The Holy One calls to me this morning. My garden forest is releasing its grip on summer allowing fall to emerge. The beginning of the next season in its cycle of life has brought cold mornings and fallen leaves that need to be raked up and burned, making for a natural and delightful remedy for both.
I love springtime and new life, but nature reminds me of the necessity of winter and the symbol of apparent "death" that it represents.
My thoughts of eternity focus on the original garden paradise I believe I will return to some day. The winter in my "garden" reminds me of the death that occurred in the original one and that is most likely why I hate to see it coming upon the land.
The Holy One speaks into my thoughts, "There is another important garden experience I want to share with you". Then He picks up his paints and draws for me, a mental picture of my Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane.
With the Holy Spirit as my instructor, my thoughts follow His lead. He reminds me that He understands the weakness of the human race, for we are His Beloved, and how vulnerable we are to the lies spoken by the enemy of our souls. The original man and woman who were the ancestral parents of all humanity were deceived by the liar called Satan and fell victim to his misrepresentation of the Creator God.
His seductive voice and evil suggestions led Eve into rebellion of God's word and warning. She shared the lie with Adam and the history of the fall tells the story of the consequences that followed The consequences all of humanity has had to deal with since that fateful day. The curse of the fall, which is death, prevailed until a Divine representation of our flesh man, Jesus, came to earth and entered another garden to be tempted by the same ancient foe. That other "Garden" was called Gethsemane.
Matthew 26:36-38 NIV, "Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane and said to them. "Sit here while I go over there and pray". He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him and He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death stay here and keep watch with me."
Jesus was in the darkest hour of His human existence but His disciples were exhausted and offered no support of any kind. He internal tension rose to the level of breaking capillaries under His skin, "And being in anguish He prayed more earnestly and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground". Luke 22:44 NIV.
The Holy One is helping me grasp what caused the tension described in that verse. The price for sin (rebellion against God) is death. Contrary to popular belief, Physical death is not the ultimate death that sin caused man to suffer. The ultimate death is relational death: the eternal separation from the Creator and author of life.
We have the account at the beginning of Jesus's ministry in the wilderness where He was tempted by Satan but drove him away with the Word of God, not unlike we are tempted by the same enemy and with the same Word of God available to use to drive him away from us today. Luke 4:13 tells us that "When the devil had finished all this tempting he left him (Jesus) until an opportune time.
Having been betrayed and catapulted into the situation that called for His imminent death by crucifixion, I cannot fathom the emotional and mental trauma He must have experienced. Not unlike us, I can only imagine that this moment was the ultimate test of His faith, and I am sure the serpent in that garden was pressing down all of his lies trying to get the One we call Savior to buckle and lose mankind forever.
When we get to that place in our trials where we feel like we have the weight of our small world on our shoulders, that is nothing compared to the weight of the entire world that Jesus saw and bore in that garden that night
The Garden of Gethsemane was the symbolic return to the Garden of Eden where man's rebellion first took place. The penalty of death was felt yet Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden to inhabit the earth for the remainder of a physical life span. Generation after generation lived and died with no permanent remedy. By the mercy from God, mankind was accepted into relationship, however distant, through the shed blood and death of an animal as a substitute for their own. The continuous need for blood sacrifice was to emphasize the Holy point to men that without blood shed there is no remission (removal) of sin. The penalty for violating Holiness is death and death comes from blood shed because the life of the human and the animal is in the blood.
No man under the curse of sin was found suitable as a Holy substitute or sacrifice for all mankind so God came and took on a flesh body to pay that price Himself. Since the penalty for sin required blood to be shed, Jesus took on a flesh body with human life in His blood.
I am getting the understanding of my Lord, as a flesh man in the Garden of Gethsemane with the weight of the cross on His mind. I imagine the dark lord came mocking and spinning his lies, pointing out the pain and presenting an alternative to the faithful execution of the Son's Holy mission. I see how this was that more "opportune" moment for the devil to strike when the ultimate price was about to be paid.
In the original garden, Adam and Eve chose to cover sin rather that confess it. Then came the blame shifting and all the wickedness to follow. Jesus came and remained faithful in the other Garden, the innocent among the guilty, taking the pain and the penalty for all humanity. By free will and choice, He layed down His human life and shed His innocent Holy blood for our eternal restoration back to our Creator.
Jesus knew that He was facing the ultimate death and separation from His Father, yet trusted that this sacrifice was the only way to save the world and redeem man for the eternal love relationship God desires to have with His beloved creation.
I am overwhelmed yet again by the depth of the love of my Lord even in my limited human understanding of it. I am thankful that He fulfilled His mission and that I belong to Him. Thinking about the serpent in both gardens I realize how the temptation by the great Deceiver tries to mock my faith and change the true image of my God.
I am thankful that my Holy Counselor took the time to explain this. The wrestles that I have are not against flesh and blood but against the dark deception by the ancient tempter. I am thankful to know that the Holy Spirit provides the discernment I need to recognize the evil for what it is and the strength to reject the enemy's lies.
The other garden is the place where the failures in the original garden were corrected. Christ in the flesh met the requirements of Holiness by offering His blood as atonement for the rebellion that caused the fall.
I am thankful that I am protected and shielded by the mind of the resurrected Christ, so I do not have to suffer the mental barrages like He did in the flesh. I am thankful, that in exchanging my life for His, I am assured that the plans and purposes God ordained for me at the foundation of the earth will be accomplished.
