October 30, 2026, 10:00 PM
I enjoy this time of the year. The cooler temperatures are a welcomed relief to me after the hot and humid days of summer.
I also enjoy the changing colors of the leaves on the trees.
It provides some beautiful scenery, especially at the end of the day with the fading sunlight hitting the trees. The beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds become illuminated by the setting sun!
There is one particular "favorite" tree outside the office of the mission I've been associated with for the last 30 years. Its leaves turn a beautiful yellow every fall.
I noticed it Tuesday afternoon (10.27.26) and snapped a picture with my phone. I then went back and looked at my photos to see when I photographed the same tree last year. It was November 3rd (about a week later than this year).
When looking, I noticed that I had also taken a picture of when nearly all the leaves had fallen off last year. Crazy, but that date was just three days later on November 6th!
In just three days, everything had changed. The tree went from beautiful to barren!
Our lives can be exactly like that.
The old Frank Sinatra tune, "That's Life," goes like this, "That's life. That's what all the people say. You're riding high in April, shot down in May."
Things can be different, however. We can continually thrive. No matter if the seasons change or whatever difficulties may come.
We can do this only if we have made Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of our life and we are walking with Him daily through the power of His Holy Spirit.
Listen to this passage of scripture found in Jeremiah 17:7-8: "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
Even when the seasons change and everything seems to be dying around us, we can still have confidence in the Lord!
My prayer is that we ALL would be more like the man mentioned in Psalms 1:1-3 (NASB): "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 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."
Isn't that awesome? Let's praise the Lord today, stay CONNECTED to Him, and put our TOTAL trust and confidence in Him!
This coming Sunday (11.01.26) at FCC, we will wrap up our sermon series on the Apostle Paul's letter to the Colossians.
The final message, "Christ is EVERYWHERE," will come from Colossians 3:18-4:6. Following Jesus isn't just something we do one day a week at a church building -- it should impact EVERY area of our lives. Walking with Christ and staying "in step" with the Holy Spirit can/will transform our homes, places of work, as well as our private and public lives.
Finally, don't forget to set your clocks BACK ONE HOUR when you go to bed on Saturday night to observe daylight savings time!
I pray you have a great weekend and that we may see you at FCC this coming Sunday. If not, then, Lord willing, we'll see you again soon. Until then, may God bless!
Your friend,
Greg Herriford
