2016-10-21
Good Morning Dear Ones,
In keeping with my belief and assertion that we must learn from our history, we have been, at the behest of the Holy Spirit, looking at mankind’s interactions with God in the last few weeks. With the Scripture citations I’ve already given and our undying belief that they are true, we have our hindsight to back them up. But God also gives us some future events, which He prophesies in the Bible. Since these haven’t happened yet, we must rely on the fact that God never lies to accept them as truth too. Remember: faith is defined in HE 11: 1 as, “Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” God is asking us to trust in Him and has even written that if those who see things and believe are blessed, imagine how much more blessed are those who don’t see these things but believe.
At the basis of what is to come is God’s unconditional love for those who love Him. Otherwise, He would have never sent the Lord Jesus to suffer, die on the cross, and be resurrected back to His side “as the Firstborn among many brothers” [JN 3:16; RO 8: 29]. The book of Revelation is the quintessential presentation of the future God is preparing for believers. In REV 21 and 22 the New Jerusalem is described, which will come once He has finished disposing of earth’s evils. REV 22: 1-2, “Then the angels showed me (John) the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 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.” I believe the fruit here can be taken both literally and in the metaphoric sense. It’s no accident that EZK 47: 12 prophesies what God makes true in REV 22: 1-2.
Since we are told, in REV 21: 27, that “nothing impure will enter the city,” then one can think of believers, once scared by evildoing, will be healed as both individuals and nations in this city. Peace will reign supreme for eternity there. The tree of life grows there, but not the tree of knowledge of good and evil (as was described in GN 2: 9). There is no need for the latter any more. These healing leave won’t wither, nor will the fruit fail. There won’t be months without leaves and fruit any more.
Initially I didn’t see this connection between eternal vs. limited life. GN 3: 22, “And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the fruit of the tree of life and live forever.’” This was said after the original sin and just before mankind was banished from the Garden of Eden. It’s no accident that GN 5, the list of Adam’s descendants through Noah, was given soon after that—each descendant having a fixed number of years to his age. How true it is that the number of years we live physically is determined by God alone, for He is the only One with the power to do so. Due to our faith in Him, it’s hard not to see in God what the Greek language calls dunamis, meaning “power,” from which the English word “dynamite” is derived. This divine power is unequalled by any human. It includes the power to know the mystery of God, which is Christ in us [COL 1: 26-27; COL 2: 2-3]. It is miraculous strength and wisdom, which has a huge impact on the lives of human believers to affect good in our lives. It is growth through sanctification to maturity spiritually. It alters thought patterns and behavior for the best; it produces wonderful fruit.
PRAYER: O Lord, we gather today before Your mighty throne with heads bowed in reverence and awe. This is as we consider the fruit we can produce for You and Your Kingdom-- on account of You giving us the Holy Spirit and the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Our lives are forever changed by having real faith in You. Your sacrifice of Your only Son on the cross for us and His resurrection is the ultimate sacrificial act of love. It is He Who taught us by His example what love is, how important to You it is, and how to imitate the love You desire us to have in our lives. You have called us to self-examination, so that we might learn to confess our sins with genuine hearts and to expunge them from our lives. 1 COR 13: 12-13 demands rereading in the context of what the Holy Spirit gave us above. “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part: then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” We are forever grateful to You for showing us the capacity to love You, self, and others that You created in us. We offer You thanks and praise, acknowledging Your sovereignty and superiority in our lives. Your goodness endures, despite the times we have disappointed You. For that and so much more, we offer You our lives in service to Your Kingdom. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: In the hope of shedding more light on the meaning of “fruit,” we will take a good look at EPH 1: 15-23, and if space permits, EPH 6: 10-13, as the Holy Spirit directs. In the meanwhile, I’ve had some time to meditate over the meaning in my own life of RO 12: 1-2. It is true that Christ is the ideal for our lives. What caused me to pause awhile was the part that says we will experience “a transformation by the complete renewal of one’s mind.” This is a statement describing a powerful manifestation of God’s power. It’s astonishing to think that a person like me, who was always in a self-loathing way looking at life from a negative point of view, could think so differently now. The contrast in my life from a negative, angry life that lacked direction, to the way I ideate now is amazing. I couldn’t do that for myself, and the Lord gets all the credit! PS 115: 1, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness.” God can change our thinking; He can heal our wounds; He can cause us to mature, getting to know Him better. He can cause us to hunger for and fall in love with His word. He can dissolve anger and replace it with Kingdom-building and purpose. He teaches us to make ethical decisions and guides us through “that narrow gate that leads to the rough path” [MT 7: 13-14] to eternal life. Praise and thanks be to Him forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2016. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives