No Greater Tree.....

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24

I've been talking about trees all week....thought I better not leave this week without mentioning the greatest use of "tree" in the scriptures; that is, the one that was instrumental in the death of our sins and where a life of righteouness is birthed- the tree upon which our savior died. Unless you have had an encounter with the one on this tree, all human endeavor is for naught. There is no peace, there is no hope, and there is no reconciliation without Christ. Oh, there may be temporal peace, intermittent glimpes of hope and even flashes of reconciliation, but no real peace, no lasting hope and in the end, no reconciliation with the creator of our souls. Listen deeply- "by his wounds you have been healed".....capture that reality! Open your heart and soul to the only one who is able to provide everlasting life. Get to know the one on this tree..... Just in case you're wondering-- He already knows and loves you.

Big Dead Oak.....Maybe not....

This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. Ezekiel 37:5

Remember the "big dead oak" three posts ago?.... Well, I was telling a group of teachers this morning about this big dead oak tree that I encountered, and guess what I was told? A science teacher in the group told me that some oaks are dormant longer than others and that there is a possibility that this big dead oak may not be dead. I find great hope in this possibility. Real life on the verge of springing forth from that which appears dead. This is the good news.....this is the transformation that Christ offers us. I certainly experience seasons where my spiritual life is dormant. The Spirit feels very distant....dry bones abound! So what are we to do? Verse four, just prior to the one cited above says, "Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!" This is a great command. Feeling dry and spiritually dead?....maybe it's time to pick up the Word and open the ears..... Lord, when I'm feeling dry and spiritually barren, place me before your Word, I want to hear you!

Tunnelling to the Stream....

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8

Sound familiar? For the prophet, the man who trusts in the LORD is one who is like a tree planted by the water. That's great imagery, but you have to love the prophet's description of the consequences of such a trust. (1) No fear when the heat comes....(2) no worries in the midst of a drought.... (3) always bearing fruit! How is all this possible? It's all possible because the tree has roots and these roots stretch out tunnelling their way to the streams. How awesome is that?! What a tremendous picture of a person who completely trusts in the LORD. The prophet is not talking about some wimpy, emotionally driven, passive, half-hearted believer. Rather, he is describing a person whose trust in the LORD is grounded, rooted, strong, purposeful, and life-giving. Lord, I want to be this kind of tree! I want to be fearless when the heat is turned up....I want to be one who is not drowning in worry in the midst dryness.....I want to bear fruit no matter what life is like all around me. Help me to be this kind of man!

Planted by streams of water.....

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:3

Back in 1986 I spent a semester in Israel....absolutely loved it. While the main intent was school and study-related activities, I found myself engaged in many extra-curricular "adventures." Still to this day, I have no idea why my parents let me do this.... but, I do thank them for allowing me this extraordinary experience. Anyhow, on one of the many adventurous excursions, I was travelling in the Negev region in southern Israel. Basically the terrain was barren, dusty, rocky, etc. So, as we were travelling along the barren road we saw a very unusual sight- a lush green strip of vegetation maybe 50 yards long by 20 yards wide. This was very odd. We stopped the car, turned around and went back to investigate. What we discovered is that buried beneath the vegetation was a very small water source.... a stream. Someone in the group was immediately reminded of the verse above. With all of the barrenness of the terrain as far as the eye could see, beautiful life abounded. I think this is what the Psalmist is referring to....like a tree planted by streams of water. But, what's like a tree planted.....? Psalm 1:1 tells us that he is talking about the man who does not associate with evil, but one who delights in God's word. That's good. So, what does your garden look like?: barren and dusty or green and full of life? You may want to check your water source.

Big Dead Oak.....

