Jeremiah 17:8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Ephesians 5:26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

Psalm 147:18 He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

God sent out His Word to do His will. The Spirit is represented as the wind, His Word as water. The two working together influences our growth.

Psalm 1 tells us that man is like a tree. That similitude is carried out in Jeremiah 17. Consider this, the tree sends out multiple roots to the river, and does not rely on just one root. The nurturing nature of the water, the Word, is drawn from different places in the river.

Isaiah 11:1

The Righteous Reign of the Branch

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

• Ezekiel 17:6 and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.
  Ezekiel 17:7 “And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it.
• Ezekiel 31:7 It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down to abundant waters.

God’s plan for our growth and maturity is given to us throughout His Word, not just in one verse or one chapter of the bible. It all works together to serve the will of the Father in nurturing His children so that they may grow and mature.

That happens for us only if we stay in the Word and allow the Word to do what the Word does best, feed His children.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Commune with the Lord.

Psalm 10:13 Why has the wicked spurned and shown disrespect to God? He has said to himself, “You will not require me to account.”

If you are not familiar with this Word of the Lord it may be because the translation is from the Amplified Bible.

We tend to bring the Word to others in the positive tense, which in translations avoids the negative sense. People are more apt to accept positivity than negativity, that is just human nature.

At this moment I am reminded of that scene in A Few Good Men where Jack begins that outpouring of human nature with those famous words “Truth, you can’t handle the truth.”

The problem is that truth in human nature has little if any reflection of what is right. Just to show just how translations can influence perception of truth allow me to present yet another version of Psalm 10:13 ESV Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

The condition of the heart determines respect, not the words of one’s mouth or the actions we take.

Psalm 41:6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.

We can lie to ourselves but God knows the truth. If we are His and we lie to ourselves God will correct us if we are ready to “handle the truth”. The Great Physician holds to His version of the hippocratic oath, “do no harm”. The abounding grace of God knows best how and when to offer correction unlike the human mind afflicted with a history of conditioning by unhealthy influences.

Disrespect of others is not in and of itself disrespect to God. Oftentimes it is a matter of maturity. James warned believers about the taming of the tongue. He was writing to the children of God who were in various stages of maturity. An immature child of God is still a child of God.

If respect of God is a matter of the heart and God is changing our heart, then the issue now becomes a matter of maturing in a manner controlled by God and not self-will. Listen to the Word and learn about the process of maturity.

Jeremiah 17:8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Ephesians 5:26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,