A Look in the Garden

God has loved us from the very beginning of time. In the first chapter of Genesis the at the end of each of the first five days of creation, God saw that "it was good." He was pleased with what He had made.

Something changes at the end of the sixth day – the day He created man. God said it was “very good." Mankind was the crowning glory of His creation. God loved Adam and Eve just as He loves each of us. He walked with them in the garden in the cool of the evening. We can barely imagine the intimate relationship Adam and Eve had with God!

It must have been a wonderful thing to walk with the Creator! Our Heavenly Father has always wanted to be with us. I can understand that. Don’t we like to be with our children?

When babies are born into a loving family they are greeted with excitement and joy. Parents think their new baby is "very good." They love and teach them as they grow.

God cared for Adam and Eve in much the same way. He taught them how he wanted the Garden kept. Even after their fall, He showed His love for them when He made clothes for them. Small children love to be with their parents. Little girls imitate Mommy and little boys want to be just like their Daddy. Those little ones follow their parents around everywhere. They are always seeking and learning.

As Christians we should desire to be with the Heavenly Father. We should understand our need for Him – for His love and protection. We need to always be seeking and learning too.

Christians strive to be like Christ. We try to live as He lived and love as He loved. We want to be close to Jesus – so that we can be close to the Father also. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6b

I don’t know how long Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden before they sinned. But we know God did not stop loving them. He did not stop caring for them. When Cain was born Eve gave God the glory as she said, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” Genesis 4:1b

God always loves us. We should never doubt that. In Luke 12:-7 we read where Christ told his disciples of God’s amazing care. “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Christ died for our sins so that we might be reconciled to God – so that we might have a home in heave some day – a home where the tree of life now is (Revelation 22:2). There we will have as close and pure a relationship with God as Adam and Eve did in the Garden.

Christ above all things - Robin

A Dog Named Victor

  Remember to tell your family how much you love them every day!  Let them know how special they are.  Encourage your children and grandchildren.  Thank your support network (whoever they may be) for always being there when you need them.  Remember to thank God for your talents and abilities.  Ask Him to help you use them for His glory!

 A Dog Named Victor

 A few years back Mom and Dad adopted a young dog.  He wasn’t a little puppy; but he wasn’t full grown yet either.  He was a mixed breed with a lot of black lab in him. 

 I think it was one of Mom’s former students who put a picture of him on social media.  I think he was a stray that ended up in his yard; but he already had a couple of dogs and couldn’t keep this one. My parents have always loved dogs – so they went and got this young fella to add to their family. 

Although he was an outside dog from the beginning my parents (especially Dad) took good care of him.  He was so friendly and loved to be petted.  The main thing though was he barked when anyone came up the driveway. 

Dad named him Victor.  

“Victor?” I thought.  “Who names a dog Victor?”  I remember some of us having a conversation with Dad.  We tried to talk him into a different name.  We mentioned several names saying I like this or I like so & so.  

Dad listened for a few minutes and then said, “Well, I like Victor.”  That was it.  I mean after all, he was their dog and I don’t suppose I would really like them trying to tell me what to name mine either.  Victor is a GREAT dog.  He loved Dad and followed him around just about everywhere outside. 

I don’t remember how old Victor is; but he isn’t all black anymore.  Victor has gray in his coat now.  But he still lets Mom know when someone comes up in the driveway.  When I pull up and open the car door, he comes to up to the car to be petted.  Sometimes he puts a front paw on my lap as if he is trying to get as close as he can. 

I still wonder why Dad picked that name for him.  I smile when I think about it.  I smile as I remember him sitting beside Dad on the patio or following him around out in the yard.  I could speculate on the reasons for the name, but that is all it would be – pure speculation.  

One thing is for sure – Victor continues to be a treasured member of the family.  Actually, he is a comfort to me because I can pet the dog Dad used to pet.  😊  I think that makes me the victor! 

God promises to be with us on our darkest days and in our deepest valleys.  Our Heavenly Father does not lie.  His presence in our lives gives us comfort and strength to face the day!

God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. Victor the dog is definitely a blessing. But the ultimate gift is eternal life in heaven!

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  
1 Corinthians 15:57

Remember God loves you more - Robin

Yoda Didn’t Have Anything On My Dad

This morning as I pulled into the parking lot at work, I had my eye on a certain parking space but it was the next row over. It all worked out. No one else slipped in ahead of me. BUT when I got closer to the spot I saw it was a little tighter than I first thought.

I hesitated for just a moment. Then thought, “I’m going to try this anyway.” As soon as those words came into my mind I heard Dad’s voice. “Don’t say you will try, Robin. Say you will do it.” I don’t know how many times he told me that while I was growing up.

