30th. April. 2021. Daily Devotion.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3
When students graduate from high school in British Columbia, they receive a Dogwood Diploma, named after the province’s official flowering tree. Many of the local people also refer to graduating as “getting your Dogwood. It turns out that the diploma is referred to as a dogwood because those trees are in full bloom in the springtime when students graduate. Here the dogwood tree has become a type of metaphor for accomplishment and maturity.
The book of Psalms begins with a picture of accomplishment and maturity in the life of someone who seeks to live faithfully for God. And in this case, the person is compared to being a tree, not just receiving one!
The tree at the beginning of Psalms is an echo of the tree of life that we saw in the garden of Eden. Picture a strong tree with deep roots, well-watered and full of healthy fruit and leaves that don’t wither. This tree is pleasing to look at, and its fruit gives sustaining, delightful food. It provides shade and a home for birds and other creatures; it purifies the air and stabilizes the streambanks.
This image in Psalm 1 helps us to learn the way of wise living. If we walk in step with the Lord, we become the mature followers God created us all to be. When we voice our praises and sorrows, and when we draw attention to God’s beautiful creation and his way to full life forever, we are like a tree planted by streams of water.
~ Julia Prins Vanderveen.
Prayer
Lord, guide us to become everything you intend us to be. Make us fully alive and mature in Christ. Amen.
Prayer for the Morning
I call upon you, O Lord. In the morning you hear me; in the morning I offer you my prayer, watching and waiting.
I lift my heart to you, O Lord, to be strengthened for today. Be with me in all I do, my God; guide me in all my ways.
I will carry some burdens today; some trials will be mine. Thus I wait for your help, Lord, lest I stumble and fall.
I will do my work, Father, the work begun by your Son. He lives in me and I in him; may his work today be done. Amen.
To Love Others
Holy Lord, give me the grace to embody love for others in spite of what they say or do, and to express the sacrificial love of Jesus by treating others in the way Jesus treated me. My confidence is in You, and I will steadfastly hold fast to You rather than wringing my hands over the evils in this generation. Amen.
For the cold and homeless
God of compassion, your love for humanity was revealed in Jesus, whose earthly life began in the poverty of a stable and ended in the pain and isolation of the cross:
we hold before you those who are homeless and cold, especially in this bitter weather.
Draw near and comfort them in spirit and bless those who work to provide them
with shelter, food and friendship. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
