1-5 A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse’s stump,
from his roots a budding Branch.
The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him,
the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit that gives direction and builds strength,
the Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-God.
Fear-of-God
will be all his joy and delight.
He won’t judge by appearances,
won’t decide on the basis of hearsay.
He’ll judge the needy by what is right,
render decisions on earth’s poor with justice.
His words will bring everyone to awed attention.
A mere breath from his lips will topple the wicked.
Each morning he’ll pull on sturdy work clothes and boots,
and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land.
ABUNDANCE OF BLOOMS
We have had three Amaryllis plants growing through December. We bought the bulbs at Costco to use as a prayer prompt through the season of Advent to allow God to speak to us about what God is doing in our lives. The bulbs from Costco were sealed in wax and didn’t even require watering …they just grew and grew and blossomed in abundance! This was just the word I needed from Jesus this Advent season, UNEXPECTED ABUNDANCE! Each day when I saw the multiple blooms on the plants, I was reminded of the Abundant love and provision of Jesus.
Even after the plants have bloomed, I am learning from them. You might want to find an Amaryllis Bulb or another plant to use as a prayer prompt and allow Jesus to speak to you through its growth and change. Use these photos this weekend to help you process the year that is ending and prepare for the year ahead.
WHATS BEEN BLOOMING
What has been blooming in your life lately?
What things of beauty have you experienced this year?
Where have you experienced Abundance?
Take time to thank Jesus for these things.
WHAT NEEDS PRUNING?
What things have passed their prime? What things NEED PRUNING in your life? Ask Jesus to show you.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE LEFT BEHIND?
What things do you need to leave behind in the old year and not take with you into the NEW YEAR? Talk to Jesus about these things.
STAINS OF GROWTH
This has been another extremely hard year. The pain and grief have left their marks on all of us. And Pruning is painful. What things are you grieving? What things have left their mark and changed you?
How have you been imprinted by this year?
WHAT NEW GROWTH CAN YOU SEE?
After trimming the dead blossoms, a NEW ONE IS ALREADY GROWING!
What NEW GROWTH have you experienced this year? What NEW THINGS are you hoping for, expecting in the year ahead?
What does JESUS want to GROW IN YOU IN 2022? Spend some time talking to Him about this. You might want to color or create a collage considering the NEW GROWTH you’d like to see in the new year.
Remember that every plant and every person is different. One plant might grow faster than another… so don’t compare yourself with someone else …we get so caught up in this thanks to social media. Plants are NOT worrying about what the plant next to them is doing… they just grow and bloom where they are! God provides the water and the sunshine they need and God is providing for each of us in this crazy season.
How can you bloom where you are today? How is Jesus inviting you to bloom in your life? How can you let Jesus take care of the water and the sunshine of your growth in the New Year?
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,[a] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 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? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?[b] 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God[c] and his[d] righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. MATTHEW 6:25-34
“Mourning does not simply become dancing. It must be planted in the soil of hope and good counsel, watered with the tears of uncurbed grief and then harvested by choice to move my feet again.” Justin McRoberts
May we be planted in the soil of hope and good counsel this year and know that we can rest, rather than toil or spin, because Jesus is in control. AMEN
Join me next Thursday Night via zoom to help bring LIGHT to DARK places as we celebrate Epiphany and remember the anniversary of Jan 6th. Email freerangeworship@gmail.com for more information on EPIPHANY GATHERING and zoom link.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com