Reflections on the Tree of LIfe: Seeds that Grow"

Isaiah 61 paints of a picture of the people of God moving from despair and trouble to becoming “Oaks of Righteousness, a Planting of the LORD for the Display of his Splendor.”

Have you been observing the oak trees lately? The leaves are so gorgeous, turning all kinds of colors: red, orange, gold and yellow. They take my breath away in how stately they stand. It thrills me that our Heavenly Father sees his created ones as splendorous oak trees.

However, think about it. An oak tree starts with an acorn seed. An acorn seed is far from glorious; it is just a seed that is hard to open. But, out of the acorn seed planted deep into the ground, a beautiful, tall stately tree emerges. It doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time to grow the tree but once the tree is grown, it is a majestic beauty for all to see.

Has God ever given you a promise? Have you had a sense that he is speaking directly to you about your identity as his beloved child? Have you ever experienced a breakthrough in your relationships, only to have things seem worse than before?

This is a natural part of our faith development.

God gives us promises in seed form. He told Abraham he would be the Father of Many Nations, but it still took an additional 25 more years for Abraham to have his first child. He showed Jacob that the angels were descending and ascending, and promised him that the land he was laying on would be his and that all the offspring of the earth would be blessed through him. He spent the next 14 years working for a harsh and dishonest man.

Jesus wasn’t much different in his experience. His baptism was glorious; he heard the word of his Father speak his blessing and the heavens opened and the dove came upon his head.

However, the very next thing that happened was an angel led Jesus into the desert to be tested for 40 days “over his identity.”

I love getting promises. I’ve received some key promises through the years that I continue to hold onto and press in for the Lord to answer. I remind him daily of one promise that he gave me about our extended family about 3 years ago. I tell him that I won’t stop reminding him until I see it completely fulfilled.

I had an identity breakthrough last week. I had one plan for how to spend my prayer morning but the Lord had another. The Heavenly Father came and showed me in greater ways than I have ever experienced what it means for me to be his beloved daughter. It was a glorious day, one that I won’t quickly forget.

But, I’ve felt rather like Jesus in the desert ever since.

I feel disconnected, discouraged, frustrated. My faith to believe that God will fulfill his promises seems low. Yesterday I even began to question if I wanted to continue in ministry; a thought I have never entertained before.

This morning, however, I realized what was happening.

I received God’s promises in seed form.

It takes time for the seeds to become a tree. In fact, Jesus told his followers that “unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (John 12:24).

It seems to me that the process of seeing our identity grown or God’s promises fulfilled is much like the acorn becoming an oak tree. The seed has to be planted deep into the ground, fall apart, and then start to take root as a tiny plant, which eventually pushes its way through the ground. There’s death involved in that process.

John continues to quote Jesus, “The one who loves their life will lose it, while the one who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” It seems death has to be involved for the life to come forth!

I can hear you saying, “This doesn’t make sense. If God promises me something, or if I have an identity breakthrough, he wants it to stick, not go underground.”

That’s right. He does. I think the death needs to be in how we perceive the promise will come to pass, or the shifts we need to make as we take greater stands in how to walk out the life of a beloved daughter of the king.

It is in the struggle that we decide whether God’s promises or breakthroughs are worth fighting for.

Do we want to see our loved one’s healed, or our marriage restored, or our ministry take off? Are we able to stand in the promise when everyone around us seems skeptical?

When we can stand confidently in the midst of the unfulfilled promise or the doubts and fears that arise, this is when the seed is breaking loose from its shell and beginning to push through the darkness of the soil to break into the light.

When I was called to seminary, I had a lot of skeptics surrounding me. I had one distant relative that loved to ask me, “Who is going to hire you?” as his lipped curled up. At that point, I had no idea what I was going to do or who would hire me but I was able to tell my relative, “I don’t know, but I do know that I am obeying God’s call for me to go this direction.

I am so glad that this is a seed that I let die in the place of needing to know the big picture because of the great joy that I have had on this journey.

Where are your seeds? Are they just sitting on the ground? Or are they pushed deep into the darkness of the earth so that they can die only to become resurrected into a life of harvest. Remember Jesus and his willingness to go into the dark ground so that he could resurrect life for you.

Don’t let your seeds disappear. Ask God to do what he needs to do to push them into the soil so that you can become a Splendorous Oak Tree of Righteousness!

The Challenge of Water in Sudan

Laurie on Lifestyle wrote a terrific blog about the accessiblity of water in Arok's village.

read it here:

Alert to the Possibility of War in Sudan

There is a vote taking place on January 9, 2011 in Southern Sudan about the possiblity of Northern and Southern Sudan separating and becoming separate nations.

Arok took time to tell us the reasons for this vote when he was with us. The vast resources of oil are in Southern Sudan. However, the power base of the country is in the North. Because the northern part of Sudan is Arab and the southern section is Christian, this is often the reason given for the possiblity of separation and war. However, the reality is that the North Sudan wants access to the resource of oil.

George Clooney has taken up the cause of trying to alert Americans to the possiblity of civil war. Take a few minutes to watch this very intriquing video and become informed yourself.

CLICK FOR VIDEO

Seeds of Hope Leader, Arok Garang, Comes to Seattle

Last week Missio Lux had a great privilege to be with our Sudanese Brother and Seeds of Hope Leader, Arok Garang. Arok is a Lost Boy from Sudan who has made a choice to spend his life helping his devastated village and people become restored and rebuilt.

Isaiah 61 says "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, and release of darkness for the prisoners."

Arok is anointed to do these things.

