Others May; You Cannot

-Author Unknown. Reblogged from servehiminthewaiting.wordpress.com 
IF God has called you to be really like Jesus He will draw you into
a life of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such demands
of obedience, that you will not be able to follow other people, or
measure yourself by other Christians, and in many ways He will
seem to let other people do things which He will not let you do.
 
Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful,
may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out
their plans, but you cannot do it, and if you attempt it, you will
meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you
sorely penitent.
 
Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their successes,
of their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any
such thing, and if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep
mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.
 
Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, or may have
a legacy left to them, but it is likely God will keep you poor,
because He wants you to have something far better than gold,
namely, a helpless dependence upon Him, that He may have the
privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury.
 
The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and keep
you hidden in obscurity, because He wants to produce some
choice fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be
produced in the shade. He may let others be great, but keep you
small. He may let others do a work for Him and get the credit for
it, but He will make you work and toil on without knowing how
much you are doing; and then to make your work still more
precious He may let others get credit for the work which you have
done, and thus make YOUR REWARD TEN Times GREATER
When JESUS COMES.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love,
and will rebuke you for little words and feelings or for wasting your
time, which other Christians never feel distressed over. SO make
up your mind that God is an Infinitely Sovereign Being, and has a
right to do as He pleases with His own. He may not explain to
you a thousand things which puzzle your reason in His dealings
with you, but if you absolutely sell yourself to be His love slave,
He will wrap you up in Jealous Love, and bestow upon you many
blessings which come only to those who are in the inner circle.
Settle it forever, then that you are to DEAL DIRECTLY WITH
THE HOLY SPIRIT, and that He is to have the privilege of tying
your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways
that He does not seem to use with others. Now, when you are
so possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret
heart, pleased and delighted over this PECULIAR, PERSONAL,
PRIVATE, JEALOUS GUARDIANSHIP and MANAGEMENT OF
the HOLY SPIRIT OVER YOUR LIFE, then you will have found
the vestibule of Heaven.

WHEN YOU ARE forgotten, neglected, or purposefully set at
naught, and you smile inwardly, glorying in the insult or the
oversight, because thereby you are counted worthy to suffer with
Christ, THAT IS VICTORY.

WHEN YOUR GOOD is evil spoken of, when your wishes are
crossed, when your taste is offended, when your advise is
disregarded, when your opinions are ridiculed, and you take it
all in patient, loving silence, THAT IS VICTORY.

WHEN YOU ARE content with any food, raiment, climate,
society, solitude,or any interruption by the will of God, THAT
IS VICTORY.

Related posts: The Joshua Tree - Sighing and the Divine response
Read more: http://thelightseed.blogspot.com/search/label/ENGLISH%20-%20Reflections#ixzz30JC8ckIx

Pr. J.D Farag Prophecy Update

Notes from Pr. Farag 

Mid-East Prophecy Update – April 27th, 2014
- For today’s prophecy update I would like to talk about the prophetic significance of some recent and major developments concerning Israel.

- It seems in the last several weeks, especially this last week with it being Resurrection Sunday, much has happened as it relates to Israel.
 
- I’ll start with last Thursday, April 24th, and sort of work backwards to provide an update on what’s happened, then I’ll explain what it means.

I’ll draw your attention to this BBC headline, “Hamas and Fatah unveil Palestinian reconciliation deal.” “Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have announced a reconciliation … Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said Mr Abbas would have to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27128902
 
Wednesday, April 23rd, The Balfour Post ran an article titled, “Jerusalem is not up for grabs.” “US Secretary of State John Kerry has blamed the sudden deadlock in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Israel’s plans to build additional apartments in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood... http://balfourpost.com/jerusalem-is-not-up-for-grabs/
 
