01/02/25 GETTING RID OF THE DEAD WOOD

01/02/25 GETTING RID OF THE DEAD WOOD

We had eight trees in our our front yard that have been dead or dying for a few years. I was always concerned about branches or trees falling on our vehicles during times of high wind.

Yesterday I helped brother Wade drop five trees and then sort the limbs, branches and logs for someone who was going to clear my yard.

Today I helped the men load the logs and larger branches (which was cut into firewood) and watched as they dropped the three remaining trees, which they will cut up into fire wood and haul away tomorrow.

The trees no longer provided shade. They became unsightly, looking like the front yard to 1313 Mockingbird Lane. They presented a real danger. Removal was the solution to the problem.

We need to examine our lives to see what needs to be cut off and removed and carried away. This is true for sin, but also for other baggage (spiritual, physical, relational, cultural, political, desires, habits, amusements, fears, attachments, commitments, hopes).

We come to Jesus with a great deal of excesses, which He can, and from which He will deliver us. But as time goes by, God shows us other things that are unnecessary weights which hinder our spiritual life and our service to God. Sometimes it is removal of things that interfere with our walk with God, and sometimes it is healing from attitudes, which are robbing us of spiritual victory.

Don't cling to the dead, the corrupt, the burdensome, the dark, the obstacles, which will ruin your life. God provides salvation through faith to deliver you and make you more than a conqueror. God will cut it down, pull it out, wash it away, burn it and purify you heart and life. The longer it remains in your life, the more it will suck out of your life.