Whenever I read Scripture, whether Old Testament or New, I always ask "How does this pertain to me?" and "What are you showing me about yourself today, Lord?" So even if I don't understand very much of what I read, I'm still going to come away having had an encounter with the Lord. My goals of understanding Him more and being more equipped to live for Him are therefore always fulfilled.
One thing that stands out to me when I read the prophets is how much God hates idolatry. This isn't going to touch me much if I keep myself at a distance from these expressions, or put them in the past tense, or aim them in someone else's direction. In the here and now, Christ is passionate about burning away the things that I substitute for Him, the things that I worship that are not Him. The things that I fear and bow down to-- the things that intimidate me-- or the things I try to fill up with other than Him. Even though I know very well that nothing can fill the emptiness that we all feel without Him, I still struggle at times to keep from seeking fulfillment from other sources. We all do.
Accepting God's feelings about idols helps me to lay them down. As I move from being motivated mostly by the fear of the Lord to being motivated by love for Him, I find that I don't want to grieve His heart. Hidden idols in my heart grieve Him, and I want to be rid of them at all cost. I have to ask Him what they are, because it is still part of my sin nature to hide them from myself. Once we're willing to deal with this issue, He gently guides us towards freeing ourselves from all that is contrary to pure heart worship.
When I see how much Ezekiel was willing to go through to demonstrate God's Word to His people I feel pretty wimpy in comparison. God hasn't called me to do the things Ezekiel did (whew!) but He has called me to do some things, which I often find lame excuses for not doing. I wonder if idols have anything to do with this? I think I'll ask Him.
I love the book of Hebrews! What glorious visions of Christ we find here! Today, I'm grateful to be reminded of His loving priesthood and how we can, because of Him, come boldly to the throne for mercy and grace. Every day is my time of need! If I want to do the works He's called me to do, I'll have to enter into (and remain in) that seventh day. This is the place of pure worship that I'm looking for!
Avoiding things I'm called to do is just as much outside of the Rest as doing things I'm not called to do (it's all my own works).
"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His." Hebrews 4:9-10 NKJV
I embrace the sword of His Word, as painful as it sometimes is, because it so clearly shows me where I'm at, as well as vividly revealing the Lord. As His sword cuts away the junk, it makes more room in my life for Him.
Showing posts with label sword. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sword. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
July 15, 2010 When Kings Go Out To Battle
What jumped out at me today was a phrase I'd noticed before, but never thought to wonder about: in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle.(1 Chronicles 20:1). I wondered what the spiritual significance of this was, and I asked the Lord about it. I was expecting to read about David's affair with Bathsheba, since the same phrase was used in that story. I looked it up: it is 2 Samuel 11:1, but this was a different account of David. In both accounts, it says that Joab went out against Ammon and besieged Rabbah, but that David stayed in Jerusalem in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle. Whether both accounts are the same period of time, I do not know. It is not in the boundaries of this devotional that I do external research. I will leave this mystery for later, and you can go study it for yourself if you wish.
One thing is clear, there are seasons when we should be battling the enemy, and if we're not, then we'll surely end up devastated. Going from historical ignorance here, but not spiritual ignorance, I'd say it is quite possible that this was one particular time period in David's life. It seems, from the way he took and wore the defeated king's crown instead of dedicating the gold to the Lord-- as he had always done before-- that he was falling into pride. When we're prosperous and feel powerful and undefeatable, luxury and a feeling of complacency certainly have a way of leading us away from humility and hard work and into pride and laziness. "Let other people do it; this is my due."
In our reading, although there is great time-compression in this chronicle, it is revealing to see what happened over the census David decided to do. Pride again seems to be the open door here for the sinful choice he made. "Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel." 1 Chroncles 21:1 The consequences for this were devastating, and God's judgment brought David to a place of humility again. Pride and not fearing the Lord go hand in hand. Pride is iniquity of the spirit, and it was Satan's downfall, remember-- he is particularly attuned to it and empowered by it.
