Good morning to all on this wonderful Sunday morning. I can't believe that my last post was in June. Since then Waine, Mackenzie, Brooks, Audrey, Vincent, Kai and Hailie and I have been to South Africa and back. Waine and I had a wonderful 2 weeks with our grandchildren on Safari. The kids were so well behaved. They got to know each other and got to know us. They are the carbon footprints that Waine and I will leave when we cross over Jordan. They are our legacy and a great one at that.
I am continuing my journey in Genesis Chapter 2 verses 1-26, "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there. The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." Amen and may the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.
One of my prayers on a daily basis is to have the discipline of diving into the Word of God and having it wash over me--to make it "bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh". I want to hunger and thirst for the Word so that I am changed from the inside out. I want to be as Adam was--innocent and hungry for the company of God made manifest through His Word. There is Power and Instruction in the Word as revealed by God.
As a prayerfully consider this chapter, what struck me is the Order in which God moves. There is no chaos--just methodical movement. He first created order out of the vastness of space. He then organized this planet we inhabit and created a safe haven for "man" and put man in charge. Adam got to name all the beasts of the earth, birds of the air and all the growing plants. God gave Adam dominion and in so doing, Adam did not find anything that was like him so God created woman from man. God thought of everything and in order! Everything was in the "Garden" that man needed to sustain himself and there was a place that God could walk with man and commune with him one on one. At this one very moment, nothing separated man from God--Order. What a privilege Adam had. He didn't have to worry about anything. He had it all and was able to face God, unashamed, on a daily basis. No ill thoughts, no ill body, no ill soul. Completely naked in front of His God. There was Peace in the Garden and Peace in man. The Breath of Life was present for Adam.
We can find this peace again as we read, understand and absorb the Word of God. Not read just to each but read it to be transformed. Each time we open the Word we are to be transformed because our minds are renewed and refreshed. As you read God Word, ask Him to do just that--renew and refresh you. Ask Him to Breath a new His Breath as Life for you. He is sitting across from you as you read--He the teacher and you the student. He will reveal and renew as much as you are able to accept. Go to Him with an open Heart and open Mind.
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
