Tree Trouble - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

TREE TROUBLE!
by Steven Wilson

"Quick!" said Ruth to her brother Luke. "We've got to help
Uncle Reuben."

"Oh no!" said Luke, munching on a falafel. "This is going to
be painful. I just know it."

Ruth handed her brother a long stick and said, "Follow me!"
She ran from the house and Luke hopped after her, fighting to get
his sandals onto the right feet.

"But where are we going?" he called out, finally securing
his footwear. "And what are the sticks for?"

"You'll see!" she shouted back as she sped up the hill
towards Jericho. The two children were always rushing out to help
Uncle Reuben. He was the local administrator and that meant if
ever there was any trouble, he had to sort it out, and there was
certainly trouble this morning.

Ruth and Luke raced through the streets of Jericho until....

"Aaargh!" They crashed, sliding into a large crowd of
people, all of them seemingly fighting with each other.

"Ouch!" said Luke as an old lady started to bash him on the
head with a watermelon.

"Sorry!" said Ruth to the lady and pulled her brother to the
ground. They began to frantically crawl between the legs of the
crowd.

"Ouch! Ooh! Ouch!" said Luke as people kept missing Ruth but
treading on him. "I knew this would be painful."

Finally they crawled out from the crowd at the base of a
large, gnarled sycamore tree. The tree was nearly forty feet high
with a short trunk and spreading branches.

Uncle Reuben was standing at the foot of the tree,
scratching his hairy chin and looking up into the branches.

"What's the problem, Uncle?" asked Luke, feeling bruised but
wondering what all the panic was about.

"He's the matter," said Reuben, pointing up into the tree.

There perched in the branches was a man. He was short, podgy
and far too old to be climbing trees.

"He's refusing to come down! He says he's going to stay
there to get a better look."

"We've brought sticks," said Ruth helpfully. "We could get
him down with these."

Their Uncle looked down at them, shaking his head.

"No!" he said. "I don't think that would be very kind, and,
besides, I've tried everything. I've tried reasoning with him.
I've tried shaking the branches. I've even tried climbing up to
get him, but I just can't budge him. It'll take a miracle to get
him out of that tree."

At that moment, the crowd cheered as a man walked along the
road. But instead of walking past, he turned to the tree. The
crowd parted. He was serene and calm. He looked up into the
branches and said, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay
at your house today."

Instantly, and without the slightest grumble, Zacchaeus
climbed down from the branches and embraced the man.

"Wow!" said Luke, amazed at how easily the man had got
Zacchaeus out of the tree. "That was a miracle!"

"You bet!" whispered their Uncle as Zacchaeus and the man
walked off into the crowd. "That was Yah'shua, and he's the world's
greatest miracle."

THINK!
Why do you think Zacchaeus didn't want to come down from the
tree? Would you wait up a tree to see Yah'shua? Does Yahweh sometimes
expect us to do things that other people might not like?

REMEMBER
You can wait for Yah'shua anywhere!

A VERSE TO LEARN
Yah'shua said: "Any of you who does not give up everything he
has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33 - NIV).

LET'S PRAY

****************************************************
Dear Lord, help me me not to be afraid
when people are unkind to me
because I believe in You.
Please teach me to hear Your voice
above the shouts of the crowd
and to be brave enough to follow You anywhere.
In the Name of Yah'shua. Amen.
****************************************************

CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Luke, chapter 19, verses 1-10

You can view this Bible story in full color with pictures and
resources to go along with the story at
http://www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/tree.html

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