The New Tree
Revelation 22:1-5
"...On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."
(REVELATION 22:2)
A few years ago a wildfire crossed my property and burned several old oak trees to the ground. It was sad to see the smoldering roots of trees that had been there since the 1800s. But in the successive spring, new trees appeared out of the ashes. The fire had released the generative force of buried acorns.
There once was a tree that grew in the Garden of Eden called "The Tree of Life." We never got to eat its fruit because of sin's curse. Somehow it disappeared from this world. But in the book of Revelation, we read of a new tree of life that will grow someday in a place called "The New Jerusalem."
All of life and history are moving toward that day. There will be difficult times before it arrives. Our lives will know the sorrows that come from our sin-corrupted world. But after all of that, Christ's followers will eat from the tree of life in a place where, "No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God... will be there in the city, and his servants will serve him" (Revelation 22:3).
INSIGHT
JESUS SAVES US SO THAT WE "MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO THE TREE OF LIFE AND MAY GO THROUGH THE GATES INTO THE CITY"
(REVELATION 22:14).
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
2 Samuel 15-16
Psalm 143
1 Thessalonians 3-4
Revelation 22:1-5
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
The River of Life
22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
MORE THAN ENOUGH
with Chris Tomlin
Contentment is one of the most difficult spiritual disciplines to master. How do we shift our focus from worldly concerns to the things that matter to God?
No comments:
Post a Comment