But most of all, I am thankful that, by His sacrifice, I have been restored to what can only be described as a Sacred romance with my Creator. After today, when I think of the original Garden and look forward to my return, I will look to the other garden and remember the reason I can.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
I love springtime and new life, but nature reminds me of the necessity of winter and the symbol of apparent "death" that it represents.
My thoughts of eternity focus on the original garden paradise I believe I will return to some day. The winter in my "garden" reminds me of the death that occurred in the original one and that is most likely why I hate to see it coming upon the land.
The Holy One speaks into my thoughts, "There is another important garden experience I want to share with you". Then He picks up his paints and draws for me, a mental picture of my Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane.
With the Holy Spirit as my instructor, my thoughts follow His lead. He reminds me that He understands the weakness of the human race, for we are His Beloved, and how vulnerable we are to the lies spoken by the enemy of our souls. The original man and woman who were the ancestral parents of all humanity were deceived by the liar called Satan and fell victim to his misrepresentation of the Creator God.
His seductive voice and evil suggestions led Eve into rebellion of God's word and warning. She shared the lie with Adam and the history of the fall tells the story of the consequences that followed The consequences all of humanity has had to deal with since that fateful day. The curse of the fall, which is death, prevailed until a Divine representation of our flesh man, Jesus, came to earth and entered another garden to be tempted by the same ancient foe. That other "Garden" was called Gethsemane.
Matthew 26:36-38 NIV, "Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane and said to them. "Sit here while I go over there and pray". He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him and He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death stay here and keep watch with me."
Jesus was in the darkest hour of His human existence but His disciples were exhausted and offered no support of any kind. He internal tension rose to the level of breaking capillaries under His skin, "And being in anguish He prayed more earnestly and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground". Luke 22:44 NIV.
The Holy One is helping me grasp what caused the tension described in that verse. The price for sin (rebellion against God) is death. Contrary to popular belief, Physical death is not the ultimate death that sin caused man to suffer. The ultimate death is relational death: the eternal separation from the Creator and author of life.
We have the account at the beginning of Jesus's ministry in the wilderness where He was tempted by Satan but drove him away with the Word of God, not unlike we are tempted by the same enemy and with the same Word of God available to use to drive him away from us today. Luke 4:13 tells us that "When the devil had finished all this tempting he left him (Jesus) until an opportune time.
Having been betrayed and catapulted into the situation that called for His imminent death by crucifixion, I cannot fathom the emotional and mental trauma He must have experienced. Not unlike us, I can only imagine that this moment was the ultimate test of His faith, and I am sure the serpent in that garden was pressing down all of his lies trying to get the One we call Savior to buckle and lose mankind forever.
When we get to that place in our trials where we feel like we have the weight of our small world on our shoulders, that is nothing compared to the weight of the entire world that Jesus saw and bore in that garden that night
The Garden of Gethsemane was the symbolic return to the Garden of Eden where man's rebellion first took place. The penalty of death was felt yet Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden to inhabit the earth for the remainder of a physical life span. Generation after generation lived and died with no permanent remedy. By the mercy from God, mankind was accepted into relationship, however distant, through the shed blood and death of an animal as a substitute for their own. The continuous need for blood sacrifice was to emphasize the Holy point to men that without blood shed there is no remission (removal) of sin. The penalty for violating Holiness is death and death comes from blood shed because the life of the human and the animal is in the blood.
No man under the curse of sin was found suitable as a Holy substitute or sacrifice for all mankind so God came and took on a flesh body to pay that price Himself. Since the penalty for sin required blood to be shed, Jesus took on a flesh body with human life in His blood.
I am getting the understanding of my Lord, as a flesh man in the Garden of Gethsemane with the weight of the cross on His mind. I imagine the dark lord came mocking and spinning his lies, pointing out the pain and presenting an alternative to the faithful execution of the Son's Holy mission. I see how this was that more "opportune" moment for the devil to strike when the ultimate price was about to be paid.
In the original garden, Adam and Eve chose to cover sin rather that confess it. Then came the blame shifting and all the wickedness to follow. Jesus came and remained faithful in the other Garden, the innocent among the guilty, taking the pain and the penalty for all humanity. By free will and choice, He layed down His human life and shed His innocent Holy blood for our eternal restoration back to our Creator.
Jesus knew that He was facing the ultimate death and separation from His Father, yet trusted that this sacrifice was the only way to save the world and redeem man for the eternal love relationship God desires to have with His beloved creation.
I am overwhelmed yet again by the depth of the love of my Lord even in my limited human understanding of it. I am thankful that He fulfilled His mission and that I belong to Him. Thinking about the serpent in both gardens I realize how the temptation by the great Deceiver tries to mock my faith and change the true image of my God.
I am thankful that my Holy Counselor took the time to explain this. The wrestles that I have are not against flesh and blood but against the dark deception by the ancient tempter. I am thankful to know that the Holy Spirit provides the discernment I need to recognize the evil for what it is and the strength to reject the enemy's lies.
The other garden is the place where the failures in the original garden were corrected. Christ in the flesh met the requirements of Holiness by offering His blood as atonement for the rebellion that caused the fall.
I am thankful that I am protected and shielded by the mind of the resurrected Christ, so I do not have to suffer the mental barrages like He did in the flesh. I am thankful, that in exchanging my life for His, I am assured that the plans and purposes God ordained for me at the foundation of the earth will be accomplished.
But most of all, I am thankful that, by His sacrifice, I have been restored to what can only be described as a Sacred romance with my Creator. After today, when I think of the original Garden and look forward to my return, I will look to the other garden and remember the reason I can.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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