fruitful life | Kristi's Morning Devotional

November 6, 2020November 6, 2020

The Wings of a Dove

Several years ago I was sitting outside enjoying the beauty of a Big Sky Montana summer morning. It was a beautiful morning and I was dwarfed by the panoramic views from our yard; 360 degrees of unobstructed, bright blue sky filled with large white puffy clouds.

God’s creation is glorious!

I noticed, circling high above my head, a dark spec on this brilliant blue background. Getting lower with each circling pattern, it didn’t take long to identify this seeker in the sky as a crow. He finally descended to the ground, having spotted his morning’s meal from such a lofty perch. I couldn’t see what he was pecking at but no doubt, it was the carnage left from a coyote’s kill the night before.

I told our daughter, “Imagine how disgusting it would be to spend your life eating what something else had killed and left to rot in the field.”

By now you must be asking yourself “where is she going with this? I thought she was going to write a message. Oh, but I am.

Sometimes it takes a while to get through the introduction to the meat of the message but here it is. This crow reminded me of the raven in Genesis 8.

Noah and his family had been on the ark for over five months. The rain had stopped and the ark rested on the top of a mountain. No more floating! Noah waited a bit and then he sent out a raven, which the Bible says flew around until the waters dried up. Noah also sent out a dove “to see if the water had receded but the dove found no resting place” so it returned to the ark.

Why didn’t the raven come back too?

It had a ready food source. The bodies of the animals which had drown provided him an unlimited food supply. They also provided him with a place to rest. He could sit on their decaying bodies and didn’t need the trees to rest in. It didn’t bother him a bit, he was a scavanger.

The dove, on the other hand, needed life – green shoots and seeds to sustain its life so it returned to the ark. Noah waited seven days and sent the dove out again. It returned that evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf. Noah knew that life was returning to the earth. He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again. This time the dove didn’t return. Noah knew it had found a place to rest and food to sustain it.

I’m so glad that our Father uses a dove to symbolize the Holy Spirit and not the raven or the crow.

“So Jesus was baptized. As soon as he came up out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove. 17 A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him.” Matthew 3:16-17 ERV

A dove, bringing signs of life – how appropriate, a dove resting on the One who is the giver of life! The Holy Spirit has been sent to fill and empower each believer as a sign of our new life in Jesus Christ.

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 NLT

This wonderful life is a free gift from God. A life of sin is death (crow’s food) but our new life is a gift from God – abundant and free!

Our life produces fruit; love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith. The fruit of the Spirit (dove’s food) is fresh. We need to make sure there aren’t any ravens circling over our heads. The Holy Spirit desires to fill us with peace. Be full of abundant life!

“If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace.” Romans 8:6 ERV

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019

Producing Beauty

When we lived in Spokane we were only a few blocks from the Manitou Park. It was a beautiful, peaceful place. There was a large duck pond (which the kids ice skated on in winter), walking trails, the famed flower gardens, the orchid hot house, a Japanese garden, large shady trees and rock building that had been used to house animals in the early 1900’s when it was used as a zoo. The sloping hills made a great place to sled in the winter and the bike paths encouraged you to stay fit in the spring and fall.

Each time I went, I would marvel at the beauty of those gardens and of the dedication of the staff to keep it lovely and inviting at all times. Hundreds of manhours went in to the cultivation and care of the grounds.

I, on the other hand, am a fair weather gardener and grounds keeper. I do love working in my yard but I become reluctant in the hot days of summer. I was noticing yesterday how I’ve let the mesquite beans and hollyhock stalks and seed pods make a mess in my front courtyard. It needs attention but the answer I gave myself is “I’ll get too it one of these cool mornings, not right now”.

Life’s like that.

We see how we want to be; the person we desire to become, but if we aren’t diligent in pulling out the weeds, picking up the debris, tilling the soil and watering what we’ve planted it will fall into disrepair.

A little sprout of anger comes up and we don’t pull it out because we justify our right to be angry. Then the leaves of sarcasm fall and make a mess but we don’t rake them up because “everyone knows I was just kidding”. The trash of unforgiveness blows in and it’s over in the corner against the wall and we say I’ll get to it next time I’m on that side of the yard so we leave it to rot and decay. And then before we know it we look across the yard and it’s a mess – little white lies, impatience, selfishness, greed, and anxiety are all spoiling the beauty of our garden.

