HEAVEN TO EARTH CONNECTION-I

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I want to take this week and unpack some things I've been thinking about what God really wants to do with us. I call it the "heaven-to-earth" connection. There are 5 movements throughout the Bible that reveal what is most important to God. I think what is more important than anything else, yet we continue to become distracted away from what He wants.

THE FIRST MOVEMENT IS ILLUSTRATED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. You see, God had no need to create any beings in order to experience love, communion and fellowship. God is complete in Himself, being three persons--Father, Son and Spirit...separate and distinct yet at the same time eternally One God. They loved and experienced fellowship with one another. They communicated about their intentions before creation. The word "us" is used with respect to God when He says, "Let US make man in our image after our likeness." Then later it is said, "the man is become as one of US" and again, "Let US go down and confound their language." Even the term used for God is the Hebrew word ELOHIM which is literally "Gods". In the primary theme of the Jewish faith in what they call the Shema in Deuteronomy 6 it says, "Jehovah our ELOHIM (our Gods) is one Lord."

The essence of God is relational and demonstrates the need for fellowship within the creation. God wants to walk in relationship with man.

Check out what happened in the Garden of Eden. The first time we encounter lost people is in the Garden. Apparently, God walked with Adam and Eve daily in the garden, but on this particular day Adam and Eve didn't show up. They were distracted and walked away from God and His will. So, instead of walking with God, they were hiding from God. It's at this point that God asks a most relevant question, even for us today, "Where are you?" Now He knew where they were, but He wanted them to understand that they were not where they were intended to be--walking with Him.

MOVEMENT #1-GOD FIRST WANTED TO WALK WITH MAN, BUT MAN WAS BUSY DOING SOMETHING ELSE. This week we'll see all of the effort God has gone to in order to get you to walk with Him. So, WHERE ARE YOU? Are you doing your part to walk with Him daily or are you distracted, walking away or hiding?