THE ORANGE LEAF

Gorgeously brilliant, a true, bright hue,

a one-of-a-kind, a marvelous view.

And there I see it beam in the sun,

the perfect orange leaf unlike any one.

Ongoing giver, the star of spring,

a dainty orange tree, a new life to bring.

And there I trace it, sent through the sky,

the free swirling seed that came from up high.

Delicate showcase, the crown of fall,

an emblem of change, the best of them all.

And there I catch it, crisp in the air,

the Maple Tree’s Gift that none can compare!

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:

No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:6

 

 

THE ORANGE LEAF

Brisk air brings Autumn while maple trees change into vibrant color. Kids jump into piles of raked leaves with joy. Some try to catch a leaf as it swirls down from a tree. Maybe a special orange leaf will be placed in pages of a book to be preserved.

In John 14:6, words are written that are either truth or foolery.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:

No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:6

The words are truth! Everyone must decide their answer to this claim made by Jesus. I hope you choose truth, too. I hope you know that His statement about Himself is true.

And now, continuing with this year's word, which is 'repent', let us consider the life of King Manasseh. In 2 Chronicles 33:1-20, we read about this evil king of Judah and the sins he committed. He supported the abominations of the people the LORD had driven out before the Israelites came into possession of the land. He rebuilt the evil high places that his father Hezekiah had taken down and he raised altars for Baals and set up Asherah poles.

Also he caused his sons to pass through fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

2 Chronicles 33:6

This horrible king who was also a father sacrificed his own sons! Also, he used sorcery and consulted mediums and spiritists! This wayward king led Judah astray and God grew angry because of it. God was provoked to anger! To understand even better, one should read the Bible and see how God had commanded the people not to be involved in these practices. Do you think consulting mediums is any less of an evil to God today? What was evil in the eyes of the LORD then is still evil in His eyes today.

Then, when the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, they wouldn't pay attention. They ignored God. So, scripture tells us that the LORD brought an army against them. Manasseh was taken prisoner, bound in bronze shackles. In his distress, Manasseh sought favor with the LORD and humbled himself greatly.

Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

2 Chronicles 33:12-13

What does 'humbling yourself greatly' look like? Did Manasseh realize his terrible wrong? Did he drastically understand his plight apart from God and that he had angered God? Did he earnestly pray about his hopeless condition? Did he plead? Did he cry out? Yes! He poured himself out in prayer, I'm sure.

God received Manasseh's supplication, his entreaty. God restored Manasseh and gave the pleading king his kingdom. Manasseh's change of heart caused him to clean up. The king made the people do right and obey God's commands, which were originally given years before. There was a history before this time. He threw out foreign gods and restored the altar. He sent the mediums packing. He stopped doing what God expressly had said not to do. Even after all the horrible sins Manasseh committed, God still was available to the king if he would be humble and repentant. One would have thought Manasseh learned from his father Hezekiah when he, too, needed to repent.

Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride in is heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

2 Chronicles 32:26

Fast forward to today. How is the spiritual health of the church you attend? Do people in the supposedly Christian fellowship fellowship? Do people in church pray believing? Do they pray only for the healing of the old and the sick, never praying for anything else? Does a choir member mark up his hymnal with the page numbers every time during opening prayer, when there is one? Is he demonstrating his apparent lack of need for God? Is formality more important in church than the word 'salvation'? Is 'business as usual' the norm? Has church become social religion, relying on works? Does anyone share their testimony about how Jesus saved them? Is the pulpit no longer guarded but used to promote agendas? Is the music guarded? Is a council member also a vendor selling crystals at the local psychic fair? Is there joy is wanting to share the Gospel? Does anyone understand scripture? Is there spiritual discernment? Let us clean up by truly seeking God through Jesus for our needs (which He already knows about!) before it is too late.

Or, find a church that does.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Matthew 4:17

Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.

Matthew 11:20

Apart from Christ, we can do nothing.

I hope you are enjoying the fall season thus far. We didn't have spectacular colors this year. No early frost. But in past year's we've seen the colors pop. The poem The Orange Leaf is all about Jesus, the Son of God. He's the answer to everything, the solution, the remedy for our sin problem. So, the best advice I can give here, from Veery Glade, is to do as He said: repent.