Wednesday, April 16th, The Jerusalem Post reported on a Temple Mount riot in Jerusalem in which hundreds of Palestinians clashed with police. “Amid heightened tensions between Palestinians and Israelis as peace talks falter, … violence erupted Wednesday morning as soon as police opened the gate to the Temple Mount to visitors gathered from around the globe. … Following Wednesday’s riot – the third of its kind in less than two weeks – thousands of Jews from across the country and from abroad congregated at the nearby Western Wall to observe Passover.” http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Temple-Mount-riot-in-Jerusalem-Two-police-officers-lightly-injured-348620
 
Then there was this USA Today article titled, “Leaflet tells Jews to register in East Ukraine.” Here’s what they had to say, “Jews were handed leaflets that ordered the city's Jews to provide a list of property they own and pay a registration fee "or else have their citizenship
revoked, face deportation and see their assets confiscated…" Another news agency reported on it this way, “Concerns have been raised after a leaflet reminiscent of Nazi Germany was distributed in Donetsk demanding that Jews over 16 should register with the authorities.” http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/17/jews-ordered-to-register-in-east-ukraine/7816951/
 
- Be that as it may, let’s now turn a corner and take a look at what all of this means in terms of it’s prophetic significance related to scripture.
- While I realize this is fast becoming a firm grasp of the obvious, the entire world is against this little country of Israel reborn in May of 1948.
- In a sense, this is the quintessential battle between the giant Goliath of the entire world and the little David of Israel and that’s a good thing.
- The reason I say that is because the eerily similar parallels, which we’ve actually been studying in-depth Thursday nights, in 1 Samuel 17.
- Just as David, against all odds, was miraculously victorious over Goliath, Jesus, our greater than David, will be victorious over the enemy.
- And, this is evidenced in how David is a type of Christ, which is what I would like to briefly share with you in closing, if you wouldn’t mind.
 
DAVID JESUS SCRIPTURES
David was called God’s firstborn Jesus was the only begotten firstborn Psa 89:27, Col 1:15
David was born in Bethlehem Jesus was born in Bethlehem 1 Sam 16, 17:12 Ru 4:22, Mic 5:2, Mat 2:1
David was a shepherd of sheep Jesus is the good shepherd of people 1 Sam 16, John 10
David had a heart after God Jesus has the heart of God 1 Sam 16,1 Kin 11:4, John 5,10, Col 1, Phi 2
David was taken from a lowly place Jesus came from a lowly place 1 Sam 16, Mat 2, John 1:46, Isa 7:15, 53:2
David was anointed king Jesus is the anointed King of kings 1 Sam 16:13, 2 Sam 2.4, Ac 4:27, 1 Tim 6:15
David was not expected to be king Jesus was not expected to be the Messiah 1 Sam 16, John 7:27
David was sent to the battle by his father Jesus was sent to this world by the Father 1 Sam 17:17, John 3:16, 1 John 4:14
David was the 8th son of Jesse Jesus is the (new beginning) Son of God 1 Sam 16:10-11, 2 Cor 5:17, John 1:1-14
David brought bread to his brothers Jesus is the bread of life for His brethren 1 Sam 17:17, John 6:35
David was sent with 10 loaves and cheeses Jesus was sent to fulfill the law (“10”) 1 Sam 17:17-18, Mat 5:17
David had 3 brothers in the battlefield Jesus spent 3 days in the tomb 1 Sam 17:14, Mat 12:40
David is rejected and scorned by his brothers Jesus is rejected by His Jewish brethren 1 Sam 17:28-30, John 1:11, 7:5
David came to land Israel had lost Jesus came to seek and save what was lost 1 Sam 17:1-3, Luke 19:10
David heard Goliath challenge Israel Jesus heard the devil challenge and test Him 1 Sam 17:23, Mat 4:1-11
David is sent after 40 days to the battlefield Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness 1 Sam 17:16, Mat 4:1-11
David was Israel’s only representative in battle Jesus is our only representative against Satan 1 Sam 17:8-11, Rom 5:18-19
David answered to Goliath saying give me a man Jesus didn’t answer Pilate saying behold the man 1 Sam 17:10, John 19:5
David defeated the beasts of a lion and bear prior Jesus will defeat the beast both lion and bear 1 Sam 17: 34, Dan 7
David defeated the Philistine with only one rock Jesus will defeat Satan as the one and only Rock 1 Sam 17:50, Psa 78:35, 42:9, 89:26
David brought salvation with one rock out of five Jesus is our Rock of salvation by grace (“5”) 1 Sam 17:40-50, Eph 2:8-9
David kills 6 cubits high-6 armor-600 shekels weight Jesus kills the beast whose number is 666 1 Sam 17:4-7, Rev 13:15-18, 19:20-21
David uses Goliath’s sword to cut off his head Jesus kills with the sword from His mouth 1 Sam 17:51, Rev 19:21
David receives an inheritance and a bride Jesus is our inheritance and we are His bride 1 Sam 17:25, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2 Cor 11:2
David frees Israel from slavery to the Philistines Jesus frees us from slavery to sin 1 Sam 17:9, John 8:36, Rom 8:2
David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem Jesus crushed the serpents head in Jerusalem 1 Sam 17:54, Gen 3:15, John 19:30
David won the victory was good news that’s spread Jesus won our victory the good news is spread 1 Sam 17:52-53, Mark 16:15, Phi 1:3-5
David had it asked about him whose son is this Jesus has it asked about Him whose son is He 1 Sam 17:55, Mat 22:42
Matthew 22:42 "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" "The son of David," they replied.
1 Samuel 17:55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is
this youth?" And Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not know."