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:3

It is clearly a very old tree, towering above the two-story farm house which sits a good distance from the road. Its branches sprawl out from its main core, some as large as other trees around it. The oak tree is positioned just to the left of the house, from my perspective. However, it is dead....one massive, leaf barren, oddly beautiful, dead tree. I wonder what happened to it? As old as it is, why did it die now? The quick answer is, I have no idea. I am not a tree expert and I certainly don't have access to the property to find out. But, I did find out that oak trees do not die overnight- there is a process to its dying that can take from one to five years. It can be environmental or even an act of God (eg. lightening). The point is, it is always a process. Of course, this does remind me of our spiritual lives. As a member of the redeemed, our spiritual health ebbs and flows. While we may declare at one point in time that our spiritual lives are dead, this deadness is not instantaneous. It is a process. I wonder which direction my spiritual life is heading right now?....towards life or towards death? How about you?

Walking Securely....

The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. Proverbs 10:9

In my growing up years I recall my parents telling me every once in a while...."be careful, your sins will find you out." ...and (dramatic pause) they were right. The whole hiding secret sin gig never really panned out for me. I tried. Things like throwing up for "no apparent reason" in front of my whole high school band on a Saturday morning before going to a parade....well, let's just say I had trouble hiding my Friday night sin. Branches sticking out of the bottom of my dad's oldmobile (that I wasn't able to see the night before) was a dead giveaway that the car had gone places where cars were really not meant to go. I'll stop there. You get the point-- Somehow, someway, in the end, sin is always exposed. But, the verse above also reveals a better reality. The man of integrity walks securely. I like that. There is something really good about walking securely. But, walking securely is simply the consequence of living a life of integrity.

Lord, help us to forsake the crooked path that leads only to humiliation. Help us to be people of integrity so that we are able to walk securely.

Spiritual Gout....

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9

Today is my birthday and I woke up with the gout. Do you see the irony in this? For the last two days I have been wrestling through the concept of "walking" in truth....and I wake up this morning unable to walk (sort of). It was just a moderate sharp pain in the joint of my big toe on my left foot. By noon, I had to leave work....unbearable pain....I had to get my shoe and sock off before it became impossible to do so. If you have never had the great displeasure of experiencing gout, it's kind of like someone taking a 20 pound sledge hammer and smashing your big toe. The pain does not subside, it is constant. Nothing really makes the acute pain go away other than these really tiny pills; the ones that I am unable at the moment to pick up from the pharmacy and will have to wait for my wife to pick up after she gets off works in quite a few hours from now.

Well, with all this talk, I am not really looking for sympathy. People experience physical pain all of the time a whole lot worse than my short-lived (hopefully) and temporary plight. However, I do think that it is a great illustration of how something so small and unseen can completely debilitate. With gout, apparently some sort of small crystals form in the joint. In our spiritual lives, this is sin. Often unseen, yet has a great propensity for debilitating our walk with Christ. Experiencing spiritual gout? The small pill is confession.

Peripateo....

Alright, so I did a little more studying on the word usage of "walk" as in "walking in truth." Bear with me.... The NT greek word for "walk" is peripateo. According to Vine (Complete Expository Dictionary), when used figuratively it "signifies the whole round of the activities of the individual life." He then cites when this word is used in the NT: The Christian is to walk in the newness of life (Rom. 6:4), after the spirit (8:4), in honesty (13:13), by faith (2 Cor. 5:7), in good works (Eph. 2:10), in love (5:2), in wisdom (Col. 4:5), in truth (2 John 4), and after the commandments of the Lord (v.6).

So, to "walk in" something figuratively signifies the whole round of the activities of the individual life. That's good, but I think that the three of you who commented were even more insightful:

Denise: ....to keep in step with, live in accordance with, agree and proceed in, be hand in hand with, not rushed, moving forward....

Pres: ....living our complete life with Jesus at our side....remembering that He is there with us and wants us to include Him in all that we do....

Mary Lou: ....walking is something that we do all day long....subconciously. He wants us to do everything in obedience, truth, and love to get to the point in our lives where we do this almost without thinking about it.

Excellent! Thank you so much!

Lord, help us to walk in truth today, keeping in step with your truth, knowing that you are at our side, guiding us in truth so that it eventually becomes second nature.

Walk? What?

Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. Psalm 26:2-3

Teach me you way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11

It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. [....] And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. [....] ...his command is that you walk in love. 2 John 4, 6

Sometimes I think that I am just a bit too curious. Why does the psalmist use the term walk.....and what is John really saying when he is talking about walking in truth....walk in obedience....walk in love? What's all this walking about? Why not run or jog or take slow progressive steps? I am sorry to say that I don't have some grand wisdom on this one. Do you think it connotes some of these ideas: consistency, steady, progressively forward, not rushing, reasoned????

Now, I get a daily report telling me that there are about 25 persons who consistently read this blog each day. Will each of you take just a moment to post a comment sharing what you think may be the overriding idea behind "walking" or "walk" as it is used in the passages above? In the meantime, I may have to do a little more studying on this word usage. So, go ahead, throw your idea out there.....walk in courage.

Unwelcome Walkers....

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. Levititcus 26:12-13

Sounds like God's people needed reminding that the LORD would now be walking in their midst- this same powerful God that set them free from the yoke of the Egyptians.

God would be "walking" among His people....hmmm. What an amazing reality of God's divine presence and fellowship with His people. Sometimes I experience this.... a sense that God is very present and walking in my midst. But, so often, His fellowship gets crowded out by all of the other unwelcome walkers that I allow to "walk" among me..... like ungodly thoughts, false ideas, poor habits, stinky attitudes....not to mention unworthiness, pride, not measuring up to expectations, and frustrations. Do you have any unwelcome walkers in your midst? Reading the passage above one more time reminds me that the LORD has broken the bars of our yoke so that we can walk with heads held high. As we walk with the Lord this week, I am going to inform all of the unwelcome walkers with me that they are no longer welcome. Want to join me? .....with heads held high! Lord, grant us your strength.

Doors and Voices.....

"Doors and voices" have been the running theme within my spirit this week. Looking back at this week's posts, Hezekiah opens the doors of the LORD's temple. I asked if the doors of the Lord's temple within us were shut. Is your door jammed closed, partially open, opening, slowly closing??? Where are you in relation to being open to the Lord's work within you? No one else can answer this question for you. All of life hangs in the balance in relation to the reality of your openness to God.

Next, I turned our attention to the "door" that we call our mouth....more specifically, our speech. Remember?, this was the "vomit" post. From the overflow of our hearts, our mouth speaks. You can get a fairly good assessment of your spirit by listening to your speech...."what's coming up?"

Then, I shared a post about the many competing voices in our lives. While many believe there is no such thing as absolute truth, only the truth as we individually make it....as a believer in God, we know the God of one voice! Are we listenting to this one voice of truth?

And finally yesterday, we met up with Elijah at the door/mouth of the cave. He discovered the Lord's voice within the "gentle whisper." It takes authentic stillness to hear the Lord's voice. There is no doubt that the Lord desires to speak life and wholeness into our beings. Spiritual deafness has a cure....the medicine is stillness.

God bless! Have a wonderful weekend.....By the way, if you know of someone who may benefit from this blog, share the link. Be an instrument of God's desire in another's life.

A Gentle Whisper.....

Caves don't have doors, they have "mouths."

....great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks...., but the LORD was not in the wind. ....there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ....a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, ....went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. I Kings 19:11-13

We rarely hear God's voice amidst the clammer and clatter of our lives. It very often takes getting still and discerning the gentle whisper. The psalmist understood this:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him... Psalm 37:7

Be still, and know that I am God... Psalm 46:10

If you are waiting to hear God thunder His mighty will into your life, you might be waiting a long time. Sometime today, practice stillness. Go to the mouth of the cave and listen.

Hearing voices?

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

Sometimes I think that truth no longer exists. Searching for it ends up being some meaningless chatter between competing voices where no one is able to commit to one voice. Fear of offense is weighted beyond measure, yet is in essence a cowardly mirage. An abundance of words with no clarity; this thought, that perspective, one waiting for anything that feels right. Sad, sad state. So, here we are at another door. One condition- we have to be able to hear the one voice. Can you hear it?

Throwing up....

