The Tree

God has really been showing me a few things lately through a tree on my back porch. This tree was given to Julie last year by her mom. During the winter months we put the tree in a green house but never watered it all year. The lack of water and the heat from the light in the green house killed the plant. Let me describe it for you: when we took the plant out of the green house it was completely dry and fragile. There was no moisture in the plant including the roots. We checked the plant out completely, and we thought of even throwing it away and starting over. I convinced Julie to replant the tree and as we did I remembered the story of Jesus speaking to the fig tree. I also thought about how he breathed on the disciples. So I combined those two stories--I spoke to the plant and commanded it to come to life and bloom, and then I breathed on it. I didn't think twice about what I was doing because I know that those of whom God has called--he believes they can do everything he did. Julie looked at me and just smiled like--"your crazy." I thought--well maybe I am, but after all how many people in the Bible sound logical. We continued to water the plant and after about two months the plant began to get a little color back to the stems and eventually--became a beautiful tree. The picture above is the actual plant that I took a picture of yesterday.

Since I noticed how the tree had flourished so well, God began to talk to me pretty strongly about prayer and the power of speaking to my problems. He began to show me and help me understand that we do have power and authority that He has given us. It's not our power but His through us and is readily available. He doesn't say to get down in the dumps about our situations but rather speak to those problems--even if those situations seem dead or hopeless.

You say, "But Brian I don't know about all that...sounds pretty stupid to me to speak to your problems." I ask you--what did God do with problems? He spoke to them. When there was no light--he spoke it out; when there was no plants--he spoke it out; when there were no people--he spoke and formed them.

Your probably saying, "...but that's God." Your correct. According to Epheshians 5:1 we are to be imitators of God--to be just like Him. Also, Jesus became flesh so we would know what God was like. After showing us what God was like, Jesus gave us authority to do the same things he did--Mathew 10 and 28.

I want to share a story with you that maybe you've never noticed.

In Ezekiel 37:1-14

1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath [a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "

The bones were totally dry and dead--just like my plant. When this crossed my mind I was blown away at the incredible power that is readily available--if we only believe. Rob Bell tells a story about the ways of the Jewish Rabbi which caused me to buy some books on some of the old Jewish traditions. I recommend watching this video by him--Dust. In short, a rabbi would not call a person to be his disciple unless the rabbi believed the person was capable of doing EVERYTHING the rabbi did. God has called us to be his disciples, given us authority and power, but we still do not believe. God does--what are we waiting for?