A budding stick

My kitchen window won't stay up. So I use a stick to prop it open. I got the stick from the yard a couple of years ago. LOL, I had to be fast because my landlord is diligent and he goes around and picks up all the dead sticks blown down from windstorms.

It's been cool lately and I've enjoyed being able to open my windows and have the breeze go through, rather than having to live in AC air. Yesterday as I raised up the window and grabbed the stick from the well of the sill, I noticed for the first time that the stick was budding.

I thought it was strange, because I've had the stick for a couple of years and it has always been dead. It was dead on the ground when I got it, it languished dead in the windowsill through winters, rains, and heat, and it was dead when I used it to prop up the window all this time. Here is a photo:

Looks like a dead stick, doesn't it? Well, it is!

But then a leaf grew!

Actually, two leaves are growing!
See?

So the stick is like us before we're saved. We are dead in our sins. We bear no fruit, we have no life. Sure, we are walking around and living and working and marrying and stuff, but we are dead sticks walking.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins," (Ephesians 2:1)

But when we are born again, we are first justified. This means being forgiven, we are now having a right relationship with God. It is a legal term of justice, the Judge giving a pardon. Then we are regenerated.

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses," (Colossians 2:13)

"...even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:5)

Regeneration means born again, a rebirth, having new life. The next step in His process is sanctification, which means the process of God molding us as His clay to become more Christlike in all we think, say, and do. Sanctification is a long process, a lifetime, and then an eternity. It is the process of living a holy life. We cannot do this apart from Jesus.  Justification is a one time event happening in one moment, the moment God forgives you of sins.

Regeneration is the glorious moment of new birth. Paul captures it in chapter Titus 3:5:

"he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,"

If God makes a dead stick bud, then He can make you bud too! Seek Jesus for forgiveness of sins, He will wash them away and renew you as His new creation in a holy rebirth and subsequent sanctifying growth that will last all your life, in this age and the eternal one to come.

Comments

  1. beautiful! thank you for blessing all of us with sharing this.

    Jesus Messiah, Lord of All...
    Todd

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  2. Synonymous with the budding of the fig tree of Israel?
    Time is getting shorter...

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  3. WOW!
    I am going through a bit of a down time right now and this post has given me encouragement. I am waiting to see what significance it has for me.
    Blessings,
    <><

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  4. Reminds me of Aaron's rod that budded and flowered. A sign. And I'm not charismatic at all. :)

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  5. Hi Child of God, I'm sorry you're going thru a down time, but I'm so glad the words here could encourage you! The Lord is sweet.

    Anonymous, I thought of Aaron's rod too...but not being Charismatic either I hesitate to go there... :)

    Anonymous, the budding fig tree has been on my mind lately as well. Whenever I go to the yard and check my fig tree for ripening fruit I can't help but think of the prophecy.

    Todd, thanks for stopping by! I'm glad it blessed you

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  6. It would be interesting to know what type of tree that stick came from, but even so it's quite amazing and I pray it's encouragement that we will be with Jesus soon! Maranatha!! :-)

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    1. Hi Courtney,

      I would too! I've been racking my brain trying to remember, but it was just a dead stick on the lawn that I picked up and I can't remember now it has been so long. I also googled 'sticks that bud' in attempting to find out of there is a kind of bush or tree known for budding long after the branch has been separated from the trunk, but no go.

      I hope Jesus comes back for us soon, even today!

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  7. Wonderful, encouraging post Elizabeth!

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  8. Elizabeth, I don't know if you've seen any news on this and I know you've posted about hailstorms before. My daughter-in-law posted photos on facebook of ping-pong sized hail that hit southern Colorado Springs yesterday. There was also a lot of flooding around the city. Other people said the hail lasted for half an hour. Hail is common in Colorado, but the size is pretty big for that elevation!

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    1. Hi Anonymous,

      Thank you for the information about the elevation and for motivating me to cover it. I will do that later today.

      I wrote about hail as part of the vocabulary of the Language of God here

      http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2010/05/hail-is-gods-language.html

      and about a similar freak hailstorm last month in Texas here, and noting hail is often used as a judgment of God
      http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/04/freak-hailstorm-amazes-hard-to-beleive.html

      I will definitely write about your storm in CO! Thanks!!

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