two part holiday

Easter is unique among holidays in several ways.  One of them is that the holiday really is more than one day.  It is a "two part" holiday that starts on Good Friday and completes on Easter.  You really need Good Friday to appreciate Easter.  In a way, the Easter celebration is a mirror.  Good Friday reflects much that is the worst about man and Easter mirrors much of what is the best about God (and it's all good).  Good Friday shows what man is capable of, to the point of putting to death the very One who gave us life.  Easter shows what God has done, giving life to One wrongly killed and then giving new lilfe to those who even killed Him.  Good Friday shows that God will not be outwitted, outmaneuvered or outdone.  He took Satan's worst shot, delivered through deceived men, and turned that blow completely around to become the necessary payment to redeem us.  Satan's strategy boomeranged and the death blow became the life force that opened the gateway for all men to accept...that leads to Heaven and that conquers the worst that Satan can muster here on earth.  

We don't see the big "build-up" for Easter that we do for Christmas.  The world doesn't like to be reminded that it put the God of the Universe on a cross to suffer and die.  That is as much a part of history as the babe in a manger.  We don't hear many radio stations dedicating days of broadcast time to Easter music.  For some reason we choose to give gifts at Christmas rather than Easter when the greatest gift was made of all time.  We don't like to face the mirrors of Good Friday and Easter because there is no othe explanation for this holiday other than our sin and our need for a savior.  But if Jesus could do the "heavy lifting" of our sin on the cross on Good Friday then we ought to face the mirror, acknowledge our need and go on to receive the hope of Easter...a hope we could never give ourselves.

John 20:¹¹ Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. ¹² She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³ "Dear woman, why are you crying?" the angels asked her.

"Because they have taken away my Lord," she replied, "and I don't know where they have put him."

¹⁴ She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. ¹⁵ "Dear woman, why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who are you looking for?"

She thought he was the gardener. "Sir," she said, "if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him."

¹⁶ "Mary!" Jesus said.

blessings (now let us... each and all... rise again, in His name),

Rob Smith

sandwiched by promises

Genesis 26 A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham's time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.

² The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you.

Famine leads to survival actions, which leads to the Lord's appearance to provide guidance and hope.  Isaac moves his family to a place where there is water when famine strikes but this places him in a foreign land, ruled by a foreign king.  It's interesting that Isaac is not spared from the challenge of famine, just because he is in God's special family.  It's also interesting that God would allow Isaac to have difficult trials at the hands of this king.  On the one hand, there are great promises for Isaac that God would bless him and his descendants, but in the "here and now" of Isaac's life there was strife with other people.  God blesses Isaac with abundant crops and wealth but this only leads to jealousy from the neighboring peope who weren't so blessed.  They push Isaac out and take over the wells he has dug.  After Isaac has dug several wells, only to be forced to abandon them by local shepherds, the Lord appears again to confirm His presence and promise.

Genesis 26:²³ From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, ²⁴ where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant."

It seems that there is a pattern of God's presence in the form of precious promises which might be compared to the bread of a sandwich.  Within the sandwich is a meal of trials by circumstance and mistreatment.  God seems to be developing a growing trust by Isaac in the promises He makes, just as He developed a similar trust relationship with Isaac's father, Abraham.  

It occurs that we also have a pattern of promises and difficulties.  We are caused to choose where we will go to dig our wells and whom will we depend on when trouble comes from all around.  Isaac was reminded by God's timely appearance that He was with Him and would ultimately bless him.  The trials had become the teacher.

blessings,

Rob Smith

look on Him

Confused and dazed I start my day, but...

I will look on Him

Consider all my selfish ways... No!

I will look on Him

Think that I can find the path?

I can't tell this way from that!

I will look on Him

And when I look on Him I see

the One who from eternity

planned all the while to rescue me...

went all the way to Calvary

and from that Cross He looked at we

who put Him there...

and set us free!

I will look on Him!

