And he showed me a pure river of
water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the
Lamb. In the middle of its
street, and on either side of the river, was
the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more
curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants
shall serve Him. They shall see His face,
and His name shall be on their
foreheads. There shall be no night there:
They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And
they shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 22: 1-5 NKJV
In mid-December 2006 we
moved into our home at the corner of 22nd and Meadowbrook. We toured
many homes in our limited price range with Peg, our realtor. Finally, I saw
Kim’s face light up when we toured what would become our home. She delighted in
the simple charm of the woodwork, the spaciousness of high ceilings, the
airiness of many windows, the coziness of the master bedroom sitting area. I
delighted in Kim being delighted. That first year of founding a new ministry
was both wonderful and stressful. I also had my eye on the beautifully shaped
spruce tree in the front yard. It would look great with Christmas lights. Kim
alleges I wanted this house because of that
tree. I confess we moved in on December 16th and just after sundown
on December 16th I finished putting lights on that tree—admittedly before most of our belongings were unpacked!
Mea culpa, mea culpa! Actually, the confirming moment for me to buy the home
came in the backyard of the next house we visited on our realtor’s tour. Kim
and Peg were inside when I wandered outside and asked the Lord, “Is that house
on 22nd the one You want for us?”
I heard Him say in my heart, “That is the home I have for you. You will
bless many in that neighborhood and many in that neighborhood will bless you.”
When I reported this to Kim, her bright green eyes sparkled in agreement.
Seven years later a woman
came to a Thanksgiving renewal gathering we were leading in our city. I noticed
she was deeply into worship and writing copious notes. One of her friends had
invited her to come receive prayer and restoration from the Lord. When we
prayed for her the look on her face was a bit worn, but resolutely hopeful. She
wanted all the Lord wanted to give her. She believed every word of the Bible
and every word He ever had spoken to her heart. There was great pain in her
heart, yet greater faith. I learned later she was a wife, mother, and
co-pastor. Her troubled husband had forsaken her and her children one year
earlier. She came believing for a miraculous deliverance for her husband from
his tormented ways and a restoration for her marriage, family, and church. For
her husband had also been the co-pastor of the church. We agreed with her in
faith that though he had forsaken his family and church, the Lord would not
forsake him—or them! She left renewed in faith. So did I.
Before we parted, we
discovered we also were neighbors, living only a block from one another. She
exclaimed, “You are the tree people! We have prayed for you and thanked God for
you for years. You have no idea what your tree has meant to us.” I certainly
didn’t. She went on to tell us her adopted son had gazed earnestly upon our
spruce and its lights each of those seven Christmases eagerly awaiting the
lighting. The first year we moved in and
lit the tree he was small, frail, and racked by painful illness. From his bed
in the second story of their house, he had a clear vantage point to gaze at the
tree. She said the tree was sometimes the only thing that helped him get
through the night. The Lord used the tree to help him get his mind off the pain
onto something joyful and peaceful. Ever since that first year he always looked
forward to the tree being lit. Wow. The Lord confirmed our decision every year
to light up that tree in mid-November—even if it was just for one struggling
little boy a few hundred feet away. Our tree has become something of a
Christmas landmark and people around town often know us as the people with “the
tree.” Throughout the year people will walk by and say things like, “Thanks so
much for the tree at Christmastime and for leaving it up so long. It helps. I
actually drive home a different way so I can see the tree.” You never know just
what our Lord will use in your life to bless others when you surrender control
to Him. If He had not helped me learn earlier in life to talk with Him in the
secret place of His heart, I wouldn’t have asked and heard Him say, “That is
the house I have for you.”
For me, it all began with
my parents tucking me in at night. Either my mom or my dad would kneel down by
my bed and would draw near my cheek as they led me in my nighttime prayer, “Now
I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before
I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless mommy and daddy and Stevie,
and grandma,….and help me(whatever I needed help with)…in Jesus’ blessed name I
pray. Amen.” It was sometime in those nightly prayers I first trusted Jesus
with my life and beyond death. When I finished they kissed me and turned on the
night light. It was just a simple little thing, but the single blue bulb in my
night light was the same kind as Christmas lights and it often reminded me of
Christmas as I drifted off in sleep.
