Stump Removal

This morning I found my car covered in green pollen dust as I got ready to leave for work. Yuck, sneeze, cough, cough - it is that time of year. Spring has sprung. On my road I noticed the dogwood tree blooming. Beautiful! Further on down the road, I saw azalea buds beginning to pop out. I felt God nudge me and say, "Look at that" as He showed me underneath all the green pollen dust; there is much beauty to be found. How often do we see things as burdens in our lives that actually have to be there to bring about something good and beautiful if we just give it time? Yes, Lord, I am guilty of that one.

As I drove along listening to God, enjoying the view, I noticed a magnificent flower garden in the yard of a modest little house. All these vibrant colors of everything new seemed to be there. The garden truly looked like a picture from a gardening magazine. In the middle of all the new life in the flower garden was something that seemed completely out of place. A huge dead tree stump seemed to have pushed its way in and was trying to take center stage. However, I suspected the dead tree stump was there first, long before the beautiful flowers. Guess what the planter of the beautiful garden had done with the dead tree stump to try to make it fit in?  The stump was decorated with all colors of artificial flowers.

At first, I thought that it was kind of nice the way the ugly was covered with beauty until I felt God's touch as He began to speak to me again.

How many ugly dead things do we have in our lives that we allow to have center stage? Most of them have been around for quite a while. We make worthy attempts to cover them, but they are still there sticking out like a sore thumb or in this case a dead tree stump in the middle of a flower garden.  It would truly be better if the owner of the flower garden could have the dead stump completely removed. For no matter how many artificial flowers cover it, it is obviously still there for anyone to see who takes the time to look.

Sin is ugly and nasty and spoils the prettiest of pictures and lives. No matter how we attempt to cover it, it can still be seen, if not by others, certainly by God Himself.  All the artificial fixes and coverings this world has to offer will not cover it. Sin has to be completely removed. The only way for this to happen is by the blood of Jesus Christ who died for all of us on a cross. His blood not only covers, but cleanses hearts and removes sins. His Word tells us He casts them as far as the east is from the west.

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

If there is ugly sin in your life today, take a moment to listen to God who may be nudging you right now and saying, "Look at that!" The ugliness of sin is hiding all the beauty deep inside of you that He wants the world to see. Nothing you attempt to use to artificially cover it will do. You must allow Christ to remove it from your life.

It is simple.

Call His Name - "Jesus" who you know to be the Living Son of God who died on a tree for you.

Admit the sin. Ask Him to forgive you. Ask Christ to come into your heart and remove it.

He will do that and give you a brand new beginning, a brand new life.  Admit it. Quit it. Forget it.

No more dead stumps artificially covered in the middle of your garden.

For it is gone in the name of Jesus Christ.

And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.   ~ I John 3:5