Of Trees and Tapestries

July 6, 2020 by Judy

A Beautiful Example of a Tapestry

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Try to imagine with me, if you can, what human history might look like to God, as He surveys it from beginning to end. From the prophetic insight given to us by Isaiah in the passage above, it seems quite likely that God would view it as a forest of trees, one stretching all the way from the Garden of Eden to the coming Paradise in the new Heaven and Earth; trees which, in His eyes, are representative of the countless lives of men and women throughout history who have been made righteous by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. As plantings of God, they have come in every size and shade imaginable, yet all producing the same desired fruit of holiness by which the Lord God, the creator and sustainer of all the earth, will forever be glorified! What a truly satisfying picture this would be for God to behold; nothing less than a magnificent tapestry depicting His marvelous and ages-long redemption story; an intricately woven work of art designed to surround His throne and to testify of His unfathomable love, grace, and mercy for all eternity.

At Work on a Loom

Although some may not be all that familiar with tapestries, they have been around for quite a long time, with some known to have been in use as far back as ancient Greece. Similar in texture to carpets, but hung on walls instead of covering floors, tapestries have served as portable murals for centuries, often gracing the throne rooms of kings as ways of depicting the memorable events or victories that have taken place during their reigns. Typically, tapestries are woven on vertical looms, or large wooden frames, that hold two sets of threads—the longer set being the stationary, immutable threads running lengthwise which are called the “warp,” with the shorter set being the variable threads running widthwise which are called the “weft.” The threads making up the warp are held in place under tension by the two sturdy frames at the end of the looms; while the shorter and discontinuous weft (threads) are woven in and out of part or all of the warp to create the design of the tapestry.

With this imagery in mind, let’s try to imagine how such a weaving process might be applied to the story of God’s redemption. To begin, let’s close our eyes and try to visualize an enormous loom being set into place by God when, “In the beginning…,” He bracketed the timeline for His redemptive story through the placement of two sturdy frames, one marking the beginning and the other marking the ending of human history. Having already discussed these at great length during several of our previous visits, we should be quite familiar with the two wooden frames by now; for they are the two trees that man was given to choose from in the Garden of Eden. The tree that was chosen, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, in its choice, became the beginning frame for the tapestry; while the tree that was rejected, the Tree of Life, took its place as the end frame—the frame toward which all of the design work was to be directed.

Given the enormous distance between these two frames and the incredible number of events that the design of this tapestry was meant to depict, we should not be surprised to learn that an additional piece of wood had to be inserted at the midpoint of the loom in order to secure and support the weight of the weaving work which would be taking place upon it. This plank was a tree, too, and one that we have also already discussed; for it was the Cross on which the Son of God was crucified; the lifeless tree which, throughout time, has served as the embodiment of all of mankind’s dead works and futile attempts at self-salvation.

Now, with the framework for the loom all set up in our minds, let’s begin to visualize the commencement of the weaving process as the first set of threads are placed on the loom. These are the warp, and for the purposes of this tapestry, they are ten unbreakable cords which have been stretched tautly from, and then securely fastened to, the first side frame, over the middle plank, and on to the other side frame. White in color and extending out across the ages, these cords are God’s eternally fixed standards of holiness–His unchanging rules for righteous living–known to us as the Ten Commandments; the plumb lines against which the actions of all men have been and will be measured. It is only fitting that these should be the first threads that are woven into the fabric of redemption because, unlike everything else…

…the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
…the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
…the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever, the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether (Ps. 19:7-9).

Given the nature of these laws, what better foundation for redemption could have been laid, other than these?

With God’s laws now securely attached to the frames of the loom, the really intricate work on the tapestry can begin to get underway. What makes this part of the process so tricky is that before the weft—or those short and variegated “loose threads”created by humanity’s failures to measure up to the standards of God’s laws—can be woven over and under that holy warp, they must first be tied to the crimson cord which runs through the entire length of the tapestry’s design. This cord was introduced into the human story immediately following man’s first violation of God’s command and, as the cord of redeeming faith, it went on to connect every image in the story, from the beginning frame at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, all the way to the Cross, and then on to the end frame at the Tree of Life.

Of course, this cord is none other than our Redeemer, Jesus Christ; the One who was promised, the One who came, and the One who will come again—and the only One capable of salvaging all of the threads left dangling by the sins of mankind and then incorporating them into a beautiful and eternal work of art for all to behold. And how was He able to do this? By dying the death that should have been ours, on the tree representing all of our dead works, He was able to remove sin’s curse, and open the way to the Tree of Life once more, to any and all who would believe.

Try to imagine with me, if you can, God looking around His throne room, gazing lovingly upon His glorious tapestry of redemption—the one depicting the millions, perhaps even billions, of oak trees that were made righteous through their faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ; each tree springing up from a seed sown in the earth and then growing toward heaven, and each tree reproducing that one seed many times over through an abundant spiritual harvest, some of which will include…

…the “peaceful fruit of righteousness” produced through the discipline of the Lord (Heb. 12:11);
…the fruit of a life transformed by the Spirit, in which the very character of Christ was reproduced;
…the fruit of many answered prayers;
…the fruit of souls won for the Lord; and,
…the fruit produced whenever fear was overcome by faith, darkness was overcome by the light, and the flesh was overcome by the Spirit.

Try to imagine with me, if you can, the kind of joy a sight such as this would bring to the heart of God. Given that joy, let me ask you this question…when, at the end of time, God scans His forest of trees, will He find you there? Will you be a part of His tapestry of redemption—one of His oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified? If not, can there possibly be a good reason why?

