December 26, 2008

• So this is Christmas: He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found

  The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 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. Genesis 2:16-17.

  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? 10 And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. 11 He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? 12 The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. 14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

  Because you have done this,
  cursed are you above all livestock
  and above all beasts of the field;
  on your belly you shall go,
  and dust you shall eat
  all the days of your life.
  15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
  and between your offspring and her offspring;
  he shall bruise your head,
  and you shall bruise his heel.

  16 To the woman he said,

  I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
  in pain you shall bring forth children.
  Your desire shall be for your husband,
  and he shall rule over you.

  17 And to Adam he said,

  Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
  and have eaten of the tree
  of which I commanded you,
  You shall not eat of it,

  cursed is the ground because of you;
  in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
  18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
  and you shall eat the plants of the field.
  19 By the sweat of your face
  you shall eat bread,
  till you return to the ground,
  for out of it you were taken;
  for you are dust,
  and to dust you shall return.

  20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:6-24.

  

  No more let sins and sorrows grow,
  Nor thorns infest the ground;
  He comes to make His blessings flow
  Far as the curse is found,
  Far as the curse is found,
  Far as, far as, the curse is found.

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  Praying for His blessings to continue to flow far as the curse is found...

  

  Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned...Romans 5:13.

  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:18-25.

  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
  as the waters cover the sea.
  Habakkuk 2:14

  
  Earth viewed by Apollo 8
  
  So this is Christmas: Jesus has come to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.

  Where is Jesus sending you to make His blessings flow?

  Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:21-22.

  Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
           Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
   6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca
  [valley of tears / valley of weeping / thirsty valley]
           They make it a spring;
           The rain also covers it with pools.
   7 They go from strength to strength;
           Each one appears before God in Zion.
  Psalm 84:5-7, NKJV™

  See also Isaiah 58 and 61; Luke 4:16-22; Matthew 25:31-46.

  
  

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  Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Scripture quotations marked "NKJV™" are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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