Christ our Lord speaks to the chosen to live in peace:

Imagine a day in the Garden of Eden. It would be a delight. All you could see around you would be for beauty and nourishment. Fresh fruits for tasty snacking and fresh cool water to drink for refreshing. There would be a lovely path to walk in the shade of towering oak trees and the fragrance of the multitude of flowers would thrill your senses. All would be peaceful. The abundance of animals would surround you with peace and beauty. A lion resting at your feet and a bunny to play with. All is readily at your fingertips and all is provided for you. Your only agenda is to spend time with your Father God. He is the focus and He is life. He provides all.

Now back to today’s reality. The alarm clock rings and your day begins. You must hurry to earn everything. All is a competition for accumulation of power and wealth, of recognition and status. All is in limited supply and will be collected by you or someone next to you. There are limited houses and fuel and who knows how long before more is delivered. Where is the food? Can I order it to be delivered or do I have to drive to get dinner? Rush, rush, rush to go and do and work and earn and gather and spend. And then you are right where you began a year ago. Not all are living this way, but far too many are. A treadmill life, you might say.

A new day is coming to our church, one far closer to the garden than the treadmill. It will not look lovely, for many places will suffer devastation. But it will have many of the same daily routines. The tasty snacks will be available, and the fresh water too. The animals will come near for your blessings and all will be provided in abundance by our Father God as it was in Eden. The change will be dramatic and shocking, but after a short time you will welcome the peace. No more racing to earn, but a delight to go and work. No more comparing titles, for those who are alive are all victorious. All will be done toward fellowship and obedience to God, and I will show you the way. Get ready for a big shake up. For the earth is about to churn and burn. And new life will burst forth.

Today’s Written Word

Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Very, mᵊ’ōḏ, Strong’s H3966; abundance, exceedingly, greatly

Good, ṭôḇ, Strong’s H2896; good, excellent, agreeable, pleasant to the senses

Ecclesiastes 1:3-9 ³What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

⁴One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

⁵The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

⁶The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

⁷All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

⁸All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

⁹The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Acts 3:19-21 ¹⁹Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. ²⁰And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: ²¹Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Refreshing, anapsyxis, Strong’s G403; properly, a recovery of breath, i.e. (figuratively) revival

Restitution, apokatastasis, Strong’s G605; reconstitution, the restoration not only of the true theocracy but also of that more perfect state of (even physical) things which existed before the fall.

A Word of Encouragement

The Lord Jesus Christ began the prophecy today with delightful imagery of God’s original paradise, the Garden of Eden. God tells us in Genesis it was exceedingly excellent and pleasant to the senses. It was a place far better than anywhere we could dream of going now on a tropical vacation. But like a vacation, we come home to the reality of modern life in a complex and fallen world. The Lord Jesus encouraged us, saying again that although very troubling times are at hand, a new day is coming for the church. In that day, all will be done toward fellowship and obedience to God. Christ will show us the way.

An Action Item

What can we do today to prepare ourselves for the dramatic changes coming? We should continue as Christians have always been exhorted to do – follow our Lord Jesus Christ in trusting God for salvation, for protection from our adversaries, for security in our health, food, water and our environmental supplies. Much believing is action taken on the best we know to do, and then trusting God for the rest of our needs. Daily Bible reading, prayer and praise to God build our solid stand so we are ready physically and mentally to weather the storms of change.

Victories and Blessings

Praise God, more canned goods and today 18 jars of almond butter arrived for free 🙂 We are doing the happy dance!

Please share some of your victories, blessings and prayer requests so others can rejoice and believe with you.

Email a brief message or victory sharing to:

livingword.contact@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

Upcoming Meetings:

We welcome you to join us on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 pm (PST) for Bible Fellowship, songs, prayer and teaching of the scriptures in person or listen by phone. The meeting is followed by a family style meal and joyful fellowship with God’s family. See the online calendar for details.

The Tuesday morning meeting is at 10:00 am. Enjoy Tea & Coffee, Bible study and an interactive time in the scriptures.

Please email us for more information: