Typically after a seed is planted in the ground, there will be roots sprouting in all directions. Healthy, nourished roots produce the best results.

But if you have roots that have been damaged, left alone or over watered, you could end up with rotten roots. Rotten roots produce rotten fruit.

As it is with God; our roots are our foundation. Once you surrender your life to Christ, read His word and develop a relationship with Him, you’re rooted. Your roots go deep and take off. You keep your devotion to Christ healthy by keeping and maintaining healthy roots.

Don’t neglect your relationship with God. It’s easy to do if you’re not grounded in the Word (Bible). You get caught up in every day life; the demands of your job, your spouse, your family or friends. And before you know it, something starts to rotten.

Don’t let this happen to you. Stay strong, consistent in reading the Bible. Learn how to keep your roots healthy. Feed your life with the goodness of God.

Rotten roots produce rotten fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 - “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Fear can overwhelm you. Fear can consume your every thought. Fear can be real or imagined.

Fear is a choice. To be fearful of an angry dog growling and running toward you is a normal reaction.

The imagined kind of fear has spiritiual roots.

There are usually three voices causing your thoughts: God, yourself and satan.

God is watching over you, so don’t listen to your fears. Trust God, and don’t give into your fears.

Easier said than done, right?

I’ve found that when I fear something that I know is going to happen, I silently say, “God, I can’t do this on my own, but I know you can.”

I had a lot of fear in my earlier years, speaking in front of others. As studies show, speaking in Public is the #1 fear of most people.

But as I grew as a Christian, I learned to not put all the pressure on myself. I found that talking to God about it and letting Him take control, lessened my fears.

Your fears reveal when you do not trust God.

And most importantly, EXPECT God to start helping you learn to trust Him with each fear.

2 Corinthians 1:10 - “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”

If you’re a Christian, then you know what the Bible speaks of when it talks about the rapture.

Mark Hitchcock wrote this about the rapture:

“The rapture of the church is that future event when Jesus Christ will descend from Heaven to resurrect the bodies of departed believers and to transform and translate the bodies of living believers immediately into the glorious presence in a moment of time and then escort them to Heaven to live with Him forever.”

Knowing about the rapture brings us hope, for those who believe.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

Prophesy is synonymous with forecasting, foretelling the future. The Bible is full of prophesy. Preachers speak of prophesy all the time.

The prophetic words regarding the rapture is not to scare you into becoming a Christian. Rather, it is to prepare you for what happens next.

This world as we know it will end some day. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to know where my final resting place will be. I do know that Heaven is my future home. Will it be yours?

Don’t be scared about the future, be prepared for it.

Fear has a way of keeping us from stepping out of the box, having faith in our lives.

When you’re fearful to do something, you’re choosing fear over faith; you are afraid of trying something new. We tend to get skeptical, focusing on the past, not the future.

You may be afraid of saying something, something that is happening that you know is wrong. You don’t want to ‘rock the boat,’ because you’re afraid of what people may think of you.

God wants you to step out in faith in these circumstances, knowing and believing that He is in control. You do have a choice when you’re overcome with fear. Are you going to fall back on your fear and not move forward? Or, will you step out in faith?

God’s got so much for us, for our future. He’s looking for people who are willing to take a chance on God.

There’s potential in everyone. There’s potential in you.

Don’t let fear paralyze you.

Trust God to break down the fear factor.

Deuteronomy 31:6 - “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lordyour God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

The closer we get to God, the more aware we become of our disastrous sin in our life.

I am far from perfect. I sometimes find it hard to believe that God really loves me, especially when I make a bad choice or decision.

God loves imperfect people. His love for us is bigger than any mistake we could make.

God will discipline us to draw us back to Him.

There are no conditions on God’s love for us. There’s nothing we can do that would make Him love us more or less. His love is continual, consistent, and never waivers.

I’m probably not alone as I find myself being self-critical. Critical of the way I look, the way I view others, etc. But I have found that the more I intentionally think about God, the less my mind gets filled with criticism.

Let’s face it. None of us will find perfection in ourselves. I have many flaws but I try not to dwell on them. As I think on the goodness of God and how much He has already blessed me with, my imperfections seem to dim.

All God asks of any of us is to strive to be like Jesus. Give your time, your resources and your love to others.

None of us are perfect nor will we be on this earth, but anything is possible with God in our lives.

There are so-called gardening maps for the U.S., showing specific zones and when the best times of the year to plan certain vegetables or flowers.

Once you plant most things, you have to routinely water the plants so that they will grow. After a few weeks of nourishing the plants with water and sunshine, the plants begin to take root and blossom and grow.

So it is with God. Once you give your life to God and begin to read His word, and follow His lead, your life will begin to blossom, to take root. This deep rooted knowledge will stand all the forces against you when times get tough.

Psalm 1:1-3 - “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Sowing God’s word will grow us strong and keep us standing during adversity.

Every day of your life is an opportunity to start planting seeds. Once your roots are established, you can start sharing your harvest with others around you.

The harvest is ripe, my friends. Don’t miss God’s plans for you. Seek Him out whatever season of life you find yourself in and being your planting season.

A deadline involves verbalizing a specific commitment. Deadlines area a great motivational tool. Usually if someone asks me to do something, I’ll ask the timeframe of when they expect or want it completed.

Before any deadline is determined you should first pray about it. When we, by faith, set and pursue a particular deadline, it drives us to God. God is the one who will accomplish the task by using us to do it.

After all, nothing, absolutely nothing is impossible for God. After that deadline is met, thank God and tell others what God has done.

God created us to work. Whether you’re a pastor, construction worker, teacher or stay-at-home mom, work is rooted in God’s creation and it’s to reflect His glory.

Be careful though, about your work. Make sure you’re giving God the glory and not yourself.

God is your boss. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

The Bible teaches that there is a spiritual point of no return. There is a deadline. There is coming a day when Jesus will return and take His saints, His children home.

The deadline is approaching. Are you ready? Have you gave your life to Him?

Don’t miss the opportunity to give your whole life to Christ today.

The deadline is near.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 - “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:”

A testimony is “a formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law.”

Matthew 5:16 - “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.”

For most of my Christian life, I’ve always been worried about sharing my faith. I was scared that someone would ask me a question about the Bible and I wouldn’t be able to answer their question.

I’ve come a long way in my walk and relationship with God. God convicted me when I tried to hide behind my shyness.

I have discovered something wonderful in being a Christian and that is this: I have found that telling others my story (my testimony) gives God the glory, gives Him the praise and shows others how God has taken a broken girl and renewed her to a mission-driven Christian.

I hope that my story shows my humanness. I hope it shows how God used and still uses me when I thought I was unusable.

Without the trials and tests throughout the past 30 years, I wouldn’t have the testimony I have today.

I’ve shared my testimony in the mission fields of Peru, and will devote the rest of my life telling anyone who wants to listen, my story.

What’s your testimony? How’s God changed your life?