Truth in the Tree

Brothers and Sisters, Priests and Kings, Sons and Daughters of God Most High,

A quick word from The Lord by way of an illustration that He recently gave me. Believe and receive, for the hour is truly late. It came as such... I always get a real tree for Christmas. Every year, for the whole of my life, I have always held fast to the tradition of patronizing a farm for the cutting of the Christmas Tree that will light my home throughout the Season. I love everything about it. From the smell of the pine to the way each tree has had it's own defined "character", I'd have it no other way. For those who harvest a tree as I do, there invariably comes a time each year when (hopefully after Christmas Day) the tree stops "drinking" from the stand and it must be removed from your home. Sentimental saps like me, however, often leave it up until the tree begins to show signs of "brownage" and turns brittle. During this phase, the Christmas tree looks almost as beautiful as it did before - though if one is careful to examine it closely, one can detect the stagnation that has begun to permeate it's branches. A day or so before taking my tree down last year, I was passing it by one morning while getting ready for work. The house was dark, and having lit the tree (as I am faithful to do until the bitter end) I was remarking aloud (with sincere admiration) how beautiful it still looked shining in the dim of the living room. "One would never guess," I marveled, "how dead that tree is by how she still shines in the dark." I stopped in my tracks as The Lord spoke this Word to me: This is precisely how the church has become. The illustration is sadly perfect. Resplendent with decorations and adorned with lights that speak of glories gone by, she still resonates in this present age of great darkness. Upon closer inspection, however, we see that much of the present Body of Christ is either dead or dying - bereft of devotion and powerless in the face of her enemies. Her branches are neither thriving nor soft to the touch, but brittle - and likely to draw blood if touched. When raked by true light, her decay can be clearly seen for what it is - though we note with fascination that there are still a few branches that are fresh and soft to the touch - miraculously clinging to life. In short - we are in grave peril and desperately need to be awakened from our deadly slumber. I would have loved to have had the ability to "speak life" over my tree and resurrect it for another month - for it was a thing of beauty last Season (if I don't say so myself). Alas, there was nothing for it but a date with the dumpster, which came a couple days after this moment of revelation. Jesus, however, is God Almighty - for whom things like resurrection are a specialty. He is about to speak life over His Body in ways that we cannot presently fathom, where from the brown and brittle decay will very shortly spring forth abundant life. It will not be an easy renewal - for as Paul warned, we are going to see whole sections of the tree pruned of its branches so that others (that will thrive) may be grafted in. Though stagnant and "dead" in this current hour, The Army of The Living God is about to break forth upon the Earth (see Joel 2) to raise the church up so that she will be even more beautiful than she was before. Spotless and glorious - a bride fit for a King. To those in the Body of Christ who live on the few branches that are still tapped into the source of all life... Pray... pray hard. The enemy of your soul is trying to bring things in the world before their time is set to come. The religious mindset is his greatest weapon in this battle - a cataclysm that is wielded from within the very church that he loathes. He adores pitting Christian against Christian in a stranglehold of bitter debate as a lost and dying world looks on with morbid fascination. He has us distracted by bloated programs and political correctness - and in many bodies, by rampant corruption. Pray for revival - pray for the Fire of renewal. Agree with your Holy Father, who longs for His Son's bride to step into an inheritance that will only come through repentance and restoration. Only when she is renewed will we ever see a reversal of our terrible national decay - which has brought very hammer of judgment to our doorstep. The time has come to fall on our face. The first wave of this renewal will be a terrible judgment designed to finally get the Bride's attention. Look to the east, for it has been spoken and will surely come to pass. Yeshua is coming soon. Be ready. Your brother and servant in Christ Jesus our Lord, Mark Grimmett Goldenlight Ministries