When I got to my desk I thought about that quote by Yoda from Star Wars but I couldn’t remember the exact wording. I asked one of my co-workers. “Do or do not. There is no try.” That was it! But Dad pretty much said the same thing for years before Yoda ever came along.

“Don’t say you will try.” Yoda didn’t have anything over on my Dad! And yet, I suspect their motives were pretty much the same. For someone to say they will try to do something, leaves an indication that they may not do it.

It gives a person an out. Then when they “try” and don’t succeed, the person has a safety net. They can say, “Well, I told you I would try but it just didn’t work out.” To say we will try allows us to fail.

Dad was a strong believer in positive thinking. He often quoted Proverbs 23:7a “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words, if you think you won’t meet that deadline at work, then you probably won’t.

One of his favorite passages is Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Our minds – our thoughts have a great deal to do with how we behave and what we will accomplish. If we think positive thoughts, we will attract more and more positive people.

We will accomplish more in our lives. Our faith will grow knowing that our decisions to follow God’s will leads to many extra blessings in our lives.

Our thoughts lead to words and actions. If we want good things in our lives we must think good thoughts. So don’t try to be Christ like. Make that commitment. Let’s make up our minds to do it. Our heavenly Father will help us along the way.

Remember Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”

Christ above all things - Robin

With All Our Minds

The Greatest Commandment is found in Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-34, and Luke 10:27.  I think it is of utmost importance to think on these things. 

As Christians striving to please Christ, it is imperative to learn what God values most of all.  And that sisters, is our love.  This makes total sense because without loving God we will have no desire to honor and obey Him.  This would indeed be a sad state to find ourselves in. 

When we talked about loving God with all our hearts, we talked about love being an action word.  And it truly is.  Still, those actions happen because we make the decision to act.  We all know decisions are made in our minds. 

There are so many verses that speak of our minds.  In Romans 12:2, Paul wrote that we are to be transformed through the renewing of our minds.  Peter wrote that we were to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  (2 Peter 3:18)

In human relationships, love comes from getting to know someone.  Think about our friends.  The longer we know them, the more time we spend with them, the more understanding we have of who they are.  Our friendship grows with time. 

It is the same way for our relationship with God, Christ and the Holy Spirit.  The more we study – the more knowledge we have, the more personal our relationship becomes. 

A study of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) gives us an excellent picture of who Christ is.  We can learn about His love and willing sacrifice for our sins. 

This knowledge of Him leads us to love Him.  We find ourselves desiring to please Him.  Based on our knowledge of Him, we decide to follow Him – to obey His commands.  That choice is made with our minds. 

But we are human and our minds wander, so we must learn to keep our focus on Christ.  Consistent Bible study and prayer is a great way to help us keep our minds on Christ. 

Consistently focusing on God is essential.  We will lose the way if we don’t.  We must desire to grow – so we desire His word which helps us grown .  Thinking about Him, believing His word, and learning about His commands should give us a great desire to serve Him. 

Love is an action.  We know that.  The action begins with a decision.  The decision to follow Christ is made with our minds because we  learned about Him through God’s word. 

I hope this make sense.  😊 I feel like I probably talked in circles a little. 

Christ above all things - Robin

How Wounds Heal

A few days ago I cut myself shaving.  I haven’t done that in a long time, but it was a brand new razor and I got careless.  My ankle paid for that carelessness!   

A couple of days later, I told Mom about it and one of my sons was with us.  Alex  spoke up.  “You know wounds heal from the inside out so the deeper the wound, the longer it takes to heal.”   

This is also true of other types of wounds.  I’m talking about when our hearts hurt.  Heart aches cut into us so deeply they may actually cause physical pain.  The heart must be healed from the inside.  We have to let God in to heal our hearts and sometimes that is so hard to do! 

 God knows we hurt.  The Father longs to help us and He is never far away.  Consider Psalm 34:17-18 – “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.  The Lord is near to the brokenhearted  and saves the crushed in spirit.”  

 We need God when our hearts are broken, but sometimes we don’t want to acknowledge His greatness – His power – His compassion.  I will admit there were times in my life when I blocked Him out.  I’m not necessarily talking about losing Dad, but other situations at other times.

 Sisters, the longer it takes us to share our pain with God – the longer it takes to turn to Him for help – the longer it will take to heal our aching hearts.  One verse which a a got to verse for me is 1 Peter 5:7 - "casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you."

 Did you realize this is only the last part of a sentence?  I never thought about it until I studied for this devotional.  To read the whole sentence we have to go back to verse 6.  

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” 

Ah, now that’s something isn’t it?  We have to humble ourselves under God’s  mighty hand.  It takes humility to admit we need help when our heart is aching.  That only comes with the realization that we can’t do it on our own. 

