“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-7)
During a recent storm I saw something that I had never seen before: a tree fell down right in front of me. I had seen fallen trees in the aftermath of storms, but I had never witnessed the actual fall. It was not a section or a limb of the tree that broke off and fell, but the entire tree that toppled. After it came down the tree was horizontal and the roots, still intact, shot out of the ground vertically.
On several occasions the Bible compares good roots and good soil to a healthy spiritual life. This tree seemed to be a good strong tree with healthy roots and good soil — but it fell anyway. I later learned that although the soil was quite good, it had become overly moist through months of excess rain and snow. By the time the storm came, the soil was so soft that it could no longer support the tree during the stress of high winds. The soil was weakened prior to the storm, but it was not noticed until the wind blew.
Peter Haas is the Pastor of Substance Church. He once said in a sermon, “Spiritual death always has precursors and warnings.” The point he was making is that little, unseen things in our lives, while not evident to all, can undermine our faith. We have all been surprised by stories of Christians who have experienced some sort of moral failure. The failures seem sudden but a steady weakening of faith, usually unnoticeable to others, always precedes them. It is said that we are creatures of habit. We must work at nurturing habits that draw us closer to God, while eliminating those that weaken our faith.
The Prayer League is full of well-rooted, mission-minded Christians who work and pray together in a common effort to bring the gospel all around the world. God has blessed us with many God-honoring projects and services around the world. May he bless us all with “good roots,” too — so that we remain standing when the wind blows!
In May we were able to pay all of our missionaries 100 percent of their target allowance. We used $36,444 from the General Fund to meet these needs, leaving a General Fund balance of $49,647 at the end of May. Our Benefits Fund carried a balance of $66,328. Thank you for your on-going support!