God’s Tapestry of Trees

The Tapestry of Redemption presented in song, by the Tally Trio in “He Saw Me/Jesus Paid it All.”

For Everything There Is a Season…There’s Even One to Rock and Roll

January 30, 2014 by Judy

Ready to Rock and Roll?

Last week, as I was pondering and praying over the direction that our future visits should take, I heard the Lord speak to me, saying quite clearly: “It is time to rock and roll, little girl. This is not the time to be timid and pull back (which, as a marshmallow, is something that I tend to do)—this is the time to rock and roll!” And, with that, I knew just what He wanted me to do. This was His way of telling me that the time had come for me to get down to the business that He has called me to, which is not only teaching people what the Bible has to say, but also teaching them some new ways of approaching its study–so that they can better make sense of it on their own.

Just in case you may be thinking that God wouldn’t speak to anyone in quite this way, let me assure that He has no problem in using any language whatsoever, if it gets His point across to those whose ears are attuned to His voice. In fact, what He said to me last week was really nothing more than a modernized version of what He told the prophet Jeremiah over twenty-five hundred years ago, when He said…

But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. (Jer. 1:17)

Work in this case for both Jeremiah and for me, was and is giving out the Word of God to people, whether or not they want to hear it–and it is something that I have been preparing or “dressing myself for” for over forty years.

Although I was saved at the relatively young age of eight, my real preparation for all of this rocking and rolling did not begin until much later, when I was about the age of twenty-two. This was a pivotal time in my life when, stuck in the middle of a disastrous marriage, I rededicated my life to the Lord. It wasn’t long after making this decision that, in the interest of our personal safety, it became necessary for me to take my two young sons and leave my alcoholic husband and begin a new life on our own—a life which soon turned into an odyssey of faith from which I have yet to recover.

Stepping Up to Maturity

My training for this new life began quickly and simply–it started with me having nothing but God and His Word to rely on. When I left my husband, I had no job, no car, and no health insurance; just two little boys, our clothes, $200.00 in cash, and my sewing machine. For the first year, we were fortunate enough to be able to stay with my parents but after that, we were completely on our own. In hindsight, I now clearly see that God had planned out a comprehensive spiritual training program for me designed to accomplish the following…

Teach me to hear His voice and to trust in His Word;
Teach me how to study the Word and to see the Big Story that it presented;
Teach me how to present and share what I had learned with others; and,
Teach me to not fear anyone or anything other than the Lord.

Of course, time and space will not allow me to go into detail about all of my experiences, so let’s just suffice it to say that:

To teach me to hear His voice and to trust His Word, the Lord impressed upon me from the very beginning that I was not to make anyone else aware of my needs, or to ask anyone other than Him for help. Once I brought my needs to Him, He would present me with some relevant promises from His Word and then dare me to act upon them. In response to those challenges, some of the things that I was required to do were…

to ask and believe for a car when I had no money, and later, to drive that car for a week with no gas;
to plan and take trips with no money; to trust God to pay all of my hospital and doctor bills with no insurance;
to trust God to provide places for us to live as well as ways to pay for them; and,
even when little things like loaves of bread or spools of thread were needed, to ask God for them and then wait on Him to provide them.

In every circumstance and situation of life, I found myself being tested and stretched beyond anything I had previously thought possible—and yet, all of this was just preparation for the next level of His training.

To get me to the next level, the one involving teaching me how to study His Word, the Lord did two things…

First, He sent me to one of the most academically challenging schools in our state—a place where He knew I would have to learn to study and do research in order to survive.
Then He set me aside for almost a year of intense personal Bible study and prayer. It was during this time that He presented me with a new way (new at least to me) of understanding the Bible–an approach which very quickly became the foundation upon which all my future studies would be based.

Once this foundation was in place, I was able to start building upon it and to continue adding to it through many more years of additional study. Then, some years later, to enable me to better my presentation of the material I was putting together, the Lord opened up a new position for me at work—one requiring me to use the computer. As I explained in My Journey to the Land of Blog, even though I didn’t know how to turn a computer on and off, I began taking the computer courses being offered by my employer and it wasn’t long before I was using what I had learned to organize and prepare the materials for my Bible studies.

Finally, and probably the most harrowing part of all this, has been my training in learning to not be afraid of anyone or anything other than the Lord. As an introverted, fearful, and naturally reticent person, I have, throughout my life, tried to avoid speaking in front of groups of people. However, over the course of these many years, the Lord has continued to put me into those kinds of situations just so I could learn to overcome my fears. And on quite a few occasions, He has required me to confront people and situations that I would have otherwise preferred to avoid, just so I could learn to “woman up” and not let anyone intimidate me.

Why am I sharing all of this with you now? Well, it’s to let you know where I have come from, so that you will be able to more fully appreciate and participate in where I believe the Lord is taking us next. For what I would like to do in our upcoming visits is to move us both into a new season of rocking and rolling—that is, a new season of Bible study. In order to do this, I am proposing that we…

Look into Salvation and learn why it is necessary;
Look at the New Birth and learn how we can obtain it;
Learn how to prepare for Bible study by…
– Understanding what the Bible is and what it isn’t;
– Recognizing the baggage that we each bring to its study;
– Acknowledging the parameters to what we can know; and,
– Being open to learning new ways of looking at the Bible;
And finally, launch into a study of the Bible, presented as The One Big Story that God Wants Everyone to Know.

