Permaculture and the Kingdom, understanding Christian world view in the context of permaculture

 This is a work in progress.  Feel free to leave comment or contact me at permakel@gmail.com

To be an effective permaculture trainer of Christians, it is important to understand the essence of the Christian world view. You don't have to believe, you do honor to just understand.

 A true Christian has, or is in the process of, giving up their past life of self- indulgent independent willful, unguided, sin-riddled choices, and subjects their life and soul to the will of God.  One finds out about the will of God through studying the wisdom found in the Word of God, the Bible, used as the as the plumb line of Truth; While all might not agree with everything in the Bible, it is important to see if there might be some meaning for these things in your life in Context of what you might need. Some chose to see the bible to be a literal translation, referred to as legalistic, or a more metaphorical interpretation to allude to contextual lessons to guide or instruct as to how to lead your life. Most Christians agree that the relationship with Jesus is more important than religion. The bible is to instruct, uplift, admonish, encourage, and relieve.

The Trinity:  The God force, the love toward all creation, a source of all life, or an eternal living presence of divinity is expressed to Christians as a Trinity. God, the overseer, creator, omnipotent and present source of all life,called Father, as leader of the Family of God, Those who love God. God as incarnated into life through the Son, born human, Christ. Jesus through examples of his life, teachings and ultimate sacrifice on the cross, is the leader Christians that have been "born Again"=died to their old life and ways, been reborn in Christ, given mercy to ALWAYS dwell in the presence of  God, and have accepted leadership of that trinity over their former selves.  The Holy Spirit is like the wind of god force, the thought that reaches us, the hand to help, an unseen force of God to guide and teach us, be the interactive part of our spiritual experience.

 Jesus, in his "gift" of the sacrifice of the cross, frees humans for all time of our bondage of sin, our failures, lacks and poor choices, maligned heart or mind, angers, lusts, etc,  and to love as he loved, to seek knowledge and wisdom to serve one another better and to be filled with the god of our souls to follow God's will, hearing Gods voice, to do the work of God, to the Christians, it is all about the transformation of the heart to the best of our abilities, and we are forgiven as quickly as we can stand when we receive correction, or discipline, through the knowledge of the exact nature of your  if we error in our ways, or miss the mark, which is the root meaning of sin.Sin=destruction.

 Modern civilization is based on destructive practices that intuitively go against God's plan for abundance, renewal, and restoration to glory. Those that avoid that remain in the sin of their ways and do not grow or transform. Many are called, few will listen and heed the call.   Christians are challenged to be in the world and not of it, a very hard thing for most to do that live by money and not God's gifts, as in species, and in the routine of survival in the television, 9-5 , public school, mortgage based. regime.

End times, peace here and in afterlife.: 

Christians are to love God with all their heart, mind and soul, and to love one another as He loved us, or to treat our neighbor as ourselves.
" We are precious and worthy in the eyes of God of paradise, of love, of joy, all that is intended to be the gifts from god. Be our brother's keeper, Tend the earth, the land, the soil, the animals, know them by name, and all the littlest of insects."
  Celebrate and use diversity.
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)

To Christians, Relationship with Christ  is more important than with religion. Reading the bible helps one to self correct, become inspired, prioritize, and uplift. It is a guide to understanding the heart of God, the gift of the son and our purpose in life. The permaculture principle of observation and self-regulation is the practice Christians are implored to do on a regular basis, going to the Word, the Bible, to become a better example and more useful in serving all the time.  Recover, self regulate, back onto the path of righteousness. Right-use-ness, when even our thoughts begin to wander to less productive focus.

