Tag: Restored

Curse Lifted

“17To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat from it,”

‘Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it

all the days of your life.’”

— Genesis 3:17 (ESV)

Here we see, in the beginning that the curse was due to the sin committed. At this, Adam and we all were cursed to “toil” in the pursuit of food and shelter and protection that was provided by God to His greatest creation. But the curse was more than just on man, the earth was cursed as well. The earth was no longer the free provider of abundance as it was in the garden.

The curse could have been avoided had man just avoided the corruption and sin. Before this sin and corruption, everything was available at the fingertips of Adam and Eve. They were not in need of anything and everywhere they looked, they were surrounded by the abundance of God’s provision. This is the way God intended.

Yes, there are still some remnants of and pictures of the beauty that God created in the beginning. There is still beautiful paintings and man made structures, there is cure for disease and other things that are good. God did not completely wipe out all the good, but a few things are not the norm as we know them today. The curse is still very real and larger than we can even imagine.

But, there is an out. There is a defeat of the curse. Jesus came to this world to take on sin and death on my behalf. To remove the curse from me. To provide me the out. He died that I may live. He took all of my sin and died because of it, effectively removing that part of the curse.

Then there is the curse of the earth. God cursed the ground, yet it will be restored and renewed as the New Heaven and New Earth come down after the defeat of the evil one.

“3No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” – Revelation 22:3 (ESV)

When the evil one is defeated, Eden will be restored. Abundance will be again. We will no longer “toil” for food, shelter, or protection. All will be back as God created and even better.

What are your thoughts of the curse? Do you believe that you are impacted? How do your thoughts change knowing that the curse has been and will be lifted thanks to Jesus?

All Things Renewed and Restored

“28Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’” – Matthew 19:28 (NIV)

“21Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.” – Acts 3:21 (NIV)

As we can see in the above verses the plan all along is to bring all things back to their original. All thing will be renewed and restored. All thing will go back to the way the were intended to be.

Before the fall of man at the hand of sin, God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve. As noted by Randy Alcorn in my MasterWork study, “earth was Heaven’s backyard”. God spent time on earth as one would in the backyard of your home. As now, thanks to the fall, there is a great chasm between Heaven and earth. The current earth is not so much as a backyard of Heaven, but more of a swampy wasteland at the edge of the property.

Yes, Jesus came and spent time on earth. He was the bridge between the two. He came to prepare for the uniting to occur. The curtain in the tabernacle has been torn so that we can commune directly with God, thanks to Jesus. And Jesus will also tear down that which separates Heaven and earth at His coming again. The two, Heaven and Earth, will be reunited under God as one for all who believe in Him to live forever.

“9he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” – Ephesians 1:9-10 (NIV)

All things will be brought back together. Nothing to be left out. All will be renewed and restored. All things will now be one, where “those who know Jesus will will have the privilege of living there” (Randy Alcorn).

How do you see things today? Are you seeing them as being right and in sync? What if they are out of sync and will be renewed and restored to even better than they were before at the coming of Christ?