The Three Fortunate Trees

Sunday, November 1, 2009

There were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, “Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.”

Then the second tree said, “Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.”

Finally the third tree said, “I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.”

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees.

When one came to the first tree he said,
“This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter” … and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree a woodsman said, “This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.” The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true.

One of the woodsmen said, “I don’t need anything special from my tree so I’ll take this one”, and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of
them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said “Peace” and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don’t seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.

We don’t always know what God’s plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.Ü

How To Get to Heaven

A popular idea, according to opinion polls, is that good people go to heaven. And a majority of those polled see their own chances of going there to be good. Most people base their expectation of heaven on their performance in this life, irrespective of their relationship to Christ. Is this a valid hope? We must look to the Bible for an authoritative answer. Scripture clearlytells us that a day is coming when evil will be punished and virtue rewarded.

This will take place at the day of judgment. Those who in this life have not availed themselves of the only way of salvation through the grace of God and the atoning death of Christ will not enter the gates of heaven. The Word is unequivocal: “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).

A living faith in Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), is the sole condition for having our names written in that book. It’s our decision.

We must recognize our need of forgiveness and put our faith in Christ as Redeemer and Savior. Why not make absolutely certain of heaven by opening your heart to Christ the Savior and Lord right now, inviting Him to enter, to cleanse it from sin, and to make it His permanent dwelling place?

He gives this assurance: “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

The Trouble with Truth

A beautiful note from Kuya Pedro. Wanna share it with you. Ü

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ brought a generation face-to-face with the visceral reality of Jesus’ suffering and death. That went too far with some critics. They were uncomfortable with the violence and the “potential” for anti-Semitism”–this despite the fact that Hollywood is manifestly violent and the protagonist is thoroughly Jewish. But mostly the critics were uncomfortable with the truth. One pundit cited the movie’s “troubling assumptions.” It seems that Gibson treated the Bible’s four Gospel accounts as literal eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ arrest, torture, and crucifixion.

Okay, and what would be the reason not to treat them as “literal eyewitness accounts” of history? Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship Ministries argues that no sane man will die for what he knows to be a lie. Then he notes that 10 of the 11 disciples died contending for the truth found in the four Gospel accounts. These ordinary men gave their lives attesting to the fact that Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. He is the Son of God. The lone disciple who escaped martyrdom, John, left us this eloquent witness:

“The Word that gives life was from the beginning, and this is the one our message is about. Our ears have heard, our own eyes have seen, and our hands touched this Word” (1 John 1:1).

John spent 3 1/2 years with Jesus, criss-crossing the Judean hillsides, watching Him at work in His ministry, seeing the miracles, and listening to Jesus’ claims about Himself. John wanted us to know the truth about Jesus, even if it meant intense persecution or death for himself.

“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,” wrote Paul, “but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

If you don’t want to believe Him, Jesus is no tyrant; He allows the freedom to reject Him. But to those of us who accept His radical and transforming message, Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

READ 1 JOHN 1:1-4

The Word that gives life was from the beginning and this is the one our message is about. Our ears have heard, our own eyes have seen, and our hands touched this Word. The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us. We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so that you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing to tell you these things, because this makes us truly happy. (1 John 1:1-4)

Grateful Servant of God

Saturday, April 11, 2009

I’ll start my first entry here with a thankful heart

Here’s my list of the things that made me so appreciative today.

 

1. Sunrise

Signal that it’s the gonna be a brand new day

 

2. Bed, bed sheet, pillows, warm blanket.

Things that made my sleep really agreeable!

 

3. Family, mom, dad, siblings.

Group of people that showed some love and endless care

 

4. Milk, bread and butter.

Provided me energy to move on.

 

5. Water

Replenishes the real inside of me

 

6. Book, Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coelho and Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston

Sort of realizations

 

7. Cellphone, iPod

Enhances my life. Coolest possessions

 

8. Air, electric fan, air-conditioner

Makes my life go on..

 

9. Friends, classmates, officemates

Adds vitality in my life. Humor, love and passion

 

10. Blog, Plurk, Friendster, Facebook

Tracker and electronic reflection book

 

11. Clothes, sando and shorts

 :)

 

12. Eyeglasess

150/125

helps me envision the best things in life

 

13. Cheese Curls, chocolates

Yumm!

 

14. Long walk in the street

Wala kaseng pedicab that time. Hehe

 

15. Sunset

Rest moment.

 

16. News flash, TV

Acquired information

 

17. May Bukas Pa Teleserye

Gives me awesome realizations!

 

18. Prayers

Unseen but felt.

 

 

So you think you’re unfortunate?

Think again. Ü