Shade Tree Wisdom 12/31/15

          As we are about to leave the old year and begin new, Moses’ plea to Jethro, his father-in-law, seems a fitting word for us to begin the new year. “And he said to him. If thy presence go not with us. carry us not hence.” Exodus 33,15 They are in the desert, Jethro knows the water holes and the best direction for travel, and Moses seeks direction. Good thinking for this leader, and so he does the right thing, he asks the one who knows the best route.

          That’s a good word for us as we begin new year, and the best advice is from our God in His Word. We best do it.

GPD 12/31/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/30/15

          We are but human, and so our knowledge is always limited. We do not know everything. But our Lord, Who is all-knowing, does. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are you ways, My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are Higher then the earth, So are My way higher Than your ways, and My thoughts than Your thoughts.” Isaiah 55,8.9.

          So our loving Father kindly assures us that He has everything under His control, and since He loves us as Hs children, we are safe. Surely a calming thought to come near year’s end, isn’t it?

GPD 12/30/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/29/15

          At Christmas 2015 “How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv’n So God imparts to human hearts. The blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming; But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, The dear Lord enters in.” LSB 361.3.

GPD 12/29/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/28/15

          When the wise men came to Jerusalem and alerted king Herod to the birth of a new king, Herod reacted like a mad man. “Then Herod, when he saw That he had been tricked By the wise men, Became furious, And he sent and killed All the male children In Bethlehem and In all that region who Were two years old.” Matthew 2,16

          So the birth of Jesus brought on the mass slaying of children up to the age of two. A major task of murder, leaving behind grieving parents. But Herod didn’t care because he was regarded by history as nearly insane.

          Such insanity goes on today, and the Church celebrates this day as ‘Holy Innocents” day to observe the day. And never forget such insanity.

GPD 12/28/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/27/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/27/15 And how does it continue, this Christmas story? Quite simply. “and Jesus increased In wisdom and in stature, And in favor With God and man.” Luke 2,52. Since His birth, He was also human, so he did what humans do, he grew, and the record said He increased in wisdom and in favor with both His Father, God, and man, His fellow human beings. GPD 12/27/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/26/15

          “And they went with haste, And found Mary and Joseph, And the Babe, Lying in a manger” Luke 2,16

          ”Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright, Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.” LSB 363,1

          Blessed Blessed.

GPD 12/26/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/25/15

          Christmas Day 2015 “And the angel said to thee,. Fear not, for behold’ I bring you good news Of great joy that will Be for all the people. For unto you is born this day, In the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ, the Lord.” Luke 2, 10.11.

          So to all, I wish you a most blessed Christmas.

GPD 12/25/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/24/15

          John, the forerunner of Christ, sees Him and cries out: “and he looked at Jesus As He walked by And said, ’Behold, The Lamb of God’ John 1,30 So John, who was born to be first, identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, born as a man to die in our stead, pay for our sins, and give us eternal life.

          The best possible message during these days of Advent.

GPD 12/24/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/22/15

          Oh, what blessing comes from the birth of this baby. Isaiah mentions the chief one when he tells: “Fear not, for I have Redeemed you; I have called you By name, You are mine” Isaiah 43,1

          So, in one simple half verse, Isaiah tells us whose we are. We belong to God, no doubt about that, hence we are His children, and because of this Babe whose birth we celebrate, we belong to God’s family, shriven. Safe and holy.

GPD 12/22/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/21/15

          A bit of real words of wisdom in this verse from Scripture. “Cease to hear Instruction, my son, And you will stray From the words Of knowledge” Proverbs 19,27.

          Such simple words, really. Still, especially in this age of ever-expanding knowledge, wise words.

          If you need to grow, you need to keep on learning. So, when we leave as a college graduate, we haven’t reached the end, we’ve just learned how to learn.

GPD 12/21/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/19/15

          This Psalm is simply loaded with deep comfort. Especially when we feel forgotten. “As far as the east is to the west, So for does He remove Our transgressions From us.” Psalm 103,12.

          The Psalmist had already told us that ‘He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.( v.10). It is wonderfully comforting to remember in those moments when we lie there sleepless and worried about our lives.

GPD 12/19/15

Shade Tree Wisdom (2) 12/16/15

          Luther’s evening prayer:
               I thank You, my heavenly Father,
               through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son,
               that You have graciously kept me this day;
               and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins 
               where I have done wrong,
               and graciously keep me this night.
               For into Your hands I commend myself, 
               my body and soul and all things.
               Let Your holy angel be with me.
              That the evil foe may have no power over me.
              Amen

GPD 12/16/15

ShadeTree Wisdom (1) 12/16/15

          Luther’s morning prayer:
               I thank you, my heavenly Father,
               through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that you
               have kept me this night from all harm and danger.
               And I pray that You would keep me this day 
               also from sin and from every evil.
               That all my doings and life would please You.
               For into Your hands I commend myself 
               my body and soul, and all things.
               Let Your holy angels be with me,
               that the evil foe may have no power over me,
               Amen.

GPS 12/16/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/15/15

          Sometimes we get the feeling, ‘why, it’s good to be here’.

          That’s the kind of feeling our Lord evokes with this Psalm. He says: “For a day in Your Courts is better than A thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a Doorkeeper in the house Of My God, than dwell In the tents of wickedness.” Psalm 84,10

          Here the psalmist is making a choice. A doorkeeper was a lowly position. It’s maybe like a child embarrassed because his mom is a cleaning lady, or some such. Like some of us not going to church because it’s not built of brick.

