Hello my little friends. I have such good news for you today, though you might think it
strange at first that I refer to it as “good news”. I will explain this later. You know, God loves us so much, and He calls us affectionately by many names—“My sheep”, “My lambs”, “the Apple of My eye”, “Trees of Righteousness, the planting of the Lord”—Uh…what was that last name? Trees? Hm-m-mmm, Let’s read that portion of Scripture:
Isaiah 61:3 “… they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
So, if you are ones who love God and have Christ as your Savior, you are His ‘oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord’.
And, how is our Lord glorified in us? By His Works. By the wonderful things He does in us and through us. First, He rescues us from our Enemy—the devil. He takes us out of the devil’s kingdom with its deadly ways. Christ’s death on the Cross and the power in His blood makes us clean from sin, and He now calls us “righteous”. As the years pass, we can see the evidences of His work in us--those wonderful changes in our hearts. In fact, we are becoming more and more like Jesus. Little by little, through His power, we separate ourselves from sinful things that once controlled us. And, now, like trees, we are taking in Christ’s nutrients from the good soil in His kingdom and are growing strong. There are so many reasons why Jesus refers to us as His “trees” and “His plantings”. The most important reason is that, like trees, we are to bear fruit. And, this fruit with its seedlings is our faith in Him, and our faith is very precious to the Lord. For such fruit promises us a future with Him, so our Lord guards and protects the precious seed that is deep in our hearts. He has planted us, and He shields us from storms. As we grow, we become stronger and are able to stand against the strong winds and the fires that could destroy us. The trees of righteousness always depend on the Good Gardener Jesus to keep them healthy and strong. And, the trees are thankful. They praise the Lord for His loving-kindness. As they grow, they want to shield other saplings (baby trees) and share their fruits with the little animals that take refuge in their branches. And, all the while, Christ the Gardener is pruning and nourishing and watering His trees. Remember, think of yourself as one of these trees. He does all this for YOU. He nourishes you with His Spirit and protects the fruit of faith that is growing within you.
But, sometimes, our Lord works so secretly that we don’t realize He is still bringing good changes into our lives.
We forget that He is lovingly tending our faith. When we go through hard times, yes, some sad times, too, we get discouraged, and we start to doubt His love and care. Perhaps, we have problems with people, even our friends. We have problems at home. We struggle with school. We are often afraid. We get afraid of suffering. We get afraid of the hard things that come our way and act like storms that would hurt us. But, we must not doubt Christ’s love for us! Even if we don’t sense His presence, Jesus is always tending us and protecting the precious fruit—our faith.
God promises that His plantings, His little trees (US) that suffer through storms, that get scorched in fires--will come out healthier, bear much fruit, and bring Him glory.
He promises that we will have victory IN the storms, IN the fires. Can we have His Joy in times of sorrow? Can we have His Peace in times of storms? Yes! It is during those fearful times that, if we listen, we can hear Him speaking words of comfort and encouragement to our hearts. How? Through reading the Bible, through our parents, pastors, teachers, friends, songs of praise, even nature. Oh-h, God especially uses nature to teach us about trusting Him during times of difficulty. One of nature’s perfect examples happens to be a family of unusual pine trees. Within this family is a variety of trees, but they share an incredible trait: They produce special cones that survive fires and droughts.
Isa 58:11 "And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire IN SCORCHED places...”
(VERB) (NOUN)
Jer 17:7, 8 Blessed is the man who trusts IN the LORD And whose trust
IS the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.
For most pine trees, when their cones mature, they turn brown and open and drop their seeds. And, if a lightning storm causes a fire, hundreds of acres of pines and hardwoods can burn up along with their seeds because they are exposed to the fire. But, cones of certain pines remain closed at maturity. In fact, their cones can remain closed for years. These trees are called serotinous pines because their cones depend upon forest fires or intensely hot, dry weather to open them up and expose their seeds. You see, serotinous cones are covered with a resin that must be melted by intense heat for the cone to open and release its seeds. And, after the fire passes and while the cones are still hot, they begin to slowly open and expose the seeds within. And, the winds carry the seedlings away to safer ground where new trees can grow.