It isn’t like turning a light switch on.   There are many things we can do to get through our depression or grief or  betrayal.  Helping others is a great way to start. 

BUT  it all starts on the inside – and works its way out to that point.  Faith gives us the strength we need.  Turning to God in prayer strengthens our faith.  Telling Him we need Him strengthens us. 

Thinking about our Savior ‘s heartache and betrayal  helps us realize God does understand our pain.  This is when we remember how much He cares for us. 

This is when our hearts start to heal – from the inside.

Christ above all things - Robin

The Foggy Morning

Let us be thankful for the day the Lord has given us and I pray we take advantage of the opportunities He sends our way! 

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A couple of mornings ago the fog was so thick it seemed as if one might be able to reach out and touch it.  The thickness of it made it feel as if a heavy curtain was draped around me.    I was surrounded by it. 

The fog also cut into my visibility.  I couldn’t see very far in front of me at all.  Naturally, I used my utmost caution as I drove to work.  I was amazed when a couple of cars zipped on past me.  They were going much faster than I was comfortable with.  Knowing they were taking such risks just made me thankful they were getting away from me!

At one point the fog got even worse.  I could barely see the front end of my vehicle!   I had no choice but to keep going.  I couldn’t see the shoulder of the road to know if it was safe to pull off and stop.  I also knew if a car was behind me, it wouldn’t be able to see me until it got too close to stop.  So I could just stop in the middle of the road. 

I had no choice but to keep going.  So I did my best to focus on the white line at the edge of the road.  It was the best I could do for those few moments.  I was thankful though when it wasn’t quite so thick and my visibility got better. 

Sometimes the devil puts a fog around us to keep us disoriented.  He doesn’t want us to see clearly.  We see those things that appear to be so appealing and attractive through a haze.  Oh, they seem bright enough to us; but the devil finds a way to cloud our vision and keep us from seeing the end result. 

The devil only gives us a hazy view of what we see about sin.  The glamourous “good time” is  so alluring.  Before we know it, we are caught “hook, line and sinker” and dragged into a sinful lifestyle.  We don’t see the disastrous consequences ahead of time. 

When things start looking a little foggy – if they are questionable in the least, we should focus on the white line so we can stay on the road to heaven.  We must keep going forward – it won’t be long before the view is clear again.  Then we see the beautiful abundant life Christ gives us.

Do not let the devil cloud your vision!  He uses so many tools to do that!  And he works hard at leading us astray.   But if we stay in the Son light then God will help us fight the fog. 

 ^“You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”  Deuteronomy 5:32

Christ above all things – Robin

 

With All Our Hearts

Isn’t it wonderful to wake up knowing God loves us?  We can show we love Him by serving Him today – by talking to someone about it – by showing grace and mercy to others because He has shown it to us – by speaking more kindly and praying for those who need it today (which would be all of us). 

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 I once told my nieces and nephews I loved all of them with all my heart.  The youngest, who was only about three at the time, asked me how I could possibly do that since I only had one heart.  The other children laughed, but it was a valid question. 

 It showed me how smart Will was to even think of that, especially at his young age.  At first I didn’t know how to explain it to him.  In his practical young mind, it didn’t add up. 

 I explained that love works like that because the more we love, the more our heart grows. We have more room in our hearts to care about more and more people.    Honestly, love knows no bounds!

That being said, we know Who we are should love above everyone else.  It is our Heavenly Father.  He should get our whole hearts.  We are supposed to love Him completely and totally. 

We must remember love is an action word.  Many people say it is not an emotion.  I understand they are trying to emphasize how important it is to show our love through our actions.  I do not deny that.  Still, I think it involves some emotion also. 

The Bible tells us we should love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.  The gospel of Mark also includes ‘with all our might.’   Two or three mornings ago, we talked about loving the Lord with all our soul – which is that spiritual part of us.  It is the essence of who we are. 

I think these terms heart, soul, mind and might are so closely intertwined  that it is difficult to speak about any of them separate from the others.  This seems to be especially so with our hearts and minds.  They are sometimes used synonymously  in the scriptures.

Love is an action word, but we often are not stirred to action until our emotions are involved.  I am reminded of Acts 2 when the people were “pricked in their hearts” by the preaching of the apostles.  It was their hearts that prompted them to act.  The action was their obedience to Christ. 

We might also remember the four friends who lowered a fifth man through a hole in the roof of a house.  They wanted to get him close enough to Jesus to be healed.  The four must have truly loved the one to do what they did!

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul named some great things and said if he did these things and did not have love, it would profit him nothing.  I think it is important to remember this.

Loving God with all our heart involves both emotions and actions.  Our lives are richly rewarded when we do this!

 

Christ above all things - Robin