Tag Archives: garden of eden

Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson

Night Light for Couples –God’s Gift

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“The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Genesis 2:25

In previous generations, some people believed women were not supposed to enjoy sex. Even today some Christians still feel that sex between marital partners is somehow sinful or “dirty.”

But there’s nothing biblical about either viewpoint. The Lord created us as sexual beings and gave us the gift of physical intimacy as a means for expressing love between husband and wife. In the biblical account of the Garden of Eden, we are told that “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” The Bible says that before sin entered the picture, the first husband and wife were unashamed of their nakedness (Genesis 2:24–25).

Scripture also uses sexual symbolism to describe the relationship between God and man. (Look, for example, at Isaiah 62:5; Jeremiah 7:9 and 23:10; Ezekiel 16; Hosea; Ephesians 5; and Revelation 19:6–7.) In addition, Solomon’s Song of Songs clearly celebrates sexual pleasure between married lovers. We suggest that you set time aside to read that book together.

As designed by God, sexual desire in marriage is more than an afterthought or a means to guarantee procreation. That’s why we can wholeheartedly say, “Let’s ‘make love’ the way our God intended!”

Just between us…

  • While growing up, did you receive positive or negative messages about sex?
  • How do you think this has affected our love life?
  • Do you think of sex as a gift from God? Is there anything about our love life that you’d like to tell me?

Dear God, thank You for making Your wonderful intentions for married sex so clear in Scripture. Where we have trampled on this gift, forgive us. We want so much to “make love” Your way. Amen.

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade- Joy and Gladness

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“And the Lord will bless Israel again, and make her deserts blossom; her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Joy and gladness will be found there, thanksgiving and lovely songs” (Isaiah 51:3).
When the editors of a Christian publication came to Arrowhead Springs sometime ago to interview me, the discussion turned to the subject of problems in the Christian life. They were skeptical when I explained my way of handling difficult circumstances, potential sources of anxiety and frustration.
As you will note from this verse in Isaiah, thanksgiving is a spiritual way of singing to the Lord. As we sing with a thankful heart, we receive the joy of the Lord in return.
So it was that I explained to the editors: “Many years ago I learned to obey God’s command to be thankful in all things as an act of faith. And since I am assured from God’s Word that He rules in the affairs of men and nations, that He is all wise, all-powerful and compassionate and that He loves me dearly, I would be very foolish indeed to worry about my problems, cares and tribulations even for a few moments. I cast them upon the Lord as soon as they are brought to my attention.
“For example, I can list at least 25 major problems that I have given to the Lord today – some of which would crush me and destroy my effectiveness if I tried to carry them myself.”
Then I recalled an earlier week beset with illness, surgery and bereavement for loved ones and friends. “But,” I told them, “I chose to obey the Lord’s command to give them all to Him, and to retain a thankful spirit.”
Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:18-21
TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will trust God’s Holy Spirit to establish a thankful spirit in my heart and life today and every day as a way of life.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon Mercy, omnipotence, and justice

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“The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.” Nahum 1:3

Suggested Further Reading: Nehemiah 9:9-31

Have you ever observed that scene in the garden of Eden at the time of the fall? God had threatened Adam, that if he sinned he should surely die. Adam sinned: did God make haste to sentence him? ‘Tis sweetly said, “The Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day.” Perhaps that fruit was plucked at early morn, maybe it was plucked at noon-tide; but God was in no haste to condemn; he waited till the sun was well nigh set, and in the cool of the day came, and as an old expositor has put it very beautifully, when he did come he did not come on wings of wrath, but he “walked in the garden in the cool of the day.” He was in no haste to slay. I think I see him, as he was represented then to Adam, in those glorious days when God walked with man. Methinks I see the wonderful similitude in which the unseen did veil himself: I see it walking among the trees so slowly—if it is right to give such a picture—beating its breast, and shedding tears that it should have to condemn man. At last I hear its doleful voice: “Adam, where art thou? Where hast thou cast thyself, poor Adam? Thou hast cast thyself from my favour; thou hast cast thyself into nakedness and into fear; for thou art hiding thyself. Adam, where art thou? I pity thee. Thou thoughtest to be God. Before I condemn thee I will give thee one note of pity. Adam, where art thou?” Yes, the Lord was slow to anger, slow to write the sentence, even though the command had been broken, and the threatening was therefore of necessity brought into force.

For meditation: There are good and bad ways of taking advantage of God’s apparent slowness (2 Peter 3:3,4,9).

Sermon no. 137
21 June (1857)

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Why Do My Prayers Go Unanswered?

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Alistair Begg

My people will abide in a peaceful habitation.  Isaiah 32:18

Peace and rest do not belong to the unregenerate; they are the peculiar possession of the Lord’s people, and of them only. The God of Peace gives perfect peace to those whose hearts are fixed upon Him. Before the Fall, God gave man the Garden of Eden as his quiet resting-place; sadly, how quickly sin spoiled the fair abode of innocence. In the day of universal wrath when the Flood swept away a guilty race, the chosen family was quietly secured in the resting-place of the ark, which floated them from the old condemned world into the new earth of the rainbow and the covenant, symbolizing Jesus, the ark of our salvation. Israel rested safely beneath the blood-sprinkled dwellings of Egypt when the destroying angel smote the firstborn; and in the wilderness the shadow of the pillar of cloud and the flowing rock gave the weary pilgrims sweet repose.

Today we rest in the promises of our faithful God, knowing that His words are full of truth and power; we rest in the doctrines of His Word, which are consolation itself; we rest in the covenant of His grace, which is a haven of delight. We are more highly favored than David in the cave or Jonah beneath his plant, for no one can invade or destroy our shelter. The person of Jesus is the quiet resting-place of His people, and when we draw near to Him in the breaking of the bread, the hearing of the Word, the searching of the Scriptures, prayer, or praise, we find that any form of approach to Him brings peace to our spirits.