Do you know?

Since we know

Written and posted by Jean-Louis.1995
http://lightnseed.blogspot.com

http://thelightseed.blogspot.com 

 

Since we know that the Lord is a consuming fire,

That His Word is like a hammer and a flame,
Let us be broken and go through the fire of affliction.
Let us not resist the purifying work of the Holy Spirit.
All He wants us to do is to remove the idols of our hearts,
To take His rightful place on His throne, our altar.

Since we know that He sent His prophet Ezekiel
To speak life into the dead, dry bones,
Will He not be able to bring together,
What He has purposefully scattered?

Since we know that He does not speak only
To individuals, but to His whole body,
Is He not the one that brings us together,
To worship Him in Spirit and Truth,
And to serve Him gladly?

Since we know that He sees and hears our sorrow and affliction,
And that He inhabits the praises of His people,
As we gather in His Name
And allow His Spirit and His word to purify us,
As with humble and grateful hearts we yield
In praise and worship to His majesty,
Will He not send His Word to refresh us,
To bind our wounds,
And restore to us the joy of His salvation?

Since we know that He came to set the prisoners free,
And that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,
Will He not break the bondage that prevents us
From experiencing the full benefit of His blessed presence?

Since we know that His grace and mercies abound,
Will He not restore in us our first love for Him,
And set our feet on a firm path?

Since we know that He bids us:
“Come, Now is the time of my salvation”,
Will we not respond in faith, trust and obedience,
Entering into the water flowing from His throne,
Not only ankle deep, nor knee deep;
But plunging wholeheartedly in the pure refreshing stream
And be made well and whole?    

Since we know that only those
who drink of the water of life,
Will be able to share His life with others,
Let us remember the woman at the well of Sichar.
Are we thirsty? Then let us come and drink freely,
The living water that costs nothing,
And He will satisfy our thirst to overflowing.

Note: Since this was written for christians believers, I am certain that most of you will recognize and be able to identify the corresponding scriptures verses throughout the poem.

Jean-Louis.

It feels like there's no one left who is a true believer...

Reblogged from Elizabeth Prata: the-end-time.blogspot.com

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Paul reassured the Thessalonians that they had not missed the rapture and were not in the Day of the LORD. (another –pre-trib proof). He said that the Day will not come unless…certain events happened in order first

1. Rapture
2. Falling away (apostasy)
3. Antichrist revealed
4. Day of the Lord

The apostasy prepares the way for the advent of the Man of Sin.

