Digging in the Dirt

~~~ Deuteronomy 30:15-20 ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 9:22-25 ~~~

If you are to choose life...if you are to follow Jesus...

you must also take up your cross.

Choosing life may even mean digging into the dirt;

 searching for the smallest sign of life.

Have you ever been digging

 in the soil only to find a long wiggly earthworm?

Choosing life is not always about being green and growing.

Choosing life can get down right dirty and smelly.

Today I have set before you

life and prosperity, death and doom.

The truth about life is that we often 

do not realize it is happening.

For Jesus, choosing life meant carrying the cross

 plus having every kind of torture imposed upon him.

We have the tendency to run away from our crosses

 under the belief that they do not lead to life.

The truth is each of your crosses has the potential to give you life.

Our crosses are much like a geode.

It is only when you crack it open

 are you able to see what is locked inside.

Without the cross what would the Resurrection be?

The trials and tribulations you experience in your lifetime

are creating amazing beauty within your soul.

It is in your times of anguish that real life is possible...

but it is up to you to choose this life.

You have the choice to see them as 'life' or to view

 them as utter destruction.

If, however, you turn away your hearts

 and will not listen...

You must die with Christ in order to take part in his life.

God does not force you to choose life,

he offers it to you every day.

Lent is the perfect time to look upon the dry parched world

believing that underneath it there is life to behold.

Trust in the Lord to give you the courage 

to 'choose life' even in the darkest of times.

There is a special Blessing waiting for you today...

look for it...choose it...claim it for your own.

~~~Peace~~~