John 12:^{32 "}And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

James 4:^8a Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

blessings,

Rob Smith

where we meet God

The many stories that swirl around Jacob in the book of Genesis (chapters 23-36) illustrate where we meet God in our own lives.  We do not see God "showing up" all the time in the various crises and drama's of Jacob.  But we do see God show up at critical points to guide, to provide, to protect and to promise.  Jacob and the other family leaders of his time and place focused their efforts on building their homes and fortunes and safeguarding their property.  Really, Jacob's story is the story of a nomad.  He flees his own home out of fear that his brother, Esau, will kill him.  He lives as a foreigner with his uncle Laban for 20 years to establish his own home and family but then flees again to return home.  On the way home he is caught on the road between an angry father in law and the fearful prospect of facing the brother he wronged years before.  It is in this life of journey and being "on the run" that Jacob experiences God.  It occurs to me that in our lives we also meet God while we are on the go and in the process of living.  As we move from need to need and crisis to crisis God will show up at critical times to guide, to promise, to protect, to provide.  In this dynamic place of experiencing God through the difficulties of life we actually find our home...a home built on that unique relationship with Him.

blessings,

Rob Smith

learning to trust

Genesis 24:¹⁴ This is my request. I will ask one of them, 'Please give me a drink from your jug.' If she says, 'Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!'—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac's wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master."

Abraham decides to find a wife for his beloved son, Isaac.  He doesn't want Isaac to have a local, Canaanite wife and chooses to send his servant back to his father's family in the old country to find one.  The servant swears an oath to do this and I think the servant is a little intimidated by this awesome challenge.  He must go to a strange place and make the perfect choice, to find the right wife for his master's son...and we know how much Abraham loved Isaac and wanted the best for him.  So the servant prays for the Lord to guide him and is very specific in his request so that he will know when God has answered.  Well, the Lord answers even as the servant is completing his prayer... in the person of Rebekah.  The next challenge is for Rebekah's family to accept this turn of events and the loss of their daughter to a distant land.  But all this is accomplished too as the servant shares how God answered his prayer.  A few lessons seem to stand out.  When we are in a strange land with a difficult challenge the answer is to ask for specific help from God.  When God answers and we first experience His answer and then share our experience, appropriately, with others the blessing is expanded and our answer on a personal level becomes a bigger answer as we realize we are part of a bigger picture ordained from above.  God is our help, no matter where we are and what we are up against.  He will meet our needs and the needs of others as we trust in Him in specific ways.

blessings,

Rob Smith

the destination

"Where are you going?" is a question we need to ask ourselves frequently.  When it comes to friendships, education, career, job changes, marriage...almost every area of life finds us at the intersection of decision and choice.  The comfortable choice is often to stay where we are...where we are most comfortable, most familiar, most accepted.  But I am convinced that God has a different destination for us than we would generally choose for ourselves.  This week we are looking at Abraham's story from Genesis, chapters 12-22.  From the beginning of this story we find God directing Abraham (called Abram at first) to leave absolutely everything that is home and that is familiar and go to a new place...a place that God will show him.  He motivates Abram to leave his home by giving him a promise...a promise that appeals to his sense of self.  God promises Abram that He will make him widely known, even famous, and that he will be an important part, a blessing, to others.  Perhaps for the first time, Abram is finding One who deeply values him and sees great worth in him.  And so Abram leaves it all behind.....well almost all.  God had told him to leave his relatives and father's family but he decides to take nephew Lot along.  Abram thinks he is going to a physical place and he is, but God is really taking him to another destination:  the destination of trusting and truly depending in and on Him.

Genesis 12 The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you."

blessings as you hear and follow Him today,

Rob Smith

losing a tooth

It started as a wiggle...

an unexpected move

this rock hard tooth within my mouth

shifted slightly from its groove

I worked it endless with my tongue

to push it there and back

Why should I lose this part of me?

We'd grown so tight attached.

But I was told there'd be reward

upon the tooth's departure...

So all the harder did I work,

even got the help of father.

He explained the tooth was dead

and needed to make way...

Another one was coming,

The old one had its day

Parts of me are still attached

like teeth from long ago,

That need some work..some push and pull

These parts just need to go.

To see the new life come within

I need to work the old...

My Father says rewards will come,

New life will I behold.

Romans 12:² Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

blessings,

Rob Smith

What's wrong with that?