Falling away AKA apostasy is a hard, hard thing, For anyone who is righteous, seeing loved ones succumb to the sway of a false doctrine, or follow a false teacher, it is a torture to the soul and a agony to the mind and a hardship on the soul. I see a Blackaby book on a pastor’s desk and I worry. I hear a woman refuse to acknowledge Joyce Meyer is false “because she preaches straight from the bible” and I mourn, I see a woman wear a “Walk to Emmaus” tee shirt and I fear. Encountering these things in my daily routine is like having a hot nail driven into my head. I am not exaggerating.

It’s not to say that these people or any person who reads a book, accepts a teacher or participates in a retreat once is an apostate. I participated in both the Experiencing God study by Henry Blackaby and a Beth Moore DVD retreat, but what doing so did was alert me to the falseness of their teachings. It gave me a close-up view of what it was that troubled my soul so much. That’s what false teaching does, it either grieves the soul and alerts one to its falsity or it entrenches one deeper into their lack of discernment. I worry because I know when someone doesn’t or won’t see the falseness of a particular doctrine or teacher, the false teacher or a false doctrine has successfully taken root into their mind. Satan won’t let that go. Unless they refute it and repent, it will grow like gangrene. That is the way of things. (2 Timothy 2:17; Acts 14:2)

It feels sometimes like there are hardly any people with discernment left. It feels like so many friends and family are falling away. I know from your emails and blog comments that many of you are in locations where there literally are no good churches or where false teaching abounds. Doesn’t it feel like were the only ones, sometimes!

Here is where we praise the gracious Lord for His examples for us in scripture. We are not alone! Elijah thought he was alone! Jeremiah was tortured by the apostasy around him and in his lifetime, judgment came! Noah preached 120 years and only had 7 converts! Isaiah was told to prophesy until there was literally no one left!

“And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”… God assured him, Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:9-10, 18)

My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh the walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent, for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. (Jeremiah 4:19)

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. …These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:5-6, 9)

“Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,” (Isaiah 6:11)

In the New Testament, imagine there being no ‘church down the road’ you could switch to when apostasy is so rampant in your church you have to leave. The Corinthians were having chaotic services, drunken Lord’s Suppers, and immorality and sexual impurity were a problem. But that was the ONLY church. Can you imagine how the few pure and holy Corinthians felt?

Wikimedia commons

I’ve seen a massive defection from the faith since 2008. I’ve also seen a horrific decline in discernment since then too. The rise in apostasy to my mind and according to how I interpret 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is that the time is near when the rapture will occur. The defections of millions from the faith and the fast tsunami of apostasy in even evangelical denominations shows this, in my opinion. The curtain on this age is coming down, and fast.

Each of the prophets named above walked closely with God. Even in times of terrible apostasy when they were literally the only ones in their sphere left who were faithful. They were human, to be sure. Elijah suffered a bout of depression. Jeremiah was tearful and mourning much of the time. The key is, they clung to God.

Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9)

Take encouragement! The Lord Jesus is near to us. At the time of His appearing, there were few faithful ones. His religion had been turned into a mockery. They rejected His words while clamoring for His miracles. They wanted His 'stuff' but not Him for Himself. He knew apostasy! He knows the pain we feel when people reject our precious Jesus and go astray! Don't give up the fight!

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)

He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. (Hebrews 5:2)

Pray for those who are ignorant and going astray. Pray for yourself in your weariness and sadness. Jesus is with us. It is good.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Hillsong’s Gospel

Reblogged by Jean-Louis

Posted by Simplicity In Christ on July 3, 2010

Todd Friel, of Way of the Master Radio, was in London and talked to a couple of guys about their church Hillsong London. He had several questions about their beliefs which they answered to the best of their abilities. Listen to the MP3 here.

They spoke of the Hillsong Europe conference, for which they were filming a promotional video. Read part of the transcript below:

[...]

