Have you ever known someone who wastes energy in fighting a fight that won’t be won? Or someone carrying a grudge which prevents them from experiencing the benefits of that relationship? well – yeah – and so sad but so common… and who are the people around them that suffer that tiptoe-ing ripple effect… yeah, wasted energy.

And how much more beneficial when we don’t put ourselves into that defensive mode and just either move on or move away from situations that drag us down rabbit holes of resentments? Stay away from gossips and fear mongers and all those other wasters of time. Notice how people come in and disrupt things and then they disappear when the money is gone or the challenge to build their fame is no longer interesting. Best to keep a lower profile and keep working – be the tortoise instead of the hare –  keep tilling the soil – be in it (life) for the long haul and the plentiful harvest. Desire the Farm over the Fame. The Righteous for God are in good company: “for the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.” 

Scripture says: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree…” , well I just saw LOTS of palm trees in Florida and some were flourishing in natural areas without people trimming and removing the leaves – or they were maintained to perfection high and mighty. The important thing to know about palm trees is their roots are very shallow but they stand so tall and seemingly sturdy – but like us, it is the grip of roots firmly into the soil which keep them from teetering over.  Trees have to withstand the strong storms, but we do have the ability to take refuge in God’s Hands: “But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.”

So how do WE keep from teetering over? realize who is Righting-us, Whose Righteousness is keeping us going. Not ours – and not our “I’m Right” fightedness. It is the Lord for the Lord’s purposes Who is shining His benefits our way. And not just the wicked will perish but the unimportant things of the day – the squabbles – the misunderstandings – the people who disrupt our world and then walk away.  Don’t let them steal your roots from His Soil. All is temporary anyway, except God. All changes, except God. All earthly things won’t make us any better in Heavenly terms, so get right with accepting and wanting His Righteousness over our own. Stay Green not in naivety but in child-like faith

And not all palm trees are coconut palms, just a few…  So, what is the productive thing about coconut palm trees (in addition to looking so nice like the other palms)? Bearing fruit…  The coconut is desired for it gives a highly nutritious power-packed fruit to eat. Many Many more coconuts (like 150 a year) will be produced than the trees that will sprout and grow from them…  Like acorns from an oak tree, averaging over 25 pounds per year of shared fruit, possibly 2000 acorns for a 100 year old tree in a good year, we too must be like these trees and bear good and plentiful fruit to have excess to give away as food and food for thought. “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, witness and experiencing: “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock…” The people who experience and respect His Righteousness are too busy producing good fruit than spending time showing off their leaves, because what are leaves for? Gathering the sun and nutrients and producing sugars to grow into fruits… God knows what you are doing for Him – keep doing it…   Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?  Does he who formed the eye not see?

In other words – don’t worry about showy people or fly by night and disappear people or whim-like people, and keep producing fruit, HIS fruit… Hold your roots onto His Rock and not in the unstable soil of distractors.  Be productive for Our Lord Gardener, Vinedresser, Father…  How Great are HIS Works!! Great enough to let you bear some of His fruit on you! 

Fruit over Folly. Forever. Stay Green my friends.

Amen

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Psalm 92 – A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High,  proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts! Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.

But you, Lord, are forever exalted. For surely your enemies, Lord, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured on me. My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

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Psalm 94

The Lord is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. They crush your people, Lord; they oppress your inheritance. They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless. They say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?  Does he who formed the eye not see?  Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge? The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile. Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law; you grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.  When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. Can a corrupt throne be allied with you – a throne that brings on misery by its decrees? The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them.