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TRUST JESUS TODAY

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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: TRUST (07/21/16)
There are times in the 3,000 steeplechase race when you have no choice but to jump hurdles and sometimes you got land in water.
Life presents such moments, many times.
Like athletes, those who survive and win the race are not those who take too much time to listen to the cheers and jeers in the crowd, but those who concentrate in the race and keep their belief on the finish line.
Jeremiah 17.8, has a great verse for such people, "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when the heat comes, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."
That verse has four main parts.
1. Location
2. Character
3. Behavior
4. Harvest
As long as you are anchored in the right place, as long as you plant your faith like a tree in water, as long as you do what is right, as long as TRUTH and FACTS are your shield and defender you will spread out your roots in the river.
Then you will develop a character that does not fear when HEAT comes, even if it heat engineered like that of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego, because the leaves of your tree are always green because it is fed by what is right.
So confident will you be in the race that you cannot be anxious in the time of drought.
Sometimes everything fails and despite the best plans you end up in drought because you cannot pay school fees, rent or even afford food. But if you anchor your trust and work towards it you will not be anxious of such challenges.
That behavior the verse assures will yield great harvest, and you shall never cease to yield fruits.
Infant the Psalmist opens with that assurance in Psalms 1:3, "He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers."
Remember, in a race you just need to keep your eyes firmly fixed on the race and in the background be rooted in the water and you shall always be green and yield fruits.
May God keep you and bless you.
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This article has been read 358 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Joy Bach 
07/28/16
You put a lot of thought into this. Two comments. Needs proofreading. And needs white space. Read some other entries to see what I mean. Keep up the good work.
Chris Goglin
07/29/16
Thank you for your entry! This would be a great Bible lesson for a study group or devotional. There were a few words, such as "got" and "infant" that I'm sure were misplaced. Needs punctuation corrections, and yes, some white space between paragraphs. A helpful tool I have used is www.grammark.org. It is a free, open source website where you can copy and paste your article to receive helpful comments and suggestions. Keep writing!
C D Swanson 
07/29/16
Enjoyable in its content and delivery. I liked the message.

Blessings~
Larry Whittington
07/30/16
Life is a race and we must prove our trust in Jesus by obeying his will that,might be called children of God.

You used several Bible verses to help us remain steadfastly working out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Nice thoughts, generally clearly expressed.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
07/30/16
I liked your devotion. You make quite a few excellent points. I like how you started out with something general, which many people could relate to.

I'd urge you to go even further and maybe add a personal reference. For example: As an athlete who has participated in the 3,000 meter steeplechase race, I've learned that when confronted with hurdles, I have no choice but to jump over, crash into the metal contraptions, or simply quit, refusing to take another step. When I decide to jump over them, sometimes I end up safely on the other side, but sometimes I splash into the water and get all wet.
Life, much like that daunting race, is full of obstacles and choices.
In my example (It might not be a perfect fit, but I wanted to show you what I mean.) I personalized it to share a personal experience. Hopefully, I painted a picture for the reader. Also, I used a transition from the race to real life. Transitions are especially important in nonfiction articles.

I liked your message about keeping our eyes focused on the finish line. For me personally, that is something I definitely struggle with. I want to do things on my time table, yet over and over, I've found I'm much more successful when I pace myself according to God's plan. I liked the verses you chose and think you have a great foundation. I urge you to read and comment on other entries too. For me, that is one of the best things about FW--learning from others. Keep up the great work.