“Clearing The Land.” [Anne’s Acres series] (Matthew 3:13ff; 13:3-9,18-23; John 1:29-37)

Anne’s acres was not always cleared –
When settlers came what first appeared
Was heavy work to clear the land,
For crops to grow and barns to stand.

John came to do that task with folks –
Like land, we’ve lots to clear – as blokes
We’ve lived our lives post Eden’s gates,
Weeds taking root – so hearts now break.

Bad fruit’s produced on rotten trees;
Two ways to deal with it – first sees
It as “just knock off rotten parts”,
But it grows back from rotten bark.

The second way is cut it down –
Remove the tree from sacred ground
Of self God gives each one for life
(Bad fruit’s now part of earthly strife.

“But how?!” We ask with knowing words,
“For we’ve known that from things we’ve heard.”
You can’t – God can – so let Him in,
So He can cleanse you from within.

Christ, with his axe removes the root –
Chucks old tree out, gives it the boot;
Replaces it with mustard seed,
Once soil is prepped, removing weeds.

So, long before a crop can grow,
Deep preparations we all know
Must first take place to prep the fields,
That they might ample output yield.

Such was John’s job – 2000 years
His people learned midst toils and tears,
A bit of what God had in mind
For world, including human-kind.

Based on that knowledge, he washed off
The past folks carried, in a trough
Called “mikvah”, or he used a lake,
Or river – dipped for Goodness’ sake.

But he found problem with the folks –
When back with others (was no joke)
They soon fell back to former ways –
Returned to be re-washed next day.

“What’s to be done?” Asked John in tears;
“Ah! Kingdom-turf is coming near –
An island in the sun [Tzu] sea;
A place to stand and grow with me.

“Anne’s Acres comes!” He then declared;
Though land must still there be prepared,
And roots removed – the past washed off;
Its place apart, from where folks scoff.

You need not be a perfect one;
Its place to grow beneath the sun,
Which shines on good and bad alike;
But Spirit’s there – infusing might!”

Then cousin Jesus came that way,
To be baptized by John that day;
“There’s one that brings Anne’s Acres in,
So Kingdom-life there can begin.

“Then life sustained will rule your day,
Midst Sun [Tzu’s] whirl of pinwheel’s blades;
So go to shore, amidst that sea,
When Jesus calls, “Anne’s Acres see!”

“Repentance” (walking from the surf
To higher ground) – Anne’s Acres turf –
Is just the start, but what relief!
First, land is prepped – for mustard seed.

Then Spirit comes – Refiner’s fire –
Resolves our past with its desires,
Which led us into weighty loads,
Midst which we could not life take hold.

So whether island in the sun
[Tzu] is the place to which you’ve run,
Or patch of turf by River-side,
Anne’s Acres is where you reside.

So gone are days of holy life
Lived on the pinwheel’s whirling strife;
Now Kingdom’s here, Anne’s Acres turf –
Step to the pin – from churning surf.

Thanks Holy Spirit for this.

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