That first Christmas the
angels shattered the night with light over terrified shepherds. The angels
reassured them declaring the first coming of real Peace on earth—a real Prince
who would release the Father’s good will toward men. The bible word “good”
means “radically generous”. It’s not a
coincidence that lowly shepherds were the first to hear of the first coming of
the Good Shepherd who would describe Himself as humble and lowly of heart. The
Good Shepherd of the Good Will--who would willingly lay down his life on a tree
so all we lost sheep might live forever with Him. At the second coming of our
Good Shepherd, a new heaven and new earth will come. There will be no more
darkness. Until then the world has a night light--the Holy Spirit shining
through we “people of the tree”, the Tree of Life. Until the Lord returns to
earth, the Lord wants everyone around you to return to Him.
When we put up the lights
in mid-November the last couple years there is one guy who I have only seen
walk by when we are decorating the tree. Each of the last two years he has said
in a monotone yet passively grumpy way, “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.” The first year I was upon on the ladder and
simply said, “Yes, but don’t you think it’s better to put it up in good
weather?” The Lord knew I wasn’t really responding from His heart, just my own
indignation. The second year the guy came by and surpised me again as I was
high up the ladder. This time I was able to say, “It’s ok.” He kept walking. I
then called out “God bless you.” He just kept walking. The Lord keeps working
with me concerning this guy. Who knows what all is going on within that man or
his life. God knows. So I have asked the Lord to give me a divine appointment
with him some day. Most importantly I have asked the Lord to help him draw
close to Him, cheek to cheek. We’ll see.
It’s become fashionable
for people, even we Christians, to gripe about Christmas and the way our tired
old world celebrates it. But oh how every weary and heavy laden soul strains
desperately the best way we know how to find a little light in the night. For
the way of the world is ice. The way of the Lord is all-consuming fire. He is a
River of Life, but often all our sinful nature
sees is glaciers of death. All our griping comes when our heart that does not
feel the warm comforting presence of our cheek-to-cheek Father. All our
Grinchiness comes when we are not facing the Grin—the smiling countenance of the
One took His own wrath for our sin upon Himself to spare us. So others feel our
wrath whenever we hide from His well-lit path.
But the Light for All
Nights has drawn you to this present moment, this present truth—you never have
to be without His warmth and light again. You have nothing to prove. You never
have to be anyone else. You get to be the “you” He made you to be, if only you
yield your will to the His Good Will.
Because you never know who
is watching. But He does. He sees all who are straining to see through their
pain in the dark. He died on a tree to become the Tree of Life for as many who
will come to Him. His ways are higher than our ways. He is God. He gets to
choose the way He saves the world and the way He works in it. We get to choose
if we live with Him on His terms or die alone on ours. So He has chosen to
shine in the Night through we who have come to Him. So you Tree People, shake
off every false yoke of fearful griping and let the joyful grinning begin.
Shine. The night will not last forever. Because of Him, you will.
Merry Christmas,
Richard Speight
****************************************************************************************
Come Rest Ministries Christmas Response Form
___My
Christmas prayer request is_________________________________________________
___Yes,
Lord! I will pray for CRM.
___Yes,
Lord! I will financially support CRM. Today’s gift $____ My monthly
pledge $___
___Yes, I want the Real Fruit Special!
___Please ship!
___I’m local and will call ahead
for pick-up at Speights!
___2 for $30 (plus $5 shipping)
___10 for $130 (plus $13 shipping)
___Please
ship ___ copie(s) “Come Rest” ($16+$4 ship; each additional copy
add $1 ship.)
___Please
ship __copies of CD “Meditations” & __copies of the CD “Reflections”
($8 or $12 for set+$4ship)
Name____________________________________________________________________________________
Address___________________________________________________________________________________
Email_______________________________________________Phone________________________________
***************************************************
We
deeply appreciate your prayers and financial offerings to the Lord for Come
Rest Ministries!
Blessings,
Dick
and Kim Speight
Come Rest Ministries
PO Box 11010
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52410