TODD: What’s the theme?

MAN #2: The purpose of the conference is to empower the local church. That’s the whole goal behind it all.

[...]

TODD: Empower them to do what?

MAN #2: Empower them to reach/influence the world…

TODD: Influence the world. In what way?

MAN #2: Day to day, life as Christians, just being around, living how Jesus would, I guess. And the purpose of the conference is to, I guess, for Christians who are involved in churches throughout Europe … to share the message of Christ.

TODD: What is the message of Christ?

MAN #2: It says to go in all the world, you know.

TODD: That’s the command. What’s the message?

MAN #2: the message… ?

MAN #1: The message is Eternal Life, Prosperity, Hope, Self-Love, Salvation, Healing… It’s really to equip people and give them the resources to affect the lives of the people around them in the community in which they live in.

TODD: What’s the best way I can affect the lives of people in my community?

MAN #1: Well, it all comes from love, doesn’t it, really at the end of the day. And the conviction you get from love.

TODD: Helping people?

MAN #1: Yeah! I mean, sort of doing all you can…

TODD: Hold on. You said two words that kind of jumped out at me. Prosperity. What kind of prosperity?

MAN #1: Well, prosperity in life, prosperity in the workplace, and prosperity in your family life…

[...]

TODD: The other word that you said was something about self-love? What was that about?

MAN #1: Well, there’s a lot of people who harm themselves on a psychological , emotional, and on a deeper level, a spiritual level. Uh, which perhaps you’re not aware of, uh, on your own efforts. I think having a relationship with Christ reveals these things to you and through his strength, again coming back to Christ, you’re able to tackle them hand in hand. I don’t think being, uh, sitting around presuming that becoming a Christian all of a sudden means you’re in the land of milk and honey because our Savior was One Who wasn’t alien to sufferening, to temptation, to being rejected by His friends, and ultimately torture. … As Christians we go through the school of hard knocks, we just remember that if it’s good enough for Him, it’s good enough for us.

TODD: So Self-Love. I should love myself, why?

MAN #1: Um, if you love and respect yourself and you are equipped to love others. … If you can’t love yourself, then how are you supposed to love others?

[...]

TODD: I walk up to you guys and instead of putting a microphone in your face, I’ve got a knife in my back. And I’m going down, it’s a bloody mess, I’m gasping for air, I’ve got 30 seconds, I’m scared to die. You’re a Christian; what do I need to do to go to heaven?

MAN #1: Well, I suppose, uh, salvation [unintelligible] is a good one. Just accept somebody loved you enough to step into all this mess and ultimately, you know, we all know that the deepest act of love is to die for somebody. That’s obvious. It’s a huge unconditional love and to accept that, the rest of the work is done. I mean, again, it’s a transcending question, it’s a difficult one, but I suppose if you got a knife in your back, Christ had nails in His hands, nails in His feet, and a spear in His side, and thorns on His head, and dogs around Him, mocking and spitting in His face. So I supposed if you can accept His pain and your pain, then you’re on your way somewhere special.

–End of Interview–

TODD: I think what you just heard was a very, very eloquent presentation of what is very, very typical of the, well whatever prosperity you want to assign to it, but just the feel-good evangelicalism. That Jesus will help you through your life, He’ll help you through your days, He can relate to us because He went through really tough times and our job on this earth is to love our neighbors.

Theologically, frankly, that was a dog’s breakfast.

[...]

Where was witnessing? Where was the sharing of the Gospel? Where was helping people understand that there’s a Savior? And their NEED for a Savior?…

Reflection on a classic devotional entry

Reblogged from  The Light Seed
Written and posted by Jean-Louis
 
The entry from   "Streams in the Desert" February 24 entry below and the following poem reminds me of a time of struggle in my life some time ago which was exacerbated by a horrible cold winter weather. Since I was working outside a house washing up the deck with a pressure washer in freezing temperature it was hard for me to muster positive and uplifting thoughts about my life. But God....

