Enter The Garden

Before sharing my insights for the day, I want to fill you in on my process a little bit with hopes that it may be a blessing to you as well.

I've just begun a new reading schedule on Youversion (a free, online, electronic bible).  I completed my previous "good box, bad box" self-created reading plan yesterday and I'm ready to move on to my next level of study.  For this round, I will be reading a "New Inductive Study Bible" that was given to me as a gift.  It's essentially an NASB with additional tools that will challenge me to read a bit more deeply and write notes on my reading.  Since it is an entire Bible, I've decided to read the Bible in a year, using the Youversion Chronological reading plan - taking me through the Scriptures as they actually happened.

Should you want to follow my progress on Youversion, click Here.

You can subscribe to email delivery of my blog Here.

The Chronological Reading Plan on Youversion can be found Here.

The Inductive Study Bible I will be using can be found from an online book store Here.

Today, I began the reading plan, which took me through Genesis chapters 1-3.  I hope these thoughts are a blessing...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. (Genesis 2:8 NASB)

God intended a "Garden Walk" for us from the very beginning.  This walk included provision for our needs, purpose in our work, a relationship with Him and companionship with one another.  It even included all the tools we needed to protect ourselves from anyone trying to rip us out of the garden.  When we were in the garden, we truly enjoyed "a Sabbath rest."

Adam and Eve enjoyed this garden walk - this rest - for some unknown period of time.  We only see a glimpse of what it must have been like.  The glimpse, however, is enough to show us that it must have been beautiful - everything that we could ever ask for or imagine.

When they ate the forbidden fruit, of course, everything fell apart.  They tried to cover up their nakedness, experienced fear, hid from God, and began to blame one another for their sin.  Their punishment fit the crimes (not only for eating the fruit, but also the cover-up and blame that came afterward).  Then, they were kicked out of the garden, never to return again during their lifetime.

I speak of entering The Garden Walk because God speaks of it.  He describes a "new heaven" and a "new earth" that replaces a broken and "groaning" world and takes us back to His original design for our lives.  Only this time, we will be allowed to partake of the "tree of life" and enjoy this walk for all of eternity.

Thousands of years would pass before Adam and Eve's descendants would know God's plan for restoring all things back to his design.  Jesus would be central to this plan; providing a way for us to walk together with God again, even in a broken and "groaning" world.  After his ministry, death, resurrection (which we just celebrated) and ascension, he empowered us with forgiveness, reconciliation, and the gift of His Spirit.  With these tools, God encourages us to "...make every effort to enter that rest..." (Hebrews 4:11 NIV)  In other words, we can enter a Garden Walk again; even while we wait for the True Garden to be restored again.

As we journey through the pages of Scripture, we will look at different people experiencing a Garden Walk with him.  We will also, as with Adam and Eve, look at how they lost their Garden Walk experience in this life.  As we do, my hope is that you will find His Garden more and more accessible to you...and you will enter His Rest.  Then you will find yourself living out Paul's words to the Thessalonians.

Rejoice always; 

pray without ceasing; 

in everything give thanks; 

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NASB)

Let's enjoy the walk. ;)