Sometimes, as you read Bible stories and you see God's judgement or wrath you wonder what was so wrong...what prompted God's actions.  Genesis, chapter 11, contains the story of the Tower of Babel.  The people have stuck together after the flood and found an open plain of land to settle in.  Apparently there are few building materials, like wood or stone there and they invent brick-making from fire and dirt and their cement was tar.  They became ambitious and decided to build a city (sounds like hard work to me!) and crown it with a skyscraper (or what passed for a skyscraper back then).  They became very proud of their achievements and boasted that the skyscraper would make them famous and they felt secure within the walls of their city.  Somehow this reminds me of a certain nation just west of the Atlantic... God sees all this, of course, and He makes two observations and one conclusion.  The two observations are (1) The people are united and (2) The people all speak the same language.  The conclusion is that the people will come to believe that they can do anything in their own strength.  (Hmmm...still sounds a lot like a certain country just west of the Atlantic to me!)  Well God takes action and introduces other languages into their midst.  Confusion enters and the unity of their self-centered purpose is broken.  I'm sure there is far greater meaning than I am able to glean from this story, but one thing seems to be clear: God's purposes will be completed.  Man tends to center on himself and think he is all he needs.  But at a certain point, God will enter the picture and disrupt the work of man to restore the plan of God.  At this point confusion may lead to confession.

Genesis 11:9  That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages.

blessings,

Rob Smith

ah...

We are reading the story of Abraham from Genesis, chapters 11-22 this week.  The story of Abraham is an illustration of "faith".  What does faith look like?  How does faith operate?  How is faith established?  What is the growth process of finding and developing faith?  You might say that these are some of the questions answered and illustrated in these chapters.  The story of Abraham and the story of faith are both journeys.  But the journey seems to have important intersections...places where Abraham must respond and make a turn.  These intersections are remembered by Abraham by four altars that he builds: Response, Repentance, Relationship and Reality (or surrender).  Along the way both he and his wife experience name changes to mark changes in their faith relationship with God.  Abram becomes Abraham and Sarai becomes Sarah.  One simple way to remember this is that God adds the "ah..." to their names as they begin to really get a grasp on the reality of knowing and believing God.  I wonder if God has added the "ah..." to your name yet?  Do you have the sense that you are on a spiritual journey?  We'll discuss these four altars a bit more this week.  

Ah!!!

What blessings,

Rob Smith

nearer than New York

Heaven isn't far away,

It's nearer than New York.

One heart beat or a final breath

and there you will transport.

You cannot go there now they say...

or you would just intrude,

You'll have to wait until your day...

There's work for you to do!

But post cards from the other side

arrive most every day,

They paint an everlasting place

that's lit by Jesus' face.

And worship is the central thing

that everybody does,

For Heaven is a glorious place...

Be still...You'll hear the buzz!

Matthew 10:⁷ Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

blessings,

Rob Smith

nearer than New York

Heaven isn't far away,

It's nearer than New York.

One heart beat or a final breath

and there you will transport.

You cannot go there now they say...

or you would just intrude,

You'll have to wait until your day...

There's work for you to do!

But post cards from the other side

arrive most every day,

They paint an everlasting place

that's lit by Jesus' face.

And worship is the central thing

that everybody does,

For Heaven is a glorious place...

Be still...You'll hear the buzz!

Matthew 10:⁷ Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

blessings,

Rob Smith

nearer than New York

Heaven isn't far away,

It's nearer than New York.

One heart beat or a final breath

and there you will transport.

You cannot go there now they say...

or you would just intrude,

You'll have to wait until your day...

There's work for you to do!

But post cards from the other side

arrive most every day,

They paint an everlasting place

that's lit by Jesus' face.

And worship is the central thing

that everybody does,

For Heaven is a glorious place...

Be still...You'll hear the buzz!

Matthew 10:⁷ Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

blessings,

Rob Smith

break the day

Cast off dreams like mooring lines,

ease away from shore.

Night is giving way to day;

the sun will rise once more.

Come break the day and break it wide,

We'll plunge into it bold!

And I always will be beside the One whose hand I hold.

What adventure lies ahead?

You know, and I am sure

No matter what will cross our path,

Together we'll endure...

What's more, 

Together we will soar!

Deuteronomy 8:¹⁶ He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good.

blessings,

Rob Smith

Noah and the flood

Genesis 6:⁵ The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. ⁶ So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.......

⁷ And the Lord said, "I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them." ⁸ But Noah found favor with the Lord.