| Notice the split-apart, double-clustered needles indicative of all serotinous pines. These belong to the Jack pine. |
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Jack Pine Cone |
Photos: Thomas Waldrop |
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Usually, Jack Pine cones open in fire. The cones (bottom, right) were taken from an area that recently had a fire. Sometimes, intensely hot weather will achieve the same result. The cone on the right is from an area which has not had a forest fire for many, many years, but high temperatures caused it to open. |
| Jack Pine cones: Notice how the cones grow directly from the branch. Non-serotinous cones, like those of the Scots Pine, have short stems that attach them to the branch. (See the Ocala Sand Pine photo) |
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Ocala Sand pine is found almost exclusively in Florida and southern-most tip of Georgia. |
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Florida’s Ocala Sand Pine
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Most pines live in well-watered areas that have good soil, but serotinous trees grow in rocky ridges near dry, acidic soil that receives little rain. Now, these conditions prevent other plants from growing. The serotinous pine grows, literally, in a “dry and thirsty land”. Yet, miraculously, these trees grow healthy and produce seeds. And, they are not scarce; they are scattered thickly throughout their range. They reforest (make a new forest in) abandoned fields and burned areas. And, because they grow well in acidic soils, forestry workers have planted these pines on strip-mine banks and on severely eroded soil, so they will prevent flooding and further soil erosion. Since these trees survive most fires and storms, many animals take refuge in their branches and eat the exposed seeds. In fact, more than twenty endangered species of animals and birds find protection in these trees. It is true that too many fires or prolonged high-temperatures can kill the cones and seedlings, but this is rare. Forestry workers work hard to protect these trees because they are such a help to mankind. They give their lives for the good of all. In the Southeastern United States, most of these trees are used for fuel for heat and pulpwood for making of paper.
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Let’s review some of the things we’ve learned about the serotinous pine:
Serotinous Pines
- grow where no other trees will
- are hardy and prolific growers
- have a strong root system that breaks down rocky places and replaces nutrients in the soil
- endure dry conditions
- survive fires and intense heat
- prevent soil erosion
- cover stripped land that mining has destroyed
- give refuge to birds, rodents, and over twenty endangered animal species
- are used in paper-mulch and fuel
Conclusion:
Serotinous Pine trees are a testimony
of God’s PROTECTION, His PROVISION,
and His good PLANS for those He loves.
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How amazing that this family of pines can survive forest fires. Imagine! The Lord knows just the right temperature and precise amount of exposure to fire that these cones need to open up and release their seeds. If our Lord cares so much for the survival of these trees, do you think He just might care for you? Do you think He sees your sad times, your troubled heart, your ‘storms’ that come into your life? Jesus does not want us overburdened with worries and cares. He is always there to take on the things that weigh us down, those things that keep us discouraged. We must learn to lay them down. He does not mean for us to carry them. Does your heart seem too sad for too long a time? Do you sometimes feel like you are in a dry desert and you just don’t see any better things coming? Listen to what the Word of God says:
Isa 58:11 "And the LORD will continually guide you,
and satisfy your desire IN SCORCHED places...”
This means, He will meet your needs IN the dry times. The times when you are thirsty and there seems to be no water. He will make sure you stay well and strong in your heart. He will protect your spirit and guard the precious fruit (and seedlings) of your faith that He so carefully watches over within your hearts and spirits. You only have to trust Him and put your hope in Him. He doesn’t lie. HIS WORDS AND PROMISES ARE TRUE! If He said it, He will do it!
1Co 15:57 “…but thanks be to God, who gives us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jer 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for *WELFARE and not for calamity, TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE.”
*well-being for His people who are in need
[GOD has thought out and planned very carefully what good He will do in our lives.]
Jer 17:7, 8
(VERB) (NOUN)
"Blessed is the man who *trusts IN the LORD And whose trust IS the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit."
*TRUST: confidence IN and reliance ON someone; also, a trust (BANK) that guards and protects a person’s valuables: money, property, goods.
Let me share further about Jeremiah 17:7-8:
In 1929, in the time of your great or great-great grandparents, people all over the world, including the United States, learned that they could not TRUST banks. In three days, October 28-30, millions of people lost their savings and properties because many of the banks had speculated (illegally gambled public money or savings) on stocks that they thought would bring them great wealth, but the stocks suddenly fell in value and became worthless. People’s savings that took years to save up was suddenly gone in a few hours! Even worse, many bankers took what was left of other people’s money and skipped the country! For several years, people were afraid to put their money in the bank—even when laws were passed to protect people’s money. They still didn’t trust the bank or the bankers. Christ isn’t like that. He’s a TRUSTWORTHY banker. You can TRUST that He will PROTECT and PROVIDE for you when you are in the midst of a hard time. So, you might have wondered at the “good news” I spoke of in the beginning, but now you know that it is, indeed, good news. And, the good news is—we can trust the Lord at all times, especially in the hard times. He will protect even the precious fruit of our faith. Just as the serotinous cones protect their seedlings until the fire storm passes. Even so, Jesus won’t let the troubles we go through destroy our faith. Oh, no. He will guard our hearts. We must trust Him. He doesn’t lie. He doesn’t forget us or leave us to our pains and sorrows. He intends to bring us through to victory—not defeat. And, when the storms or fires have passed, we will shout the victory! And, He will rejoice with over us with His love.
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