Tag: love

A Memorial of Love

May 27, 2018

 

6. Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
7. There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
8. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
9. For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
12. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
13. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

Matthew 26:6-13

Memorial (definition) – something, especially a structure, established to remind people of a person or event, intended to commemorate (or honor) someone or something. Source: New Oxford American Dictionary

God burned an appreciation for memorials into the spiritual genetic code of His people, the nation of Israel. We see interspersed throughout the Old Testament instances where the LORD instructed His people to observe memorials for one reason – a call to remember  specific events where God wanted to be acknowledged and appreciated. In other instances the Hebrew people out of sheer inner conviction built memorials to demarcate places that wielded special significance in their lives.

Some Background On Memorials in the O.T. 

One of the earliest appearances of a memorial in the O.T. is when Jacob builds a memorial to commemorate his first personal encounter with Almighty God:

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. Genesis 28:18-19

The LORD himself commanded that His name be remembered and kept at the forefront of the people’s hearts and minds as recorded in Exodus 3:14-15:

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. 

Another important memorial commanded by the Lord was the day He delivered His people from Egyptian bondage:

And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Exodus 12:1-2, 14

Why did the Lord choose this vehicle as a call to remembrance? Because it is within our human nature to forget. The ebbing and monotonous flowing of life events through time have a tendency to erase or blur the sharp definitions of thoughts and feelings that at one time were at the forefront of our minds. Particularly, things of a supernatural or extraordinary nature.

A New Memorial Paradigm

What Jesus spoke as recorded in Matthew chapter 26 concerning the memorializing of a woman’s sacrifice  was earth shattering and shocking. Why?

First, this woman’s act of worship and love was not to the casual observer outwardly demonstrative nor particularly miraculous – no parting of the Red Sea or Jordan River, no supernatural intervention by God to annihilate invading armies or the like transpired. What was spectacular about this unnamed woman’s sacrifice was her role in fulfilling O.T. prophecy that Jesus was to be anointed with precious ointment prior to his death. And that was not the end of the matter.

Secondly, Jesus told the disciples that a verbal memorial commemorate the action of a woman (of all people!). This thinking was unprecedented in Palestine 2,000 years ago. Women in this region of the world held no social status. Women also had no say in neither the political or religious power circles of their  day.

To elevate a woman to such an exalted plane was the “last straw” for Judas Iscariot. Her act of worship and adoration for Jesus was the catalyst, the lighting of the fuse that sent Jesus to the cross and the ushering in of the gospel:

13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. Matthew 26:13-15

Lastly, the selfless giving away of her alabaster box of spikenard meant she forfeited her future possibilities of becoming a bride as the perfume was reserved by a bride for her prospective groom on their wedding day. The woman chose to instead become part of the heavenly bride of Christ – the future culmination of the Gospel.

This woman’s act of sacrifice (as perceived by Jesus – the Lamb of God in her midst) established the future pattern of giving and worship for the church – not through the blood of animals, but through the sacrifice of a living human heart infused with love and humility. This is the way of the Gospel. These are the reasons why Jesus honored her sacrifice and asked that her actions never be forgotten.

Any Memorials In My Life?

There was a man named Cornelius recorded in The Book of Acts whose prayers and alms impressed Heaven:

And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. Acts 10:4

I wonder if we not only remember and honor the fallen warriors whose lives have brought us freedom, that we build our own memorials to remember those that have gone before us whose prayers, unselfish love, unending sacrifice and unquestionable faithfulness and integrity of character has granted us the spiritual liberty and protection we also embrace today.

Memorial Day 2018

The Love Warrior

January 27, 2018

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. Revelation 5:5  

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12

All good things in life are based on the foundation of love. The love of Jesus Christ touches everything good. God’s love is life’s “secret sauce” for spiritual growth and fruitfulness, true happiness, joy, peace, fulfillment, and harmony with others (a short list). The reverse is also true. Evil, base things, the beggarly elements, works done in darkness and the like share a commonality – a lack of true love.

When Jesus stepped upon the stage of this earthly drama he knew the odds were stacked against him. God understood it would take something very special, unique, radical, “out-of-the-box”,  disruptive, paradoxical and above human calculation to break through sin-hardened hearts, walls of prejudice, evil spirits and hopelessness. Jesus was up to the challenge. Jesus conquered the works of darkness and the sin of mankind with a full frontal assault with an amazing strategy; approach it with the weakness of a Lamb as The Love Warrior.