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies. Psalm 141:3-4

We are not only physical beings, we are spiritual beings as well. When our physical beings become sick....and we vomit, partially digested food comes up from the stomach, travels through the esophagus and proceeds out of the mouth. Stick with me.... Likewise, when our spiritual beings are sick, there is also a great tendency toward vomitting. However, the starting place of this type of vomit is not the stomach- it is the heart. So, the vomit begins in the heart, travels up through the vocal chords and proceeds out of the mouth. This is otherwise known as "speech." The psalmist in the passage above is pleading to the Lord to provide a guard over his mouth...in essence, the Psalmist is requesting help from the Lord with his speech. But, the next verse verifies that the Psalmist understands the true source of "vomit" speech, i.e. the heart. "Let not my heart be drawn..." This is exactly what Jesus meant when he said:

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. Matthew 12:34-35

I think we should take a close listen today to our speech....it will indicate the condition of our heart. Up for the challenge?

First things first....

Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king. [....] He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. [....] In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them. 2 Chronicles 29:1-3

I love that- he literally opened the doors of the temple and fixed them. He opens the doors....he fixes the doors. As it turns out, he did many amazing things as a King of Judah. But, it all started with two simple acts- opening doors and fixing doors. The previous king, we are told (2 Chronicles 28:24), "shut the doors of the LORD's temple and set up altars...." Now, with Hezekiah on the scene, something just doesn't seem right to him. So, again, in the "first month of the first year of his reign" he opens the doors and repairs them. You know where I am going.... right? Figuratively speaking, sometimes the doors to my "temple of the LORD" become less than operable. Sometimes, it is through life's trials.... sometimes by periods of blessings.... other times, I simply choose to "shut the doors." At first there are no major consequences.... but then over time, when God's temple within us is shut off and starved, "issues" arise. What's the status of your "doors"? ....it's worth pondering.

You gotta be kiddin'!

...and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat." John 5:10

Unbelievable! In yesterday's post I shared a story of a man who was healed by Jesus. Problem was, this healing took place on the Sabbath and the religious folks had a bit of a problem with the man who had been healed because he was "carrying his mat." Amazing! An invalid suffering for 38 years with a debilitating condition is cured, healed and walking around....and the religious people are troubled because he is carrying his mat! You gotta be kiddin'! What somewhat compounds the issue is that the man turns on Jesus and blames him....."the man who made me well" made me do it. Funny thing, the man didn't even know who had healed him. In any case, this is one of many stories in the gospels where the Jews / Pharisees / religious folks were trying to trap Jesus. What a perfect picture they are of religion without relationship.....or externally driven religion as compared to internally driven relationship with the Lord. Lord, the absurdity of this is so easy to spot in this story.....please make it as revealing in my life. Are you willing to pray this prayer as well?

That's not the question....

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. John 5:6-9

This is a very interesting exchange of words. Jesus asked the invalid if he wanted to get well. This sounds like a yes or no question. But, notice how the man answers Jesus. The response reveals that the invalid had a certain pre-conception of what it would take to make him better. But, Jesus had another completely different idea. In essence, Jesus shatters the pre-conceived. What issues cause invalidity in my life and am I willing to release my pre-conceptions on how I might be healed? What might he command of me in these areas of my life? I realize this may take a little extra thought on our part to answer these questions, but it just may prove beneficial.....do you (really) want to get well? Make sure you listen to the actual question Jesus is asking you right now.

No fish? Hmm....

"Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. John 21:5-6

You might want to check out the entire story of the miraculous catch of fish in John 21:1-14. It's a great story. The guys out on the Sea of Galilee weren't catching a thing. Along comes a man (Jesus) standing on the shoreline telling them to try their nets on the other side of the boat. What do you know?....so many fish they were unable to haul the net in. While I am sure there is some great theological lesson here, I prefer the simpler interpretation; i.e. if we find ourselves spinning our proverbial wheels and getting nowhere, maybe we should stop, look to the shoreline, and listen for Jesus' simple instructions. Although we may try to complicate the matter, we simply cannot go wrong by listening to Jesus. Try it today....actually, not just listening, but being obedient to Him. Enjoy the increase!

What a bummer....

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. [....] Unless I see....I will not believe it. John 20:24-25

There is always one who misses it; In this case, big time. Jesus, on the Sunday evening of his resurrection, decides to visit the disciples. Guess who wasn't there? --Thomas, a.k.a. "doubting Thomas." Poor guy....wonder what he was doing? In any case, he simply wasn't going to take the disciple's word....he was probably pegged as a gullible easy target by the other guys (disciples) and wasn't about to fall for this one. Actually, I do not know if he was gullible or not....that's not in the Bible; I just made that up. But, for whatever reason, Thomas had the type of personality that simply had to "see" to "believe." I don't really blame him. I would probably find it hard to believe also; that is, without actually seeing Jesus. A little later in the passage (vv.26-29) we find Thomas confronted with the resurrected Lord....and Thomas says, "My Lord and My God!" What would it take for you to be able to say "My Lord and My God!"? Maybe you have already said it, great.... but, if you haven't said it yet, what would it take? Seriously.

Left wondering....

Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb [....] and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. Luke 24:12

I am sorry, but you just have to love Peter. He had spent three years with Jesus...he was on the "inside"....one of the 12 who walked, talked, and ate with Jesus. How could he be "wondering?" I just find that amusing. I mean, come on, Jesus had told him what was going to happen; he had laid out the grand plan. He should have known. The women who had gone to the tomb even told the disciples what had happened. But, the verse just before the one quoted above says, "But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense." That's funny also, but I'll save that for another day (just like us male folk). Anyhow, I have to give it to Peter-- he did get up and run to the tomb. Props for that. But, again, what was wrong with Peter...."wondering" what had happened? Let me bring the point home: I "wonder" a lot....more than I should. When I see something "work together for the glory of God", I wonder how that happened. When it appears that God has healed, I wonder what physical processes actually took place. You with me? Lord, today, bring clarity, courage and conviction to my (our?) beliefs.

Somewhere in between....

....and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark.... John 19:42b and 20:1a

Of all the days of Holy Week, Saturday is the most awkward. We've just remembered the painful crucifixion and have laid Jesus in the tomb. While Sunday is coming, we are stuck somewhere in between. Our sins have been atoned, but we can't celebrate the resurrection, power and freedom yet. We know the rest of the story....we know we are going to celebrate on Sunday, but it simply isn't here yet. We are stuck somewhere in between death and real life. You know, this may be a fitting analogy or picture of my faith; stuck somewhere in between. Maybe this is what the Apostle Paul was talking about in 2 Timothy 3:5, "Having a form of godliness but denying its power." Lord, in my faith, help me to take it all the way through to Sunday. Anyone else need to pray that prayer?

Look around.....

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. [.....] Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:32, 43

FYI: This post makes no sense without the context of this week's other posts.

Jesus was loving the outcast, the sinner, even to the very end of his life on earth. Take a thinking pause....this is an amazing truth. In any case, I have talked about "enemies" and "those in our front row" this past week, now I turn our attention to the outcast and/or sinner. All three of these typologies of persons are vastly different. The "enemy" is the one who opposes everything we do....in this case, we are instructed to not repay evil for evil and to actually love this person. Our "front row" folks represent people with whom we allow to have positions of major influence in our life. We have to be extremely careful whom we allow to take up these strategic positions. Now we turn our attention to the outcast / sinner. Don't you find it wonderfully strange that Jesus continaully hung out with the "wrong" crowd?....like the lepers, the woman at the well, etc. Jesus flat out loved them....the sort of person it was extremely unpopular to be with, the sort of person with whom his "religious" contemporaries found troubling. Even to the end of his physical life on earth, he was speaking life and hope directly into a criminal's life....Hanging on a cross....offering hope, "today, you will be with me in paradise." Wow! Looking around my life, with whom am I loving and offering hope? Do they look anything like the type of folks that Jesus contintually ministered to? If not, should they? ....just a thought worthy of reflection.