Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a video of Alan Jackson singing, the old hymn, In The Garden, … where he sings of the “garden” where we can share time with our Lord, taking in the joy of being with Him and thanking Him for what He languished about that night in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Highlight Passage: Matthew 26: 36a [NKJV] …
26 … Then Jesus came with them (His Disciples) to a place called Gethsemane …
… A garden of olive trees where God’s plan of salvation was set in motion.
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Highlight Context – Matthew 26: 36-42 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray for going to the cross …
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Reference Passage #1 - Genesis 2: 15-16 and Genesis 3: 22-24 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… The garden where life began and where sin entered the garden.
Reference Passage #2 - John 3: 16 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… And God sent Jesus, His Son, to make the Garden of life perfect again.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Joe Stowell, tells how he developed his love of gardening, about which he writes, … My forefathers were pioneers in Michigan. They cleared the land, planted crops, and cultivated gardens to raise food for their families. This agrarian bent has been passed down through the generations. My dad grew up on a Michigan farm and loved gardening, which may explain why I love gardening and the smell of fertile soil. Cultivating plants that bear beautiful flowers and tending roses that fragrantly grace our yard with beauty are enjoyable pastimes for me. If it weren’t for the weeds it would be wonderful!
Two gardens were key to the reality of God’s plan for mankind. One, that Garden in Eden, we know of from Genesis, Chapters 2-3, portions of which are linked above; and then there was that Garden of Olive Trees, written of in Matthew 26, on that mount across from the Temple in Jerusalem, the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus went to pray and launched into His passion where He set in motion the redemption of mankind on a cross near Calvary.
Yes, as Stowell writes above in today’s ODB entry, gardening seems to be life-bearing venture for mankind, doesn’t it? We can plan and reap what we sow from the earth; but there are always those weeds which get in the way because of what happened in that first Garden. But what happened after Jesus’ encounter with His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane now allows mankind to come back to the Garden of Life to be with God forever.
So, take heart, all you who love to be gardeners, … God has taken care of the weed problem forever by sending His Son to be the Master Gardener and the One who has completed the work to allow all Who believe in Him to work in God’s garden with Jesus forever.
My Prayer Today: Oh, my Lord, … as Alan Jackson sings in the linked song above, I come to this garden of peace alone every morning to be with You, knowing that one day we’ll be in Your garden together. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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