I couldn’t help myself; the weather was too
nice to be indoors, and besides this was probably the last 80+ degree day left
in the season. Gathering a plastic container for recycling I headed out to our garden to collect seeds from the flowering vines.
My husband had a headache and wanted to sit
back to rest for a little while.
Believing the fresh air would help him, with some coaxing I was able to
convince hubby that he needed to come help me.
For the next few hours not only could I imagine Life in God’s Garden, I
was living it.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
International – Norway; Czechia; Perth, WA,
Australia; Barreiro, Setúbal District,
Portugal; Luxembourg; Hyderabad, Telangana & Malappuram, Kerala,
India; Kigali, Rwanda; Nova Iguaçu, RJ, Brazil; Lae, Morobe Province,
Papua New Guinea; Lamongan, East Java; Palembang, South Sumatra; Baumata, East
Nusa Tenggara, Sunggal, North Sumatra & Kepung, East Java, Indonesia; Taipei,
Taiwan.
USA – Greenwood, AR; Temecula, Vallejo & Yucca Valley, CA; Hutchinson, KS; Boyce,
LA; Boston, MA; Elkton, MD; Sunrise Beach, MO; Lincoln, NE; East Wakefield, NH;
Minotola, Paterson & Vineland, NJ; New York, Camden & Rome, NY; Linton
& Grand Forks, ND; Fairborn & Plain City, OH: Woodburn, OR; Glenolden
& New Cumberland, PA; Frankfort, KY; Galveston, TX; Fairmont, WV; Albuquerque,
NM; Guthrie, OK.
I am so thankful for your visit and hope that you come
back each week to participate in the weekly challenges. Join us in our new series as we spend time in
the study of Daily Favor Relationships.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss
out on this week's challenge (below).
Thursday
Opening the gate to the garden I began
working my way around the inside of the fenced in area plucking tiny pods off
the twine vines. The past few cool
nights caused the flowers to wither.
What was once a beautiful lush covering that scrolled around the entire
garden looked rather messy having been hit it by the first frost of the fall
season.
The pods were so delicate that even the
slightest jiggle would make the seeds fall to the ground. By the time my husband joined me I had
already finished one side of the fence.
With much more to be done, he decided to work his way along the outer
side of the garden fence.
There was a slight breeze; perfect weather
for the task at hand. Dropping a handful
of seeds into the pail I pictured what Adam and Eve might be doing had they
still been living in God’s Holy place.
It was so quiet, even in the middle of the
afternoon and in the city to boot. No
one was around; it was if we were the only two people on the planet. Working my way towards where hubby was I
said, “I wonder if Adam had to do this?”
I answered my own question … of course he
did. God said that He gave us seed to
sow for future gardens.
“And God said, See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on
the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”
(Genesis 1:29 NKJV)
Serenity Now
When the vegetable plants, luffa and
flowering climbing vines are in full bloom they cover and surround the entire
fence. It creates a secret garden place to
dwell and spend time in the presence of our Creator.
Our little garden becomes a place of worship
… a temple so to speak, and provides the atmosphere needed to hear from God as
you draw close to Him. So many times I
have sought the Lord for answers and within a few minutes in the garden I hear
from Him.
Serenity washed over our spirits as the hours
wore on and we didn’t even notice the sun beginning to set. Hubby and I had such peace and calmness fellowshipping
together with the Lord that it made us long for the time when the Garden of
Eden would be restored for the children of God.
Blessings
Unmeasurable
For the past eight weeks we have “walked” through the
Garden of Eden and marveled over the favor God prepared for the race of man
from the very beginning of creation.
We learned from only a few named blessings how God made
provision for Adam and those to follow that would last all the days of the
earth. There are yet untapped water sources, seed bearing fruits, vegetables and herbs at our disposal for
sustaining life. He created gold and
precious stones that set the economies of the world in motion even to this day,
giving great provision for all of mankind.
Although there are too many blessings to
count that God has given us, from my short list I’ve saved the best for last.
Tenth Blessing – The
Garden was a Holy place for Worship.
From the very beginning God made it clear
that the Creator was the heart and center of creation, not humans or anything
else. His garden was created to
establish communication and a place where relationships would grow.
The Garden of Eden was to reveal to man God's Heaven. It was a reflection of the dwelling place of the LORD God Almighty revealed to man and where he may boldly seek favor (mercy). (see Hebrews 4:16)
For a brief time before sin entered, Heaven in a sense was here on Earth.
When God brought Adam into His garden, it
was to perform the duty of the first High Priest of God’s temple … the Holy
place where God showed up to fellowship with man.
The Garden was a separate place in Eden; it
was set apart just for the LORD to be worshipped. Although Adam and Eve could go wherever they wanted, God only showed up in His garden certain times of the day.
