* A Watered Garden

Yesterday I mentioned that tomorrow’s post would be, Jesus absorbed the wrath of God. I will continue this on Monday. For the weekend, I thought the following would draw our hearts closer to God and take us out of our world and into an existing world that seems so far away. Take time today and the rest of the weekend to read and watch the following. The video is about 10 minutes, but very moving (even if your connection is a little slow).

Isaiah 58 talks about a watered garden:
And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.

As a promise, in context to Israel, for showing mercy and care for the poor, God promises to turn “scorched places” into a “watered garden”.

Let’s thank God right now for His heart. This is the God we worship, a God who cares for those who have been forgotten, those who can’t defend themselves, and those who are persecuted by the unrighteous.

A friend of mine started a ministry titled, New Seed of Hope, a ministry that is working in the Kibera slum in Nairobi - a scorched place if ever there was one - to establish a “watered garden” - a Kisima in Swahili. Their first orphanage in Kibera is called the Kisima Orphanage. Above is a recent photo from this ministry.

Take the time to read the following Psalms before watching the video, then read them again.

Psalm 1:3
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.

Psalm23:1-2
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.

Psalm 36:7-9
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.

Psalm 46:4-5
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.

Psalm 63:1
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Psalm 107:33-42
He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,

He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.

And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.

When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

Psalm 126:4-6
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.


A man named Andy made this video from his trip to Kibera. It is about 10 mins.

American Idol recently showed some footage of the Kibera slum, where the New Seed of Hope Kisima orphanage is.

click on image

Monday: Jesus absorbed the wrath of God