I don’t know about you, but I am excited at the prospect of this, and can only hope that you will want to join me as we launch out into the deep–that is, a deeper study of the Word of God. If so, then let’s get going!

Citizen Way rocks out for us in “Where Would I Be Without You?”

A Season for Remembrance and Reflection

January 11, 2014 by Judy

Best wishes for a Great New Year!

Hi, and welcome back from what appears to have been a very busy holiday season for most of us–and let me take this time to offer my sincerest wishes for what I hope will be the best of all New Years! Since we are already well into the month of January, it would appear that we have made the transition from 2013 to 2014 without any serious calamities—except maybe for the weather, which has been brutally cold across so much of the nation this winter. I don’t know how you usually usher in a new year, but I suppose that for most of us, one way of marking the occasion is by spending a little time remembering the events of the outgoing year, and reflecting on what we may, or may not, have learned as we attempted to navigate through the uncharted courses so often presented to us by such events.

For me, although I started out 2013 with high hopes and great expectations that a number of long-awaited changes would be taking place in my life and the life of my family during the upcoming year, I am sorry to have to say that none of the ones I had hoped for came to pass. There were, however, two other events, completely unforeseen by me at the time, which did revolutionize our lives during this past year. The first one occurred when our youngest son enlisted in the Navy. He signed up last winter, left for boot camp the day after his twentieth birthday in June, graduated in August and left immediately for training to become a personnel specialist. Then, in October, after almost three weeks of leave, he left us for his first duty station in Naples, Italy—the place where he will spend the next three years of his life. Talk about a major change! Here was someone who had never flown on a plane until the day he left for boot camp, and now he is half a world away; well on his way toward becoming, what he would like to think of as, “a well-seasoned man of the world!”

As for the second major event, that one concerned me and it, too, was a major change that took place over the course of several months, and one which ultimately led to my commitment to do this blog. Just like my son who had never flown before, I had had no prior experience with blogging—in fact, when I started out, I didn’t even know what a blog was—and yet, as I explained in “My Journey to the Land of Blog,” I proceeded to do what was previously unthinkable when I launched out in faith in May with the posting of my first “reflection.” Now, seven months and twenty-two reflections later, I would like to believe that I am well on my way toward becoming not only “a well-seasoned blogger” but more importantly, a highly credible one, as well.

When I started out on this journey, there were only two things that I was sure of: the name for the blog (for an explanation of where it came from, see “A Detour Around the Trees”), and that this was something that the Lord wanted me to do. Because of the name, I knew that it was God’s intention for me to take the truth that He has revealed in His Word and use my voice, a literary one in this instance, to explain that truth to others; and, because I knew that He wanted me to do it, I was certain that He would go before me and make plain the path He wanted me to take. Personally, I would have liked to have been able to publish more often than I have, but discerning the Lord’s thoughts and bringing mine into alignment with His isn’t something that happens overnight—especially when family and job responsibilities have a way of diverting my attention from the task. As we all know, life keeps happening and often has a way of coming between us and the very best of our intentions.

I feel certain that there have been times when it seemed like I was wandering aimlessly—in the trees mostly—however, during this past week, as I paused to remember and reflect on where we’ve been and all that we have talked about since last May, I was pleased to discover that much of what may have seemed to be a lot meandering on my part was actually a progressive line of thought covering many of the basics of our faith, with one or two of the more controversial and possibly misunderstood ones thrown in as a bonus!

As a way of reviewing what we have done so far, I listed the titles of the reflections in the order in which they were published, and this is the way that they lined up:

The Prophet is In, Just Bring Your own Snacks

[For There Ever to Have Been a “Me,” There First Had to be a “She”]

My Journey to the Land of Blog

Life is Simple…

…But No One Said It Was Going to Be Easy

Welcome to the Overcomer’s Club

[A Pop-Sized Picture of the Father]

A Pause, and a Cause, for Worship

The Way We Are Isn’t the Way We Were…

…But Why Couldn’t We Stay the Way We Were?

And Now, The Drama Begins…

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

[Predestined to Be a Child of God]

Loose Threads…

…And More Loose Threads

Loose Threads Require Redemption…

Redemption, A Story Told by Trees

[A Detour Around the Trees]

Treasures of Truth…

…Truth Hidden in the Trees

Tree Treasures, Part II

Of Trees and Tapestries

The ones that are bracketed are the reflections that are somewhat parenthetical to the subjects dealt with by the rest: numbers 2 and 7 were Mother’s Day and Father’s Day tributes to my parents, number 13 was a reflection that dealt with the often problematic issue of predestination and election, and number 18 was a long overdue explanation for the naming of this blog.

The remaining reflections, then, followed a very logical progression of thought:
– In numbers 1 and 3, I introduced myself and explained how I came to undertake this blog;
– Then, in numbers 4, 5, 6, and 8, we moved on to address the fundamental question that everyone must face at some point in their lives—which is, what is the meaning of life?;
– In numbers 9-12, in order to further expound on life’s meaning, we launched into a discussion of the human dilemma and its origins;
– While in numbers 14-17, we learned about the solution to that dilemma, which is nothing less than the redemption that God has provided for us through Christ;
– Finally, in numbers 19-22, we were introduced to a slightly different presentation of the story of redemption—a presentation of the story as told by trees—and to two of the ways that the Lord revealed Himself to us through the story.

