THE ICY GNARLY ELM
Winter is established here in the woods. Only evergreens provide a dash of color against the white backdrop of land and sky. Snow covers crooked, gnarly branches of maple, beech and elm.
"Come now, let us reason together,"
says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow."
Isaiah 1:18a
The poem is about an old woman who has weathered a few winters. She stands alone, beyond youth. Her time is ending, as all times do on earth.
Just as man is
destined to die once,
and after that to face
judgment.
Hebrews 9:27
and
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a
Did you know that 'God inhabits eternity'?
For thus saith the high and lofty One
that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is Holy;
I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Isaiah 57:15 (KJV)
Penitent means "feeling or showing sorrow for having sinned or done wrong."
Humble involves "the virtue of humility", "the quality of being without pride" or voluntary self-abasement.
Repent means to feel sorry for your sin and turn from your wicked ways.
It's good to know what these words mean because this is who God will revive and dwell with.
And all who do not repent will die. Spiritually. In addition to physically. Don’t let this happen to you. Jesus paid the price by dying for our sins.
Lean not on your own understanding. Compared to eternity, we are but a small amount of time—a little section of string on a ball of everlasting string tossed out into all known space, still unraveling.
The exact center of the Bible is about trusting God:
It is better to trust
in the LORD
than to put confidence
in man.
Psalm 118:8
So Christ was sacrificed once
to take away the sins of many people;
and he will appear a second time,
not to bear sin,
but to bring salvation to those who
are waiting for him.
Hebrews 9:28
Trust the God of unspeakable and overwhelming JOY.
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