The Call For War

There was a serious problem in heaven. Imperfection surfaced within the perfect eternal realm we know as heaven (Ezekiel 28:15). God, being the perfect, eternal Being (Deu 32:4, II Sam 22:31, Ps 18:30), engaged the plan to restore order in heaven. The Word is not clear how long that took, but no doubt long enough for the rebellion to complete its course. The Lord works that way (Gen 15:16, Dan 8:23).

So, Lucifer, Heaven’s premiere worship leader, and one-third of his worship team were expelled from heaven and exiled to a realm encircling earth’s lower atmosphere:

In the sphere of which trespasses and sins at one time you ordered your behavior as dominated by the spirit of the age in this world system, as dominated by the leader of the authority of the lower atmosphere, the source also of the spirit that is now operating in the sons of the disobedience, Ephesians 2:2 (Wuest)

Church splits (and sometimes individual exodus’ for that matter) are always centered around worship. Always. How is that? Because people decide to worship the “god of self” instead of the God of Glory. Okay, let’s move on.

Now that heaven was rid of its rebellious blotch, the Lord encountered the dilemma of now dealing with the fallen archangel and his cohorts. And God, who is never confounded, confused, dismayed or dumbfounded had a plan for that too. In fact, His plan was ordained before the foundation of the world (John 17:24, I Peter 1:20, Rev 13:8). Enter front-center stage the One for whom all things were created (Is 40:21-28, John 1:3, Eph 3:9, Col 1:16, Rev 4:11) – the perfect God-man, Jesus Christ.

God rolled up His sleeves and went to war. Why? For love.

God who “is love” never knew what it was like to “be loved”, until now. God as the man Christ Jesus came to earth to fulfill and perfect what the law could not do – set the captives and prisoners of the earth free with the love of God (Is 43:10-13, Is 61:1, Lk 4:18, Ps 68:18, Eph 4:8).

Jesus Christ is The Love Warrior.

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10

And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:26

And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. Luke 23:33–34

Jesus’ Love Warrior Boot Camp

Jesus has a knack for turning disciples into love warriors. One of Jesus’ prime examples was a man named John. John was a potential warrior, but his weapon of choice, his passion for revenge, needed some tweaking:

And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? Luke 9:54

Fire? From Heaven? To scorch the poor guys? Not Jesus’ MO, at least not yet. But, as usual when Jesus begins a work of grace, mercy and love on a subject they might as well surrender because love never fails (I Cor 13:8). And John did not let Jesus down.

John held one of Jesus’ three inner-circle gold cards. John had passion. John wanted to be close to the Master’s heart, so close as to hear what emanated from Jesus’ heart before it exited his mouth:

Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? John 21:20

You are going to hear some pretty amazing things when you are that close to God’s heart. What did John hear while living a life close to Jesus’ heart? It must have had a lot to do with love because John went on to write and reference more about love than any other writer in the Holy Bible:

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. I John 4:7-8

Jesus saw John was a good candidate for becoming a Love Warrior.

There was another subject that showed some promise for becoming a Love Warrior. His name was Peter. Like John, Peter had passion and also packed some maligned, artful grit:

Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. John 18:10

Peter was aiming for Malchus’ head, not his ear. Peter was a changed man after the Day of Pentecost and went on to join the esteemed ranks of one of Jesus’ Love Warriors:

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: I Peter 1:8

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: I Peter 1:22

Jesus saw Peter was a good candidate for becoming a Love Warrior.

We cannot forget another one of Jesus’ love warriors. This one was a women named Mary Magdalene. The Bible refers to Mary as the women “out of whom went seven devils”.  I guess if one were to be demon possessed, seven devils might be the perfect number of choice. It is also noteworthy that Mary is referenced exactly twelve times in twelve verses in the KJV of the Holy Bible. Seven and twelve. Interesting.

Whatever Mary did in her past was now forgotten and superseded with a present and future centered around the Lord. Mary was a member of Jesus’ entourage of women who followed and ministered to Jesus (Luke 8:2). Who was there at Calvary? Mary (Jn 19:25).  Who was one the first ones to visit the tomb after Jesus’ crucifixion? Mary (Jn 20:1). Who was the first person Jesus appeared to after he rose from the dead? Mary (Mk 16:9). Who informed the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead? Mary (Lk 24:10).

Jesus saw Mary was a good candidate for becoming a Love Warrior.

Am I A Love Warrior For Jesus?

In conclusion, I need to ask myself: “Am I a love warrior for Jesus?” Are my thoughts and the meditations of my heart focused on the Kingdom of God, on the saving of souls, compassion towards the broken and weak, or does my life evolve around my needs, my wants and the pleasures of my flesh? Have I determined to seek “God’s own heart” like King David or the Apostle John?