          In sum, the best possible place I could be is in ‘the house of My God’, learning more about Jesus, My Savior.

GPD 12/15/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/14/15

          Just what are we so afraid of? As children maybe the school yard bully. Then come the teen years and all that brings their own set of problems, marriage, the workplace, all have their set of different fears and doubts. For all which the bible offers us such verses as these: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire beside you. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart. And my portion forever.” Psalm 73,25.26

          So there is the truth of it, believe it, live by it, and fear less.

GPD 12/14/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/13/15

          During the early morning hours we had a power outage, just for a moment, you have experienced them. But it affected the computer, and I needed to restart mine, Easy, just push a button and the computer does the rest, Takes a few moments, and then we’re back in business.

          But here is a promise it will never happen here. “Oh give thanks to the Lord, For He is good, For His steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 107,1

          Yes , God’s promise is always sure. My Word is Truth. So Count on it, always.

GPD 12/13/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/12/15

          This is a verse from the Proverbs that has often been a puzzle for me. How does it strike you? “A wise man’s heart Inclines him to The right, but A fool’s heart To the left. Proverbs l0,2.

          How does that strike you? Is your first thought political? If so, why?

          Is it maybe because we live in a land where right now our thoughts are very much on the political scene, or is it because we seem inclined to feel a bit above the whole business?

          Think about the verse. Why does God include the thought at all?

GPD 12/12/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/11/15

          Here is some wise counsel for the gift-giving days just ahead, from the best possible source, God Himself. “Give me neither poverty Nor riches, feed me with the Food that is needful For me, lest I be full And deny You and Say, “who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name Of my God”. Proverbs 30, 8.9

          Here, in a few well chosen words ,we face the real danger of either too much or too little, and what that would mean in our days of celebration. Just enough, must always be the watchword for us.

GPD 12/11/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/10/15

          The best advice for your life, or any life, is from God Himself. He placed it into the very center of the Bible, and it is this: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” Psalm 118,8. 

          Really. We show how smart we are when we take Him at His Word and follow it as well as we are able. For when we do that, we are using the very best, and by doing so our lives will be enriched and blessed. Rest assured of that.

GPD 12/10/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/9/15

          In his letter to the Church at Rome, St. Paul give this bit of sage advice. “For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for us.” Romans 5,6

          So, he says this death by Jesus Christ came at just the right time, while we were still weak, needy sinners. It was then that St. Paul tells us He died.

          Right time indeed. For we were utterly helpless, sinners born that way. Wonderful news indeed.

GPD 12/9/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/8/15

          St. Paul is speaking to the church about God’s promises. They’ re not ‘ yes and no’, nothing wishy washy about them at all. No, he writes:

“All the promises

Of God find their

Yes in Him.”

2 Corinthians 1,20.

          I get warm feeling from those words. I ve got you in my care. I see what you’re up to, I love you and so make promises I will keep. That allows me to rest at ease, knowing God never fails.

GPD 12/8/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/5/15

          Here is one verse, among many others, that always brings ease to my soul. It is this:

“As far as the east

Is from the west, so

Far does He remove

Our transgression

From us.”

Psalm 103,12

          Elsewhere He speaks about drowning our sins in the depth of the sea, to remember them no more. It speaks about forgetting, and that is what we humans find hard to do. “I’ll forgive him, but I won’t forget.” is often what we say in our anger. Now think of that? Are we really forgiving if we don’t also forget, put it out of our mind altogether. 

          Now see how comforting it is to have the Lord assure us our sins are drowned in the depths of the sea. I’ll leave you with this thought.

GPD 12/5/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/4/15

          Psalm 119,105 speaks a sublime truth, Maybe you learned this somewhere along the line,. It’s one of God’s gems for us.

“Your Word is a

Lamp unto my feet,

And a light unto

My path.”

          Here is one Go’s eternal truths . I really don’t know a better way to describe the Word as I often stumble in the way. It’s a searchlight to show the blocks that lie along the way I must go.

GPD 12/4/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/3/15

          The very middle verse of our Bible speaks this truth for all ears to hear and follow:

“It is better to take

Refuge in the Lord,

Than to trust

In man.”

Psalm 118,8

          Now tell me, have we ever been given better advice than that? Really? To trust in God, the One who is ever trustworthy and true. What better truth can we learn and follow than this? Just try it. Better yet, do it.

GPD 12/3/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/2/15

          The very first verse of Psalm 25 so well expresses our need, a place to trust.

“To you, O Lord,, I

    Lift up soul;

O My God, in You I trust;

    Let me not be put

To shame.”

Psalm 25,1

          It seems to me this verse speaks a truth that I need to rely on, someone I simply trust fully and completely. Each of us has a need for such a reliable One, to trust so completely that we are perfectly at ease under His care. And that, my friend, surely is our God. Who promises and always, always keeps His promises to us.

GPD 12/2/15

          

Shade Tree Wisdom 12/1/15

          We enter the Advent season, a time the Church prepares for the coming of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Babe of Bethlehem. Isaiah had predicted His coming, remember his prophecy?

“The people who sat in

Darkness have seen

A great light; those who

Dwelt in deep darkness,

On them hath

The light shined.”

Isaiah 9,2

          The season of Advent is then a time in which this light grows brighter till the Christ is born. Advent is meant as a time the church prepares its heart again for this birth. It’s a wonderful time, if properly used by us.

GPD 12/1/15