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.