As you can see, in the relatively short time that we have been meeting together, we have covered quite a few of the basic, yet most important, issues of life, along with a few extras—but where does that leave us now; where, then, are we supposed to go to from here? Of course, I am always full of ideas on that subject; however, I thought that since we have gotten to know one another a little and seem to be at a relatively good point in our relationship, this might be a good time to ask you for your ideas as to what course you would like our discussions to take during the coming year. I mean, I hope by now you feel comfortable enough to tell me:
– What you consider to be the greatest challenges that you face in your Christian walk;
– If you have any problems reading and understanding the Bible; and,
– If so, which parts give you the most difficulty?
– Is there a particular subject in the Bible that you would like to see addressed?
– If you could have one question about spiritual things answered, what would it be?

In providing me with some feedback as to where you are and what your needs may be, it is my hope that we can make our visits together far more interactive and productive. Toward that end, you can post your suggestions or questions at the end of this reflection, or you can address them to me more privately through the “Contact Me” page on the website.

I hope that during this season of remembrance and reflection you will set aside a little time to think about where you are now and where you would like to be spiritually one year from now, when we make yet another transition from this year to the next. It is my prayer that we will each be able to say that we are more like Jesus than we are now; and nothing would give me greater pleasure than knowing that I was able to help you along, in whatever way I can, in that process.

In “We Remember,” the Newsboys remind us of the things we should keep calling to mind, in this or any other season.

Of Trees and Tapestries

December 19, 2013 by Judy

A Beautiful Example of a Tapestry

At Work on a Loom

Although some may not be all that familiar with tapestries, they have been around for quite a long time, with some known to have been in use as far back as ancient Greece. Similar in texture to carpets, but hung on walls instead of covering floors, tapestries have served as portable murals for centuries, often gracing the throne rooms of kings as ways of depicting the memorable events or victories that have taken place during their reigns. Typically, tapestries are woven on vertical looms, or large wooden frames, that hold two sets of threads—the longer set being the stationary, immutable threads running lengthwise which are called the “warp,” with the shorter set being the variable threads running width-wise which are called the “weft.” The threads making up the warp are held in place under tension by the two sturdy frames at the end of the looms; while the shorter and discontinuous weft (threads) are woven in and out of part or all of the warp to create the design of the tapestry.

Given the nature of these laws, what better foundation for redemption could have been laid, other than these?

Of course, this cord is none other than our Redeemer, Jesus Christ; the One who was promised, the One who came, and the One who will come again—and, the only One capable of salvaging all of the threads left dangling by the sins of mankind and then incorporating them into a beautiful and eternal work of art for all to behold. And how was He able to do this? By dying the death that should have been ours, on the tree representing all of our dead works, He was able to remove sin’s curse, and open the way to the Tree of Life once more, to any and all who would believe.

God’s Many Trees of Righteousness

The Tapestry of Redemption presented in song, by the Tally Trio in “He Saw Me/Jesus Paid it All.”

Tree Treasures, Part II

November 23, 2013 by Judy

Trees—who knew there was so much treasure to be found in them; I mean, how were we supposed to know that hidden behind all of those leaves, there would be so much rich spiritual truth just waiting to be uncovered? And yet, as we learned in Romans 1: 19-20, hiding truth in trees was all part of God’s plan to make known to us such otherwise unknowable things as “…his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature…” through the things that He had made. This would seem to imply that all of creation is just one huge treasure trove of divine truth waiting to be discovered, wouldn’t it?

Of course, having had only one little excursion into the woods so far, our excavation for true spiritual riches has only begun; but let’s not despise the day of small beginnings for in just that one outing, we have already uncovered one important spiritual truth which we have labeled as Treasure #1, The What of the trees–the lesson of what we, in comparison to trees, should look like. We are not stopping with that discovery, however—for we are on our way back out among the foliage today and this time, we will be looking for what should prove to be Treasure #2, The Why of the trees—or, the answers to the questions that were raised in Redemption, A Story Told by Trees, questions as to why God would use something as seemingly insignificant as earthly trees to tell His majestic and eternal story of redemption.

To aid us in our search today, we will need to take along the same tools that we used in our previous outing, only this time, we will be bringing along with them the truths that were uncovered during our earlier search. As you may recall:

Tool #1—was the understanding that from the beginning of creation, God has revealed Himself not only through what He has said, but also through what He has done.
Truth #1—was that one of the first of those revelations was of God as the Separator, Divider, and Judge of the very things He had created.
Tool #2—was the understanding that when God created the world, He included elements within it that He would later use as teaching tools for His spiritual truths or principles.
Truth #2—was that for one such lesson, God used the natural characteristics of trees to illustrate the spiritual characteristics that righteous men and women should exhibit.

With these tools and truths in hand, then, we can begin our search for…

Treasure #2

Treasure #2—The Why of the Trees…

… by answering the questions posed so long ago.

Question #1 – Why would God choose to use trees to test the measure of a man’s righteousness?

Since we now know that it was part of God’s plan to use trees to teach us important spiritual truths, and that it was also part of His nature to divide and make distinctions between the various elements of His creation, it should come as no surprise that He would also make distinctions or divisions between the humans He had created—and that He would use trees to do so. After all, if trees were to produce fruit after their own kind—in accordance with the type of seed hidden within them–and if men and women, likewise, were to produce fruit after their own kind—in accordance with the type of seed hidden in their hearts, wouldn’t giving them a choice between two trees that produced vastly different kinds of fruit be the most logical way of revealing the heart conditions of those who were doing the choosing?

