Jeremiah 17:7-8 ““But the person who trusts in the Lord will be blessed. The Lord will show him that he can be trusted. He will be strong, like a tree planted near water that sends its roots by a stream. It is not afraid when the days are hot; its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year when no rain comes; it always produces fruit.”
Sometimes it's fun to trace your family lineages to see where you come from. Maybe help you understand more of your character. For years, my mother-in-law spent her free time in the family tree hunt. She can trace back many generations of past family, where they came from, where they died, how their families unfolded and so forth. It can be interesting to learn the stories that led to your past of each branch.
For me, I have a Czechoslovakian heritage that traveled to Canada where my mom was born before she moved to the US and met my dad. I have enjoyed hearing stories from my grandmother and great aunts and uncles of life back in the ‘old country’. It is a part of my roots which partly makes up who I am.
It's interesting that this type of research is called a family tree. Because a tree has to begin from 1 trunk and as it grows it begins to branch out in many directions, many paths separate from the other branches yet still connected to the original trunk. No matter what direction of family goes in, how far they are branched off the trunk, they still have roots connected to the trunk.
Technology has made it easier, and they have come up with different ways to trace family history like 1 called Ancestry DNA. Through this technology you can give a sample of your DNA and it will trace your family lineages to the percentage of how much, let's say, German is in you down to the smallest percentage of what your ancestry derived from. So, you could be in essence 80% German, 5% Poland, 5% American, and so on, you get the idea. It also traces your relatives that match. This is interesting and I'd be curious as to what I am since my Grandfather on my dad side always said we were just Heinz 57, a little bit of everything.
Any way you look at it, it can be interesting to know where your roots began. Another term I've heard about roots and have used myself his family roots. When asked if a family would consider moving some would respond with no because our roots have been established. For instance, you could have been born in a city, raised there, met your spouse there, had your kids there and the cycle continues. It's hard to imagine being somewhere else when you've built your life in a certain area and those roots do go deep. Throughout our life no matter where we are, we begin to establish roots.
So, I looked at the word established, and this is the definition: set up on a firm or permanent basis.
Our family heritage is pretty permanent and as generations past, they get-well set-in place. After reading that I began to think about how this fits so perfectly in our Christian lives with Jesus in scripture. From our opening text we can already understand that when we keep scripture in our lives and learn more about Jesus, like a tree our roots will grow deeper in him and when the storms come, we won't be shaken because we are firmly planted in Jesus who protects us.
Colossians 2:6-7 “6 As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live in him. 7 Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always be thankful.” These verses spell it out in a simple straightforward way. Keep your roots deep in Jesus. Establish or set up on a firm or permanent basis in Jesus.
Why, because in John 15:5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing.” Jesus is our trunk our Vine and when we are branched from history we will prosper. Like the connection we have to our family heritage when we abide in Jesus, we become interconnected with him and with other Christians. God did not create us to be self-sufficient but to live connected to each other and God.
There is a key action in this verse though. That is to remain. Other words might be to abide, to stay, to live, to live in unison. To stay in Jesus, you will bear much fruit and once established with Him Jesus becomes so much a part of our daily lives that talking to Him would be like talking to your best friend. He becomes part of your home and lives in your heart as your family does.
Like Jeremiah said we need to be rooted in Jesus and there are a few ways we can do that.
1. Receive Jesus Christ -whether knew to Jesus or a long time believer take time to get to know Jesus and let him into your heart.
2. Learn to be instructed -be willing to continually study God's word and accept guidance and learn to listen to God's direction.
3. Have a grateful heart -when you live your life overflowing with gratitude, there is no room left for hatred, bitterness, anger, jealousy, or envy. Of course this doesn't come naturally but by living in faith.
4. Do not follow the way of the world -in all your choices ask, “is this step I'm taking in line with God's word in my life or is it focused on human gain?” where is God in this choice.
5. Keep good company -if you follow people who make poor choices and aren't interested in growing deep rooted faith you face a greater temptation to follow along. make good Christian friends who can help strengthen your walk with God and help guide you if need be.
6. Delight in God's law -know Gods word and gladly follow God's ways. the Bible is not a rulebook but guidelines to help us live a righteous life.
7. Meditate on scripture -we need to read and study the Bible allowing its words to soaked deeply into our souls. Reading scripture should become a daily routine essential to our life.
8. Trust in God -as our roots grow deeper and we grow in God in scripture our trust will grow. This comes over time from studying of God's faithfulness and your own experiences. But it does require surrendering your life and control and placing them in God's hands.
9. Do not fear when trials come -yes there will be trials, becoming a Christian doesn't make you exempt. But you have God's promised that he will be with you through them and will fight for you. Like I always say and believe that no matter what, ‘God's got this’.
10. Bear fruit for the Kingdom -our ultimate goal is to teach others of Jesus and show who he is to others. That comes by living out your faith, allow God to grow your talents by using them and help others progress to God's Kingdom.
Like learning more about your family lineage, tracing generations past and preserving your heritage establishing the family roots. No, you are part of God's family and you can establish your roots in Him and keep His heritage alive for generations to come. Satan seeks to destroy it all and end the family ties, but God has promised salvation for all who choose to follow Him and our heritage will never die in Jesus. Latch on to the Vine and stay connected daily and watch how Jesus will help you grow and bear much fruit.
For further study lets read John 15:6-17
To continue our studies through James let’s turn to James 2:1-13
The link will be in the comments below
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