Today Dinah and I celebrate the two year anniversary of landing in Hong Kong with 611 Bread of Life Church! Tomorrow we go to the Gardens by the Bay to celebrate, pray and bless the land : )
Yesterday I realised that February 2 this year is the day that marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees in Israel. Known as Tu Bishvat, this day marks the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.
I understand that its origins come from the laws of agriculture found in the Bible. God's people needed a way to calculate the age of trees for tithing and agricultural laws so the sages established Tu BiShvat as the 'birthday' of trees. It marked a point when new fruit-bearing trees were considered to be a year older for the purposes of tithing and offerings.
In Israel today, Tu BiShvat has taken on a new significance. It is celebrated as a day of tree planting, environmental awareness, and thanksgiving for the land of Israel.
One beautiful tradition of Tu BiShvat in Israel is the planting of trees. This practice fulfills biblical prophecy! God promised to restore the land of Israel, turning its once-barren landscapes into fruitful fields in Isaiah 35:1-2.
We remember that Lucifer has assaulted the earth since he fell from Heaven. In his hatred for life and the Life-Giver, he seeks to de-create and ultimately desecrate what was made to be beautiful.
Our heavenly Father promises that life wins. The biblical story that started in a garden with two trees will come full circle with restoration and the Tree of Life, “whose leaves are for the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:2).
Today - two years later - my bride and I are back in Singapore. And planting the tree of life here. This new tree will grow and become a forest of trees of life. A garden city!
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