The story of Noah and the flood starts in Genesis 6.  The story creates an indelible impression of an old man building a very large boat and filling it with every kind of animal.  Then they have this Hollywood-like experience of surviving a flood that covers the earth.  It's hard to imagine a grander, more spectacular scenario.  But looking into the story a few new wonders seem to emerge about God.  In the first few chapters of Genesis we see the wonder of Creation, when God makes all we see from what can't be seen.  But man seems to have a few major issues and his relationship with God has become shattered. God reaches the place where He regrets making man.  The two new wonders we see through the story of Noah are: Judgment and Redemption.  God was fully ready to judge man and wipe out the human race.  He does have an end to His tolerance.  But then we see the second wonder.  In Noah God has found one man who is willing to put Him first.  And through the ark and through Noah's obedience we find the wonder of Redemption...God's willingness to start over again.

blessings,

Rob Smith

come after me

The garden formed, and all is good,

but I still disobey...

You must be sad, after all you've made..

but you won't walk away...

You come after me.

My center self instead of you and

false sacrifices bring...

I go my own way, and still...

You come after me.

We build our culture far from you... pretending

You don't see

Our ways corrupt, leading to conflict and confusion...

but still,

even so,

You come after me!

(inspired by Genesis 1-10)

blessings,

Rob Smith

living by exception

Genesis 5:²² After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ²³ Enoch lived 365 years,²⁴ walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

Genesis 6:⁹ This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. 

Genesis 6:²² So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

We are reading through Genesis 4-10 this week in our study of the Old Testament.  Most of this passage reflects the negative consequences of people living in conflict with God.  We first learn about Cain, who wants to appear to have a relationship with God by bringing a sacrifice, but doesn't want to let God into his heart to affect and correct his heart and attitudes.  Then we learn of generation after generation of people who, for the most part, seem to ignore God and go their own way.  But there are two exceptions that we see: Enoch and Noah.  Enoch is said to live "in close fellowship with God" and God actually scoops him up and takes him before he actually dies.  Later, as mankind grows increasingly corrupt, God is ready to wipe out all men and animals and just erase the blackboard...He is said to regret ever making man.  But Noah stands alone as a man who seeks to follow God with a right heart and mind and because of Noah, God decides to start over and wipe out the rest of mankind with the flood.  He will "reboot" and restart the populating of the world based on this righteous man and his progeny.  It occurs to me that to follow God you may be in the minority...to truly love and serve the Lord from the heart, you may be an exception.  It can take some courage to be willing to be different, to be willing to be even excluded, shunned or considered "uncool" to have a real and sincere and humble attitude toward God.  But good things happen in us and good things happen through us when we follow the example of the exceptions like Enoch and Noah!

Blessings,

Rob Smith

break once more

A restless wave, I'm carried cross

these oceans every day...

Moved by winds and tossed by storms

I pitch through peaks and troughs.

Beneath me, depths I've never seen

dark mysteries of life.

But I will break upon your shore

and rest upon your land,

My troubled waters surge no more

They fall upon your hand.

Again...again and day by day

my waves move to the beach

The power spent, I'll rest this head

as you from Heaven reach.

Job 30:27 

My heart is troubled and restless.

    Days of suffering torment me.

Psalm 23:2 

He lets me rest in green meadows;

    he leads me beside peaceful streams.

Maker of makers

Genesis 4:²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of those who raise livestock and live in tents. ²¹ His brother's name was Jubal, the first of all who play the harp and flute. ²² Lamech's other wife, Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He became an expert in forging tools of bronze and iron.

Genesis means "beginnings" and many beginnings are contained within.  This passage reveals a few of the lower profile beginnings...the beginning of professions, of varied kinds of work.  We have Jabal who becomes the first to raise livestock and travel about as a nomad to find the best grazing land.  Then we have Jubal who becomes the first musician...and very diverse as he was good at strings and wind.  And then Tubal-cain, who probably had impressive biceps, became expert working with intense heat and hammers as he hammered out tools from bronze and iron.  So he must have also become one of the early experts in metallurgy, as bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.  

I'm struck with the reality that within each of us are our own "beginnings" that God has planted.  Some are gifted in science, some in the arts and others in social services.  I believe that God has placed potential and talent within each of us and as we align with Him we not only discover those gifts, we find how they can be used to reflect and serve the One who has given them.  I wonder if you have found your own "beginnings", beginning with the new birth of placing your trust in the One who fashioned you!

blessings,

Rob Smith

the hidden man

Genesis 4:³ When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. ⁴ Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, ⁵ but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. 