Throughout scripture we read how the high
priests “tended” to their duties inside the Holy of Holies temple. It was a place where public service to God
was performed, including worship where He was acknowledged as the Creator of
all things.
God gave Adam stewardship of the Garden where
he was to serve, guard, protect, shepherd and preserve (shamar, Genesis 2:15). In other words, Adam was the servant of the
Garden, the attendant gardener. Now we
can understand why God was so angry with Adam having let “sin” (through the
serpent) into His Holy dwelling and family.
As the High Priest Adam had the
responsibility of caring for God’s temple and taking watch over His sheep
(Eve). He failed at the task, but thankfully
the grace (unmerited favor) of God would already be planned for man before he
was created through His Son Christ Jesus.
The prophet Isaiah (in chapter eleven)
describes how God’s special garden temple will one day be restored for man to
fellowship with Him. In the meantime, the first temple built (and others to
follow) by man was representative of the Garden of Eden where God walked and
dwelled with man.
Think Back
Every teacher tries to plant “seeds” into the
thinking of their students by setting up something for future lessons. I did this to prepare you
for this week.
In our second “think on this” challenge we
pondered the significance of the gifts that were brought to Jesus upon His birth
into this world. I had you think about it
without giving you an answer for a reason.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem three
specific gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were given to him. The Magi knew what to give and the
significance of the items they were to take to the newborn KING. They were symbols of worship in the original Eden
temple of God, and a path for us to follow leading back to the Heavenly Father
through the seed of Jesus Christ (the Anointed Holy One).
The vessels and furnishings of the temple
were made of gold, and the walls of precious metals and gems. However, the two perfumes of frankincense and myrrh combined were the main ingredients of the anointing oils inside the
garden temple.
Burning of the specific oils signified that
God was present. We know this
information from the description given to Moses in the Old Testament scriptures
on how God wanted His temple to be built.
Moses received the detailed “floor plan” of what no one else had seen in
the original place of worship in Eden.
Although some of the gifts pointed directly
to the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah, they represented much
more than we first learned. Presenting
these gifts at the birth of the Savior symbolized the promised restoration of
the Garden of Eden as a place where God and man could remain in relationship
forever.
The Living Vine
For the few hours it took to tear down the
lifeless vines we didn’t think about what we lost, but focused on the life in
the seeds for seasons to come. I could
already envision the new vines trailing along the fences bursting
with life and color. Through one little seed a
new garden would bring forth a multitude of plants revealing the wonder and glory
of God.
Part of the favor for man is the promise of physical seed for as long as we are here on earth.
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter
and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22 NKJV)
God provided the initial seeds for everything
we will ever need back in the Garden of Eden, including the Seed of Himself. However, man would need spiritual seed and
that would come through Jesus. A
relationship with Jesus allows us to fellowship with God once more.
A Living Temple
Although we await the coming of Jesus to be
reunited with God face to face as in Life in the Garden days, our worship and fellowship with Him doesn’t
have to wait until then. Jesus gave us
the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. Through Him we can talk to the Lord whether
it is in our own garden, our prayer closet or anywhere. We are a living temple, garden, that grows
and grows the more we spend time in relationship with Christ.
What we can take away from this is that God’s
love for His creation is so wonderful that He went to great lengths to save
it. Everything He created was good and
meant to remain forever.
God’s mercy (favor) endures forever, without
regret, for every generation from the beginning to the end. We worship Him for His goodness, grace, mercy
and favor … we worship Him because He is worthy of our praise! He is the one true GOD!
If we are connected to the Living Vine - Jesus,
God’s creation will one day be restored to us; like Adam and Eve we’ll
experience Life in God’s Garden, but this time it will never end.
I AM the vine – the Life in God’s
Garden. There is no garden life without
Me.
“ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in
Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out
as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are
burned.
If you abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." (John 15:4-8 NKJV)
Think on This Challenge:
A New Eden
When we planted our garden this
year we already knew that there would be a time when it would return to
seed. Gathering seeds was proof that we
believed what God said about seed time and harvest for this earth. Spending time in the garden however, our
thoughts were not of this world, but Heaven’s garden.
Our life has a beginning and an
end. It started with God, but not every
life ends up with their Creator. Jesus
is the Alpha and Omega Vine, the beginning and end of all things Where does the Vine dwell? In God's Garden; only those who believe in Him will receive unmerited favor to see the new Garden of Eden.
Our think on this challenge asks …
Will you see the new Garden of Eden?
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Alpha and Omega - Israel and New
Breed
Until next time, “Garden” favor isn’t
seasonal. It's set by faith.
“Believers in Me receive Garden favor.”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: Emphasis
is given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take
away from the inspirited Word of God.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
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Image: Gathering Seeds Morning Glory Vines John 20:29 The Temple Symbolism
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