Aug 14 - Psalm 1:3

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season without fail.

Their leaves never wither,

and in all they do, they prosper.

Psalm 1:3

NLT

When I lived in New Mexico for many years, desert browns and juniper greens dominated the landscape.

Each October, however, a new color was added to the palette. Bright ribbons of cottonwood-yellow proudly announced the location of the valley’s rivers and streams.

These trees didn’t mean to disclose the location of the desert’s water, but they couldn’t help it. Only in the streambeds could a deciduous tree have a fighting chance in the dry soil, and their fall colors always disclosed the secret of living water.

That’s the simple analogy of Psalm 1. Much of Israel is like much of New Mexico; therefore, God’s people have always readily understood that it’s only in the streambeds that …

roots go deep,

fruit grows ripe, and

“leaves never wither.”

This Psalm invites you and me to be “like trees planted along the riverbank.” In fact, it tells us how to do this.

•      When we follow the path of righteousness – see verses 1 and 3 – scripture tells us that we will be happy, blessed, and fruitful.
•      When we follow, however, “the advice of the wicked” – see verses 1 and 4 – we will be “like chaff that the wind drives away.”

Which path are you following?

The path you choose will determine 1) where you wind up, 2) where you’ll be planted, and 3) what kind of fruit you’ll produce. Indeed, how many of us have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and with the wrong people ... and then been dumb enough to be surprised by the wrong results?!

I don’t know about you, but I want to produce strawberries of love, instead of the poison mushrooms of dissension. I want to grow the tangerines of joy, instead of the mold of anger. I want to nurture the grape vines of peace instead of the bacteria of wickedness.

But the choice is mine.

And the choice is yours.

Therefore, scripture repeatedly invites us to plant ourselves by streams of living water.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants a green thumb

instead of a gangrene heart

(see Gal 5:22-23 instead of Gal 5:19-21)