Love Warriors always have a price to pay.

“Well, the Lord has not called me to be an apostle.” Maybe not. However, Jesus has called his church to an even higher calling – Kings and Priests unto God:

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:5-6

One thing is certain, Jesus came to this earth as a lamb, but he is not returning as one. Jesus will visit the second time as a lion, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And he is coming as a warrior to judge the earth of its sin.

Until then, the Lord searches the earth looking for human hearts that will respond to his call to join him with his army of Love Warriors in The Name of Jesus. Be Blessed.

 

Love Is A Fight

September 10, 2017

And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? I Peter 4:18

Love is a fight. A fight to the finish. You don’t believe it? Hopefully, after further explanation of the above verse you will be convinced.

A song was released several years back entitled “Love Is Not A Fight” that was a soundtrack pick for the popular move ‘Fireproof.’ It is a great song, great lyrics with an upbeat rhythm. And from the song’s perspective on love in general, and for marriage in particular, the message makes a lot of sense.

However, in retrospect, love for some things in life are indeed a battle to the finish line. What are we talking about here? We are talking about a love that goes beyond the bedroom and into a throne room. The throne room of God where Jesus Christ is seated:

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. The Book of Revelation 1:12-16

This is the source of love being spoken of here. Jesus’ love is not cheap. This love is not merchandise. Jesus’ love is pure. Jesus’ love is precious. Jesus’ love is perfect. This love was forged in a furnace of affliction, shrouded in a cacophony of shame, and purified by pain beyond imagination:

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:2-5

People of faith are going to have to fight with everything they have to keep this love alive to the finish line, and not let up until the enemy of our soul is beaten all the way to the 10 count.

Many years ago the following scripture was shared with a group of teenage Sunday school students:

And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? I Peter 4:18

As explained to them, from the surface the initial interpretation that comes to mind when reading the word “scarcely” is: barely, by the skin of one’s teeth, or just about “making it in”. However, further inspection reveals that the Apostle Peter had something else in mind here when penning the words about “making it” into heaven.

The word ‘scarcely’ used here is the translation of the Greek word μόλις (molis) which means “with difficulty: – hardly, with much work”. The Word is the Word and you just cannot twist it or airbrush it. What does this mean?

It means that to “be saved” is going to involve a battle. To make it into heaven is going to involve much work, toil, difficulty – in short, a fight. The Apostle Paul was inspired under the same vein of thought when addressing his young protégé and “son in the Lord” Timothy:

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I Timothy 6:12

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: II Timothy 4:7

Right before his pending execution Paul penned these final, parting words intended for encouragement, admonishment and heart-felt compassion for his son – remember, to keep the torch of truth and the love of Christ alive a fight would have to be won.

Is it any different for us living in the 21st century with the world around us fulfilling the prophetic words of Jesus:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Luke 21:25

The words “the sea and the waves roaring” sounds like a description of hurricanes and typhoons. We have to be awake in this hour. We might put on a pair of boxing gloves and start fighting for our lives, for our families and our neighbors who are positioned on later half of the opening verse of I Peter 4:18 – where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

May Jesus helps us all.

 

 

The Declaration of Love

July 4, 2017

Today is Independence Day – July 4th. A day to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. And a time to remember, reflect and appreciate the liberties and freedoms our nation’s forefathers have granted us. America – the land of the free and the home of the brave.

But, instead of just declaring today a day of ‘Independence’, how about rephrasing this day and include another declaration – The Declaration of Love.

Why? Let’s see.

It could be said that freedom is not the panacea or the ‘quick fix’ to answer life’s dilemmas. To justify that claim, the following words were written by a man sitting in a prison cell awaiting imminent execution:

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Ephesians 3:19, 5:1-2

We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Colossians 1:3-4, 3:19

I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,

Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; Philemon 1:4-5, 9

Was freedom resident in Paul’s jail cell when he penned these words? Definitely not. Was love present here in this jailhouse? Oh, yes most definitely.

Freedom is not the issue here. Love is.

The Root of the Problem – Love

The problems of life, the turmoil of life, the conflicts of life and the calamities of life are rooted and intertwined by a single, common thread – a love problem. It is all about love and a love problem.

At the root, the core of the problems we face in the world is that most of us have or had a warped, distorted, and flawed perception of the true meaning of love. The entertainment and music industry projects and promotes a flawed concept of what true love is. This love projected by the world is fleshly, sensual and cheap. Why? Because flesh sells. And true love cannot be bought nor merchandised.

