{"id":882,"date":"2018-04-07T14:00:50","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T14:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/?p=882"},"modified":"2018-04-07T14:00:50","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T14:00:50","slug":"two-trees-in-the-garden-of-our-hearts-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/two-trees-in-the-garden-of-our-hearts-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"TWO TREES IN THE GARDEN OF OUR HEARTS Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>TWO TREES IN THE GARDEN OF OUR HEARTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Part 3: The Fruit of Hiding<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In our last two blogs, we talked about how eating from \u2018The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil\u2019 gave us our Independence from God to do whatever we want to do, but made us slaves to the evil one, sin, and the \u2018<em>flesh.\u2019 <\/em>We also discovered that hidden beneath the tree was the root of <strong>fear<\/strong>, which always produces <strong>death<\/strong> whenever we eat from it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Today, we will examine \u2018The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil\u2019 even further. We will look at the fruit the tree produces as <strong>fear<\/strong> becomes the sap that passes to each branch of the tree. The first fruit produced from fear is <strong>hiding<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When Adam and Eve ate from \u2018The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil\u2019 the first thing they did out of <strong>fear<\/strong>, they <strong>HID THEMSELVES<\/strong>. Remember the aprons of fig leaves they sewed together when they discovered they were no longer covered in the Holiness and Righteousness of God? Do you recall how they looked around as they felt like the animals, angels, and everyone were looking at them? Can you sense how they felt feeling vulnerable, afraid, broken, damaged, and rejected by everyone? So what did they do? They did what all of us have learned to do from our first parents\u2026 <strong>HIDE<\/strong>! We have worn <em>masks<\/em> and put on <em>facades<\/em> like our first parents from the time we were born. We don\u2019t call them <em>masks<\/em>, we call them <strong>us<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-883 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/mask-300x181.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/mask-300x181.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/mask.jpg 443w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Merriam Webster dictionary defines the word <em>\u2018hide:\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>to put out of sight<\/li>\n<li>to conceal for shelter or protection<\/li>\n<li>to keep secret<\/li>\n<li>to screen from or as if from view<\/li>\n<li>to turn (the eyes or face) away in shame or anger<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As little children, we discovered people will reject, be cruel, insensitive, deceitful, mean, and oppress us; so to protect our feelings, emotions, and vulnerable hearts from others, we learned to <strong>hide<\/strong> from them and created ingenious <em>masks or facades<\/em>. For example, as a child, surrounded by people who touched me or hurt me, I became very charming so people would like me and not hurt me. I taught myself how to smile, be polite, laugh, even when things weren\u2019t funny, and how to be a <em>pleaser and performer<\/em> for acceptance. I learned early on, sometimes if people like you, they won\u2019t hurt you\u2026 <strong>that turned out to be a lie<\/strong>. Think about your environment for a minute growing up in your family, school, neighborhood, or church setting, what <em>mask <\/em>did you wear to protect your heart and emotions from others? I spent years sewing together my fig leaves or<em> masks<\/em> to cover my life and protect my emotions from the elements of the world around me. Some I discovered are:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>being popular, singing, dancing, using my talents so others can see<\/li>\n<li>being smart and liked by others<\/li>\n<li>being an athlete<\/li>\n<li>wearing fine clothes or driving a fancy car<\/li>\n<li>living in the nice house<\/li>\n<li>having degrees, prestige, status, being knowledgeable of \u201cWHOISWHO.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>being a pastor or hold a special position in the church<\/li>\n<li>being well-known in the community or hold a certain position in our jobs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Our fig leaves or <em>masks<\/em> go on and on. These are ways we have <strong>hidden<\/strong> our vulnerabilities and allowed people see the <em>mask<\/em> but not the <u>real <\/u>us. It took years for me to form my <em>mask<\/em> for the world and others to accept me, and, it has taken years for my Papa to remove them. We sew each fig leaf, leaf by leaf, and thread by thread. As we learn to <em>trust<\/em> Him again, He doesn\u2019t miss a fig leaf or thread as He restores us to our TRUE SELF. <em>It is so ironic how we do all of this work trying to hide from each other when our deepest longings in the entire world<\/em> are TO BE LOVED AND BE KNOWN BY SOMEONE\u2026 SOMEONE TO KNOW THE REAL ME!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, we <strong>hide<\/strong> from our Father. We have imagined our Father to be evil, cruel, mean, and out to get us whenever we sin or fail. We have feasted from the \u2018Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil\u2019 every day of our lives and the fruit of death says, <em>\u201cHe can\u2019t be trusted! He will not do what He says! He will fail you! He will make you do things you really hate to do!