Christmas Greetings From A Walk In The Garden

Born a King, to Reconcile Us to God

During his questioning of Jesus, the governor Pilate inquired if He was King of the Jews. Jesus in turn asked Pilate if he was speaking for himself about this, or did others tell him this concerning Him (Jesus). As is always the case, the Lord goes to the root and heart of all matters. 

More questions from Pilate ensued and Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."

'Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are you a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." ' (John 18:37)

He who made all things is the Lord God Almighty; the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, Ruler of all, the Word made flesh. He is righteous, just, merciful, gracious and true.

Open your heart to the Lord and receive Him today. He will come in and sup with you and you with Him. What a privilege, what a high honor!

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1)

Jesus, the gift to the world that lasts forever! He is the way, the truth and the life. Eat of Him and drink of Him, this Christmas Season and always. Share the blessed good news!

Related Bible Readings regarding the purpose and mission of Christ, His finished work:

The Gospel According to John, Chapter 1, Chapter 3:1-21, Chapter 6:22-71, Jesus' Prayer to the Father for His disciples in John 17:1-26)

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace. -Isaiah 9:6

 

The Old Christmas Story That Never Grows Old in Our Hearts

Click here for Devotion

Salt and Light

Mindful Word: Time Through God's Eyes

 

God's Righteous Judgments Are In All The Earth, His Salvation To The Ends Thereof

God who in times past, commanded that His people walk in His statutes, keep His judgments and do them (recounted in Ezekiel Chapter 20), is the same God today. He changeth not. As it was then and is now, our faithful Creator desires to have a people who put their trust in Him and walk in His ways. 

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statues of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them is great reward. (Psalm 19:7-11)

There was not much rejoicing, as the people of God sojourned in the wilderness some forty years, but rather much complaining, and a desire to return to the land of their captivity. Many forsook the Lord for idols, the work of their hands, and they and their descendants did likewise in the land of promise. Yet, our God who is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, extended His grace, and sent His prophets to deliver His word, with the expectation that a rebellious people would acknowledge the error of their ways, repent and turn back to God, for their own good.   

There is not an arm like the Lord's, Creator of heaven and earth. He is mighty to save. Relying on a mighty army will not deliver any. "For the horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is from the Lord." (Proverbs 21:31; see also Ezekiel 17:15.)

God's righteous judgments are in all the earth; His salvation to the ends thereof.

Thus says the Lord God: "I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell."

 "And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it." (Ezekiel 17:22-24)

A Prayer: 

Thank You blessed Shepherd and Savior, for Your cleansing fountain. For the power to live a holy life. For taking away the stony heart and giving us a new heart and a new spirit within. For putting Your Holy Spirit within us, and causing us to walk in Your statues, to keep Your judgments and do them. To You alone wise God, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, now and forevermore. Amen.

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

A Prayer for Today

Inspiration For Our Daily Christian Walk

 

Meditation: Such Wondrous Love

God's love is perfect. It is complete, and overflows the heart with confidence and security. One cannot add or take away from the love of God. It never ceases, cannot be altered, neither improved upon. It's far-reaching and free to all.

We were created in the image and likeness of God, who is love. Everything he says and does, stems from love. The sin and transgression of Adam and Eve, resulted in grave and perpetual consequences throughout the generations of humanity. But in the fullness of time, Christ, the second Adam from above, who knew no sin, became sin for us, and bore the penalty in human flesh. 

The Apostle Paul prayed to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-21)

Such wondrous love! Enjoy, walk in, be surrounded by and infused with His unfailing love.

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

Bible Verses About Love

Devotion for Today: Healer and Restorer of Broken Lives

Merciful and gracious God, is He who stands ready to forgive, pardoning sin and purging iniquity. Oh, that men would serve Him and worship Him only, the Healer and Restorer of broken lives. He delights in the beautification of His people, whom He has called for His glory. 

Bible Reading:

I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. 

They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. 

Ephraim shall say, What have I to do anymore with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.

Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? Prudent, and he shall know them? For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. (Hosea 14:5-9)

A Prayer:

Plant Your Word in our hearts, Lord God. Let it find good soil and sprout; grow and produce an abundance of fruit of the Spirit. Lead and guide us in the paths of Your righteousness. Be thou glorified! In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

Hope and Joy

 

Garden Devotion: A Prayer for Today

"The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree 

the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify

the place of my sanctuary; and I will make

the place of my feet glorious."

