Grow Up!

Life Source…

Willow: a tree or shrub of temperate climates that typically has narrow leaves, bears catkins or pussy willows and grows near water. Its branches yield osiers for basketry, and its wood has various uses. This tree or shrub has many uses but once you cut off the branch it will eventually dry and become brittle, weak and can be snapped in half easily. (Side note: Gods creation of this tree is awesome. I love willows there beautiful, the birds love them, and this is simple a metaphor / example).

My encouragement for you is that when you are following on a path with the Lord keep growing do not stay a ‘Baby Christian’. Be the willow tree planted by the stream of water for they flourish, produce shade, blockages from winds, and provides food and nourishment for birds. Mature Christians whom become nourished by God bring life to others when planted by the Lords stream, Gods word nurtures our souls growing us up to become better equipped to encourage and lift others up. Don’t stay in the ‘Baby’ stage of Christian Faith or become ‘Catkins / Pussy Willows’ from the willow tree that when you cut off the branch and place them in a vase on a shelf to look at they stay the same never changing, the branch becomes frail and dried up and does not properly maintain nourishment to keep growing, you need to keep the water flow so you can grow and produce life to others.

Grow up in God so you can be used to nurture others. Nestle in beside streams of water filled with life. Grow full of maturity and spread creating vines that are attaching to others building one another up, have deeply planted roots in the Lord so strong and true they never run dry you’re gaining nourishment from the Word of God to bring life, every time you activate the scriptures.

Remember pruning is okay, because some lessons on your journey may be something you need to learn along the way. Keeping you on the right track, God is a good God and He disciplines those he loves. The pruned branches may be convictions in your life that you need to step away from, use discretion to decipher what’s right and wrong and ask God to help you. Some ties will need to be cut off completely so that you will grow stronger your roots will dig in growing deeper and you’ll become fuller and more fruitful in the Kingdom of God. Don’t get whittled away for when a strong wind comes your roots aren’t planted deep enough that your uprooted and taken away by the wind, the enemy wants nothing more than for you to stay a ‘Baby Christian’ the less you know the better for him because then your easily defeated all the days of your life, we need to dig in to all God has for us so that we can grow up and keep the enemy where Jesus planted him.

John 15:1-8 NIV

“I am the vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself: it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. This is to my Fathers glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to being my disciples.”

Hebrews 5:12-14 NLT. You have been believers so long now that you should be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk because and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

James 1:22-25 NLT. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in the mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.