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This devotion was filmed before the tragic events of last Saturday. We continue to weep with and pray for all those affected by this horrific tragedy

Wood. Chicken wire. An old tire. Expanding foam. We're making a tree! It's a tree for an upcoming theater performance that my daughter is responsible for providing the set design for. So, she is constructing a tree to go on the stage.

At the end of the Bible, in Revelation 22:1-3, we read about a tree.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

At the beginning of the Bible there is the tree of life. There is also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is the tree Adam and Eve ate the fruit from, and that's when the curse upon all creation began. But at the end of the Bible, in the new Jerusalem, there is only the tree of life. It’s a tree that bears its fruit monthly, a tree that is for the healing of the nations. This tree and the river in the heavenly City of Jerusalem represent where men and women, girls and boys, people from every tribe, language, culture, and background, will find salvation and healing in Christ.

We've just had a general election. We pray for our leaders that they will have wisdom, that they will show mercy and have grace, and that they will know what it means to walk humbly with God. But in this world, we know that the only true hope is Jesus Christ. He is the one who establishes his Kingdom – a Kingdom where there is healing and hope.

My daughter is making a tree for a theater performance. But the greatest tree is the tree of life. It’s the tree of God’s eternal goodness, glory, and healing – healing for the brokenness in our world, healing for the fracture we see between nations. Today we pray for our leaders but most importantly, we that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Gospel will be made known. Let’s pray.

O Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we pray for our government, our leaders, and for those who have responsibilities to negotiate, discern, and put into place policies and practices that will benefit people and bring hope. But Lord we know that the only true hope is Jesus Christ. With this picture of the tree of life as healing of the nations, you call us to serve you in such a way that we will be channels of your peace and your hope. Lord, fill us with your Spirit as we seek you and follow you, and as we live for you in this nation at this time in history. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

視頻大意翻譯 (video Chinese translation):

木頭、鐵絲網、舊輪胎和膨脹泡沫。我們正在作一棵樹！這是我女兒為即將到來的戲劇表演負責提供佈景設計的樹。所以，她正造一棵樹。

在啟示錄22:1-3 中我們讀到一棵樹。

天使又指示我在城內街道當中一道生命水的河、明亮如水晶、從　神和羔羊的寶座流出來。 在河這邊與那邊有生命樹、結十二樣果子、每月都結果子．樹上的葉子乃為醫治萬民。 以後再沒有咒詛．在城裏有　神和羔羊的寶座．他的僕人都要事奉他．

在聖經的開頭有生命樹，還有分別善惡樹。這是亞當和夏娃吃果子的樹，那也是所有受造物受咒詛的開始。但在聖經的結尾，在新耶路撒冷，只有生命樹。這是棵每月結果子的樹，一棵醫治萬民的樹。這樹和天上耶路撒冷城的河流代表了男人和女人、女孩和男孩、來自各個部落、語言、文化和背景的人將在基督裡找到救贖和醫治的地方。

我們剛剛舉行了大選。我們為我們的領袖祈禱，希望他們有智慧，有憐悯和恩典，願他們知道謙卑地與神同行是什麼意思。但在這世界，我們知道唯一真正的希望是耶穌基督。他是建立他的王國的那一位—一個有治癒和希望的王國。

我女兒正在為戲劇表演製作一棵樹。但最偉大的樹是生命之樹。它是上帝永恆的良善、榮耀和醫治之樹—醫治我們世上的破碎，醫治我們看到的國家間的裂痕。今天，我們為我們的領袖祈禱，但最重要的是，我們希望我們主耶穌基督的恩典和福音的力量能夠被傳揚。讓我們一起禱告。

讓我們禱告。

噢主神、聖父、聖子和聖靈，我們為我們的政府、我們的領導人以及那些有責任談判、辨別和實施政策和實踐的人禱告，願這些政策和實行將造福人們並帶來希望。但主啊，我們知道唯一真正的希望是耶穌基督。以這幅生命樹為醫治萬民的圖畫，你呼召我們服事你，使我們成為你平安和希望的管道。主啊，當我們尋求你、跟隨你，在歷史上這刻，在這個國家為你而活時，願你的聖靈充滿我們。我們奉耶穌的名祈求。阿門。

Grace and peace

Pastor Callum