In our individual lives, pride opens the door for the devil to steal, kill and destroy. Resisting the devil requires submitting to God, and that requires humility. (James 4:7) Humility is one of the best of our weapons of warfare. In a nation's life, pride in the hearts of those in leadership (government) opens the door for satanic attack, and also God's judgment-- which falls on the people the government was supposed to bless and protect. Rather than lash out in anger, it is wise for the people in a nation to humble themselves and pray for their leadership. I've been convicted many times of not doing this seriously enough. What I read in the Word today gives me strong incentive.
I still want more revelation about the time kings go out to battle. It was in the spring. To me that says it's the time when things that have already been planted and established are beginning to bud (spiritual or natural, and it's a different time for everyone). That means that another harvest is on its way, and each harvest should be greater than the last (for a natural example-- a harvest from an apple orchard). Satan wants to keep us and our life efforts from bearing any fruit; if there's something established in our life that he hasn't been able to destoy, he's going to want to keep the harvest from happening: "nip it in the bud." Every spring, it's the same. The bully wants to create a famine for us if he can. If we're proud and lazy-- or simply don't have a clue -- we'll lose the fruit of our labors. This was to be our provision, our offering to the Lord, and a blessing to the poor.
You know spring is a reality, therefore you need to understand the season and go out to battle. The person who has the initiative can take the high ground, or choose the most strategic battlefront. Why wait for the devil to barge in and take what's yours (by the blessing of God and the work of your hands)? You know he's just going to keep doing the same thing until he realizes it's futile. So don't be proud, lazy or stupid! Pick up your Sword and go out against him.
One thing is clear, there are seasons when we should be battling the enemy, and if we're not, then we'll surely end up devastated. Going from historical ignorance here, but not spiritual ignorance, I'd say it is quite possible that this was one particular time period in David's life. It seems, from the way he took and wore the defeated king's crown instead of dedicating the gold to the Lord-- as he had always done before-- that he was falling into pride. When we're prosperous and feel powerful and undefeatable, luxury and a feeling of complacency certainly have a way of leading us away from humility and hard work and into pride and laziness. "Let other people do it; this is my due."
In our reading, although there is great time-compression in this chronicle, it is revealing to see what happened over the census David decided to do. Pride again seems to be the open door here for the sinful choice he made. "Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel." 1 Chroncles 21:1 The consequences for this were devastating, and God's judgment brought David to a place of humility again. Pride and not fearing the Lord go hand in hand. Pride is iniquity of the spirit, and it was Satan's downfall, remember-- he is particularly attuned to it and empowered by it.
In our individual lives, pride opens the door for the devil to steal, kill and destroy. Resisting the devil requires submitting to God, and that requires humility. (James 4:7) Humility is one of the best of our weapons of warfare. In a nation's life, pride in the hearts of those in leadership (government) opens the door for satanic attack, and also God's judgment-- which falls on the people the government was supposed to bless and protect. Rather than lash out in anger, it is wise for the people in a nation to humble themselves and pray for their leadership. I've been convicted many times of not doing this seriously enough. What I read in the Word today gives me strong incentive.
I still want more revelation about the time kings go out to battle. It was in the spring. To me that says it's the time when things that have already been planted and established are beginning to bud (spiritual or natural, and it's a different time for everyone). That means that another harvest is on its way, and each harvest should be greater than the last (for a natural example-- a harvest from an apple orchard). Satan wants to keep us and our life efforts from bearing any fruit; if there's something established in our life that he hasn't been able to destoy, he's going to want to keep the harvest from happening: "nip it in the bud." Every spring, it's the same. The bully wants to create a famine for us if he can. If we're proud and lazy-- or simply don't have a clue -- we'll lose the fruit of our labors. This was to be our provision, our offering to the Lord, and a blessing to the poor.
You know spring is a reality, therefore you need to understand the season and go out to battle. The person who has the initiative can take the high ground, or choose the most strategic battlefront. Why wait for the devil to barge in and take what's yours (by the blessing of God and the work of your hands)? You know he's just going to keep doing the same thing until he realizes it's futile. So don't be proud, lazy or stupid! Pick up your Sword and go out against him.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
May 12, 2010 Bullies in a Battle of Words
We're always going to get tested to see what our true motivations are. King Saul was tested, and he flunked. If we look at the story only in the natural we might want to take Saul's part; but if you see what Samuel saw, you'll realize what went wrong, and why the kingdom was to be taken away from him.
