A Real Giving Tree

The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein

Once there was a tree....and she loved a little boy. And everyday the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. And they would play hide-and-go-seek. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree....very much. And the tree was happy.

But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the tree was often alone. Then one day the boy came to the tree and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy." "I am too big to climb and play" said the boy. "I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money?" 

"I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city. Then you will have money and you will be happy." And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away. And the tree was happy.

But the boy stayed away for a long time....and the tree was sad. And then one day the boy came back

and the tree shook with joy and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and be happy." "I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy. "I want a house to keep me warm," he said. "I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house ?" " I have no house," said the tree. "The forest is my house, but you may cut off my branches and build a  house. Then you will be happy." And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build his house. And the tree was happy. 

But the boy stayed away for a long time. And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak. "Come, Boy," she whispered, "come and play." "I am too old and sad to play," said the boy. "I want a boat that will take me far away from here. Can you give me a boat?" "Cut down my trunk and make a boat," said the tree. "Then you can sail away...and be happy." And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy... but not really.

And after a long time the boy came back again. "I am sorry, Boy," said the tree," but I have nothing

left to give you - My apples are gone." "My teeth are too weak for apples," said the boy. "My branches are gone," said the tree. " You cannot swing on them - " "I am too old to swing on branches," said the boy. "My trunk is gone, " said the tree. "You cannot climb - " "I am too tired to climb" said the boy. "I am sorry," sighed the tree. "I wish that I could give you something....but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry...." "I don't need very much now," said the boy. "just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired."

"Well," said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, "well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest." And the boy did. And the tree was happy.

The tree in Silverstein's story was truly a giving tree, but there is another giving tree I can think of. The tree of Calvary, the cross of Christ was a giving tree as well. When you think about it, both the manager in which the Christ child laid and the cross of Calvary where Jesus was killed were both made of wood. Both made from giving tree's. One held new life, the son of God, and the other brought death. Though the cross can be viewed as a symbol of death, it also is the symbol for sacrifice, of giving, of true & gracious love, and a symbol of life.

When you look at the cross do you see it as a symbol of life for you? Do you see it as the only way to your salvation? Do you see it as your cross?

Jesus' death on the cross is our new life. It's our new beginning in life! All the sins of your life are being wiped clean and you can start with a fresh slate. Jesus is saying to us from the cross of Calvary, give me your life, give me your sinful life, and l will carry all of your sins away and give you a new life!! Isn’t that what the cross is all about? Jesus is taking our place. He is taking that which he doesn’t deserve, that which isn’t his, our sinfulness, and in return he is giving us his life. A new life, a life that will set us free, free from the power of sin, Free from death, and in that freedom we will then have the choice to be with God. We will have the opportunity, to live with God forever. The cross of Calvary, the old rugged cross, is the place where we obtain our freedom. Where Jesus exchanges our life for his, and in the process, we are free people. People who then can live in the love of God. Have you encountered the cross of Christ in such a way that it brings you to your knees? Brings you to your knees in true confession as we sense the cross, the body, and blood given and shed upon it are our only way of salvation?

Where are you? Do you stand in front of the cross telling God how good you are because you haven’t done this or that? Then turn around and are hanging on stubbornly to those sins, those ways of life you are very comfortable with, but yet knowing that somehow they are not really what God wants from you? Or, can you surrender, can you be brought to your knees in front of the cross in true confession and true humility? Can you release all pride in self, all boasting, all rationalizations of your action, and stand as a condemned person, a person who deserves to die on that cross for your disobedience to God? Can you come to the foot of the cross and realize that God gave you so much, gave you eternal life by the way of the tree of death? Can you stand empty, ashamed, humble, and willing to accept that gift of salvation knowing full well you could never, and mean never, measure up to the perfection of God? Have you really let the greatest love story ever told, ever witnessed, ever conceived be really felt in your life? Have you come face to face with the cross of Christ and there experienced this forgiving love for you? Come to the cross of Christ, come!! ’Well,’ says the tree, straightening herself up as much as she can, ’an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, boy sit down, sit down and rest.’ And the boy does. The tree is very happy." Come and rest in the arms of Christ on the cross and receive the peaceful rest of salvation. New life is given to you. You can place your trust in God and follow God’s way. God is with you. AMEN.

Salt of the Earth

Those familiar with Godspell can't read this passage and not think about the song "Light of the World." I attached it below for your viewing pleasure. So as Christians what can we take from this comparison to salt?

The first way we as Christians are like salt is, Christians Like Salt Are Of Infinite Value.

