Author Archives: Drew Haninger

Trees in the Bible

There are many places in the Bible that talk about trees. Let’s start with the two most significant. This picture is one of the most beautiful trees I photographed while in Israel about two years ago. Over 100 Bible verses mention or use, the word “tree“.

Beautiful Tree in Israel, Near the Sea of Galilee

Psalms 52:8, But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.

Psalms 104:16, The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted.

Isaiah 55:12, … shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Galatians 3:13, 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”—

The tree of life is first mentioned in Genesis chapter 2. Then the last mention is in the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 22. Genesis 2:9, And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; and the tree of life, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Revelation 22:2, In the midst of its street, and of the river, on this side and on that side, the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, in each month yielding its fruit; and the leaves of the tree for healing of the nations.

The next passage I want to talk about is John 15:1-2, where the word “tree” is not mentioned, but John does use the word, “vine”. To me the words “tree” and “vine” are closely related. John 15:1-2. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John uses the words vine, vinedresser, branch and fruit.

To me the vine and tree indicates that God wants us to have an intimate close relationship with Him so that our Christan life flows out of His life. More about this later. But in John 15:7 is a great Bible verse on prayer, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall come to pass to you”.

John 15:16, You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and have set you that ye should go and that ye should bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide, that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name He may give you.

Notice the relationship between “tree“and “fruit” in Matthew. Matthew 12:33, Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

Here are some more great Bible verses which contain the word “tree“.

Revelation 22:19, And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Revelation 2:7, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Two Beautiful Trees, Chorazin, Israel

Prayer is Talking and Connecting with God – God is Real

God is real. God exists and listens, we just need to talk to Him. Prayer does not need to be formal or done in some special place.

Christina Lake, B.C., Canada

Prayer is just talking and connecting to God in reality. Prayer is not phony, and we don’t need to make things up. When praying to God, just start saying what is on your heart as you think about God. Prayer is a dialog between us and God. We can pray alone or with others. We can pray when we love God, and when we hate God. If we are hurting because of something that happened, we need to be open and honest and tell God the truth.

Christina Lake at Sunset, B.C., Canada

Prayer can be an expression of what we feel when we are very encouraged, or an expression of how we feel when we are very depressed and low. We can pray when we think we are a perfect saint (but only God is perfect), or we can pray when we recognize we are sinners (and we all are sinners). We can pray when we are happy and we can pray when we are sad. After praying, we may feel high, or we may feel low, but God is faithful to hear our prayer, and never changes.

Sailboat on Christina Lake, B.C., Canada

Jesus said in John 15:7, If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall come to pass to you.

The Spirit makes it easy to pray, because He knows how and what to pray. Without the Spirit, prayer is hard. With the Spirit, prayer is easy. Romans 8:26, And in like manner the Spirit joins also its help to our weakness; for we do not know what we should pray for as is fitting, but the Spirit itself makes intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Dock on Christina Lake, B.C., Canada

Look at the prayers of David in the Psalms. David just talked to God and told Him what he thought and how he felt. When David was low, he said, “God, I am depressed”, but eventually he learned to praise God even in the dark places. When David was feeling great, He praised God. Psalms 8:2, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou established praise because of Thine adversaries, to still the enemy and the avenger.

Christina Lake, B.C., Canada

Also consider some of the points in the article on “What is Prayer”

Pray and Seek the Kingdom – from John Calvin

The Bible verse is Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow:….

Pray and Seek the Kingdom – California Beach

John Calvin talks about “restraining excessive anxiety”. Of course, excessive anxiety can arise in many areas of life such as money, time, relationships, work or societal issues.

John Calvin says: But rather seek first the kingdom of God. This is another argument for restraining excessive anxiety about food. It argues a gross and indolent neglect of the soul, and of the heavenly life. Christ reminds us that there is the greatest inconsistency in men, who are born to a better life, being wholly employed about earthly objects. He who assigns the first rank to the kingdom of God, will not carry beyond moderation his anxiety about life. Nothing is better adapted to restrain the wantonness of the flesh from breaking out in the course of the present life, than meditation on the life of the heavens. The word righteousness may be either understood as applying to God, or to the kingdom: for we know that the kingdom of God consists in righteousness, ( Romans 14:17 ,) that is, in the newness of spiritual life. All other things shall be added. This means, that those things which relate to the present life are but favorable appendages, and ought to be reckoned greatly inferior to the kingdom of God. – from the John Calvin Commentary.