He has brought good news to the poor by helping the helpless orphans become thriving children by going to boarding school in a safe and nurturing boarding school in Kenya.

He is binding up the brokenhearted by giving hope to the villagers who know that educated children become prosperous adults who can help to rebuild a village that has no schools, no clinics, no access to clean water or police protection.

Arok is proclaiming freedom for the captives by helping raise money and provide support for orphans from the Kakuma Refugee Camp go to school.


He is helping bring release of darkness for the prisoners of his village by alerting us in the US of the possible impending war in Sudan after the January vote. His village was decimated once 23 years ago, it is quite possible it can happen again because of the political situation between the largely Muslim North and the Christian South.

Arok lives in Denver but he came to Seattle last week to increase his leadership capacity by attending The Pacific Institute. He is doing everything he can to lead Seeds of Hope as the Sudanese leader, moving forward despite the need for the American leader, Angie, to resign for personal reasons.

Isaiah 61 continues to say "They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations."

While I was with Arok last week, he told me that even when he was making the trek from his devastated village to their first stop, Ethiopia, he knew that he was called to help his people. He knew that his life was meant to help rebuild and restore the devastated places.

When I was praying for him along with the healing prayer team, I sensed the Lord whisper, "He is Esther." Esther was yanked from her culture and forced into another unfamiliar land to become one who was strategically positioned in the palace so that when her people were threatened with annihilation, she was able to help defeat the enemies plans against them.

Please pray for Arok as he walks in big shoes. Ask God to give him the wisdom, the courage and the perseverance to move forward despite the challenges that surround him. Arok is tall in physical stature but he is also tall in spiritual calling.

(to learn more about Seeds of Hope to go www.missiolux.org/seedsofhope)

Road Trip Experiences

The Conference that the Healing Prayer Missio Community attended was amazing, powerful and life changing. So, were many of our experiences along the way, both coming and going from the conference. I'd like to share some of them with you.

I've never experienced seeing homeless people in rest areas before, but they were present at almost every rest stop coming and going to California. The first man we met in Washington was 58, had worked his entire life and had been laid off 18 months ago. He has lost everything he has and now is biking in early morning to the rest area to ask for people to help him. He held a sign like most homeless and waited for those who would stop to acknowledge him. Several of our group heard his story and prayed for him. He comes into my mind still and I ask the Lord to part of the waters of provision for him.

The second night of the conference several of us knew that we were called to bless our server at dinner. So, we went to Marie Callendars and met Heidi, our server. We asked how we could pray for her and she told us "A thousand ways." She seemed agitated, discouraged and sad. We passed around the tip that we were seeking to bless her with. Twenties, tens and fives came into the tip. It far surpassed the cost of our meals.

We gave her the folder with the payment in it, and she took it away. But, then we realized that the note of encouragement that we had written wasn't it in it. I went to look for her and found her in the server area. When she turned around to accept the note, I could see that she had been crying. It didn't take much from us to turn her place of discouragement into a time of heaven on earth. When we do our part, the Lord shows up and does so much more.

Road Trip Experiences, part 3

Our final opportunity to be the Lord's Representatives was with Judy, who sat looking forlorn at a rest stop in Oregon on our way home from California. I got to her first. I asked her name and her story. I find that people are anxious to share their story in these situations.

She told me that she had heart surgery and that eventually she couldn't work anymore because of her health. She lost her job and her health insurance, and eventually her home.

She has been sleeping in her car at the rest stop. She was cold and hungry and needed a shower.

I asked her if I could pray for her. I asked her if it would be okay if I touched her while I prayed. She said, "Yes, please." When I touched her, the tears rolled down her cheeks. I wonder if it's been a long time since someone had tenderly cared for her.

I prayed for a miracle. I asked the Lord to provide for her. A job, a home, a life of peace.

After I prayed, several members of our group prayed for Judy. Rosemary found yet another bag of food in the car (I am telling you, she is blessed in food multiplication!).

Judy was smiling when we left. She had encountered a glimpse of heaven as we shared the little that we had with her. Hopefully, the presence of a God who doesn't stand apart from the people he created but draws near, seemed more real and more present to Judy after her encounter with us.

Road Trip Experiences, part 2

Just as we were getting into our cars to leave the Conference, a member of our group heard the woman next to us making calls asking shelters to take herself and six children in for the night.

I looked at her. She was dressed cute and looked like any other attractive suburban woman. I approached her and told her that we had overheard her conversation and wondered if we could pray for her. She looked at me, and said, "Yes, please."

Her name was Marina.

She told me that she had to divorce her husband because of his abuse, and three months ago, he stopped all the alimony and childcare payments. She had six kids and they literally had nowhere to go for the night. They had everything they owned packed up in a truck. They had enough money for two more nights at a motel, and then they would have nothing.

She told me that her name meant "Safe Harbor." She said that she has taken in homeless people and now she herself was homeless. How ironic was that.

We began to pray for her. We asked the Lord for a miracle. We began to press money into her hand. Rosemary, a member of our group, who seems to be able to multiply food like Jesus, handed her a full bag of food for herself and children to eat for lunch.

One woman in our group had a special gift of money that someone had given her and she was waiting to spend it for what the Lord showed her to do with it. She gave it to Marina.

It wasn't much, but it left a desperate woman feeling that God had heard her prayers and that he had provided for the next step.

It didn't take much for us to be his ambassadors. Ambassadors live in embassies which are Safe Havens for people to come to. When we follow the ways of Jesus, we are a safe haven for people to experience a glimpse of heaven on earth.

Lord, how are you providing for Marina today?