The king and his son were the only ones who had swords! The oppressive enemy had seen to it that the people had none (and they put up with it!) In the spiritual sense, Saul was the one who had the word of God-- and he disobeyed it. His explanation sounds plausible, but Samuel says other wise. Saul was not "a man after God's heart," and therefore his kindgom would not continue.
David, on the other hand was a man after God's heart. He knew not to fight the enemy without the Lord going before him: "Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies." Psalm 108:12-13 Saul sought his own glory, but David sought the glory of God.
Jesus said, "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him." John 7:18
Jesus said only what His Father told Him to say. He only sought the glory of the Father, and now the kingdom of Christ has been established over all.
We get tested when the enemy is there taunting us and making threats, and we think the Lord isn't doing anything about it. Sometimes He doesn't "show up" fast enough for us. If we don't have the Word in us, we're going to go run and hide in a cave, and the bully gets a victory. If we do have the Word, but we don't have God's heart, we will speak and act presumptuously. We may have been better off running and hiding. When we speak the Word or do an "obedient" action out of God's time, and with a selfish motivation, we can easily become a weapon in the hands of the enemy.
"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit."
Proverbs 15:4
I think we know, by now, that the perverseness is in the heart (if it were in the physical tongue, we could all cut out our tongues out and be very righteous indeed!). Words can be swords. How many times have our rash words broken another's spirit, and, in turn, our own? I cannot begin to count the times I have done this. But it happens less often now, because I'm tired of hurting others and suffering the pain of it myself-- and I'm tired of grieving the Holy Spirit. I want a wholesome tongue. I want a whole heart after God.
Powerlessness is a bad thing, and God wants to deliver us from it. But power without godly authority is deadly. We cannot inherit the kingdom of God by walking in power without love and submission to God. We can't beat the devil with the devil's attitudes. For one thing, we must realize that Satan is already defeated; but we still must destroy his works. God will help us destroy the works of the enemy if we have God's heart and are seeking His glory and not our own.
Jesus is the Tree of Life. The more we yield to the Spirit and allow Him to grow that Tree in our heart, the more life-giving our words will be. This is God's heart for you, and for all His children. Some of Satan's strategy would be to irritate you so much that you hack away at the Tree growing in someone else's garden. Let's be patient with one another, and look for and nourish that Tree. At this moment, it might be just be a seedling that needs to be nurtured and protected. Someday, it will be a great Tree that will offer shelter to the lost and dying.
The king and his son were the only ones who had swords! The oppressive enemy had seen to it that the people had none (and they put up with it!) In the spiritual sense, Saul was the one who had the word of God-- and he disobeyed it. His explanation sounds plausible, but Samuel says other wise. Saul was not "a man after God's heart," and therefore his kindgom would not continue.
David, on the other hand was a man after God's heart. He knew not to fight the enemy without the Lord going before him: "Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies." Psalm 108:12-13 Saul sought his own glory, but David sought the glory of God.
Jesus said, "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him." John 7:18
Jesus said only what His Father told Him to say. He only sought the glory of the Father, and now the kingdom of Christ has been established over all.
We get tested when the enemy is there taunting us and making threats, and we think the Lord isn't doing anything about it. Sometimes He doesn't "show up" fast enough for us. If we don't have the Word in us, we're going to go run and hide in a cave, and the bully gets a victory. If we do have the Word, but we don't have God's heart, we will speak and act presumptuously. We may have been better off running and hiding. When we speak the Word or do an "obedient" action out of God's time, and with a selfish motivation, we can easily become a weapon in the hands of the enemy.
"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit."
