heaven's tree book club

September 28, 2012
Preserving the Planet

We have come now to the final chapter. Overall, it has been a good and encouraging journey. There were maybe one or two chapters that were less encouraging and more difficult to understand but the overall feeling has been a higher view of God and the high call of who we are in our royal identity. I think this book is less encouraging than the previous one, but still a good read.
Biblical: 9/10
Readable: 8/10
Inspirational:8/10
Practical:8/10
total: 82%
This book speaks more about the identity we have and our responsibility. Although there were some testimonies, it was less than the previous book. I guess I like books with an even amount of theory and illustration. This book seems more heavy on ideas than it is on practical illustration. Nevertheless, I still like the book.
There was a moment late Thursday and parts of today when I felt almost normal. I mean usually it is so hard to get up. I need to push myself up against a desk or chair because I feel twice as heavy as I am. While there were moments today when I got up with ease and felt much lighter. Also, when I walk usually I am slow and my weight feels heavy. Also, there were times when I felt much lighter and lifted my feet easier only for whatever progress to reverse as the day would go on. I end this day with overall discouragement.
"AS a royal priesthood and a holy nation, it is our privilege and k. responsibility to intercede on behalf of the world before our King. It has been said that God does nothing in the affairs of men except they pray. Prayer is the catalyst for worldwide transformation. It incites the angels, restrains the darkness, and releases nations into their destiny. It is this key to revival which builds the bridge between what should be and what will be.This book is dedicated to the purpose of revival.
The devil knows the power of prayer and cannot stop us from praying. But he is the master of deception. He tries to convince us that his destructive schemes are "Acts of God" so that the people of God will not release the arsenal of Heaven against him! Unfortunately, satan has been more successful at deceiving the saints recently than he has for decades. One of the ways he has subtly crept into our society and even the Church has been through misdirected leaders preaching the "wrath of God."
In the last decade the "Doomsday" prophets seemed to have come out of hibernation. In 1997, my own parents moved out of the San Francisco Bay area to avoid the wrath of a great earthquake prophesied to strike southern California."
My dad really buys into the wrath of God theology. He believes that earthquakes and storms are an act of God's wrath on sinful people. I too sometimes think God punishes people probably because it is hard to recognize His grace and there is far more disasters in the world than there is good which makes it easier to believe in a good God.

"The Jesus movement didn't begin with disaster nor did the Charismatic renewal.The Welsh revival had nothing to do with tragedy.The Toronto and Brownsville revivals didn't begin because of calamity.
In fact, throughout most of the Bible, disaster created quite the opposite response. In the Book of Numbers, God caused some of the leaders of Israel to be swallowed up by an earthquake. In keeping with His nature, Moses begged for mercy twice in this chapter on behalf of his people. The bitterness of the Israelites who survived, grew worse with each disaster. They blamed Moses for the loss of their family members and did everything but repent (16:23-41). In the Book of Revelation, we have the same principle. Plagues are poured out on the people, but they do not repent and instead,"blaspheme the God of heaven" (16:10-11).
We have all met people who have lost a child or a loved one in an untimely manner. Many of them go through life bitter with God over their loss. Others question the reality of a loving God when they look around and see people starving. Although God can and often does turn around a bad situation and use it for good, it is still,"the kindness of God that leads to repentance." (Rom. 2:4). It's the devil that wants to kill, steal and destroy. He is the master of twisting the Scriptures so that we allow Him a place to come in and carry out his devious plan. Remember that this is the same guy who used the Bible to try to convince Jesus to commit suicide:
Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written.
¦He will command His angels concerning You: and on their hands they will bear You up,
that You will not strike Your foot against a stone" (Matthew 4:5,6)."
I never thought of the three tempations like this. I only focused on the part where Jesus said to the devil do not put God to the test. In reality the devil was trying to get Jesus to commit suicide. The devil kills and destroys but God gives life. Many times I think disaster will bring more people to faith, but from this passage, it is not true. I guess thinking about the prodigal son and the love of the Father, I become more convinced that God's love is what draws people close to Him.

Not only is the Church preservation (salt), but also we are light. In the Book of Matthew Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matt. 5:14). What does it mean to be light, and what is it that we are illuminating? We are shedding light on the nature of God, which is how He thinks and acts in the affairs of men. We are the revelation (light) of the Father and His love letter to the world. We re-present Christ to the lost.The world looks to us to understand world events through the eyes of God. When we misrepresent our Heavenly Father, the world gets a warped perspective of God.

When we communicate to the world about the God they have yet to meet, it is essential that we communicate light, life, and love. Love doesn't punish or spread fear. Our Abba Father does grieve over the sins of the world, but every time we see the heartless acts of destruction that deeply wound the heart of God, we must remember the depths of God's desire to share love.The nature of love is that it reqtiires us to be able to choose. If God took away our choice, people could only behave the way God programmed them to. Wars would cease, hunger would end, and poverty would only be an ancient memory of years gone b\r. But along with their disappearance, the desperate cry of the human heart that beats with passion for a loving relationship with the most beautiful Being in the entire universe would be gone, too.
Day after day. a loving Creator looks down on a broken planet longing for the day when the object of His affection will walk hand in hand with Him into indescribable beauty in the halls of eternity. In the meantime destruction continues, not because God is angry with man, but rather because men choose to kill, steal, and destroy.This is the fruit of those who have chosen the wrong lover (satan).

"Meanwhile, a hateful enemy is stalking a wounded and desperate people. He is seeking to paralyze us with fear and demoralize us with his arrogant boasts of destructive predications. Yet still, the future belongs to those who pray. Prayer is the bridge between what should be and what will be.The diligent prayer of a righteous people will ultimately determine the destiny of our children. Therefore it is our responsibility to leave to those yet to be born a world in revival as their inheritance. Hanging in the balance of eternity is the ultimate climax of creation—the kingdoms of this world becoming the Kingdom of our God."
Prayer:
Father, thank You for this wonderful and encouraging book. I am reminded once more of Your love and compassion for the world. Help us as Your church to be salt and light, to preserve and to be revelation of Your love and goodness to the world. The enemy comes to kill and destroy but You have come so that we may have life. I want to be a world changer who communicates love and grace and not be someone who preaches Your wrath and hell. No one really likes people who stand on street corners and does that at least not in our culture. I need an increase of faith. My faith is so small. It is nearly the end of September as I continue to pray for breakthrough but it has not yet come. Help me to know that You are still God and that You still care.