"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. (Romans 6:4-5, see Romans Chapter 6 in its entirety.)
See Also: John 3:1-8; Romans Chapter 6; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 4:17-24; Colossians Chapter 3; 1 Peter 2:24-25; Isaiah 65:17-19; Revelation 21:1-7
Rejoice!
O, the joy and peace of dwelling in His holy presence, worshipping and serving Him in spirit and in truth; growing in the grace and the knowledge of our Maker, Savior, Redeemer, King of kings and Lord of lords. The more we yield to the Lord, the more His glory fills our lives and is reflected in the world.
As with Christ, not everyone will be receptive to His gospel. Being a follower of Christ requires much endurance, and there is no lack thereof, for God calls, equips, strengthens and sustains His church, by the power of the Holy Spirit. (See Matthew Chapter 10 about discipleship and its cost.)
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6; see also Ephesians Chapter 2)
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. (John 15:16)
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12; see also Matthew 5:14-16)
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God alone who is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:15-17; see also Acts 9:1-31)
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. (Psalm 78:70-71; see also 1 Samuel 16:1-13)
I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, "Go, prophesy to My people Israel." (Amos 7:14-15)
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5; see also Jeremiah 18:1-6)
- A Walk In The Garden Devotions
Proverbs 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
Loving, faithful God our salvation, merciful and true, is He who purges sin and iniquity, and fills our lives with His beauty and the bounty of His goodness. He causes to flow out of the belly, rivers of living water. He waters and prunes His fruitful trees of righteousness, His planting, so that they may bear more fruit, to the glory and praise of His name.
He cares for His earth; He waters it and causes things to grow.
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Genesis 2:8-10
The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
Genesis 2:15-17
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Psalm 65:9-13
You visit the earth, and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, you settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered with grain; they shout for joy, they also sing.
Revelation 22:1-2
And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (See also Revelation 21:6)
Isaiah 55:1-2
Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.
John 7:37-39
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified. (See also John 4:10-14)
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (See also Matthew 6:25-34)
1 Thessalonians 5:19
Quench not the Spirit
- A Walk In The Garden Devotions
More Bible Readings: Psalm 1; Psalm 36:5-9; Psalm 63:1-5; Proverbs 14:34; 2 Samuel 23:2-4; Isaiah 41:17-20; Isaiah 43:2; Isaiah 43:18-19; Isaiah 45:8; Isaiah 48:17-18; Isaiah 61:11; Jeremiah 17:5-10; Jeremiah 17:12-13; Jeremiah 31:10-14; Ezekiel Chapter 47; John 6:35-40; John Chapter 15; Romans 14:17; Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:1-6
Thank You Lord, for the blessing of Your salvation, Your love, Your light and truth.
You are the Lord God Almighty! There is none like You or ever shall be. Thank You for Your mighty hand and outstretched arm—mighty to save, mighty to deliver, God who loves and cares for our souls. Thank You for Your goodness.
All power belongs to God, all authority. Blessed be God, who sits on His throne, ruling over all—Holy, righteous, just and true, longsuffering, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
Be magnified, be glorified, be exalted, Lord of hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!
Amen and Amen.
- A Walk In The Garden Devotions
Related Devotion
Heartstrings: Glorious Praise to the God of Heaven and Earth
He who made us and redeemed us with His precious blood, desires to be formed in us, and have us grow in the knowledge of Him, in whom we live, and move and have our being, the Creator of all things visible and invisible, the Lord God Almighty. He wants us to bud, blossom and fill the whole earth with His fruits, bringing glory and honor to His name. The Lord be glorified, the Lord be magnified, the Lord be exalted!
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52)
"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:11-16)
"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7)
"Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." (1 Peter 2:1-3)
"Everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 5:13-14)
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase."
(1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11)
"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
"Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18)
- A Walk In The Garden Devotions
Jesus explains the parable of the sower and his seed:
Luke 8:11-18