Jesus said to his followers “You are the salt of the earth.” Why salt? Why not something sweet or something that tastes good. Why not something that smells good? Why salt? Jesus refers to his handful of disciples, disciples that were just like you and me, and he referred to them as the salt of the earth. What great dignity Jesus bestows on his followers. What a great compliment! You see salt was a necessity of life in ancient times. Such great value was attached to it. Salt was so important that it was sometimes used for money. The Roman soldiers of Jesus’ day were at times paid with salt. In fact, our word “salary” comes from the Latin word salarium which referred to the payments to the soldiers with salt. People still use the phrase saying that someone either is, or is not, “worth their salt.” We don’t think much about salt because we can get as much of it in pure form as we want. It is just the little white shaker on the table. Better yet the big blue cylinder in the cabinet. But when you are completely dependent on salt to preserve your food, and when it is so valuable that it is used in the place of money, you get a completely different perspective on salt.
Because we live in a part of the world where we have an abundance of food we don’t understand the monotony of the diet of those who lived in Jesus’ day and for most of those who live in third world countries even today. In a great portion of the world rice is the common food, three times a day. In part of Africa today the common food is corn meal, at every meal. Corn meal alone doesn’t have much flavor. Without salt to make it palatable, it would be difficult to continue to swallow the same monotonous food, time after time.

Christians Like Salt Are Of Infinite Value and…

Second, Christians Like Salt Act As A Preservative.
Salt was important for survival, because it was the only way they had to preserve meat. Obviously, they were not as privileged as we are with refrigeration, so salt became very important in their ability to preserve their food. The salt was rubbed into the meat before it was stored. It was used to hinder the process of decay. In the same way Christians are given the task of hindering the decay of our world.

There is a book by [D. James Kennedy. “What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?” (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub., 1994) pp. 3- 4] and he talks about Christianity and it’s effect on the world. Christianity has in fact had a profound positive effect on the world. The most dramatic impact of Christianity on the world is that it has attached new value to human life. Prior to Christianity infanticide, and abandonment of children was a common practice. Hospitals as we now know them began through influence of Christianity. The Red Cross was started by an evangelical Christian. Almost every one of the first 123 colleges and universities in the United States has Christian origins, founded by Christians for Christian purposes. The same could be said of orphanages, adoption agencies, humane treatment of the insane, the list goes on and on of dramatic impact of Christianity in our world.
However with all of that good, and all the good that we do. We’re not perfect and we still sin like those who are not Christians. There are still temptations and evils that we fall victim to.

If we as Christian’s lose the qualities of Christlikeness that make us distinct then we become like the society around us, we no longer have a positive impact. We become a hindrance instead of a preservative.

Third, Christians Like Salt Are to Promote Thirst.
In arid climates and athletic competitions it is used to promote thirst. Christians are to make Christ attractive and desirable.
In Titus 2:9 the Apostle Paul tells Christian servants that they must act in such a way “that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.” The idea is here is that Christian servants (any Christian for that matter) have the power through their behavior to make the Christian life and faith beautiful to those outside.
Whenever we as Christians are introduced into a setting, whether it is social or work related, the unbelievers should see evidence of the difference that Jesus Christ makes in our lives. They should be able to look at us and say, “I don’t know what they have but I want it.”
Christians Like Salt Should Promote Thirst and…

Fourth, Christians Like Salt Can Lose Their Usefulness. (v. 13b)
Jesus says that if the salt loses its flavor, (v. 13b) “… It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”
Technically speaking, salt cannot lose its saltiness; sodium chloride is a stable compound. But in the part of the world where Jesus lived, salt was collected from around the Dead Sea where the crystals were often contaminated with other minerals. These crystallized formations were full of impurities, and since the actual salt was more soluble than the impurities, the rain could wash out the salt, which made what was left of little worth since it lost its saltiness. When this happened, the salt was thrown out, since it was no longer of any value either as a preservative or for flavoring.
When the salt was leached out it still looked like salt, but it lost its taste. The essential difference can be leached out of a Christian’s life by the constant flow of the world’s values through our lives.

“The peculiar property of salt is that even though it may have lost its pungency,… it still retains one very devastating potency. This rare and remarkable material can still …. destroy plant life on the land…. the same principle applies in the case of the Christian. Either our lives or counting for good and for God or they are making an impact for evil and the enemy…. The way we live, the things we say the attitudes we entertain, the lifestyle we adopt… are continuously producing either positive or negative results in society…. Our lives, whether we are aware or not either count for God or against Him. There simply is no middle ground.” [W. Phillip Keller. Salt for Society. (Waco: Word Books, 1981) p. 145-149]
Christians Like Salt Can Lose Their Usefulness and….

Finally, Christians Like Salt Must Have Contact To Have An Influence!
As we have already noted, the Christian is to be a preserving force in the world wherever God has placed them. But the salt never did any good when it was sitting on a shelf some place and the meat was somewhere else. To be effective, the salt had to be rubbed into the meat. In a similar way Christian’s are to allow God use them wherever he has placed them.
Whenever the church becomes a salt warehouse, it has missed out on the lesson that salt must make contact to have an affect.