Proverbs 15:4
I think we know, by now, that the perverseness is in the heart (if it were in the physical tongue, we could all cut out our tongues out and be very righteous indeed!). Words can be swords. How many times have our rash words broken another's spirit, and, in turn, our own? I cannot begin to count the times I have done this. But it happens less often now, because I'm tired of hurting others and suffering the pain of it myself-- and I'm tired of grieving the Holy Spirit. I want a wholesome tongue. I want a whole heart after God.
Powerlessness is a bad thing, and God wants to deliver us from it. But power without godly authority is deadly. We cannot inherit the kingdom of God by walking in power without love and submission to God. We can't beat the devil with the devil's attitudes. For one thing, we must realize that Satan is already defeated; but we still must destroy his works. God will help us destroy the works of the enemy if we have God's heart and are seeking His glory and not our own.
Jesus is the Tree of Life. The more we yield to the Spirit and allow Him to grow that Tree in our heart, the more life-giving our words will be. This is God's heart for you, and for all His children. Some of Satan's strategy would be to irritate you so much that you hack away at the Tree growing in someone else's garden. Let's be patient with one another, and look for and nourish that Tree. At this moment, it might be just be a seedling that needs to be nurtured and protected. Someday, it will be a great Tree that will offer shelter to the lost and dying.
Monday, April 26, 2010
April 26, 2010
Empowerment: that is the word that comes to me through the readings today, and yesterday's too (I'm sure you've noticed, I'm not writing on Sundays). I see the theme of God rising up through His faithful people to come against evil and oppression. "For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth." Psalm 96:13 Yes, Jesus is coming again as the Righteous Judge and King! Come quickly, Lord! In the meantime, He does call people to rise up and lead people to fight against wickedness, as we see in Gideon, and yesterday, in Deborah.
I often wonder how often the Church is responsible for what goes on in the world. How many times is it our turning away from God that allows evil to work, and how often is it our prayerlessness and lack of vigilance that allows evil to continue? Righteouness and judgment are part of God's nature. How does that affect us? Whenever the Israelites started serving other gods, they got overrun and oppressed by enemies. When they called out to God in repentance, they were given judges to help them overcome. You never know-- you might end up to be a Deborah or a Gideon whom the Lord might call and empower to fight evil. And like Jael, you might be a stay-at-home mom who the Lord uses to fight evil, right there in her own home!
It is so significant that Gideon's revelation of God was Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord is Peace. Did it ever occur to you that Jesus, always knowing what was in people's hearts and what would happen, told the disciples to bring swords so that He could teach them (even while He was being arrested) that God's battles are not fought with human strength, and that we must seek His strategies. Peter's lack of internal peace caused him to act impulsively out of fear and anger, cutting off a servant's ear. Without this on-the-field training, he could have become the next anti-Roman revolutionary. [A bonus spiritual insight: if we speak, even the Word of God, impulsively and without a love motivation and the leading of the Spirit, we can wound people and hinder them from being able to hear God's voice for themselves].
I've noticed two particular extremes of thought and behavior: 1) activists who want to take on every evil they see, and seem to do it passionately and with every means possible, righteous or not; and 2) "separatists" who want to think only of our future in heaven and who don't pay any attention to what is going on here. I really don't see the leading of the Spirit too much in either of these stances. The way I see it, if you're stuck in a "program", it's the program leading you, not the Lord. Our mindset needs to be: know the Lord and do what He says.
I'm not trying to get into a debate about war here, and I'm not answering questions about whether nations should go to war or not. What I'm talking about is individuals and their response to God. I'm talking about spiritual warfare, not natural. It should be clear, by now, that the Israel in the Old Testament was a living parable about spiritual things. God's not telling you to take a tent peg and hammer it through somebody's temple! He's not telling you to bomb an abortion clinic or to assassinate someone. But that doesn't mean we're supposed to sit around and do nothing. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Luke 18: 7-8
Jesus went to the cross because mankind needed to be delivered from the power of darkness. He now sits on the right hand of God, in power and authority. Satan is defeated, and yet, he seems to be running rampant in the world. What to do? What to do?