I hear the words of love, I gaze upon the blood,

I see the mighty sacrifice, and I have peace with God.

‘Tis everlasting peace, sure as Jehovah’s name,

‘Tis stable as His steadfast throne, forevermore the same:

The clouds may go and come, and storms may sweep my sky,

This blood-sealed friendship changes not, the cross is ever nigh.

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The family reading plan for December 9, 2014 * Zephaniah 1 * Luke 23

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Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Joy and Gladness

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dr_bright

“And the Lord will bless Israel again, and make her deserts blossom; her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Joy and gladness will be found there, thanksgiving and lovely songs” (Isaiah 51:3).

When the editors of a Christian publication came to Arrowhead Springs sometime ago to interview me, the discussion turned to the subject of problems in the Christian life. They were skeptical when I explained my way of handling difficult circumstances, potential sources of anxiety and frustration.

As you will note from this verse in Isaiah, thanksgiving is a spiritual way of singing to the Lord. As we sing with a thankful heart, we receive the joy of the Lord in return.

So it was that I explained to the editors: “Many years ago I learned to obey God’s command to be thankful in all things as an act of faith. And since I am assured from God’s Word that He rules in the affairs of men and nations, that He is all wise, all-powerful and compassionate and that He loves me dearly, I would be very foolish indeed to worry about my problems, cares and tribulations even for a few moments. I cast them upon the Lord as soon as they are brought to my attention.

“For example, I can list at least 25 major problems that I have given to the Lord today – some of which would crush me and destroy my effectiveness if I tried to carry them myself.”

Then I recalled an earlier week beset with illness, surgery and bereavement for loved ones and friends. “But,” I told them, “I chose to obey the Lord’s command to give them all to Him, and to retain a thankful spirit.”

Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:18-21

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will trust God’s Holy Spirit to establish a thankful spirit in my heart and life today and every day as a way of life.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Lord’s Rescue Plan

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Charles Stanley

Romans 3:10-26

The Creator placed two people with clean souls in the Garden of Eden, but when Adam and Eve chose to disobey, their hearts became sinful. God had told them that the penalty for their sin was death (Gen. 2: 17).

Mankind’s first parents bequeathed their sin nature to the entire human race. So we are all born with hearts rebelling against God. Like a toddler who defies his parents by touching a forbidden item, we disobey our heavenly Father because we prefer to follow our own desires.

It is not our wrong conduct that condemns us, but rather the fact that our nature is corrupt. Whether good or bad, our deeds don’t determine where we will spend eternity. Apart from the Lord, no one is righteous—not a single person has done enough good to earn a place in heaven. But the Father loves us and wants us to live with Him eternally. So, before the creation of the world, He planned a solution.

The rescue plan was simple—a perfect sacrifice had to be made for mankind’s sin so that everyone could be blameless before a holy God. By accepting this sacrifice on his or her own behalf, any individual would receive a new nature to replace the corrupted one. In addition, the Holy Spirit would indwell that person to provide truth and guidance.

The sacrifice was Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, bearing all our sin. When we trust Him as Savior, our “flesh” nature dies with Him. The Holy Spirit comes to make our hearts new so we can find joy in obeying God. We are rescued and set free!

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Making Healthy Choices

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Joyce meyer

And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight or to be desired—good (suitable, pleasant) for food.—Genesis 2:9

Learn to do everything you do for God’s glory, including eating. Look at your dinner plate and ask if what you are about to eat is mostly what God created for you. Don’t view eating as a secular event that has nothing to do with your relationship with God. Don’t forget that God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and told them what they could eat. If eating had nothing to do with their walk with Him, He probably would not have mentioned food. Make good choices! Each time you choose good healthy foods, you are choosing life, which is God’s gift to you. He wants you to look great and feel great, and you can, if you keep in mind that your body is the temple of God and the fuel you put into it determines how it will operate and for how long.

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Charles Spurgeon – Mercy, omnipotence, and justice

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“The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.” Nahum 1:3

Suggested Further Reading: Nehemiah 9:9-31

Have you ever observed that scene in the garden of Eden at the time of the fall? God had threatened Adam, that if he sinned he should surely die. Adam sinned: did God make haste to sentence him? ‘Tis sweetly said, “The Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day.” Perhaps that fruit was plucked at early morn, maybe it was plucked at noon-tide; but God was in no haste to condemn; he waited till the sun was well nigh set, and in the cool of the day came, and as an old expositor has put it very beautifully, when he did come he did not come on wings of wrath, but he “walked in the garden in the cool of the day.” He was in no haste to slay. I think I see him, as he was represented then to Adam, in those glorious days when God walked with man. Methinks I see the wonderful similitude in which the unseen did veil himself: I see it walking among the trees so slowly—if it is right to give such a picture—beating its breast, and shedding tears that it should have to condemn man. At last I hear its doleful voice: “Adam, where art thou? Where hast thou cast thyself, poor Adam? Thou hast cast thyself from my favour; thou hast cast thyself into nakedness and into fear; for thou art hiding thyself. Adam, where art thou? I pity thee. Thou thoughtest to be God. Before I condemn thee I will give thee one note of pity. Adam, where art thou?” Yes, the Lord was slow to anger, slow to write the sentence, even though the command had been broken, and the threatening was therefore of necessity brought into force.

For meditation: There are good and bad ways of taking advantage of God’s apparent slowness (2 Peter 3:3,4,9).

Sermon no. 137

21 June (1857)