Conclusion
I want you to notice what Jesus says and does not say, He does not say, “You all can be the salt of the earth.” Nor does he say, “You all should be the salt of the earth.” Jesus says “You are the salt of the earth”
So...
To be salt, we do not have to be spectacular.
To be salt, we do not have to be sensational.
To be salt, we do not have to be successful. By the world’s standards.

To be salt, we just have to effect our little corner of the world.

Come & Follow

Matthew 4:12 – 23

When reading this scripture we can take from this 3 calls that if we truly wish to be faithful in our walk we need to answer. There's the call to faith, the call to discipleship and the call to ministry.

For Matthew, this is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He’s been baptized by John and led into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days by Satan. He gets the news that John the Baptist has been arrested, so he heads back to civilization to begin his ministry. It’s there we find the first calling on people’s lives—the call to faith.

The call to faith is the call to change our mind, and it is the call that all of us, at some point, must answer. Literally, Jesus’ first word in ministry in verse 17 is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” In other words, “Turn from your sin and turn to God.” That is the translator’s interpretation of the meaning of repent.

It’s not popular to talk about sin, and we try to steer clear of it because we don't want to come across as pointing the finger. We don't want people to think that we're judging them, and we definitely don't want to cast the spotlight on our own issues and sin.

Then there's some of us who don’t think we’re sinners. In today's world we think, "Hey, as long as other people are alright with what I'm doing and it's not effecting them then it's alright." Even thinking, "What I'm doing is not even close to being as bad as what they are doing." Taking the my sin is less then your sin approach.

When we think about sin, we think about the big ones or the really bad things. You know murder, stealing, adultery, rape, abuse, etc. These things are easy to point out as being wrong and sinful, but what does the Bible say? The bible defines sin as anything that misses the mark

We miss the mark in so many areas of our everyday life. All the "bigger sins" aside look at the sins we face daily. The Catholic church lists the seven deadly sins, and it is the belief that at the heart of all sin lies one of these. Looking at my own life I can find numerous ways these sins have crept in and taken a hold. These are things that I need to repent and ask forgiveness for.

Repentance opens us to grace that God desires to pour into our lives. Repentance is our acknowledgement that something is wrong, that something needs to change. Who can argue with the brokenness we see in our world today that something needs to change?

The call that everyone must answer is the call of Jesus to turn from our selfish, sinful ways, to consider the claims that Christ makes, and determine whether we will believe, or continue to go down a path that is ultimately destructive to us and those around us. It’s a call everyone must answer. Even refusing to answer is an answer.

There is another call that goes beyond the call to faith, and it is the call that Jesus gave to Simon, Andrew, James and John in verse 19. There, Jesus tells them, “Come, follow me,…” This is the call to discipleship. There are a lot of people who answer the call to faith. They consider the claims of Jesus and find them valid, but then just sort of leave the information there and never go deeper in the life of faith.

Jesus’ call to these fishermen was a call to a deeper life, a changed life. We might say that if the call to faith is the call to change our minds, then the call to discipleship is the call to change our lives. This was Jesus’ call for these men to change their lives.

The call to be a disciple is a more challenging call than the call of faith. Jesus said, “Follow me.” Discipleship is costly. Discipleship is about making the kingdom of God the priority of our lives. It is a leaving the old life and beginning a new life of faith, hope and love. There are a lot of people who hear, and even answer, the call to faith, but fewer are the people who hear and answer the call to discipleship, though the call goes out to everyone who answers the call to faith. You may be asking everyone?

You see Jesus called ordinary, common, hard-working fishermen. These guys made their living on the Sea of Galilee as commercial fishermen. I’m reminded of a show and some of you may have even watched it yourself. Ever watch The Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel?

That show chronicles the hard crazy life of commercial crab fishermen off the coast of Alaska. It portrays the life of a commercial fisherman as brutal. That’s the same kind of life these first century fishermen endured, too. It was hard, dangerous work, and the men who did it were simple, not highly educated, they were hard-working men who only sought to make a living for their families.

I’m pointing this out because Jesus isn’t necessarily looking for highly-educated, well-qualified people to be disciples. Jesus is looking for willing people, people who are willing to hear the call to faith and the claims of Jesus, and then be willing to join him in transforming the world. That’s the call to discipleship, and he’s calling all of us to be his disciples. He will meet you in your current place and your current situation.

But, there is a call that flows out of answering the call to discipleship, and that is the call to ministry. You may hear that word and think of a Pastor or clergy, and for some that may be. What we're seeing here is ministering to others. Sharing your faith and God's word.

Everyone who answers the call to be a disciple is called to ministry. Jesus, after inviting these men to “follow” him, adds that he will “show them how to fish for people.” The job he gave them was to work with him in transforming the world.

