Last week while traveling cross-country, I noticed several places that had small pecan orchards. At one orchard, I observed that the trees were full of life, with green leaves and seemingly very healthy. A little further down the road I noticed another orchard where the trees were sickly looking and dying because of lack of water. The few leaves that were still on the trees were already turning brown and branches were also falling out of the trees. Those two orchards reminded me of something about the Christian life. If after we accept Christ and we fail to follow Him, something inside of our souls starts to wither and die. Our souls require special spiritual nourishment. First to even be alive spiritually we have had to repent of our sins, realizing we are wrong, (Luke 5:32) and call upon Jesus Christ to be our Savior, (John 1:12 & 13). Second, we must read or hear the word of God, (Matthew 4:4). Where we go, who we hang out with, what we watch on television or the music we listen to, or the books we read and now what we do on our computers, or the internet can all affect our spiritual well-being. When we do the right things that God approves of our souls can and will be blessed, (Luke 11:28) and have a special beauty like those healthy trees. See you in Church next Sunday.