Hebrews 4:⁴ It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel's offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

Shirley and I watched the current "Bible" miniseries segment last night.  It was very dramatic and effective and we were moved by the parting of the Red Sea and the stories of Samson and David.  But as I reflected on the show I realized that the film maker has a real challenge in communicating the Bible on the screen.  Beyond the great quantity of stories to choose from, which is a challenge in itself, there is the problem of showing what is happening in the "hidden man of the heart".  So much of the story that the Bible tells happens in those invisible spaces of the heart and spirit and that is hard to show visually.  In Genesis this week we are reading the account of Cain and Abel.  The visible part of their story comes from the sacrifices they bring and we can tend to focus on that: a lamb vs crops.  But the real drama of the story comes from the unseen part.  Apparently Abel had a faith relationship with the Lord and his offering came from a "right attitude".  Cain apparently didn't have this kind of relationship with the Lord and when Abel's sacrifice was accepted and his wasn't, he responded the wrong way.  He could have responded differently and asked the Lord about it and explored where he was lacking.  God even communicates with Cain at this point and guides him to the source of his problem, but Cain shoves God away and chooses to dwell in anger, which led to the murder of Abel.  I was impressed with the importance we each have of working on the "hidden person" within...our attitude toward God and how it shapes everything we ultimately do.

blessings,

Rob Smith

precious marriage

Genesis 2:¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him."

Genesis 2:²³ "At last!" the man exclaimed.

"This one is bone from my bone,
    and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called 'woman,'
    because she was taken from 'man.'"

Genesis 3:1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"

Genesis 3:6b So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

I used to wonder why the serpent decided to work on Eve rather than Adam.  But I have come to the conclusion that Satan was interested in attacking every aspect of God's design when it came to man and woman.  A key part of that design was, and is, marriage.  When God formed Eve from Adam's rib and brought her to Adam, Adam knew that Eve was formed to complete him and for them to be complete together.  He therefore had implicit trust in her and absolute love for her, as he loved himself and as he loved God.  By tempting Eve first and seeing her fall, Satan sought to not only separate man and woman from God...he sought to dissolve the trust that lay at the core of their marriage.  I believe that if Adam had been tempted first he would have been just as likely to disobey as Eve had, but there was something especially sinister about Satan attacking Eve first.  When Eve gave some of the fruit to Adam this was an example of Eve providing help to Adam.  He knew that it was wrong to eat the fruit but he was also strongly influenced by the fruit coming from his "helper".  I imagine that Adam and Eve had to spend some serious time in the marriage counselor's office for some time after these events unfolded.  I am reminded that we, as individuals, are precious in God's sight and our marriages, themselves, are also precious.  Just as there is purpose in us individually, so there is great purpose in and through our marriages and homes.  And the enemy of marriage is not your marriage partner!

blessings!

Rob Smith

senseless senses

Genesis 3:6b She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it.

When Eve put her physical senses before her spiritual needs she fell head over heels into the wrong choice.  She had listened to the voice of the serpent, which was so close to her and she was attracted to the idea of having the wisdom of God, who was the wisest being in her knowledge.  Her final check before deciding to disobey was a physical one: how did this choice appear to her personal senses.  She was about to plunge into the unknown so what kind of indications were her five senses giving her:  well the tree was beautiful to look at and the fruit was very appealing as well.  Her final critieria for choice was herself...her own senses...her own limited ability to judge.  Satan succeeded before Eve had eaten of the fruit when he caused her to rely on her own judgement rather than the very wise God she sought to emulate.  Sin separates even before the choice is acted out...it reflects the separation from listening to the God who is greater than our personal sense or senses.  It starts by convincing us we only need self.

blessings,

Rob Smith

choice and voice

Genesis 3:³ "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'"

⁴ "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵ "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil."

⁶ The woman was convinced.

Greetings, fellow gardeners.  As we continue to look at the garden and the choices we make in the garden here is a thought for you.  Whose words are you leaning on most?  Eve had heard God's command to avoid certain fruit, apparently as relayed to her by Adam and now she has heard Satan's words, which contradicted that instruction.  See Genesis 2:17 to find where God had given Adam the rule before Eve was even fashioned.  Now, it may be that Satan had greater influence because Eve had sort of an indirect relationship with God, through Adam, and Satan had managed to gain direct access to her ear.  Perhaps one reason that Eve was persuaded by Satan was that she had not developed a close personal relationship with God that would have counteracted Satan's influence.