If the call to faith is a call to change our minds, and the call to discipleship is the call to change our lives, then the call to ministry is the call to change the world. Jesus is calling us to work with him in transforming the world. Don’t you think if Jesus could call a few common fishermen to change the world, he could call you and me, as common, ordinary and unprepared as we are? Jesus doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called. We are called by God. The question is Will we answer the call?

Jesus needs Christian business men and women who can reach non-Christian businessmen and women. Jesus needs Christian retired individuals who can reach non-Christian retired individuals. Jesus needs students, and grocery clerks and doctors and nurses and teachers who will go into the places of their lives and witness to His saving grace. Jesus called these hard working fishermen to reach their community. He’s calling us to reach our community.

Some of you may be afraid that Jesus’ call means you’ll have to pack up and leave your job and family, so you resist. It may mean that for some of us, but more than likely he’ll use us right where we are. If we look at the later life of these fishermen, we find after the crucifixion and resurrection they are back mending their nets and fishing. Most of them never ventured far from home, nor gave up their trades. They did, however, make a difference in the Kingdom because the Kingdom became their priority. Telling others, serving others, sharing the Good News became their priority.

Jesus is calling us to faith... to discipleship... and to ministry. He’s calling us to change our minds, to change our lives, and to change the world. It’s likely if you’re here this morning, you’ve already answered the call to faith. But, just in case you haven’t, Jesus is calling you to faith today.

Don’t miss your calling! There may be others here who haven’t answered the call to discipleship. You know he wants you to go deeper, but you’ve been afraid of the cost of going deeper so you’ve resisted. Don’t miss your calling! There may be others may be here who have gone deeper and feel in love following Jesus, but have resisted serving because you felt you weren’t capable. Don’t miss your calling!

Jesus' Baptism

Well Happy New Year and I pray that you had a blessed Christmas! Sorry I haven't shared a more recent blog post until now but it's been a little busy.

This week we look at Jesus' baptism by John. We read about this in Matthew 3: 13-17.

When you think of baptism, what comes to mind? Salvation, forgiveness, gift of the Holy Spirit? All of these are true, and these are wonderful things that God does for us when we accept His gift of love by our faith and repentance.

As we read in Matthew 3 we find this odd story about baptism. I mean here you have John the Baptist down at the Jordan river preaching and baptizing people for the forgiveness of their sins. John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus by preparing people's hearts for Jesus' ministry. He was pretty straight forward and came right out and said "Hey, y'all sinners and you need to repent of your sins."

He had all kinds of different people coming to him to be baptized. Everyone from tax collectors to soldiers, even Sadducee's and Pharisee's came to be baptized. While he's there in the river he see's Jesus coming toward him. John recognized him because this was his cousin Jesus. "The Lord", the One that John was to prepare the way for. Jesus comes to him and requests to be baptized by John. John didn't know what to do, his first response is "I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?" This isn't what he was expecting at all.

But Jesus responds, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Matthew 3:15. In other words, Jesus is telling John: "This is what you were sent to do. This is the fulfillment of your mission.”

You see, there was something inherent in John baptizing Jesus that “prepared the way for Jesus.” But John was confused. His baptism was for the “forgiveness of sins.” Why wouldn’t John think Jesus needed baptized? That’s right. Jesus was the Son of God. He had no sin to be repented of!

So, why would Jesus need to be baptized by John? Well… Jesus’ baptism by John was the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Mark 1:1 starts out: “The BEGINNING of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” and then Mark starts telling us about Jesus’ baptism by John. In Luke 3:23 we’re told of Jesus’ baptism by John and then we read: “Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he BEGAN HIS MINISTRY…”

Obviously, for some reason, Jesus’ ministry began with His baptism.

Now, at this point in Jewish history, water baptism served one of 3 purposes. The first being the baptism of repentance, the second was to be converted to Judaism. Jesus didn't need to be baptized for either of these reasons. However the third reason was the Law dictated that priests, especially the High Priest was to be “washed with water.” This was the reason for Jesus' baptism.

Some outside of the Christian faith may see baptism as just a ritual, but to God this is more than just a ritual. To show that it was more than just a ritual Jesus was baptized by John.

When we are baptized into Christ we put Him on like a garment. So that when you stand before God at judgment day… He’s not looking at you, He’s looking for that image of His Son who died for you. He is your covering of righteousness before God’s throne.

In baptism we are buried with Jesus into death. Your past is buried and forgotten. Your past sins will never rise from that grave again. But more than that, you rise up from that watery grave to a new life. You’re reborn in Christ. But more than that… just as you didn’t stay in that watery grave, baptism is God’s promise that when we die, the earthly grave will NOT hold us. We will rise from the grave to live for eternity!!!

This is not JUST a ritual… it is a SACRED ceremony.

And just as God honored Jesus by having the Holy Spirit descend upon Him at the Jordan – when we’re baptized into Christ, we receive His Holy Spirit as well.