(Isaiah 60:13)

More Inspiration:

Let Zion Rejoice

Daily Prayers

5 Wisdom Proverbs For Our Daily Christian Walk

1. He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good. (Proverbs 19:8)

2. A man's steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way? (Proverbs 20:24)

3. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27)

4. A man's heart devises his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

5. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5 & 6)

Praise the Lord, in the Day He Has Made

A Prayer

Thank You merciful God for each day—To walk with You and declare your praise! Fill our hearts and minds, with the wonder of your grace. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

Inspiration For Our Daily Christian Walk: Rest in the LORD

Trusting in the Lord, we can have and enjoy blessed rest for the mind, spirit, soul and body. Believe in Him and enter in.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

You will keep him in perfect peace,whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3)

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)

The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, that he shall not die in the pit, and that his bread should not fail, but I am the LORD your God, who divided the sea whose waves roared. The LORD of hosts is His name. (Isaiah 51:14-15)

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself  also ceased from his works as God did from His. (Hebrews 4:9-10)

And on the seventh day, God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. (Genesis 2:2)

Bible Verses About Rest

Strength for the Journey

Regardless of what is happening in the world, those who know the true and living God, shall be strong and do exploits in His name.They shall take root downward and bear fruit upward. They shall flourish in the courts of Almighty God, whose hand is upon them. Praise His name forevermore!

Related Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 16:11; Psalm 18:31-32; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 28: 6-9; Psalm 46; Psalm 59:17; Psalm 73:25-26;  Philippians 4:13; Nehemiah 8:10;  Isaiah 12:2; Isaiah 40:31; 1 Corinthians 15:57-58

A Prayer for Today:

Lord God in heaven,

You are our hope and our strength!

Our lives and times are in Your hands;

the sum of our years in Your book. We

long for You in a dry and thirsty land. Let

Your comforts delight our souls, even as we

wait upon You. Thank You for Your

mercy and grace that preserve,

and sustain us on the journey of life.

We give You all the praise! We worship

none but You! Amen.

Celebrate Jesus' Victory Over the Grave

He rose triumphant over the grave! 

"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." (John 10: 17,18)

All praise and thanks to the Father, who gave us His Son to reconcile us to Himself; and to Jesus who surrendered His will to the will of the Father; and to the Holy Spirit who raised Him from the dead.

"And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:10,11)

Because He lives, we have this blessed, glorious hope. Rejoice!

"Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

"And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'" Amen.

(Matthew 28:18-20)

Today's Devotion: Rain From Heaven, Salvation in the Earth

Wednesday Greetings,

The Lord has commanded His salvation in the earth:

"Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it." 

Seeing there was no justice, no righteous man or intercessor—His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness, it sustained Him. Praise God!

Scripture References: Isaiah 45:8 & Isaiah 59:14-16

In His Love,

A Walk In The Garden 

Hope & Encouragement for Life's Journey

A Prayer For Today

Thank You Lord, for all the beauty

in our lives, and the most beautiful

is You! Radiant in holiness, and

righteousness, in justice and mercy.

To You be glory, forevermore.

Amen.

Friday Inspiration | The Fragrance of Christ

Happy Monday Motivation

Each day is beautiful in its purity. A gift from God, to be exercised therein. To dispense acts of kindness and compassion. To stretch forth the hand and help others to stand tall. To find the beauty in the chaos. To treat others the way we'd want to be treated. To go the extra mile; to make known the love of God.
- A Walk In The Garden

Encouragement For Our Daily Christian Walk

Related Bible Readings: Isaiah 40:31; James 1:2-4; James 5:7 & 8; Psalm 37:1-8; Psalm 40:1-3; Psalm 62:5-8; Romans 12:12; Hebrews 12:1-3

Related Devotional: In The Waiting Room

Today's Bible Reading | Psalm 91:1-7

A New Year Has Begun

Greetings fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Grace and peace to you through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Thanks be to our great God who has preserved us to this day. A new year has begun, and we know not what the future holds, but we know Him who holds the future and each of us in His hands. We know Him who has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. Our lives and times are truly in His hands and we are secure in the bundle of the Lord.

We thank Him for the road we traveled in 2020. We thank Him for his faithfulness and His mercies. We thank Him for His strength and for being our fourth man in the fire during our past trials. We thank Him for making us to grow in His grace and the knowledge of Him and filling us with His unspeakable joy and peace!

We thank Him for the saints who have finished their earthly sojourn.As we continue on our journey, let us purpose to trust in Him who has begun a good work in us and will complete it. Knowing this, we look forward with hope and great expectation. He is charting our course and we need not fear wind or rain. We position ourselves on this new threshold to do the Father's business. We empty ourselves and leave behind those things that belong to yesterday. Do not be detained for excess baggage. This is a new day! Embrace the possibilities and the challenges. Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith!

All the best in 2021 by the grace and mercies of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

-A Walk In The Garden Devotionals

This letter of encouragement first appeared from A Walk In The Garden in our 2006 newsletter. It is relevant year after year. May you discover His perfect will for your life as you persevere in hope, faith and love. God bless you!