The Giving Tree

 (Righteous will flourish)

Proverbs 11:24-31

  

In the 1996 movie, Jerry Maguire, a slick sports agent has a crisis of conscience which results in him getting fired and starting his own agency. Desperate to salvage the only client/athlete that he has left, the agent shouts over the phone, “Show me the money!” to show his client just how committed he is to him.

In the world, this is what it comes down to a lot of the time. Somebody somewhere is shouting, “Show me the money! As believers though, we’re to have a different view towards money; a different perspective for its use. Proverbs has this to say about it.

 ²⁸ A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;

    a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.           Proverbs 11 MSG

This verse paints a picture that reminds me of the children’s book written by Shel Silverstein titled “The Giving Tree”. It’s a story about a boy and a tree.

During his childhood, the boy enjoyed playing with the tree; climbing her trunk, swinging from her branches, and eating her apples. However, as he gets older he begins to use the tree for his own selfish pleasure; selling her apples, building a house from her branches and cutting her trunk to make a boat.

The tree gave and gave and gave of herself until all that was left was “a stump”. This is an interesting twist on verse 28. In “The Giving Tree”, the stump actually became “a flourishing tree”.

Every time that the tree gave another part of herself to the boy, the narrative states, “And the tree was happy”. This is similar to what Proverbs has to tell us about giving.

 ²⁴ The world of the generous gets larger and larger;

    the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.

²⁵ The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.       Proverbs 11 MSG

 THE Giving Tree of the Bible, gave and gave and gave of Himself to the point of sacrificing His one and only son whom He loved. Likewise, God calls us to invest ourselves in the lives of those around us; not just with our treasure, but also with our time and talents. If we do this, the result will be “a flourishing tree”.

Famous Last Words

2 Timothy 2:22-26

Sometimes people are recognizable by their last words as much as they are by their physical appearance. It may not even be the last thing they ever say, only in a sense it is. See if you can recognize any of these famous “last words”. The correct answers are at the bottom of the page. (Don’t cheat now.)

• I am not a crook.
• What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
• Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.

At the time that he wrote 2 Timothy, Paul was nearing the end of his life. Like a common criminal, he was chained, in a cold, dark dungeon waiting for his execution.

Knowing that his days were numbered, he wanted to make the most of his time. He wanted to impart his most important wisdom to those who were most important to him.

Therefore, he wrote this letter to his “son”, Timothy. He wrote with passion, conviction and purpose. Pay close attention to these final words.

²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope

that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.     NIV

Gently instruct, in the hope that God will lead them to the truth; not hammering it down their throat; not making your point so that you are right and they are wrong; but being invitational and unconditional in your friendship while expecting nothing from them, but everything from God.

 Keep in mind the most famous of last words spoken by our Savior Jesus, “It is finished”.

What he did on the cross for all who will accept him makes it possible for us to know him and spend eternity with him. But it also makes it possible for us to share with others his love and message.

Here are the correct answers:

• Richard Milhous Nixon denies involvement in the 1972 Watergate scandal.
• Paul Newman who starred in the role of a prisoner in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke. Upon speaking this line he was immediately shot.
• Red Saunders the UCLA football coach in 1950. Sorry Packer fans Vince Lombardi didn’t originate this quote.

It’s a Home Going, not a Funeral

“The New Jerusalem”

Revelation 21:1-8

 

While teaching in the Columbus City Schools, my wife was invited to attend a funeral service by one of her students. Only when my wife referred to it as a funeral she was corrected by her student. “It’s a home going, not a funeral”.

According to Wikipedia, “the history of the home going service can be traced back to the arrival of African slaves in America. Early during the slave trade, slaves believed death meant their soul would return home to their native Africa.”

“When slaves were introduced to Christianity, the Old Testament stories of God and Moses freeing a captive and enslaved race resonated with them. The New Testament stories of Jesus and promises of glory in heaven and a far better after-life allowed slaves to forge through the turmoil of mortal life and look forward to the day when they would return home to the Lord.”

 ^2 “And I, John, saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. It was a glorious sight, beautiful as a bride at her wedding. ³ I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, “Look, the home of God is now among men, and he will live with them and they will be his people; yes, God himself will be among them. ⁴ He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever.”            TLB

This is a beautiful picture of our final home going. John’s words are a message of hope for all of us. The group MercyMe has a song that articulates that hope and how we might feel on that day when we are in the New Jerusalem in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

I can only imagine what it will be like
When I walk by your side

Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

What could be any better than to be in the presence of the One who created us and faithfully loves us?

That will truly be a home going.

It's Friday..... but Sunday's Coming

John 19:31-42

 

 

Jesus died on the Day of Preparation. This was a special day because it was the day before the Passover Sabbath. “Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down”.

 

Heaven forbid that they leave the bodies hanging on the crosses on the Sabbath. After all, these are the same men who hated Jesus enough to have him murdered. Yet they wouldn’t want to do anything to break their precious rules - no bodies on the crosses on the Sabbath. God forbid you wouldn’t want to have that happen.

 

This whole passage is so matter-of-fact. The Jewish leaders ignoring their murderous deeds but upholding their religious rules. Like Jesus had said all along, they were hypocrites, and their actions proved it.

 

The Roman soldiers methodically broke the legs of the two men hanging next to Jesus. They pierced Jesus’ heart with a spear while his limp body hung on the cross - dead. It was methodical because they had probably done it countless times before.

 

Joseph was a covert disciple of Jesus. He and Nicodemus, who had met Jesus at night, took a public stand for him. With Pilate’s permission, they took Jesus’ body and prepared him for burial; placing him in a new tomb. The whole scene is surreal.

 

To think, that only a few days before, Jesus had been given a hero’s welcome to Jerusalem. Now he lay dead in a tomb; deserted by his closest disciples. All seemed lost. Their hopes died with Jesus on the cross.

 

Years ago I heard Tony Campolo speak at a conference and he told a story about a “preach-off” that he had participated in. One of the preachers stood and began slowly, “It’s Friday….. but Sunday’s coming. On Friday, Jesus died and was buried….. but Sunday’s coming”. It was a simple, but powerful message.

 

You can read the words and listen to the sermon at www.easyrew.com/friday-but-sundays-coming/.

 

If we took this message to heart every day, our lives would be changed. It doesn’t matter what is happening on our Friday, because Sunday is coming. We may be going through the struggle of a lost job, a death in the family, an addiction, a mental illness - but there is hope. That hope comes from what happened on Sunday - the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

It’s Friday….. but Sunday’s coming.

 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2019%3A31-42&version=NIV;MSG
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/John.19.31-John.19.42