The Bible describes Jesus as a tender plant growing on hard , rocky , unproductive ground. Garden keepers know how difficult it is to work on a unfertile land . Unfriendly weather also affects plant growth. Hardly anything grows well during our hot, dry, blistering Indian summers. Only vegetation adapted to heat remains green and productive. The opposite is true for cold, snow bound places.
Jesus, God' s tender plant was meant to live in this harsh and hostile world.
"He came to his own and his own received him not" Gospel of John 1;11
Let me share with you some scenes from our winter garden and a page from from my devotions.
A Tender Plant
by Henry and Richard Blackaby ( Experiencing God Day by Day
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. Isaiah 53:2
The coming of Jesus was like a tender plant in the midst of a parched ground. Parched ground offers little hope for survival; it is dry and too hardened to allow most plants to penetrate its crust. Yet Jesus was prophesied as a tender plant that would break through the hostile soil and overcome the dry and lifeless environment in order to bring life.
When Jesus was born, His people were hardened to God’s Word. There is no written record of God’s having spoken to His people for four hundred years. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day had studied and memorized the Scriptures, but the words were lifeless to them. So hostile had they become to the truth that when God’s Son came to them, they killed Him. Nevertheless, despite the enmity of the people, Jesus brought life to all who believed in Him.
Jesus is capable of bringing life to any person, society, or culture no matter how hardened or hostile they have become to the gospel. Even the most calloused sinner will discover that Jesus knows how to penetrate the heart and bring life where there was only bitterness. The work of Jesus in a person’s life may seem fragile at first, but like the mustard seed, it will eventually grow into something strong.
As you pray for someone you care about, don’t be discouraged if this person has not responded to Jesus. Just as a tender plant finds a way to grow in a hard and unreceptive environment, so the love of Jesus has the ability to emerge in a life that seems completely unresponsive.
Tomorrow evening (Dec 6) we are having a Christmas Outreach programme for University students. It will be held at a College Chapel. More than 100 students are expected. I will be going too.
Please pray for a mighty work of God among the youth from all over India.
Jesus, God' s tender plant was meant to live in this harsh and hostile world.
"He came to his own and his own received him not" Gospel of John 1;11
Let me share with you some scenes from our winter garden and a page from from my devotions.
by Henry and Richard Blackaby ( Experiencing God Day by Day
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. Isaiah 53:2
The coming of Jesus was like a tender plant in the midst of a parched ground. Parched ground offers little hope for survival; it is dry and too hardened to allow most plants to penetrate its crust. Yet Jesus was prophesied as a tender plant that would break through the hostile soil and overcome the dry and lifeless environment in order to bring life.
When Jesus was born, His people were hardened to God’s Word. There is no written record of God’s having spoken to His people for four hundred years. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day had studied and memorized the Scriptures, but the words were lifeless to them. So hostile had they become to the truth that when God’s Son came to them, they killed Him. Nevertheless, despite the enmity of the people, Jesus brought life to all who believed in Him.
Jesus is capable of bringing life to any person, society, or culture no matter how hardened or hostile they have become to the gospel. Even the most calloused sinner will discover that Jesus knows how to penetrate the heart and bring life where there was only bitterness. The work of Jesus in a person’s life may seem fragile at first, but like the mustard seed, it will eventually grow into something strong.
As you pray for someone you care about, don’t be discouraged if this person has not responded to Jesus. Just as a tender plant finds a way to grow in a hard and unreceptive environment, so the love of Jesus has the ability to emerge in a life that seems completely unresponsive.
Tomorrow evening (Dec 6) we are having a Christmas Outreach programme for University students. It will be held at a College Chapel. More than 100 students are expected. I will be going too.
Please pray for a mighty work of God among the youth from all over India.
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