It is always when the situation is dire and we feel like giving up and crawl under the blankets of temporary comfort, whatever they happen to be that God, in his mercy and grace shows up (although he is always Jehovah Shamah, the God who is there). Through the Holy Spirit eyes, we see things unseen to us and we hear the Lord talking to us through nature, things that  we were oblivious to because we focused our attention on ourselves and on the raging waves and not on our compassionate Lord and his power to take us through the rough places in life. Read more

Shallow vs deep bible study: do you want to really see?

Reblogged from Elizabeth Prata: the-end-time.blogspot.com 
 

“Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch of an almond tree. Then said the LORD unto me, You have seen well: for I am ready to perform My word.” (Jeremiah 1:11, 12.)

Charles Spurgeon said in sermon #2678, "Lesson of the Almond Tree",
OBSERVE, first, dear Friends, that before Jeremiah becomes a speaker for God, he must be a seer. The name for a Prophet, in the olden time, was a “seer”—a man who could see—one who could see with his mind’s eye, one who could also see with spiritual insight, so as vividly to realize the Truth of God which he had to deliver in the name of the Lord.

Learn that simple lesson well, O you who try to speak for God! You must be seers before you can be speakers. The question with which God usually begins His conversation with each of His true servants is the one He adressed to Jeremiah, “What do you see?” I am afraid that there are some ministers, nowadays, who do not see much. Judging by what they preach, their vision must be all in cloudland, where all they see is smoke, mist and fog. I often meet with persons who have attended the same ministry for years—and when I have asked them even very simple questions about the things of God, I have found that they do not know anything.

It was not because they were not able to comprehend quickly when the Truth was set forth plainly before them, but I fear that it was, in most cases, because there was nothing that they could learn from the minister to whom they had been accustomed to listen. The preacher had seen nothing and, therefore, when he described what he saw, of course it all amounted to nothing. 
Further reading

The Almond Tree: the promise and the beauty, a symbol of resurrection

Reblogged from the-end-time.blogspot.com  

You might also be interested in this, one of my related original post: The Eternal Spring in God´s Heart
Note from this blog´s author: The quote from Gabriel Garcia Marques  is in no way an endorsement of his book.
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most of us aren't farmers. Many of us don't garden. Having lost our connection to the land, sometimes the biblical symbolism of certain agricultural meanings are lost to us. Let's look at the almond tree.

Flowering almond trees, Wiki CC, by Daniel Sancho

The almond tree is mentioned in scripture several times and always in interesting contexts. Almond tree twigs are mentioned as early as Genesis 30:37 and Genesis 43:11. In Exodus 25:33, God is describing how the Golden Lampstand in the Tabernacle should look.

Source

Sweet almond tree branch with blossoms. Wiki CC

three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.

Calyx is the collective name for sepals of a flower. Easton's Bible Dictionary explains,

"A native of Syria and Palestine. In form, blossoms, and fruit it resembles the peach tree. Its blossoms are of a very pale pink colour, and appear before its leaves. Its Hebrew name, shaked, signifying "wakeful, hastening," is given to it on account of its putting forth its blossoms so early, generally in February, and sometimes even in January"

The International Standard Bible encyclopedia says,

"The masses of almond trees in full bloom in some parts of Palestine make a very beautiful and striking sight. The bloom of some varieties is almost pure white, from a little distance, in other parts the delicate pink, always present at the inner part of the petals, is diffused enough to give a pink blush to the whole blossom."

Did you know that there are sweet almonds and bitter almonds. Bitter almonds are toxic. It becomes cyanide when crushed and mixed with other enzymes inside the almond.

"Gabriel Garcia Marquez once wrote poetically about the scent of bitter almonds and the fate of unrequited love as a lead-in to murder by cyanide poisoning. And in bitter almond oil as in a tragic romance, the sweet and the toxic are inextricably entangled.

