TWO TREES IN THE GARDEN OF OUR HEARTS

Part 5: Fulfilling Our 10 Most Intimate Needs

 

We have discovered over the past few weeks just how dangerous and evil ‘The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil’ really is within us. The tree is the little ‘god’ inside each one of us, playing the role of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It promises us freedom but gives us only bondage. It also promises us life and peace and gives us only death and anguish. So why do we keep eating from and listening to voice from the tree…‘the flesh’? One reason is that we have learned to get our emotional needs met by it. Just think about it. When we couldn’t get our needs met from the Lord because we were lost and ignorant of His life and ways, we had to get our needs met from some other place. And, just like our first parents, they ate from the forbidden tree repeatedly so do we. It made them wiser in their own wisdom, yet, they remained ignorant of their Father’s ways and Life.

 

 

The Father created man with deep emotional needs. He hoped to fill and provide for those needs Himself. Instead, when Adam and Eve ate from ‘The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,’ they made the choice to get those needs met their way. Today, let’s look… at least 10 of Man’s Most Intimate Needs:

 

1. Acceptance
2. Affection
3. Appreciation
4. Approval
5. Attention
6. Comfort
7. Respect
8. Encouragement
9. Security
10. Support

 

I want you to be honest; take a few moments and write for each one, how you have been getting the above needs met in your life? Please don’t be surprised, most of your answers will not be, “I turn to the Lord to get my needs met.” As you recall, from the time we were born, life has always been about “I,” “My,” and “Me” and not really about Him (Our Lord) at all. We can tag His name at the end of what “I,” “My,” and “Me” got or achieved, but in reality, it has been ALL about “I,” “My,” and “Me.”

 

After looking at the above list with your answers, I want to share how our Lord Jesus and Father desire to fulfill the first five of those needs in our life… if we will just let Him.

 

1. Accepts Us – Our Lord Jesus accepts us as we are, but loves us too much He doesn’t desire to leave us as we are. He accepts us without any conditions, never based on what we DO or not DO but on who He is. His love for us is never conditional. It is never based on our performance, our sins or failures. It is never based on what we can do for Him or how we can be used by Him. He created us to have an AMAZING RELATIONSHIP WITH US… BECAUSE HE LOVES US, THAT’S IT!

 

2. Affectionate Towards Us – Our Lord expresses His love in so many wonderful ways. He expressed His love on the cross when He told us, “I will take your place, let me.” He is affectionate towards us when we receive a hug, a kiss, a kind gesture from others; He lives through people. His love is Agape (unconditional no strings attached; a heavenly, pure kind of love) Man’s love is eros (romantic)-phileo (friendship) based on the performance of the object. God’s love has No boundaries and No limits.

 

3. Appreciates Us – Our Lord Jesus and Father value us individually as if we were the only ONE on earth. They hold us in very high esteem and call us Their Prized Possession because of Christ who lives within us. They call us BELOVED, SONS, DAUGHTERS, AND JESUS’S BRIDE.

 

4. Approves of Us – Our Lord approves of us not just because of who we are but because of who Christ is within us! When we received the precious Lord Jesus into our hearts Our Father called us His children and loves us because of our relationship with His Son. He has declared us RIGHTEOUS, HOLY, PERFECT, AND GOOD ENOUGH!

 

5. Attentive to Us – Our Lord is mindful, watchful, take purposeful care of the things that matter to us. We are more important than any sparrow which falls to the ground, even the hairs on our heads are all numbered.  Every tear we shed, He said He collects in a bottle. Jesus left the palace and glories of heaven just to be with us and to let us know how much our Papa loves us! No greater love in the universe than what our Lord and Elder brother did for us by shedding His precious and Holy blood for us. NO LOVE GREATER THAN THAT!

 

Think about ‘The Tree of Life,’ who is Christ within us and consider what you have done to fulfill your emotional needs by reviewing your list. Then, look at what our Lord offers to each of us daily compared to the list you have made. Will you still continue to eat from ‘The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?’ If so, why?

 

We will look at the last five in our next blog.

 

Prayer: Thank you, Papa, continue to open our eyes to the truth about the trees in the garden of our hearts. May you use these blogs to change us, not just talk about and read them. Amen