And perhaps we also need to check our walk with the Lord and see if it is more of a vicarious, or indirect one, through others...because we may be prone to make the wrong choice if we are leaning on the wrong voice!

blessings!

Rob Smith

context for the Garden

In Genesis, chapter 3, we see the record of man's first choice...first decision...and it was the wrong one!  Adam and Eve had been placed by God in a perfect garden with everything they would need.  There was beauty in their surroundings.  There was plenty of food available without having to work hard.  They had the company and companionship of each other.  They enjoyed a close relationship with God.  But given this perfect setting they still made the wrong choice.  Why was that?  I'm not sure completely.  But I think they forgot the context for the Garden.  I think it was easy to take for granted their beautiful life.  I think they may have failed to realize what it took for the Garden to be formed, for their very lives to be fashioned and for their relationship with each other and with God to be forged.  They may have begun to think that the Garden was actually theirs because they benefitted from it and lived within it.  Perhaps it wasn't so hard to be convinced by Satan that they could choose their own desires over God's direction because the Garden seemed to be under their domain.  If they were the ones who ate from the trees who was God to tell them which ones were acceptable and which ones should be avoided?

I think we do the same today.  We take our Garden for granted...the garden of our marriages, of our jobs, of our children and of our time.  We forget the context for our Garden.  Who created our Garden and who placed us in it?

If we can remember the Creation account of Genesis 1 and 2 it may help us to avoid some of the poor choices that show up in Genesis 3.

Genesis 3:3 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"

blessings,

Rob Smith

soft he comes

Soft, He comes to me now...

This maker of all.

Composer of thunder and

earthquake's source...

Quiet, He enters my mind's chamber.

Designer of galaxies,

spreader of deserts...

He tiptoes into my heart.

Ruler of nature, sovereign over kings,

Master of time, keyholder of life's door...

He whispers in my ear...speaks love to me.

I will come away with Him...

for who else is there?

He framed it all, fashioned it firm

and found me here...

His soft touch tells me so.

Song of Solomon 2:4 

He escorts me to the banquet hall;
    it's obvious how much he loves me.

love and blessings (hear the whispers!),

Rob Smith

dirt and breath

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Every person is made of the same stuff: dirt and Heaven's breath.  Our physical bodies were entirely fashioned by God's creative power and the ingredients He used were all from the earth He'd already formed.  We are highly organized dirt and we have the capacity to, not only function, but to reproduce.  There is a great deal of interest in genealogy to trace our ancestry back generations.  But, in fact, all of our ancestry ultimately is traced to the first created people.  But, I believe that what distinguishes man from the rest of creation is the second part of our composition: the breath of Heaven.  God "breathed into his nostrils" a breath that isn't physical because God is a spirit and so is His breath.  And so, in the image of God the essence of our life is spiritual as well.  There is something inside that senses we are more than just a body, or even a body and a mind.  Eternity was breathed into our being when we were created and somewhere within we know that eternity is our destiny.   That destiny is fulfilled when we realize that we need a second act of creation that is personal and individual...when we place our hand and heart in His and trust.  The part of our person that we see and know and have experienced throughout life's journey is destined to die...to return to the dirt from which it was formed, but the breath of Heaven is intended to be restored to its Heavenly source, to the atmosphere surrounding Heaven's throne.

blessings,

Rob Smith

window tapping

Who comes tapping on my pane?

a red bird raps through glass.

Nature now invades my space

distracting from my tasks.

Brilliant crimson is the coat...

Who painted you this shade?

Are you here announcing spring?

Or is the image made

       by window mirror

             what draws you near

My heart sings...

The Creator's cheer

comes in striking ways!

TGIF

TGIF

Thank God It's Friday!

Thanks God, It's Finished!

Thanks God, I'm Found!

TFIG

This Friday, It's God!

TGFI

Thanks God For Indwelling!

FGIT

Forgiveness, God, Is Transforming!

GIFT

God I'm Forever Thankful!

blessings,

Rob Smith