True love, real love can only be found at its source. And God is that source through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the source. Jesus is our interface between the heaven and the earth. Jesus is the manifestation of God in flesh, love in bodily form:

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. I John 4:8

It is interesting to note that this great God, this God who ‘is love‘ never knew what it was like to ‘be loved‘. Until now.

We love him, because he first loved us. I John 4:19

For it takes knowing true love to truly love.

There is a startling discovery to be made into this endeavor, this quest to find true love. It can be found:

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. Isaiah 49:15-16

I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Proverbs 8:17

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. Jeremiah 29:13-14

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17

Jesus’ death on the cross was God’s ‘Declaration of Love’ to all of humankind.

Love.

I declare today, and by God’s grace, every day onward to love the Lord God with all of my being and my neighbor as myself:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

The Declaration of Love – Happy July 4th 2017

Look Daddy!

November 12, 2016

balloons2An encounter with a little girl in a supermarket impacted my life today. What was an innocent, innocuous and chance encounter turned out to change the outlook of my whole day.

Here is the story.

I went to a local Giant grocery food store yesterday to pick-up a few items. Upon arriving at the checkout area my attention was immediately drawn to the adjacent lane. It was there that I noticed a bright, metallic gold helium balloon hovering in lower orbit. The balloon was held by a very cute dark-haired little girl with oriental features perhaps 5 years old.

Nothing strange about a girl holding a balloon probably assembled by someone working in the floral department.

Then the little girl then said these words:

“Look Daddy!”

“Look at my balloon”

The girl’s words then focused my attention towards her father standing at the scanner station. Nothing strange about that either except what was an apparent nationality mismatch between the father and the little girl. Her striking Asian features were in stark contrast with the softened features of her American-born father.

The little girl was obviously an adopted child.

Adoption – a mental spark was quickly processed and briefly sustained. The thought,  glossed over by other things swirling through my mind, was then callously discarded. And as this happenstance encounter with a child’s balloon effortlessly filtered into my mind, it effortlessly vanished.

Until this morning.

Look Daddy!

I have purposed in the past several months to devote a special block of time on Saturday morning for prayer. The last several Saturday mornings I have driven to my church and have prayed alone in the sanctuary for an hour or so with God. However, the Lord did something special today.

After praying for about 30 minutes my thoughts were turned to the incident at the grocery store yesterday. And I found myself repeating the following words over and over again while walking through the sanctuary:

“Look Daddy”, “Look Daddy”, “Look Daddy”, “Look Daddy”, “Look at my balloon”, “Look Daddy”, over and over again while tears flowed down my face.

The Lord impressed heavily upon me today that I am also like that little girl in the store. I to am an adopted child.

I was also without a “real Father” once lost in my iniquity and sin. The first Adam blew it. But, thanks be to God the last Adam Jesus Christ has given me new life and is now my “real Father”. We who are believers in Jesus Christ are now adopted as the children of God:

While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. John 12:36

Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. I Thessalonians 5:5

A Change of Heart

Jesus got angry about several things while he walked on Earth and one of those he revealed to me recently through his Word and was solidified with my experience at the grocery store:

Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. Mark 16:14

Today in prayer the Lord upbraided me for the callousness of my heart. What I should have felt and been touched by yesterday took almost 24 hours to sink in. And the Lord was quick to point it out.

And like the little girl in the store, sometimes I don’t look like my “real Father”. The surface features of my heart are quite often in sharp contrast to those of His. His heart is always compassionate, merciful, tender and vulnerable. Mine often the opposite; cold, callous, unyielding and merciless.

My Father’s distinctive, heavenly voice speaks with clarity, truth, honesty and grace.

My voice often reveals itself with the local, vocal inflections and accent of a country foreign to His. My voice sometimes produces the sound of what the Apostle Paul coined as “sounding brass” and “tinkling cymbals” – pride, arrogance, timidity, fear, doubt and uncertainty.

We Have Hope

Today I learned that I am adopted, an adopted child of God. And with that I have hope. With the innocent and hopeful voice of the little dark-haired girl, I too can look to my Father and cry:

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Romans 8:15

The word “Abba” Paul used here in the Book of Romans is taken from the Aramaic language and can be translated into English as “Daddy”. So, in essence Paul is saying:

” … we cry, Daddy, Father”

And so we too can stand wherever we are (even in grocery stores), look up to our Heavenly Father and cry:

“Look Daddy!, Look Daddy!, ……. Look!” and He will hear us. For we are his adopted child.

May You Be Blessed

In The Garden

November 3, 2016

garden

I come to the garden alone
while the dew is still on the roses,
and the voice I hear falling on my ear,
the Son of God discloses.

