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Tuesday, August
13, 2019
A
Lancaster County garden on an Amish farm.
"A Lesson From Two
Gardens"
Message
summary:
Today let us
consider two great
gardens in the
Bible.
Listen to our
message on your
audio player.
"The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed" (Genesis 2:8). "Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray'" (Matthew 26:36).
Saturday afternoon we went with our friend Jerry to Longwood Gardens and the outstanding Fireworks & Fountains Show scheduled for late that evening. We arrived early enough to set our chairs up and then toured the vast gardens for several hours. This garden is among the best botanical gardens in the USA and among the finest in the world. The show began at 9:15PM with fountains, lighting, fireworks and Swan Lake orchestration all coordinated for a spectacular display. A feature that was especially intriguing and beautiful was actual fire that was atop the fountains using some type of blast of propane (see below for link to explanation). We shared a couple of photos yesterday but it's really hard to capture in a photo how stunning the show is.
Some gardens, like Longwood Gardens, are primarily decorative bringing great pleasure as we see the wonders of God's creation. We were so blessed to see the variety of plant life from huge trees to tiny Bonzai trees to ground cover and of course many, many flowers.
Other gardens are primarily functional, providing our food. However these well-watered, well-tended gardens can also be very beautiful especially here in Lancaster County.
Today let us consider two great gardens in the Bible:
1) The Garden of Eden: the garden of man's decision. The first garden mentioned in the Bible is the Garden of Eden. It was here that Adam and Eve made a decision that has impacted the entire human race due to their act of disobedience. They were banned from that garden.
We believe that this was an actual historical event but it also symbolizes the decision we all have in life; whether to place our trust in God and obey Him or live in unbelief and obey the devil in whatever form he may appear (not always a serpent!)
2) The Garden Of Gethsemane: the garden of Christ's decision. In this garden Christ agonized but made the decision for our redemption when he "fell on His face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will'". We are all eternally grateful for the decision that Jesus made when He paid the price for our redemption.
We believe of course that this was also an actual historical event but that it also symbolizes another decision we all have in life when facing a heavy trial. May God give us grace and strength as we properly appeal for the affliction to be removed "let this cup pass from me" but then in faithful resolve similarly declare, "Yet not as I will, but as You will".
There's a future garden we can look forward to although the word "garden" is not used in the text. The NIV Bible uses the heading "Eden Restored". "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him" (Revelation 22:1-3).
"The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed" (Genesis 2:8). "Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray'" (Matthew 26:36).
Saturday afternoon we went with our friend Jerry to Longwood Gardens and the outstanding Fireworks & Fountains Show scheduled for late that evening. We arrived early enough to set our chairs up and then toured the vast gardens for several hours. This garden is among the best botanical gardens in the USA and among the finest in the world. The show began at 9:15PM with fountains, lighting, fireworks and Swan Lake orchestration all coordinated for a spectacular display. A feature that was especially intriguing and beautiful was actual fire that was atop the fountains using some type of blast of propane (see below for link to explanation). We shared a couple of photos yesterday but it's really hard to capture in a photo how stunning the show is.
Some gardens, like Longwood Gardens, are primarily decorative bringing great pleasure as we see the wonders of God's creation. We were so blessed to see the variety of plant life from huge trees to tiny Bonzai trees to ground cover and of course many, many flowers.
Other gardens are primarily functional, providing our food. However these well-watered, well-tended gardens can also be very beautiful especially here in Lancaster County.
Today let us consider two great gardens in the Bible:
1) The Garden of Eden: the garden of man's decision. The first garden mentioned in the Bible is the Garden of Eden. It was here that Adam and Eve made a decision that has impacted the entire human race due to their act of disobedience. They were banned from that garden.
We believe that this was an actual historical event but it also symbolizes the decision we all have in life; whether to place our trust in God and obey Him or live in unbelief and obey the devil in whatever form he may appear (not always a serpent!)