\u201d<\/em> The lies go on and on. The truth is; He is the <strong>ONLY ONE<\/strong> who really knows us more than we know ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Psalms 139:2<\/strong> &#8211; <em>You know when I sit down and the moment I get up in the morning. You understand my thoughts even before I think of them. (paraphrased)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jeremiah 1:5<\/strong> &#8211; <em>Before I formed you in your mother\u2019s womb, I knew you.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Luke 12:7<\/strong><em> &#8211; But even the very\u00a0<strong>hairs<\/strong>\u00a0of your head are all\u00a0<strong>numbered<\/strong>. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. KJV<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>John 10:14<\/strong> &#8211; <em>I am the Good Shepherd, and <strong>I know<\/strong><\/em><em>\u00a0[<\/em><em>without any doubt those who are]\u00a0My own and My own knows\u00a0Me\u00a0[and have a deep, personal relationship with Me].<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He knows us so intimately!\u00a0 There are times Papa would ask me, \u201cTresca why did you do that?\u201d I would reply, \u201cI don\u2019t know Papa, why?\u201d And, He would tell me. NOTHING I DO, FEEL, OR THINK ARE HIDDEN FROM HIM\u2026 EVER! We believe the lie, He doesn\u2019t <strong>know<\/strong> us. And, why don\u2019t we choose to come into the intimate presence of the ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS US SO DEEPLY? We would rather read <em>about <\/em>Him, work <em>for <\/em>Him, talk <em>about<\/em> Him, go to church to worship and sing <em>about<\/em> Him. But, when it is time to sit down and share our hearts with Him, and have an intimate conversation with Him, we <strong>hide<\/strong> from Him. We <strong>hide<\/strong> in books, games, work, family, church, television, Facebook, and so many other activities. Why do we do that? Because, we are afraid our Father really doesn\u2019t love us, nevertheless, like us. But He does, HE REALLY, REALLY DOES!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We have learned to <strong>hide<\/strong> from each other and <strong>hide<\/strong> from our Papa. Also, we have created <em>masks<\/em> for the world to see and unfortunately those who love us the most. Finally, we have lived in fear that once someone sees the <em>real me<\/em>, they won\u2019t like me or love me, or they will use me; that is a lie far from the truth! The TRUTH IS, WE ARE LOVED AND ADORED BY OUR FATHER. And, we have a family in the Body of Christ where we can be ourselves without pretense or <em>masks.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prayer<\/strong>: Thank you, Papa, we don\u2019t have to hide anymore from You or each other! Papa, we are learning to trust you in this area so please teach us to turn to You when we are afraid so we won\u2019t hide from you. AMEN.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"likebtn_container\" style=\"\"><!-- LikeBtn.com BEGIN --><span class=\"likebtn-wrapper\"  data-identifier=\"post_882\"  data-site_id=\"5ac717e5fa8fdf9c02f8d759\"  data-ef_voting=\"push\"  data-white_label=\"true\"  data-style=\"\"  data-unlike_allowed=\"\"  data-show_copyright=\"\"  data-item_url=\"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/two-trees-in-the-garden-of-our-hearts-part-3\/\"  data-item_title=\"TWO TREES IN THE GARDEN OF OUR HEARTS Part 3\"  data-item_date=\"2018-04-07T14:00:50-04:00\"  data-engine=\"WordPress\"  data-plugin_v=\"2.6.59\"  data-prx=\"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=likebtn_prx\"  data-event_handler=\"likebtn_eh\" ><\/span><!-- LikeBtn.com END --><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TWO TREES IN THE GARDEN OF OUR HEARTS Part 3: The Fruit of Hiding &nbsp; In our last two blogs, we talked about how eating from \u2018The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil\u2019 gave us our Independence from God to do whatever we want to do, but made us slaves to the evil one, sin, and the \u2018flesh.\u2019 We also discovered that hidden beneath the tree was the root of fear, which always produces death whenever we eat&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/two-trees-in-the-garden-of-our-hearts-part-3\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"likebtn_container\" style=\"\"><!-- LikeBtn.com BEGIN --><span class=\"likebtn-wrapper\"  data-identifier=\"post_882\"  data-site_id=\"5ac717e5fa8fdf9c02f8d759\"  data-ef_voting=\"push\"  data-white_label=\"true\"  data-style=\"\"  data-unlike_allowed=\"\"  data-show_copyright=\"\"  data-item_url=\"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/two-trees-in-the-garden-of-our-hearts-part-3\/\"  data-item_title=\"TWO TREES IN THE GARDEN OF OUR HEARTS Part 3\"  data-item_date=\"2018-04-07T14:00:50-04:00\"  data-engine=\"WordPress\"  data-plugin_v=\"2.6.59\"  data-prx=\"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=likebtn_prx\"  data-event_handler=\"likebtn_eh\" ><\/span><!-- LikeBtn.com END --><\/div>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false,"nisarg-full-width":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Tresca Grannum","author_link":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/author\/tresca\/"},"uagb_comment_info":2,"uagb_excerpt":"TWO TREES IN THE GARDEN OF OUR HEARTS Part 3: The Fruit of Hiding &nbsp; In our last two blogs, we talked about how eating from \u2018The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil\u2019 gave us our Independence from God to do whatever we want to do, but made us slaves to the evil&hellip;","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":904,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882\/revisions\/904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}