Day 339: Take Care of the Planet

Genesis 1:26

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 2:15

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

Let’s talk about the Earth and how we treat it. This is a subject that’s not usually covered on the list of things to talk about in church or bible study, but it is very important. Preserving our planet and taking care of it is important. God gave us the responsibility to keep it.  He gave us dominion over the earth, let’s not neglect and make sure we take care of it. Because it is our home until we leave it one day to be reunited with Christ in heaven, but until then, we have a duty to take care of our home.

I’m not sure why it’s looked down upon to take care of the planet or care about the earth. When God created everything He had us in mind. So when He created us He gave us dominion over all the things of the earth. If being called a tree-hugger is what we have to endure because we want to take care of what God has blessed us with then so be it. I want to talk about this one because it is important and two because we tend to forget that even the earth is a gift from God. It is something He created and gave to us. Why are we not taking care of it? This land is our home. It is where we get our source of everything we need. God created man from the earth. The land we work is how we once got food, it is where we got our crops. This land holds the ingredients to sustain life. The trees provide oxygen, just as God intended. Our food comes from the earth. The waters hold fish that we can eat. The animals that walk the land is meant to be our food. I know the new thing and healthy choice right now is to be vegan and live a plant-based life, but if we do not take care of our planet even that will be impossible. Earth is our source of sustaining life while we are still here. It cannot do that if we suck it of all the life it has left.

There is so much we can do to eliminate the problems with our earth. The earth needs a little bit of love, now we may not be able to correct every problem with the planet but we can do our part to make sure that we keep it healthy. Things are not the same as they were back in the days of the bible but we can definitely take examples from how they lived and incorporate them in our lives today. We can do our parts to recycle, use natural products, reserve energy, making sure our water is not contaminated. There are so many countries, and states living with contaminated water. There are so many landfills fills with things that could be recycled. Our oceans are filled with trash and plastic, gallons and gallons of oil has been spilled in our waters contaminating the waters. Our animals are sick with diseases from farmers who only want to make a profit, therefore making the people sick. This is not what God intended for His people, for the earth He created. Over time things have become more about making a profit as opposed to actually sustaining and taking care of the planet, and that’s what’s destroying it. As the times change we must remember that God gave us dominion over the earth, and it is our job to take care of it. He trusted us with His masterpiece we shall not let it be destroyed.

All this to say, part of our lives as a Christ follower is to take care of what God has given us. To be responsible for the gifts He has blessed us with. Many times these gifts are more physical than we think. With that being said, the earth is a gift God has given us.

Reflection

1. Do you believe that we as Christ followers are responsible for taking care of the planet?
2. What is something you can do to make sure that you are doing your part to take care of the earth?

Prayer Time

Take the time to pray for our planet. Pray for all the disasters that have taken place around the world. Pray that we as a people will band together and take care of the planet God created and blessed us with. Take the time to pray for those in Libya as slave trade is still happening and for those in California who are affected by these fires.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 340!

Day 115: Bend but Don't Break

I’m from Los Angeles, California and one of my favorite things about being from LA is the Palm Trees. They are beautiful especially in the summer on a quiet street right at about sunset (Pictured to the left). Palm trees line almost all of the streets in LA, and you can find them even on the beaches, they are amazing. I’ve tried to climb them growing up, but we’re going to talk about that today. However, growing up, my mom would always tells us that palm trees bend all the way the ground but they never break.  I used to see palm trees in certain places that looked deformed because they had bent so much. Whenever we would have windy nights I would watch the trees outside my window, and they would be bending with the wind but they never fell. These trees are strong and beautiful.

Isaiah 54:17

No weapon formed against you shall prosper,And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,And their righteousness is from Me,”Says the Lord.

We are like those palm trees, God gives us strength to stand even when we are being pushed down. Even when the force of the storms or winds in our lives seem stronger than us. We are planted firm that we will not fall, and we have the strength of the Lord, so we will not break. Our spirits may be deformed but they are not broken, We have all been in places in our lives where we thought what we were going through was going to be the end. We thought there would be no coming back from this. It may be different for all of us, but one thing's for sure is that, when it rains it pours and the only way to get out of the storm is to go through it. These trees can stand through the worst of weather. The wind and water, palm trees can survive hurricanes and tsunamis, out of everything destroyed in a storm the one thing still standing is the palm tree. As the body of Christ, as Christ followers that is how we are. Out of everyone, we are the last ones standing. We cannot be moved by even the worst of weather.  

We would never know how strong we are if we never have to use our strength or how much faith we have if it is never tested. Sometimes we need to go through times when we’re bent out of shape, so that we can grow. God allows us to face struggles, He knows how much we can handle, but it is in those moments when we are fighting to stand strong, when we are learning and being pushed on all sides, that we learn to look to Christ. Sometimes we can even feel like we are being stretched past our limits, and we feel like we are going to break. We feel every part of our being ready to give up, or throw in the towel. Things get so hard, that we don’t know how to hold on anymore. But the beauty in all of it is, we do. We don’t break even though it feels like we’re going to, we don’t give up or give, we hold on, even if it takes all the strength we have. Because God made us strong enough to bend not break. Even in that weakness we find strength in Him. Like the palm tree the wind blows us from side to side, and we bend very far, but we never break. We never fall, because God is making sure that we are still standing.

It is said that palm trees fall over when the roots are weakened due to disease or improper planting. When we are not rooted properly the best of us will fall.

Matthew 13:3-6

And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

IF we are not deeply rooted in Christ it is easy to fall because there is nothing holding us down. It’s not the strength of the tree itself that keeps it standing, but the roots that hold it up and keeps it from falling. If there are no roots than it might as well be a tumbleweed heading in whatever direction the wind blows.

In 2 Corinthians 4:9, Paul says, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;”

These things come against us but we are not destroyed by it. We will go through some things in our lives, but we will not be destroyed by them. Isaiah 54:17  tells us that no weapon formed against us will prosper. It doesn’t mean that nothing will come against us, we are not invincible or untouchable. But because of who we serve because of our Father in heaven, it will not succeed in doing what it was intended to do. Our God is too great, too mighty, too magnificent.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Talk to God today about whatever is on your heart. Ask Him to make you like the palm tree that bends but doesn’t break. Allow Him to speak to you. Take this time to just talk with God, about whatever it is you need to bring to Him today. Remember that a prayer is just a conversation with God, talk to Him.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 116!