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How to Reach Out and Touch God

windmill reaching out

This windmill reaches out and turns its own direction to an invisible source to receive  power.  Power to move,  to be,  to “come alive”.

While we were traveling from Colorado back to Mississippi, I caught this picture right at daybreak.  Amazing to me how the windmill was “reaching” towards the sky.  Its blades were higher than the surrounding landscape.  This is necessary so that the windmill can pick up the air currents that are moving around it.  It’s tail points the blades in the direction that the wind is coming from.  This allows the windmill to receive the full force from the wind.  The invisible wind.  The powerful wind.  The wind that is high above the landscape here, but also close enough to give this windmill movement.  To make it come alive.

God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. 28 For in Him we live and move and have our being. 29 As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring’.  Acts 17: 27 -29

Paul is writing in this scripture about why God sent Jesus into this world.  Jesus was sent as a way for us to reach out to Him. To feel the power of God.  How do you reach out and touch God?  Well, by actually reaching out.  You have to be like this windmill.  If you stayed “on the ground” you would be distracted by…….. let’s say……. the dirt.  The wind (power) comes from above.  So try reaching for a higher power than the dirt around you.  Asking God to come into your life (to give you His power) is a big step for reaching God and His presence.

How do you know where God is?  Well, the windmill turns its direction to the invisible power by using its tail.  So, basically what I’m saying is that you need to use your “tail” (your physical body), to turn from your ways, and now constantly let it be turning to God’s way.   How many times have you said to yourself, “well, now I’ve gotten my tail in trouble again.” “My tail is in hot water this time.” “My tail got caught this time.”

Wouldn’t it be better if you could say……….. “my tail  keeps me in touch with God (just like this windmill’s).”  Also when you reach out to God, then turn “your tail” to use God’s power in your life.  This allows you to be in God’s will.  This allows you to have more power in your life than what “dirt” has to offer you. This allows you to actually feel and be in an invisible power.  This reaching out to God and changing your tail’s direction to stay with God…………. you have now  come alive spiritually !!!

Reach out and touch God with a prayer.  Reach Him in an early morning quiet time.  You and this windmill are a lot alike.  Keep your tail out of trouble and start using it to point to God.  Reach out to Jesus, He’s reaching out to you.

See Ya!  Dan Ainsworth  wilderness preacher, “pointing my tail in the right direction”

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The Mighty Have Fallen

tree fallen

A “big un”.  This tree next to Goodwater Church Cemetery was four feet across the trunk and pushing 100 feet tall.  This tree has been a “big ole” tree since I was a little boy (been a while now).  Well what happened?

Nature has a way of showing its strength.  First, the rain, and lots of it.  You can still see the water in the hole left from the ball of roots.  The rain soaked the soil making it mushy and unstable.  Then,……… then…….. an invisible force came along with such power that it knocked this massive tree to the ground.  This most powerful invisible force?  We call it wind.  Yep, just a movement of air caused this HUGE tree to tip over and change the coarse of this particular tree.  See, when a tree lies flat on the ground it’s no longer called a tree.  It’s now called a log and firewood.

What was amazing to me is how big the hole was where the roots had been.  It was big enough that I could fit my pickup truck in it and still have room maybe for a trailer!  It was a big HUGE shallow hole…………   Did I say shallow?  A pine tree is supposed to have what is called a “tap root”.  This central root goes straight down into the ground.  It becomes a huge root as it makes its way deeper and deeper for nourishment and also to be the anchor for the tree.  Oooops, no tap root here.  Nada, nothin’, just a ball of shallow roots.  Who knows why there was no main tap root.  Disease, wet ground, damage from pests, etc whatever the reason, the tap root was non existent.  Well no wonder it got blowed over.

Having lived just down the road, I can testify that this tree has lived through a couple of hurricanes, a tornado, many storms, and one squirrel hunt involving several .22 shots into it.  But get the ground unstable from lots of soaking rains, and send along a straight force wind.  TIMBERRRRRRRR, down she comes.

Rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  Colossians 2:7

We talked about being rooted in the Rock of Ages a few weeks ago.  It showed a pine tree growing out of the rocks in the Colorado mountains.  Today we see a HUGE tree with lots of roots, but no “tap root”.  It wasn’t going to last.  Too shallow.

The tree was growing shallow, not deep.  Grow deep on your spiritual journey.  How? Study God’s Word.  Have times of devotions and quiet times with just you and your Lord and Saviour.  Seek Him.  Ask of Him. And grow.  Grow your roots in Jesus Christ.  Then when everything around us gets unstable we have grown a “tap root” that is deep and anchored.

See Ya!  Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, and needing a bigger saw!

 

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The Legacy You Leave Is The Life That You Lead

carved tree

I was “bushwhacking” through the wilderness of Colorado when I came upon this carved tree.  Looks like Mr. Monte left his mark on this aspen tree.  No major roads, not even a small trail was close by.  I’m curious how many people have walked here. Possibly ole Chas and me and that’s it.  Possibly could be that lots of folks hiking off the beaten path have walked here.  They just didn’t leave their mark.  I didn’t either.  Carving on a living tree just doesn’t seem proper for me to do.  I’m sure glad Mr. Montes did over 65 years ago.  It made me start thinking about what my legacy might be.  What will people remember about me AND YOU?  Ever thought about it?

Well, think about this.  The legacy you leave is the life that you lead.  That’s a pretty neat saying!  Some leave a legacy for others to remember them by in the form of a building, a big chunk of money, a monument, (a carved tree), etc., etc.  But you and I could leave a great legacy just by the life that you lead.  Just like leading a horse.

leading your horse

Whoa!  (Grab a cup of coffee as I explain). Back to leading the horse……..  Have you ever thought of your own life as being your own horse?  Look at it like this, Both your life and your horse are controlled by you.  You lead your horse to water, down the path, over the river and through the woods…….. You get the idea.  Well, you lead your own life too don’t you?  You have control over your own life.  What you do, where you go, when you go.  You yourself get to choose what you will do and be with your own life.

Sure there are times when we feel we’ve lost control.  When the horse spooks, or the horse doesn’t obey a certain command.  The same thing happens with our lives.  We sometimes get spooked.  Maybe I don’t even  obey a command given by none other than me.  You know, like when you do something even when you know you shouldn’t or you didn’t do something that deep down you knew you should.  See what I mean by leading your own life?  Your horse can bolt on his own, but most nearly all the time he goes where you lead him.  So does the life that you lead.

The life that you lead (you), is the life that you live.  Our lives follow where we lead them.  We lead/live our lives with our heart and soul.  That’s the best  I can explain it.

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.  They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.  Psalm 112: 6,7

Your legacy, the life that you lead, can be handed down to others.  This is not to say that you go around bragging, tootin’ your own horn.  But you live in a way that others will take notice.  They SEE your trust in the Lord.  They feel your heart.  Looks like you’ve saddled up your own life and now you are leading and living your own life.  While you lead your own life, it’s good to be able to follow God’s lead and direction.

Lead as you are being led.

See Ya!    Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher