12 Nations.
Willing to put aside any and all differences for the purpose of securing a future for mankind.
Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. Those are the countries.
They have pledged to build a 9 mile wide band of trees that will stretch all the way across Africa. 4,750 miles of trees that are planted will the intention of stopping the progressive advancement of the Sahara. It will be a drought-resistant species, mostly acacias. They will fix nitrogen and improve soil quality.
And, to make things fun, the species they’re using practices “reverse leaf phenology.” The trees go dormant in the rainy season and then grow their leaves again in the dry season. This means you can plant crops under the trees, in that nitrogen-rich soil, and the trees don’t compete for light because they don’t have any leaves on.
And then in the dry season, you harvest the leaves and feed them to your cows.
Crops grown under acacia trees have better yield than those grown without them. Considerably better.
So, this isn’t just about stopping the advancement of the Sahara - it’s also about improving food security for the entire sub-Saharan belt and possibly reclaiming some of the desert as productive land. It will also create jobs and provide numerous other resources in a poverty stricken region.
Of course, before the “green revolution,” the farmers knew to plant acacia trees - it’s a traditional practice that they were convinced to abandon in favor of “more reliable” artificial fertilizers (that caused soil degradation, soil erosion, etc).
This is why you listen to the people who have lived with and on land for centuries.
The old paths are still sometimes the best paths.
Matt 6:26--Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Mark 4:32--Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade."
We often feel like our lives may seem trivial or with little to no significance. We sometimes wonder what life has in store for us, when it seems as if God could use someone, anyone else to accomplish His will. And the truth is...He could use anyone else. He could do what He wants. He is God. Ultimately, we are at His mercy as to whether He uses us in order to bless us, or reject us. But, he chose us. Because we chose Him.
We are at His mercy for anything and everything. To a point, we could see ourselves as one in a million in a sea of faces. OR, we could see ourselves as someone that is destined to succeed and spend eternity with Christ. The choice is up to you.
This tiny mustard seed grew into an immense plant. Its branches spread themselves out offering a place for the birds to rest. In the shadow of that plant the birds found
1 shelter from the storms
2 rest from their weariness
3 shade from the heat of the sun.
Mustard seed produced a plant that had many uses
1 People gathered its leaves and served them up as food.
2 The seeds were crushed and used as a condiment; the flavor enhanced the bland diet of the people.
3 Those seeds were also used as a medicine.
•They were crushed and mixed with other things to make antidotes for snake, scorpion and spider bites.
•Poultices were made and they were used to fight colds and other physical ailments.
Just as the plant in this parable brought joy to the birds who flocked to it for shelter, the Kingdom of God has provided many benefits for those who have turned to Jesus.
•Everywhere the Gospel has spread, compassion, decency and morality have sprung up.
•Hospitals and schools have been founded.
•Truth and salvation have been proclaimed and lives have been changed.
•It has brought about the destruction of demonism, cannibalism, polygamy, child sacrifice and other evils.
•Orphanages for the fatherless and homes for the homeless.
•Healings mentally, spiritually, physically
•Lives have changed
•Communities and nations have changes
•Even this great nation owes its existence and blessings to the spread of the Gospel of grace. This nation was founded on the principles of the Gospel and the Christian faith, and even those who reject the Gospel in America today still reap the benefits of a nation founded by God and for God.
Just as the birds in this parable found many great blessings under the branches of the mustard plant, those who come to Jesus find more than blessings than they can imagine. In Him, they find:
· A shelter from the storms of life, Psa. 61:2-4; Psa. 27:5; Psa. 46:1-3.
· Rest from the weariness of sin and religious works, Matt. 11:28; Eph. 2:8-9.
· Shade from the fierce wrath of Almighty God, Rom. 8:1; 5:9.
· Food for the hungry soul, Psa. 34:8; Psa. 107:9.
· A new, better life. He can take a bland life and move into and make that life abound with the blessings of the Lord, John 10:10.
· He heals us of sin, 1 John 3:5.
· He delivers us from eternal death and separation, John 5:24; John 11:25-26.
· He is the cure for the sin sick soul, Psa. 103:3; Isa. 53:4-5.
Views on this passage
•Teaches that the kingdom of God and the Gospel starts slowly and grows big (Primary Message)
•The church {the seed, tree} as it grows,it becomes a dwelling place for many false prophets, etc. That the birds represent evil spirits.
These views have some truth, but I want to look at a different view. This view teaches that as Christians and the church grows and matures, it is their job to take others under their branches to nurture them, and protect them, and feed them. Just as birds find shelter, rest and shade under the branches of a tree; lost sinners have the same hope when they fly to Jesus for their soul’s salvation. The lost sinners should be able to see Jesus in the mature Christians.
What are the responsibilities of the Mature Christians?
1. Mature Christians have learned to resist temptation and the devil. They have submitted themselves to a greater cause which is God. (James 4:7)
a.Just as the acacia trees where drought resistant, mature christians have learned how to resist any drought that the enemy would throw their way.
b.The Mature Christians needs to be able to be ready in season and out of season no matter what they are going through and what is taking place in their world.
2.Mature Christians know when to ‘push’ and when to ‘pull back’ and remain dormant to allow for growth to occur naturally in the new christian.
a.They have learned how to ‘discern’ the situation and be able to respond in as correct a way as possible. They listen to God and follow His leading.
b.Just as the acacia trees go dormant and allow the rain to fall on the newly planted crops underneath, Mature Christians do the same. They will encourage growth, even at their own expense, in order to see others grow.
c.Mature Christians will get involved in the life of the new christian.
d.Acts 2:46
3.Mature Christians encourage others to go farther and step back from time to time.
a.Just as the acacia trees lose their leaves, which enable the crops to grow, Mature Christians will ‘lose themselves’, or their own fleshly desires in order to see others grow in the Kingdom of God.
b.They will encourage those who have exhibited the gift of preaching, teaching, prophesying, etc into using their gifts for the kingdom.
c.1 Thessalonians 5:14
4.When it gets hard, and ‘spiritual drought’ sets in, they will feed the new christians.
a.In the dry season, the leaves on the acacia trees will be harvested and fed to the cows.
b.In the dry season, Mature Christians will feed the lost and the new christians.
c.They will be hospitable to one another without complaint.
d.They will offer support during droughts.
e.1 Peter 4:9; 2 Tim 4:2
New christians have a better yield and succeed better when they have Mature Christians to turn to and glean from.
It is about advancing the Kingdom of God.
Mature Christians have been there and seen so many different things and situations, that they have the responsibility to lead the newer christians in advancing the Kingdom of God.