“Put out of your life these things also: anger, bad temper, bad feelings toward others, talk that hurts people, speaking against God, and dirty talk. ⁹Do not lie to each other. You have put out of your life your old ways. ¹⁰You have now become a new person and are always learning more about Christ. You are being made more like Christ. He is the One Who made you. ¹¹There is no difference in men in this new life. Greeks and Jews are the same. The man who has gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew and the one who has not are the same. There is no difference between nations. Men who are servants and those who are free are the same. Christ is everything. He is in all of us.” Colossians 3:8-11 NLV

Time to get the wheel barrow out and begin cleaning up the mess. It will take effort to get it all cleaned up. A rake, shovel, pruners, and some good old fashioned elbow grease and sweat will be the tools to use. But don’t despair, we’re not in this alone. Christ is in us and He has provided all we need to make our life a beautiful garden.

“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, ²³being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV

The “want to” and desire are up to us and once we make that decision the Holy Spirit steps in and empowers us to get the job done!

“If Christ is in you, your spirit lives because you are right with God, and yet your body is dead because of sin. ¹¹The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. If the same Holy Spirit lives in you, He will give life to your bodies in the same way.

¹²So then, Christian brothers, we are not to do what our sinful old selves want us to do. ¹³If you do what your sinful old selves want you to do, you will die in sin. But if, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you destroy those actions to which the body can be led, you will have life. ¹⁴All those who are led by the Holy Spirit are sons of God. ¹⁵You should not act like people who are owned by someone. They are always afraid. Instead, the Holy Spirit makes us His sons, and we can call to Him, “My Father.” Romans 8:10-12 NLV

Happy Gardening!!

August 3, 2018

No Crows Here

I noticed circling high above my head a dark spec on this brilliant blue background. Getting lower with each circling pattern, it didn’t take long to identify this seeker in the sky as a crow. He finally descended to the ground, having spotted his morning’s meal from such a lofty perch. I couldn’t see what he was pecking at but no doubt it was the carnage left from a coyote’s kill the night before.

I told our daughter, “Imagine how disgusting it would be to spend your life eating what something else had killed and left to rot in the field.”

By now you must be asking yourself “where is she going with this? I thought she was going to write a message. Oh, but I am. Sometimes it takes a while to get through the introduction to the meat of the message but here it is.

This crow reminded me of the raven on Noah’s ark.

“Forty days later Noah opened a window to send out a raven, but it kept flying around until the water had dried up. ⁸Noah wanted to find out if the water had gone down, and he sent out a dove. ⁹Deep water was still everywhere, and the dove could not find a place to land. So it flew back to the boat. Noah held out his hand and helped it back in.

¹⁰Seven days later Noah sent the dove out again. ¹¹It returned in the evening, holding in its beak a green leaf from an olive tree. Noah knew that the water was finally going down. ” Genesis 8:6-11 CEV

Noah and his family had been on the ark for over 5 months. The rain had stopped and the ark rested on the top of the mountain. No more floating! Noah waited a bit and then he sent out a raven, which the Bible says went to and from until the waters dried up. Noah also sent out a dove “to see if the water had receded but the dove found no resting place” so it returned to the ark.

Why didn’t the raven come back?

The raven had a ready food source. The bodies of the animals and the people who had drown provided him an unlimited food supply. They also provided him with a place to rest. He could sit on their decaying bodies and didn’t need the trees or the ground.

The dove on the other hand needed life – green shoots and seeds to sustain its life so it returned to the ark. Noah waited 7 days and sent the dove out again. It returned that evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf. Noah knew that life was returning to the earth. He waited another 7 days and sent the dove out again. This time the dove didn’t return so Noah knew it had found a place to rest and food to sustain it.

I’m so glad that Father God used a dove to symbolize the Holy Spirit and not the raven or the crow.

“So Jesus was baptized. As soon as he came up out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove. ¹⁷A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him.” Matthew 3:16-17

The Scriptures tell us that when John baptized Jesus that the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. A dove, bringing signs of life – a dove resting on the One who is the giver of life! That really blesses me. The Holy Spirit has been sent to infill and empower each believer as a sign of our new life in Jesus Christ. Jesus said he was the bread of life , living water and that the Holy Spirit would cause rivers of living water to flow from us.

Christ promises that we will have full and abundant lives when we are following him. He came to give us life and not just life, but life more abundantly.

“So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in^[a] the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me.” Galatians 2:20 ERV

This wonderful life is a free gift from God. The term “dirty, rotten sinner” is oh so true because a life of sin is death (crow’s food) but our new life is a gift from God – abundant and free!

“Sin pays off with death. But God’s gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 ERV

Our life is to be filled with fruit, life affirming attributes that the Holy Spirit brings; love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness and patience.

So I encourage you today to make sure there aren’t any ravens circling over your head. Be a vessel of life and let the “dove” descend and fill you with peace!

“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8:6

Further reading: (John 1:32-34; John 4:10-14; John 6:48; John 7:37-39; Luke 3:21-22; Mark 1:10-11 and Matthew 3:16-17)