Benzaldehyde is made by the decomposition of amygdalin (named for Prunus amygdalus, and in turn responsible for the bitterness that gives bitter almonds their common name). The other decomposition products are glucose (sweet) and hydrogen cyanide (toxic). ... The utility of amygdalin to the plant is for defense, specifically as a deterrent to grazers from eating the valuable seed as well as the dispensable fruit. Inside the cells of the almond kernel, amygdalin is sequestered from the enzyme that breaks it down: amygdalin hydrolase. Crushing, as happens when the plant is grazed upon, brings the enzyme and amygdalin together, and cyanide is produced as a result–as much as 4-9mg per almond."

Aaron's rod famously budded almond leaves, blossoms, and fully ripe fruit. The LORD did this to prove that Aaron was His designated spokesman, with Moses.

On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. (Numbers 17:8)

As with Aaron's rod, Jeremiah 1:11 use of the almond as a symbol. Jeremiah 1:11-12:

"And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

Pulpit Commentary says of Verse 12. - I will hasten my word; literally, I am wakeful over my word; alluding to the meaning of the Hebrew word for almond. The LORD will hasten to perform His judgments of Jerusalem which He proclaimed in His word to Jeremiah.

“It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.”
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 'Love in the Time of Cholera”.
In Genesis 43:11 one of the 'best gifts' of the land that Joseph's father Jacob urged his sons to bring to Egypt (unknowingly, to Joseph) were almonds.

In Plants of the Bible, it says, "The almond, Amygdalus communis, is a medium sized tree with narrow, light green leaves. Unlike the fig and olive, the almond does not live to a great age. The almond is a well-known symbol of resurrection because it is the first tree to flower. The white, five-parted flowers are up to two inches across and come in the late winter before the leaves of the tree develop. Because they may flower as early as late January or early February, it is sometimes possible to find almond flowers with snow."

Charles Spurgeon preached on the lessons of the Almond Tree. He says here,

"While I have felt compelled to speak of these solemn Truths, I am glad to turn to the other part of the subject which is this—that God is quick in performing His promises. They are like the almond tree—they blossom and bear fruit very quickly. “What sort of promises,” you ask, “are thus speedily fulfilled?” Well, first, the promise to give salvation to all these who believe in the Lo rd Jesus Christ. Listen— “The moment a sinner believes, And trusts in his crucified God, His pardon at once he receives, Redemption in full thro’ His blood.” I see “a branch of an almond tree” here. The Psalmist says, “His word runs very swiftly,” and I am a witness that it does. Many years ago, I, a poor sinner, went into a place of worship to hear the Gospel preached. The preacher repeated the Lord’s command, “Look unto Me, and be you saved.” I looked to Christ and I was saved that very instant. It takes no longer to tell the story than it did to work the miracle of mercy. Swift as a lightning flash I looked to Christ, and the great deed was done! I was a pardoned and justified soul—in a word, I was saved! Why should not the same thing happen to you who are here? It will happen to everyone who shall now be led to believe in Jesus Christ."

On this most joyous of days, you who wonder at our joy, it is because we looked to Christ as our all in all, forgiver of sins, Lamb of God. You, also, look to Christ - and be saved. The almond tree blooms, quick with promises. The most wondrous promise of all is the resurrection of the Son of God.

Aaron's rod budded, sprouted, and offered fully formed fruit, all at the same time. "According to the law of nature, all living things have a beginning and an end. However, this was not the case with Aaron’s rod, for God gave it a new lease of life. This miracle hinted at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even though death came to the world because of the actions of the first man, Adam, resurrection would come about on account of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:17–22). Hence, when Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (Jn 11:25). ... the flowering rod served to quell Korah’s rebellion and re-affirmed Aaron’s position as high priest. Furthermore, this wondrous sign hinted at the future Messiah and His status as the firstfruits of resurrection (1 Cor 15:20)." (source)

He is risen!

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Further Reading

The Sign of the Almond Tree

The Lesson of the Almond Tree

Daily Bible Study: Almonds