We will find this truth borne out for us through a little deeper dig into the Word of God, where:

In Luke 6:43-45, from the words of Jesus, we are instructed that…

…no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
In Matthew 12:33, we hear the Lord’s admonition to…

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
In Proverbs 11:30, we learn that…

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life…

Surely, the God who had separated, divided, and judged every other aspect of His creation would be expected to do the same with the people He had created, especially since those people had been created in His image and given authority to rule over all that He had made. To rule for God, though, one would first have to be righteous, and what more appropriate way to judge for righteousness than through an inspection of the fruit produced by the tree of that person’s choosing?

Question #2 – Why would God make the choice of one tree over another mean the difference between life and death, not only for the one doing the choosing, but also for all the ones who would come after him?

In designating man as His ruling representative on earth, God was entrusting him with the responsibility of carrying out His will upon the earth. So, in having him choose between the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God was giving man the opportunity to prove whether he would choose to do God’s will or his own. This was the same choice that was presented to Israel, as she was preparing to enter into the Promised Land, when the Lord said…

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord and walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statues and his rules [doing His will], then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear [or do your own will]…I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish…I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.

Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers… (Deut. 30:15-20).

If the first man chose to do his will over that of his Father, and if every tree produces fruit after its own kind, then all of those who were to descend from Adam must, of necessity, be of the same kind that he was, must produce the same type of fruit, and must have to suffer the same consequences. As the old saying goes, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree–or, as we said before…no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its fruit.

Question #3 – Once the choice had been made, why would God make the way to the Tree of Life inaccessible to those who needed the new life that it offered?

The truth is, if God had allowed fallen man and woman to eat of the Tree of Life, then they would have lived forever in their sinful state and, in that state, they would have been beyond the reach of God’s redemption, never able to experience the saving grace and forgiveness that Christ made available to us through the Cross. In reality, it was an act of mercy on God’s part to bar man’s way to the Tree of Life until the time when the Son of Life would come to pay the price for man’s sins and reopen the way to that Tree through His redeeming blood.

Question #4 – Why would God allow an ugly, cruel tree fashioned by men to be the instrument of torture and means of death for His one and only Beloved Son?

When we consider the two trees that were in the Garden, it is important for us to understand what each was meant to represent. Just as God intended for healthy, vigorous trees in the natural to represent the healthy and productive spiritual lives of men and women who were right with God, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil were meant to represent the only two options in life available to mankind—that is, man could opt to do God’s will and in so doing, he would become more like God and end up gaining life everlasting; or he could opt to do life on his own terms, attempting to be his own god, with the end result of that choice being death. The Tree of Life, then, was intended to represent the way of Faith, while the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was meant to represent the way of Works.

The Tree of Life, or the way of Faith, was rooted in Jesus’ submission to the will of His Father, or as it is recorded for us in Psalm 40:8-10…

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

As we can readily see, the sap produced by this tree was one characterized by Submission and Praise, while its fruit was that of God and His Glory.

On the other hand, as the way of works, or as man’s attempts to be god on his own terms, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, had as its root system the same one that Satan had when, as he sought to rebel against God, he said in his heart…

I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High (Is. 14:13-14)

—a root system which could only produce the fruit of “Me and My Glory,” and sap amounting to nothing more than “Selfishness and Pride.”

It was Adam’s choice of this tree that eventually produced every sin, every act of rebellion, every false system of belief—no matter how seemingly virtuous—and every death that men have suffered throughout history. In fact, every work of man, apart from God, has been the fruit of this one choice and has found its representation in this tree. Since the only kind of tree that the works of man could produce was one of dead works, that was the one that Jesus would have to die on if men were to ever be set free from its curse and its power, and if the way to the Tree of Life was ever going to be made available to them again.

God’s Test for Righteousness

Question #5 – Why and how could God make what was a tree of death for One into a Tree of Life for many?

Through His death on the Cross, that tree representing all of man’s futile efforts at achieving righteousness through his own works, and then through His resurrection from that death, Christ became the “firstfruits” of all those who would afterwards come to Him in faith. As the Apostle Paul explains in selected verses of 1 Corinthians 15…

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive…Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

In other words, just as the first Adam’s selfish choice reproduced the fruit of death in those who would come after him, the second Adam’s sacrificial choice reproduced the fruit of life in all of those who would come after him in faith—to those for whom “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life…”

I know this dig has been lengthier than usual today but as we consider all of the tree treasures that we have uncovered today, let’s also take a moment to consider this final treasure of truth found in Isaiah 61:1-3. It is Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the promised Messiah, and one with which many of us are familiar. However, I don’t think too many of us have heard, or at least not paid much attention to, the last line, for it in it God reveals the ultimate purpose of our Redeemer’s mission…

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

Wow—who knew that the reason Jesus came was to make us into oaks, trees of righteousness through whom the Lord would be glorified! I mean, who knew that the most precious treasure to be found in the trees would be us?