Remember God’s Promises

Remember God’s Promises – Two trees, lake and mountains in Idaho

The Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Unfortunately God’s people at that time were not happy with God or themselves. They had no faith in God that He could deliver them. So they doubted God, and only had “evil” thoughts about God, His plan and His purpose.

God still remembers His plan, purpose and promises towards the nation of Israel. God’s plan had not changed, but their thoughts about God did. So let’s remember God’s promises.

Look at God’s promise in this Bible verse in Deuteronomy 30:1 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.

Thy Kingdom Come – from John Calvin

Beautiful scenery – The Lord’s Prayer – Thy Kingdom Come

This is a great prayer quote from John Calvin on the phrase “Thy Kingdom Come” in the Lord’s Prayer. Prayer is required to bring in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is God’s rule over an area or situation. Don’t forget God owns the earth and the universe. God created the earth to declare His glory.

There is still another way in which God reigns; and that is, when he overthrows his enemies, and compels them, with Satan their head, to yield a reluctant subjection to his authority, “till they all be made his footstools” ( Hebrews 10:13 .) The substance of this prayer is, that God would enlighten the world by the light of his Word, — would form the hearts of men, by the influences of his Spirit, to obey his justice, and would restore to order, by the gracious exercise of his power, all the disorder that exists in the world. Now, he commences his reign by subduing the desires of our flesh. Again, as the kingdom of God is continually growing and advancing to the end of the world, we must pray every day that it may come: for to whatever extent iniquity abounds in the world, to such an extent the kingdom of God, which brings along with it perfect righteousness, is not yet come. – from the John Calvin Commentary.

What Happens When We Die

What Happens When We Die – in simplicity, we actually meet God.

What Happens When We Die – Chorazin, Israel – north of the Sea of Galilee

Look at the pictures above and below of Chorazin, Israel, a Bible city, in northern Galilea. The city is a few miles from Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. The city is also called Korazin. Jesus talked about Chorazin in both the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Today no one lives in this ancient city, the residents (as far as we know) have all died. What happened to each of them after death?

God, on His calendar has a date for our birth and a date for our death. It is usually non-negotiable, at least I know of few who been able to change those dates. Life and death is in the hands of God. Death is unknown to us, it just happens.

Here is one of Jeremiah’s Prayer in Jeremiah 23, I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Read more in the article: What Happens When I Die.

Jeremiah’s Prayer – a man’s life is not his own – picture of Chorazin, Israel – north of the Sea of Galilee

Recognizing the Sovereign Lord

God created and owns the earth. We need to acknowledge this fact in the universe.

Recognizing the Sovereign Lord – a river in Washington

After all man’s attempts to ignore God, and replace God with other things, God takes full control and restores the earth back to the owner, who is God. This is the story of the book of Revelation. Sometimes when man forgets God or ignores God, bad things happen. There are many examples of this in the Old Testament. But eventually God gets all the glory.

Eventually there will be the New Jerusalem, with God fully in control. Again this is talked about much in the last book of the Bible, the conclusion of the whole Bible, the book of Revelation. Revelation 11:15 … The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.

Maybe one of the best Bible verses on God’s sovereignty is Isaiah 6:1-3 In the year of the death of king Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above him…. 3 And one called to the other and said, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.

Pray with the Sovereign Lord

Isaiah 50:4 The Sovereign LORD has given me …

Pray with the Sovereign Lord – a California sunset

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

What does it mean to fear the Lord, it means to recognize Him as the sovergn God who rules over all things. He created the universe out of nothing, He designed DNA and everything about us. He decided when we will be born into this world, and He decides the day we leave. He decides a lot of things we cannot even touch. He holds the calendar with the dates of our birth and death, who are parents will be, what city we are born, and what century.

God owns the universe and spoke it into being. What ever He says is significant, so we should listen. God has the ability to do anything He wants to and no one can stop Him.

God is real, He exists, He is alive. God works and God acts.

This Bible verse is from proverbs, which is about wisdom. Actually in this book of the Bible wisdom is personified. And then in the New Testament we learn that Christ is the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption?

Daniel 5:21 … the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. So pray with the sovereign Lord.

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