Recently I had the great pleasure of taking my wife on a short vacation to the beach, to celebrate our successful and blessed first year of marriage together. It was a long trip by car, and on our way, around midday, we made a stop at a restaurant on the edge of a river, to enjoy a nice lunch. After enjoying the nice meal together, we then decided to check out the area a bit together. As we strolled down to the river, we were met with the view that is captured in the picture I took above. It immediately reminded me of an amazing message that my dear friend and mentor, Jedd Medefind, gave at the CAFO Summit in 2016… https://vimeo.com/167466994.
After my walk by the river, I revisited Jedd’s message, and then I felt like God really placed a specific message on my heart, that I would like to share here. Abogar has chosen ‘Deeply Rooted’ to be our theme for 2021. As I walked by the river with my wife, I was impressed by each tree’s deep roots on the edge of the river bank, and also noted how they seemed to move toward the river; their source of water and sustenance. They are planted and deeply rooted next to their source of life, that enables them to flourish and be big, strong, and full.
The Bible says that the Lord is the fountain of living water (Jeremiah 17:1), and also that those who believe in, and come to, Jesus Christ will have rivers of living water flowing from their hearts (John 7:38). The reason the these rivers of living water flow from within us is because the Holy Spirit (God) is abiding in us. He is our source of life, that enables us to grow and flourish.
In a world that has often seemed very critical of Christian principles, morals, and beliefs, having myself received a lot of criticism for my relationship with, and belief in, Jesus Christ, I have recently begun to be a bit more quiet about my faith. This is a confession and an observation. However, for Abogar to truly be deeply rooted, for success in our ministry to help precious children and families, I believe we must be deeply rooted next to the source of life, Jesus Himself. He truly is a Fountain and River of living water for those who will believe in and receive Him. As the trees in the picture above boldly have their roots extended toward the river, I believe we, at Abogar, must also continue to dig our roots deep toward our true source of life and sustenance, Jesus Christ, our Fountain and River of living water!
A wise person once said, ‘You can’t give what you don’t have.’ To be deeply rooted to Jesus, our source of life and love, we must continue to make Him our priority. To share His love, hope, and truth with others, we must first have it ourselves. As we get closer to Him, our roots sink deeper and get closer the ‘water’! Being deeply rooted by the Fountain of Life enables us to also give and share of this great love, hope, and truth to those whom we are called to serve! Please pray for Abogar’s team, as we continue working together for the glory of God, that we will continue to grow more deeply rooted to Jesus, individually and as a ministry together, so that we may grow tall and strong in our effectiveness to reach the multitude of children and families in need!