The Robbie Seay Band on that “Beautiful Scandalous Night”

…Truth Hidden in the Trees

November 5, 2013 by Judy

You Just Have to Know Where to Look

When we ended our last visit, we did so poised with our treasure hunting tools in hand, ready for the truth-seeking adventure that was promised for today. As you may recall, Tool #1 was the understanding that we had gained as to how the Big, Infinite, Spiritual, and Holy God of the Bible reveals Himself to us–the small, fleshly, finite, and sinful human beings who are living here on planet earth. We learned that this God reveals Himself not only through what He says in His Word, but also through the things that He does, which, as we saw last time, included the separating, dividing, and judging of the very things that He had just created. These actions revealed to us not only what God did at that particular time, but they also revealed who He is all of the time—that He is, in His very nature, a Separator, a Divider, and a Judge. As for Tool #2, we learned that this was an understanding of the way that this very same God teaches us about spiritual things; that He does so by using the things that we can see to explain the things that we cannot see…

For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18b).

Now that we have re-familiarized ourselves with the tools at our disposal, let’s take a moment to identify the treasures that we will be searching for during this and our next visit. After all, we will need to know what we are looking for if we are going to be able to recognize it when we find it. During this visit, we will be searching for Treasure #1, which is The What of the trees, or the object lesson that God wants us to give us every time we come face to face with one of His trees. Treasure #2, the goal of our next visit will, on the other hand, be The Why of the trees, or the answers to those questions that were posed back in Redemption, A Story told by Trees, questions as to why God would want to use trees to tell His story of redemption in the first place.

So, with our equipment now in place, we can proceed in our hunt for…

Treasure #1—The What of the Trees

We begin our search for Treasure #1 by taking a look at our treasure map, the Bible, to see what clues it holds for our discovery. Since treasure is almost always buried, and because the Bible is a multi-layered presentation of truth, when we search for the treasures of truth hidden within it, we will find that we need to dig for it on at least three different levels: an earthly level, a heavenly level, and an eternal level. At the earthly level, we will be presented with real people or real events taking place in real time; people and events which God will use to teach us valuable life lessons. God will then take those same people and events and use them to illustrate something that He has done or will be doing in the spiritual realm, or some important spiritual truth that He wants us to know. Finally, God will use what we have learned on both of those levels to take us to the eternal level, or that place where He will reveal to us a more complete picture of who He is.

Our earthly level excavation for truth begins with a look at the first verses in scripture that mention trees, specifically Genesis 1:12, 1:29, and 2:8. In these verses, as we see God calling trees into existence, and from the descriptions that are given of them, we very quickly learn that when God created trees, He had some very practical purposes in mind for them. According to His plan, they were meant to:

Spring up out of the earth;
Bear fruit;
Reproduce after their own kind;
Be pleasing to look at; and,
Be good for food.

Here, we learn that in creating the trees as He did, God was actually preparing to meet the natural needs of the people He would soon be creating. As not only the source but also the sustainer of the lives that He was about to bring into the world, through the trees, God was making provision for their needs even before they existed.

If meeting these natural needs had been God’s only reason for bringing trees into the world, that would certainly have been reason enough for their existence. However, if we dig a little deeper into the Word, by going on to Genesis 2:16, we get our first hint that God, in His creation of the trees, may have had more in mind than just meeting the physical needs of man. For, here in this verse, we are re-introduced to the God we first met back in Genesis 1—the God who not only created the world but the One who also then separated, divided, and judged every aspect of His own creation. Here, we find Him doing the same thing, only this time He is focused on separating and making distinctions between two of the trees in the garden that He Himself had made for man; here, we find him differentiating between the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, designating the fruit of one to be good or life-giving, and the fruit of the other to be bad or death-inducing. Here, too, we are given our first clue that He, in this separation, division, and judging of the trees, had other reasons for including them in His created order.

This is a very important clue for us and now that we have it in our possession, we can use it to move on to the next level of exploration—that being the spiritual level of truth-seeking. This is the place where Tool #2 will come in handy; for it is here is that we will see how God applied spiritual principals to the natural characteristics of trees in order to illustrate an important spiritual truth. To explain what I mean, let’s go to Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17, where we read:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields it fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Psalm 1: 1-3

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 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. Jeremiah 17:7-8

You see, when God wanted to demonstrate what a righteous man or woman would look like, He used trees to make His point. For:

Like trees, we as human beings are to grow up out of the earth, with heaven as our focus and our ultimate destination;
Like trees, while still drawing our physical nutrients from the earth, we are to be continually seeking the light of the Son as our real source of life;
Like trees, for us to remain strong and fruitful, we need to be planted by the streams of God, regularly drawing life-giving water from His Word;
Like trees, as we grow, we will have to weather many storms which, if we keep looking heavenward, will only make us stronger;
Like trees, as we mature, we are to become fruit-bearing, reproducing ourselves both physically and spiritually; and,
Like trees, in our maturity, we are to be safe spiritual havens or sources of refuge for others, all while acting as agents of purification for the atmosphere surrounding us.

Just think about it, by placing trees on the earth, whenever and wherever one was growing, God was actually providing people with a living illustration, a silent witness or reminder, of what and who He expected them to be. Each tree was to be a reminder that He was there, not only as the God who had made the trees for their benefit but also as the God who would be there one day to separate, divide, and pass judgment upon them on the basis of the fruit produced by their lives.

Trees Are Supposed to Be Fruitful

When we see a tree, maybe we should do as Jason Gray does, and ask God to use it to “Remind Me Who I Am”…

Treasures of Truth…

October 20, 2013 by Judy

Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. Proverbs 8:18

During the course of our previous two visits, we learned two important things: that for some reason, God has chosen to use trees to tell His story of redemption; and that for some reason, He has chosen to use me, a very reluctant prophet, to give you an explanation for that choice. But that presents something of a challenge, doesn’t it; I mean, how is it possible for any of us to know the mind of God concerning issues of this or any other kind? After all, God is Big and we are small, God is Spirit and we are flesh, God is Infinite and we are finite, and God is Holy and we are not. How, then, can we—the small, fleshly, finite, and sinful ever begin to understand Him—the Big, the Spiritual, the Infinite, and the Holy?