2) The Garden Of Gethsemane: the garden of Christ's decision. In this garden Christ agonized but made the decision for our redemption when he "fell on His face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will'". We are all eternally grateful for the decision that Jesus made when He paid the price for our redemption.
We believe of course that this was also an actual historical event but that it also symbolizes another decision we all have in life when facing a heavy trial. May God give us grace and strength as we properly appeal for the affliction to be removed "let this cup pass from me" but then in faithful resolve similarly declare, "Yet not as I will, but as You will".
There's a future garden we can look forward to although the word "garden" is not used in the text. The NIV Bible uses the heading "Eden Restored". "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him" (Revelation 22:1-3).
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
Prayer: Father,
since
our birth we have
only known what it
is like to live
under the curse of
sin due to Adam
and Eve's
disobedience in
the Garden of
Eden. But we have
the blessed
assurance from
Scripture that one
day we will live
in the restored
Eden where we will
not be affected or
influenced by the
evil of sin. There
will no darkness
of any kind for we
will live in the
glory of the light
of Christ
throughout all
eternity. The
anticipation of a
glorious eternal
future in heaven
gives us hope,
strength, and
endurance when we
deal with the cup
of suffering,
loss, or
disappointment on
this side. Until
the day my eyes
behold the city of
Jerusalem my
resolve is to stay
faithful, be
fruitful and share
Your love with all
whom I encounter
here in my sphere
of influence.
Amen.Longwood
Gardens
Longwood Gardens consists of over 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States in the Brandywine Creek Valley. It is one of the premier horticultural display gardens in the United States and is open to visitors year-round to enjoy exotic plants and horticulture (both indoor and outdoor), events and performances, seasonal and themed attractions, as well as educational lectures, courses, and workshops. (from Wikipedia)
Here is a
portion of the
seating at Longwood
Gardens in the
afternoon prior to
the Fireworks and
Fountains show. We
sat on the level
this photo was taken
from.
We always
enjoy seeing the
Longwood Gardens
Bonzai tree
collection.
This one began training in 1909!
This one began training in 1909!
A Longwood
Gardens pond
Here we
are with Jerry
Smoker, our friend
who is a longtime
member of Longwood
Gardens. We
became good friends
when he worked at
Kleen-Rite, one of
the companies where
we are chaplains. He
recently retired.
Not only did he
generously invite us
to join him on
Saturday but he
insisted on pushing
Ester in her
wheelchair. Due to
Ester's legs being
weak when she walks
long distances we
take along a wheel
chair to reserve her
strength.
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental Resources
"In
The Garden" Video
Selah
Here's a video someone posted of the same Fireworks & Fountains Show at Longwood Gardens we saw Saturday night In our lifetime we have now seen two truly outstanding fireworks displays. The other time was along the Charles River in Boston for the Boston Pops Firework Spectacular about 20 years ago. Here's a video of this year's show.
* How Longwood allows fire to dance on water
Here's a video someone posted of the same Fireworks & Fountains Show at Longwood Gardens we saw Saturday night In our lifetime we have now seen two truly outstanding fireworks displays. The other time was along the Charles River in Boston for the Boston Pops Firework Spectacular about 20 years ago. Here's a video of this year's show.
* How Longwood allows fire to dance on water
We didn't take
this but here's a photo of
the fire on top of fountain.
Link to
photo
Finally
today:
In the course of
our work we never know who
we'll see such as meeting
Joe Snavely in a Kleen-Rite
warehouse. We met Joe about
ten years ago when his
daughter served with our
youth in a small church we
had served in an interim
role. As you can see he now
works for FedEx. Joe
respectfully calls me Dr.
although I am not one and I
don't even play one on TV.
Yesterday we
attended an Open House at
Audrey's where customers
came far and wide for a
special day at the huge
gift and home decor
warehouse in Lebanon.
These are gift shop owners
since Audrey's only sells
wholesale.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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