I don't claim to have answers for everything. I know that there are end-time things that are happening, absolutes that have been prophesied and cannot be changed. Satan will be allowed to do things, and we won't be given power to stop him, not until the Lord comes back and we fight Satan together. However, one thing I know: we, each and every Christian, have been given authority to put an end to all demonic activity and oppression in our own life. If every Christian alive on earth never allowed Satan to do anything in their own areas of dominion, starting first and foremost in their own mind, what would this do on Earth?
This is one goal of mine, after being led at all times by the Spirit of Truth, and that is not to give the devil a single opportunity. If every Christian walked free, as Christ means for us to do, the level of freedom in each of our nations would rise as well. If we desire to fight spiritual wickedness in high places-- principalities and powers that have a hold over many areas of influence, people and nations-- we must first win on the personal front.
Gideon was not expecting the visitation he received. Gideon had never been to war as far as I know-- he was a farm-boy. Yet the angel of the Lord greeted him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior." Gideon saw himself, in the natural, as a weak nobody. But he could apparently hear God, and maybe he was an intercessor. "Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel."
Do you think of yourself as weak, or a nobody? God sees you differently! If you have received Christ and are born-again, then you have the Spirit of God in you! You have the Word, the Sword of the Spirit! Jesus, the King, is mighty in you! Your next battlefield is whatever comes up in your life that fights against the Truth! God has called you to be an overcomer. And whatever you overcome in your own life will be what God can work through you in to deliver others. No need to use a fleece. You've got more than Gideon did: you've got a new nature, and the internal leading of the Spirit! Go in this might of yours and conquer!
I often wonder how often the Church is responsible for what goes on in the world. How many times is it our turning away from God that allows evil to work, and how often is it our prayerlessness and lack of vigilance that allows evil to continue? Righteouness and judgment are part of God's nature. How does that affect us? Whenever the Israelites started serving other gods, they got overrun and oppressed by enemies. When they called out to God in repentance, they were given judges to help them overcome. You never know-- you might end up to be a Deborah or a Gideon whom the Lord might call and empower to fight evil. And like Jael, you might be a stay-at-home mom who the Lord uses to fight evil, right there in her own home!
It is so significant that Gideon's revelation of God was Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord is Peace. Did it ever occur to you that Jesus, always knowing what was in people's hearts and what would happen, told the disciples to bring swords so that He could teach them (even while He was being arrested) that God's battles are not fought with human strength, and that we must seek His strategies. Peter's lack of internal peace caused him to act impulsively out of fear and anger, cutting off a servant's ear. Without this on-the-field training, he could have become the next anti-Roman revolutionary. [A bonus spiritual insight: if we speak, even the Word of God, impulsively and without a love motivation and the leading of the Spirit, we can wound people and hinder them from being able to hear God's voice for themselves].
I've noticed two particular extremes of thought and behavior: 1) activists who want to take on every evil they see, and seem to do it passionately and with every means possible, righteous or not; and 2) "separatists" who want to think only of our future in heaven and who don't pay any attention to what is going on here. I really don't see the leading of the Spirit too much in either of these stances. The way I see it, if you're stuck in a "program", it's the program leading you, not the Lord. Our mindset needs to be: know the Lord and do what He says.
I'm not trying to get into a debate about war here, and I'm not answering questions about whether nations should go to war or not. What I'm talking about is individuals and their response to God. I'm talking about spiritual warfare, not natural. It should be clear, by now, that the Israel in the Old Testament was a living parable about spiritual things. God's not telling you to take a tent peg and hammer it through somebody's temple! He's not telling you to bomb an abortion clinic or to assassinate someone. But that doesn't mean we're supposed to sit around and do nothing. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Luke 18: 7-8
Jesus went to the cross because mankind needed to be delivered from the power of darkness. He now sits on the right hand of God, in power and authority. Satan is defeated, and yet, he seems to be running rampant in the world. What to do? What to do?
I don't claim to have answers for everything. I know that there are end-time things that are happening, absolutes that have been prophesied and cannot be changed. Satan will be allowed to do things, and we won't be given power to stop him, not until the Lord comes back and we fight Satan together. However, one thing I know: we, each and every Christian, have been given authority to put an end to all demonic activity and oppression in our own life. If every Christian alive on earth never allowed Satan to do anything in their own areas of dominion, starting first and foremost in their own mind, what would this do on Earth?