Amazingly, God has made this possible for us through:

The gift of His Spirit…

The Spirit of Truth who comes to live within us when we are born again; and,

The Spirit of Truth who, according to Jesus in John 16:13, 14, will guide you into all truth…for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

The provision of His Word…

…which was in the beginning with God, and was God (John 1:1);

…which was breathed out by God, and…”profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16);”

…whose unfolding gives light and imparts understanding to the simple (Ps. 119:130); and,

…the sum of which is Truth (Ps. 119:160).

The wisdom that has been made available to us through prayer, for…

If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5);” and,

Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding; if you seek it like silver and search for it as hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord [for, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Prov. 1:7)] and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity… (Prov. 2:3-7).

Therefore, when the time comes for us to try and plumb the depths of God’s reasoning about anything, the first thing we must do is pray for wisdom and expect the Holy Spirit to be ready, willing, and able to guide us into the truth we are seeking. Next, we need to get out our picks and shovels, or the tools which will help us as we begin digging for the treasures of truth that are hidden in God’s Word. Two such tools are…

an understanding of the way that God reveals Himself to us; and,
an understanding of the way that God teaches us about spiritual things.

Of course, the most obvious way that God reveals Himself to us is through the things that He says—after all, His Word isn’t called His Word for no reason. However, an equally revealing way, and one that is often overlooked, is through the things that He does—that is, in the way that He acts in a given situation, as well as in the way that He relates to the people involved in those situations.

For instance, from the very beginning of the Bible, we are introduced to a God who purposefully separates things, repeatedly making divisions or distinctions between them, before passing judgments upon them. We see this taking place throughout the creation story, where, in Genesis 1:1, we learn that God’s intentions were to create two separate and distinct realms of existence, the heavens and the earth; while in the verses that follow, we learn how He went about doing that. The process was simple: He spoke, His Word was activated by the hovering Holy Spirit, then that which was spoken became reality; the results, on the other hand, were beyond impressive:

God spoke light into darkness, separated the light from the darkness, and then He gave them distinctive names;
God commanded the waters to be divided by an expanse or an atmosphere, with this resulting in the creation of the heavens;
God commanded the waters under the heavens to be collected and set apart so that dry land could emerge, thus creating the earth;
God called vegetation to come forth from the newly created earth, separating it into distinct kinds;
God then went on to separate day from night, season from season, fish from fowl, and one kind of living creature from another;
Then, God created man, separate and distinct from all the other living creatures, and gave him dominion over all of His other works;
Finally, God separated the woman from the man in order to provide him with the companion and helper that he would need in life; and,
All of this God judged to be good and very good.

This revelation of a God who divides, separates, and then judges, is an extremely important one for us to remember; for it will be a recurring theme throughout scripture, one eventually leading us to the final division and judgment of humanity at the Great White Throne spoken of in Revelation 20:11ff, but it will also prove to be essential to our eventual understanding of the part that trees play in God’s story of redemption.

Now, as for discovering how to use the second tool in our treasure hunting arsenal—that is, an understanding of the way that God teaches us about spiritual truths–let’s look at Romans 1:19-20 to see what insights the Apostle Paul can give us on that subject. There, he says…

For what can be known about God is plain to them [men], because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they [men] are without excuse.

To me, this is one of the most profound and enlightening verses in scripture because in just fifty-two words, we learn:

That God has manifested or made known to us such otherwise inexplicable concepts as His eternal power and divine nature (some translations say “His eternal power and godhead”) through the things that He has made; and,
That, in order to do so, God intentionally incorporated things into the natural world that could later be used as living illustrations or object lessons for some spiritual truth or reality.

This is just another way of informing us that God’s method of teaching has always been to take the known and use it to explain the unknown; in other words, use the things that we can see and are familiar with to explain those things that are beyond the reach of our normal comprehension.

As you may recall, this was the same method that Jesus used when teaching His disciples the spiritual truths that they needed to know. When Jesus wanted His disciples to understand the spiritual realities of who He was, He used such common ordinary things as bread, water, light, darkness, birth and death to make those things known to them. And when He wanted to teach them what the kingdom of heaven was like, He used parables, or stories about events in everyday life—such as sowing, reaping, marriage, feasts and celebrations—to explain what life would be like in the coming kingdom of God. Teaching in this way certainly wasn’t new, nor did it originate during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry; in reality, Jesus was just doing what He had seen His Father do since the dawn of time—use the known to explain the unknown.

Now that we have been equipped with a rudimentary knowledge of the tools of that we will be using for the job, it is time for us to begin digging for the treasures of truth that God has hidden for us in the trees–a task which we will undertake when we meet together the next time.

Searching for truth isn’t always easy, as Sanctus Real reminds us in “These Things Take Time…”

A Detour Around the Trees

October 4, 2013 by Judy

An Essential Delay

Although I had planned on using our time together today to try and answer some of the questions that were raised at the end our last visit—questions as to why God would choose to use trees to tell His story of redemption—it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. The reason being, every time I have tried to organize my thoughts on the subject, it was as if somebody put my brain on “automatic scramble” and after being hit with the equivalent of a mental brickbat, not just once but many times, I decided that it would be to my advantage to go with whatever alternative the Lord decided to give me. This seems to be that alternative—a reflection I am calling “A Detour Around the Trees”—for all of the obvious reasons.

This detour originally began as a status update for my Facebook page, but it never made it that far. For whatever reason, while I was working on this, I didn’t experience the “brain scramble” that I did with the other work. As a result, this update just kept on growing until eventually it looked more like a reflection rather than an update–so that is what I will make it.

It was always my intention, once this blog was up and running, to use one of our visits to explain why I had chosen “His Truth, My Voice: The Reflections of a Reluctant Prophet” as the name for my blog. But even though we have been meeting together, on average, once a week for the past five months, it is something that has remained unattended to. I thought that since some of you may have been curious about my choice of names, this would be a good time to offer an explanation for it—plus, it will give my brain something of a break, too. So, let’s start by first explaining the “reluctant prophet” part of the name.

This originated many years ago when I was trying to get a new singles’ Sunday school class started at my church–a class specifically designed for more in-depth Bible study than what was then being offered. However, when I proposed the class to the powers-that-were, I was told by the minister of education that I would not be allowed to teach the class because I was a woman who would be teaching adult men. He explained to me that there were only two other women in the church at the time who were teaching adult men, but it was okay for them because they were married, and their husbands were “visible presences” in the church. When I replied that as a single woman, I considered Christ to be my husband until He gave me one in the flesh, and that I certainly hoped He was a visible presence in the church, the minister didn’t know quite how to respond—other than to say that he still didn’t want me to teach.

I don’t think so…

Interestingly enough, about this same time, I was asked to be the guest teacher in a men’s Sunday school class at another church about a hundred miles away. Obviously, this church didn’t have the same concerns about me teaching men that my home church did. Naturally, none of this made any sense to me, so while I was out walking one day and asking the Lord what I should do about both situations, He spoke to me, saying, “You need to resolve this issue because I am going to make you a prophet…”

Since that was the last thing that I expected to hear, it should come as no surprise to learn that the first thing out of my mouth was, “But I don’t want to be a prophet, I want everyone to like me. Besides, I have read ‘The Book’ and I know what the ‘people of God’ have done to the prophets of God in the past. Plus, I am really not up for being drawn and quartered, burned at the stake, beheaded, or boiled in hot oil. So, what is Your Plan B?” I waited and waited for Him to respond but no answer ever came.

More time went by and when no Plan B was forthcoming, I decided to go back to God and try and negotiate a better deal for myself. “Okay, Plan A thing, at least let’s define our terms; that way I will know exactly what You will be expecting of me as your prophet. According to my definition of the term, I just don’t see how I could possibly qualify as one. I don’t foretell the future, I don’t give personal words to people, and there isn’t a preacher that I know of who would move aside and let me preach the Word from his pulpit. So, what do You mean when you use the term prophet?”

After a short pause, all He said was, “Think about it.” (Mind you, He has told me that on more than one occasion and I really don’t like to hear it because, as far as I am concerned, it requires just a little too much effort and thought on my part, if you know what I mean.)

Hmmm…think about it, huh? Well, the thought that came to my mind right away was of the three offices mentioned in the Old Testament: those of prophet, priest, and king. As I began to think about them, I realized that I could eliminate any consideration of the duties of king because gender alone would exclude me from that office. As for the office of priest, I knew that it was to be filled by someone who would represent the people before God; someone who would bring sacrifices, prayers, and petitions before Him on their behalf. Of course, being a Christian meant that I was already a member of the priesthood of believers, so I couldn’t see how I would have to concern myself with that office either.

Too Much Like Work!

With this process of elimination speeding things along, all that was left for me to consider was the office of the prophet. I knew that this office was going to be different from the others because both of those were intended to be hereditary ones. The office of prophet, however, was to be occupied on an as-needed basis by a person chosen by God to be His representative before the people. As such, he would be charged with the task of delivering God’s Words to the people, so that they could understand His thoughts, positions, or attitudes on any given subject or situation.

As I thought about all of this, suddenly the bells went off—ding, ding, ding—and the light bulb came on—blinkie, blinkie, and I said, “OK, Lord, I’ve got it. As Your prophet, what You want me to do is to take Your Word to people and use it to explain to them who You are, what You want from them and for them. I can do that—in fact, I have been doing that for years! No problem.”

Thankfully, I did not have to work so hard or think quite so much when it came to the reason for the “His Truth, My Voice” part. That’s because those words came to me directly from the Lord in two messages given on two separate occasions. In a word given to me by the Lord on June 26, 2008, He said,

“Use the voice that I have given you…age is not an issue, appearance is not an issue…the truth is the issue—make that your focus. Remember, My Truth is your voice.”

And later, in a word given to me on July 28, 2009, He said,

“Remember: My Word is My Truth, and My Truth is Your Voice.”

His instructions couldn’t have been any clearer so, for once, He didn’t get any backtalk from me—something which surely must have come as a refreshing change!

Selah, with “Press On.”

His Truth, My Voice

The reflections of a reluctant prophet

Category Archives: Early Reflections

Of Trees and Tapestries

For Everything There Is a Season…There’s Even One to Rock and Roll

A Season for Remembrance and Reflection

Of Trees and Tapestries

Tree Treasures, Part II

…Truth Hidden in the Trees

Treasures of Truth…

A Detour Around the Trees