SABBATH FACTS - The Sign of Creation and Redemption (Part 2)

Today we are looking at four facts about the Sabbath.

1. The Sabbath is the best day of the week. On this day mankind is called away from the cares of the world, to focus on God and His everlasting peace.

2. "To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour."

3. "Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

4. While preparation for the Sabbath is to be made all through the week, Friday is to be the special preparation day. Exodus 16:23; Numbers 11:8.

The Bible reminds us, note, this is God speaking, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy.” Ezekiel 20:12.

By GARDEN MINISTRY

FOR YOU I AM PRAYING

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;" Psalm 103:2-3.

Today, someone close to you, or maybe yourself, needs a healing touch from the Lord. Know that someone is praying for you. 

If you are praying on behalf of someone, remember these instructions. 

1.    We should be extremely careful in all your prayers to speak the needs of the heart and to say only what you mean.

2.   All the flowery words at your command are not equivalent to one holy desire. The most eloquent prayers are but vain repetitions if they do not express the true sentiments of the heart.

3.   Prayer that comes from an earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed just as you would ask an earthly friend for a favor, expecting that it would be granted—this is the prayer of faith. The Bible says the publican who went up to the temple to pray is a good example of a sincere, devoted worshipper. He felt that he was a sinner, and his great need led to an outburst of passionate desire, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”  

To those who pray in faith. The word of the Lord to you is, “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it (YOU); I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” Jeremiah 33:6.

 

When the poor paralytic was brought to the house where Jesus was teaching, a dense crowd surrounded the door, barring every way of access to the Saviour. But faith and hope had been kindled in the heart of the poor sufferer, and he proposed that his friends take him to the rear of the house, break up the roof, and let him down into the presence of Christ. 

The suggestion was acted upon; as the afflicted one lay at the feet of the mighty Healer, all that man could do for his restoration had been done. Jesus knew that the sufferer had been tortured with a sense of his sins, and that he must first find relief from this burden. With a look of tenderest compassion, the Saviour addressed him, not as a stranger, or even a friend, but as one who had even then been received into the family of God: “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” 

"Many are suffering from maladies of the soul far more than from diseases of the body, and they will find no relief until they shall come to God, the wellspring of life. Complaints of weariness, loneliness, and dissatisfaction will then cease. Satisfying joys will give vigor to the mind and health and vital energy to the body."

Thanks be to God, we can all say, “For you, I am praying,
For you, I am praying,
For you, I am praying,
I’m praying for you.”

Today God is feeling the woes of every sufferer.... He knows how to speak the word, “Be whole,” and bid the sufferer, “Go, and sin no more.”

By GARDEN MINISTRY

SABBATH FACTS - One Sweet (Part 1)

Today I want to ask a few questions. Do you know your bible and do you study history? If you said yes, you would appreciate these five facts about the Sabbath.

Let's get into the facts.

1. The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. The Sabbath was not made for the Jew, a denomination, or an organization. The Sabbath was made for all men. Luke 4:16; Genesis 2:1-3. As ordained for mankind, it had its origin when "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38:7.

2. The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam and Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He "who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6.

3. The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned it, the Lord reproved them, saying, "How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?" Exodus 16:28.

4. The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23.

5. The Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. Ezekiel 20:12.

If you have been blessed through these facts, share them. If you would like to leave a comment to us. Go to post a comment.

May the favor and peace of the Lord go with you. Blessings, Blessings, Blessings.

Happy Sabbath

By GARDEN MINISTRY

TAKE CARE OF YOUR CORNFIELD

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Peace be unto you and your families. Today, we are at a crucial time in human history. A time that requires our most dedicated efforts toward unity. There are huge challenges that we have to surmount to get any future at all for all of us. To help us understand this truth, let us learn a lesson from the corn.

July is normally a month of dryness and a little rainfall in Bermuda. Normally at this time of the year, the old timers used to say, "To preserve water, you have to stretch it." This statement applies to the home, as well as the garden. 

Here are some personal tips from my own experience that have given me success in growing corn during the summer.

1. Watering the corn once a day is very important. Some people water their corn any time of the day. But I find, watering corn in the evening or about 6:30 pm allows the ground to maintain moisture through the night.

2. Fertilizing the cornfield is also very important. I would use chicken manure every two weeks after the plants are three inches tall. But if your ground is already manured, you don't need to add extra natural fertilizer.

Like the corn in the garden during the summer months, our lives need to be watered daily by the word of God. In light of the many things happening throughout our communities these days that can bring hardship and pain. Always remember, these things are like the unbearable summer heat that can be cooled down by the water of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

When a neighborhood is suffering a crisis, it is likened to a cornfield that is going through a drought. Take time to give them the water of sympathy and empathy! Today, I encourage you to take care of your own gardens. In other words, take care of yourselves and your neighbors.

Seek ways that can reduce the dryness of tension, anger, hatred, violence, murder, sickness, and deep depression. Seek for ways in which you can bring communities together, instead of pulling them apart. Find ways in which you can help the seniors and children within your neighborhood garden feel safe and happy.

Ultimately, I point you to God who is our help in all crisis! Let none now venture to tamper with sin, the source of every misery that has come upon our world. No longer remain in a state of lethargy and stupid indifference. Let not the destiny of your soul hang upon an uncertainty. Know for yourselves that you are fully on the Lord’s side, and do all you can positively to help your families and your communities succeed successfully.

"We are still amidst the shadows and turmoil of earthly activities. Let us consider most earnestly the blessed hereafter. Let our faith pierce through every cloud of darkness and behold Him who died for the sins of the world. He has opened the gates of paradise to all who receive and believe on Him. To them, He gives power to become the sons and daughters of God. Let the afflictions that pain us so grievously become instructive lessons, teaching us to press forward toward the mark of the prize of our high calling in Christ. Let us be encouraged by the thought that the Lord is soon to come. Let this hope gladden our hearts. “Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Hebrews 10:37. Blessed are those servants who, when their Lord comes, shall be found watching." Luke 12:37.

Lastly, we are all impacted by the violence, and conflicts within our communities. “Every single time you help somebody stand up, you are helping humanity rise.” Steve Maraboli. So let us forsake the dryness of criticizing and finding fault with one another. Let us stop speaking death and not life to one another. Let us stop tearing down one another's character, and start building up one another. Let us cast off the spirit of envy, jealousy, and self-promotion, and start supporting one another. Let us strengthen and build up one another so that God may be glorified in and through all of us. Let us humble ourselves before God and resort to prayer, for you cannot and must not attempt to work at variance. 

It will not be long till we shall see Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in His presence, all the trials and sufferings of this life will be as nothingness. . . Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city of God into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for the redeemed. “Be patient, therefore, brethren, . . . for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5:7, 8.

As you go through your day, may God who is our help in ages past, and our hope for years to come, be a shelter for us from the stormy blast, and grant us with Him an eternal Home.

By GARDEN MINISTRY