And he walks with me, and he talks with me,
and he tells me I am his own;
and the joy we share as we tarry there,
none other has ever known.

C. Austin Miles, 1913


In A Garden To Begin Life

God has chosen a garden to do some wonderful things for His Creation. And as God’s nature  mandates, He desires the best and finest for and from His most prized possession.

Humanity, the human soul, the crowning of all living things created were made in, made for and made to dwell in a garden. Let’s take a look.

The first man Adam was created ‘and placed in’ a garden:

And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:8

The Lord desires the best for us. He is not a grudging, harsh, unforgiving taskmaster. No, our God wants us to have the best, live the best and forever possess the best He has to offer. And it all began in a garden.

In A Garden To End Life

Fast-forward time 4,000 years. Here we have another garden. This garden was also a place where God placed another Adam, the last Adam, the man Jesus Christ
( I Corinthians 15:45).

When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. John 18:1

It has been stated that the cross was not the place where Jesus died. It is understood that Jesus actually died in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was here where Jesus surrendered his human will (the spiritual man) to the Father. It was the cross where he surrendered his human body and blood (the physical man) for all of humanity.

Jesus could not have endured the pain, humiliation and agony of the cross of Golgotha if he had not first died out in the garden.

But, it does not end here. With God, He always saves the best for last.

In A Garden To Renew Life

Let’s recap this thread of thought. First, God placed the first man Adam in a garden to live. Next, God placed the last man, Jesus Christ, in a garden to die.

An interesting tidbit of information concerning Jesus’ tomb is revealed to us in John’s account of the gospel:

Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. John 19:40-41

Jesus was buried in a tomb located (that is right) in a garden. And an interesting thing happened in this garden:

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. Luke 24:1-3

Follow The Pattern Of The Garden

It is said that God is a God of principles and patterns. And this is apparent in how He from the beginning designed the path leading to salvation. The law of the Old Testament began and was fulfilled in a garden. In doing so, God used the garden as a pattern. The failure of Adam in the garden as recorded in the Old Testament was reconciled in a garden by the last Adam, Jesus Christ, recorded in the New Testament.

The Apostle Paul succinctly defines the gospel in I Corinthians chapter 15:

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: I Corinthians 15:3-4

We see that the Word of God opens with Adam living in the garden. Then we see the last Adam, Jesus Christ, lying dead in a garden. And lastly, we see him in a garden lifted up to eternal life. Living, lying and lifted completes the cycle.

Is not God sovereign in all His ways? Is it not a wonderful thing how the Lord puts all of the puzzle pieces together to make His ways fit perfectly?

There has never been and never will be a man who walked upon the dust of this earth like Jesus Christ. Jesus is perfect, pure and priceless.

In conclusion, the garden is God’s plan for life. The garden of prayer was the gateway for Jesus to face his darkest moment. A garden supplied the strength he needed to carry the cross, and with it, the sins of mankind. Should it not be likewise for us?

This post began with the opening verses to the song ‘In The Garden’. Jesus will never require us to bear a cross that He will not first prepare a garden to equip us to carry that cross, if we are willing to enter it.

May the Lord Bless You.

Let There Be Light – The Message of Christmas

December 25, 2015

And God said, Let there be light: and there was
light. Genesis 1:3Star1

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, , there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Matthew 2:1-2

God has all power. God is also love. Power and love operate from two entirely opposite positions.
 
Power operates from the position of strength. Love operates from the position of weakness. Love always gives.
 
How can these two natures of God be resolved?
 
Easy, but profound. The one is perfected by the other.
 
For God’s strength is perfected in weakness:
 
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. II Corinthians 12:9
 
Or to state it another way, God’s strength is perfected through His love:
 
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
 
The light God spoke into existence in Genesis chapter 1 radiated throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament as recorded in the Gospel of John chapter 1:
 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
John 1:1, 4-9

Heaven is a power plant. Heaven is the command center of God’s eternal glory and majesty. Weakness does not and cannot reside in the eternal.
 
To display His love in weakness, God had to resort to another realm – the realm of the weak, the vulnerable and the broken. And His love began its journey within the womb of a virgin girl in the sleepy town of Bethlehem:
 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Luke 2:11-16

As the light was filtered and reflected within the hearts of men and women throughout time, it manifested itself in bodily form in the man Jesus Christ of Nazareth:
 
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. I John 2:8
 
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
 
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. John 8:12, 9:5
 

The light of Genesis did not stop in the Old Testament. It continued to shine from the gospels into Revelation and then on throughout eternity:

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. Revelation 22:5, 16

Let there be Light – the message of hope, the message of love, the message of Christmas.

Merry Christmas 2015