lived in “Tornado Alley”… but the fear of this big powerful storm coming through, ripping almost everything from the ground was enough to make sure I wouldn’t watch that movie again. Now, as an adult, I LOVE that movie. I watch it anytime I see it on TV. There’s a scene late in the movie where Bill Paxton is trying to get himself ROOTED to something strong so as not to be carried away by the Twister. He has so many options of what to grab ahold of, & I won’t spoil the ending, but instead I will challenge you, what are you rooted in?

Let’s turn to Psalm 1 today. We’ll see this passage describe two types of people. A planted, rooted, person described in verses 1-3, & a drifting person described in verses 4-6. The reality is, no matter what our background/upbringing is or what our socioeconomic status is, we will fall into one of these two categories. We either are rooted in Christ & His Word, or we are drifting like the chaff on the threshing floor.

If you are rooted in Christ & His Word, then Psalm 1 says you delight to read God’s Word & you carry it through your day, thinking on it in all things! Do you delight in God’s Word? After you read His Word, does it accompany you through the day, or does it stay in your recliner where you read it? When thinking of devotions, is it, “I HAVE to read my bible today” or is it, “I GET to read my Bible today”? Do you bear fresh fruit like a tree planted by its water source?

Or maybe you find yourself better described in Psalm 1:4-6. Here it gives us this word picture of the chaff blowing away on the threshing floor. If this is foreign to you, I’ll try to concisely explain this. They would harvest the grain & they would take their grain & throw it up in the air allowing the wind to carry away the chaff, whereas the grain would settle back to the ground. You all know, life will send storms your way. We cannot escape the storms of life, but we can determine how we handle those storms. We can be rooted in God’s Word, where we bend, but don’t break, or we can be blown over by the storms of life & have no roots to hold on to in the storm.

If you are rooted in Christ, keep doing what you’re doing! Don’t give up in your spiritual walk, don’t be ignorant to the fact that there is an enemy out there who wants to see you turn away from God & will try to trip you up in all things.

If you are not settled in Christ, let me give you 3 quick things that have helped me in my walk with Christ:

• Read your Bible – Even if you don’t feel like it, because that’s when you need it most
• Get involved & stay active- Join a good, bible preaching, theologically sound church & surround yourselves with those who will point you TO Christ, not pull you AWAY from Christ.
• Pray – Prayer is often misunderstood as you giving your “grocery list” of needs to God & then getting along with your day. Prayer is so much more than that! Prayer is something we should do ALL.THE.TIME. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 reminds us to “Pray without ceasing”! Let that be your prayer life!

Lastly, I’ll give you this passage, James 4:8 reminds us that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us! How great to be reminded that the creator of the universe DESIRES to draw near to us! Pursue Him, honor Him, glorify Him, in ALL you do! Be blessed!