This is one goal of mine, after being led at all times by the Spirit of Truth, and that is not to give the devil a single opportunity. If every Christian walked free, as Christ means for us to do, the level of freedom in each of our nations would rise as well. If we desire to fight spiritual wickedness in high places-- principalities and powers that have a hold over many areas of influence, people and nations-- we must first win on the personal front.
Gideon was not expecting the visitation he received. Gideon had never been to war as far as I know-- he was a farm-boy. Yet the angel of the Lord greeted him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior." Gideon saw himself, in the natural, as a weak nobody. But he could apparently hear God, and maybe he was an intercessor. "Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel."
Do you think of yourself as weak, or a nobody? God sees you differently! If you have received Christ and are born-again, then you have the Spirit of God in you! You have the Word, the Sword of the Spirit! Jesus, the King, is mighty in you! Your next battlefield is whatever comes up in your life that fights against the Truth! God has called you to be an overcomer. And whatever you overcome in your own life will be what God can work through you in to deliver others. No need to use a fleece. You've got more than Gideon did: you've got a new nature, and the internal leading of the Spirit! Go in this might of yours and conquer!
Friday, January 15, 2010
January 15, 2010
This reading seems to hold a great paradox! But as we know there are no real contradictions in Scripture, only apparent ones. Proverbs 3:17 says of wisdom: "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace."
One of the big issues in the world today is "how can we have peace and stop all the fighting?" We will have to bring heaven to earth.
Jacob's less-than-peaceful situations seem to be related all to family members giving him trouble. David's complaints in the Psalms had to do with enemies causing him sorrow and pain. I think we can safely say that most of our grief is centered in our relationships with other people, often family.
Jesus said, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34. The whole section has to do with how we respond to others. The sword of truth is cutting us off from the earthly way of relating. Jesus says:
1. Don't be surprised when you're criticized or rejected because of Christ.
2. Don't fear people; fear God.
3. Have your worth in God and you won't worry about people accepting you (which leads to compromise).
4. Don't hold back your testimony: say what He tells you to.
5. If you love Him more than anyone else, you will have life.
6. If you live Him, speak Him, demonstrate Him, others will see Him; if they respond to Him, then they will come into right relationship with Him and with you.
Jacob obeyed God's word and his enemies were compelled to make peace with Him. David trusted in God and prevailed. They were both rooted in the reality of the Kingdom and promises of God rather than in the earthly realm.
The tree of life is rooted in the heavenlies. If we choose that tree, rather than the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is rooted in the earthly realm (the Word is cutting us off from that), we will have life and peace regardless of our earthly situation.
One of the big issues in the world today is "how can we have peace and stop all the fighting?" We will have to bring heaven to earth.
Jacob's less-than-peaceful situations seem to be related all to family members giving him trouble. David's complaints in the Psalms had to do with enemies causing him sorrow and pain. I think we can safely say that most of our grief is centered in our relationships with other people, often family.
Jesus said, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34. The whole section has to do with how we respond to others. The sword of truth is cutting us off from the earthly way of relating. Jesus says:
1. Don't be surprised when you're criticized or rejected because of Christ.
2. Don't fear people; fear God.
3. Have your worth in God and you won't worry about people accepting you (which leads to compromise).
4. Don't hold back your testimony: say what He tells you to.
5. If you love Him more than anyone else, you will have life.
6. If you live Him, speak Him, demonstrate Him, others will see Him; if they respond to Him, then they will come into right relationship with Him and with you.
Jacob obeyed God's word and his enemies were compelled to make peace with Him. David trusted in God and prevailed. They were both rooted in the reality of the Kingdom and promises of God rather than in the earthly realm.
The tree of life is rooted in the heavenlies. If we choose that tree, rather than the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is rooted in the earthly realm (the Word is cutting us off from that), we will have life and peace regardless of our earthly situation.
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