9/27/13

Huggin' The Tree

The Holy Scriptures have a lot to say about trees. They're spoken of figuratively quite often throughout the Bible. Good trees bear good fruit; bad trees bear bad fruit. And so on. Trees are also spoken of literally in Scripture. Zaccheus climbed a sycamore tree to see Christ as He was passing by. Then Zaccheus said the sinner's prayer after coming forward to the altar call while singing "Just As I Am" the 8th consecutive time.

Speaking of decisional regeneration and the sinner's prayer...



The Scriptures also talk about some more important trees. Like the tree of life, or tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Or the cross.

Galatians 3:13-14:  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

1 Peter 2:24: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

The true tree of life is the cross on which the Savior hung.

So if you want to hug a tree, hug the cross. More specifically, embrace the Savior who hung on that tree.
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2 comments:

  1. Pastor Jason Harris9/27/13, 11:48 AM

    The Tree of Life
    1. The tree of life with ev'ry good
    In Eden's holy orchard stood,
    And of its fruit so pure and sweet
    God let the man and women eat.
    Yet in this garden also grew
    Another tree, of which they knew;
    Its lovely limbs with fruit adorned
    Against whose eating God had warned.

    2. The stillness of that sacred grove
    Was broken, as the serpent strove
    With tempting voice Eve to beguile
    And Adam too by sin defile.
    O day of sadness when the breath
    Of fear and darkness, doubt and death,
    Its awful poison first displayed
    Within the world so newly made.

    3. What mercy God showed to our race,
    A plan of rescue by His grace:
    In sending One from woman's seed,
    The One to fill our greatest need--
    For on tree uplifted high
    His only Son for sin would die,
    Would drink the cup of scorn and dread
    To crush the ancient serpent's head!

    4. Now from that tree of Jesus' shame
    Flows life eternal in His name;
    For all who trust and will believe,
    Salvation's living fruit receive.
    And of its fruit so pure and sweet
    The Lord invites the world to eat,
    To find within this cross of wood
    The tree of life with ev'ry good.

    Stephen P. Starke

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  2. Anonymous9/27/13, 2:10 PM

    A good message for people who take nature as their god!

    By the way, if Zaccheus did not say the sinners' prayer after hearing the invitation then Evangelicalism is not Biblical Christianity. You need to remove the strike-through. :p

    - Clint

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