 It reminds us of a responsibility to steward the land, to remain in the consciousness of the divine or the Spirit of God, and to be benevolent (as God would be) to all of God's creation, from the whales to the plants and "creepy crawly things,".
 THEY all know God,
... We know, are made aware of, our place, our duty, and our purpose to care for creation and humans, trying to save souls and bodies to serve the GOOD, God.  (Known to you are caring for you before you even became aware of Christ or "Him".
 when we are in that care-taking position, and our brother's keeper, we are responsible to do no harm, self-inflict no harm. As if that were God's law of the land and for us.
(that is why in the old testament God was quoted telling one nation to wipe out another that was always waring and attacking and enslaving them. Today, for us to merely turn directly to Gods plan for you, to tend the earth and all of creation and one another, the Earth,
(not the "World" considered civilization, Mammon, Babylon, cities, sects, wrot with human frailties and suffering, and sin. In one moment to the next, and several times in the history of all nations it ceases to flow and exist from one moment to the next. Revelations is a planet wide scale fall of the World, or civilized trade of all goods from near and far. Christians are called by Christ to be ready for this to go to the land God has promised His followers, His children, and afterward Jesus the Christ will reign (guide) for the next thousand year reign of peace.
Permaculture is the design to create those new world places, Build them now, at the foothills of all water systems to replenish and clean and restore the fertility moving water from the gullies to the ridgelines.
And God will bring water to your crops, Eden was watered by a river, the rivers will make the seeds grow of all kinds, the seeds do not grow until the water is sent by God, sending his favor for the good care of creation. Honoring and respecting all of creation, treating it with dignity honors God and abuse of any kind, is saddens all of creation.
 We are commanded to resist tyranny
to protect the weak, those treated unjustly, in pain, abuse, and find the Spirit of Christ in the healing of heart the hope for weary, strength, the courage, forgiveness, mercy, grace. Those who have found this through their experience through this faith in these things, want to share this knowledge and relationship with you, with Christ, with God, with the Holy Spirit, in communion with the earth and creation. This is the new covenant that leads people, communities, and the New Earth. Sustainable means on God's resources. God, man and nature in balance and health. People, plants and animals consume, propagate, interact, produce, in designable systems by the overseeing humans endowed by God, commissioned by God, made in the Image of God, to make sure all is functioning well in the kingdom. We have all been called to this, where then do our gifts lie, How do we do our individual work of God, and Follow God's will? Learn the will of God by hearing the voice of god, as communicated directly, through others, through synchronicity, divine inspiration and imagination, through the' Word of God', the" God said..", "...thus says the lord.", commanding, directing us how to live by God (That) energy, and receive the inheritance of peace on the land " Pray, turn for your sinful ways, humble yourselves, and I will restore your lands./".
.   United as a force for good. It takes only a change in mind, to renew the mind daily to learn and return to "the old ways". to acquire wisdom and apply
What is good and right. and worthy
 That is why  it is so sad that this government has not helped the recent genocide of Christians worldwide. In the 'end times it becomes very clear who is on what side of the fence, each person  has to answer directly to God for their actions, it is not for us to judge. although it is very human to do so.

That is why discipleship,or mentoring,  is so important, to grow one another up in a way that will bear fruit, that personal failures won't get the best of one's life and mission. Reborn into a new  family of God, the body of God which is referred to as the Church. Not the building as the church.To become passionate disciples of god, to love one another and to serve the world, The main message of the bible and Jesus is  of LOVE. "Love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love one another as I have loved you, or love your neighbor as yourself.

THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD
 There is a healthy fear of what is coming. The world supporting people to look as if they will unite the world but really intend to dominate, control and bring destruction in the end. There is fear of that Mark of the Beast, sometimes translated into being micro chipped by the government in order to receive food for their children, which is what the government, or one world order would like to do. Christians prefer to be free of government handouts, and instead use tithing to help care for their community. The principle of tithing is very much like the third ethic. It is not forced, but suggested as a way for the church to serve  people locally, nationally and internationally. 10% in a guideline, not a law. In permaculture business principles there is commonly an 80/20 principle of 20% being surplus that is reinvested in the earth and people that created the surplus.

Value diversity  is another important principle. It takes all kinds with a heart for Jesus to make a strong body. Churches find that out, their numbers increase or decrease the more people feel loved  for how they are. Just like the immune system in the body is dependant on all the parts to communicate, same in the body through discipleship, meeting for ministering or helping and teaching to one another, the body is strong. Honesty (personal testimony or story) and prayer are key for this.  Everyone is a sinner in some ways, and in opening the heart to Jesus, find redemption through Personal relationship with him.  Jesus's life and offering on the cross is known as the NEW COVENANT that has spared the repentant heart from the wrath of God because of their sins, (karma) should they ask it. Saved by grace. Grace is the feeling that is received like a washing of love and mercy that through humility puts us back into the presence of God to resume our usefulness in the kingdom.

  Everyone is in a process of transformation by God and we help one  another along the way,

Recycle, produce no waste. No human is a waste in God's eyes. Letting so of our wasted parts of our selves produces better ground for better fruit to grow.  The bible talks of pruning away the branches that bear no fruit. From dust...to dust. We need to return to the earth. All earth was designed in the perfection to be fruitful and multiply. In Genesis god says this of every living good thing, not just humans. We all need to go back to the creation story about being built for stewardship and through the new covenant, that God will not destroy the earth again to rid of humans that are primarily destructive o the earth and one another, that through the gift of Jesus on earth, we have been forgiven  and in turning to Christ love in heart. we are activated to be reborn in god light and love, leaving selfish ways. There are no WEEDS, there are no mistakes created.

In church fellowship, people are able to unite, share information, exchange needs and products, and live community, and that normal threats of the fallen world will not invade the family, the most important institution to God. The family of God is the Body of believers. Like cells of the body through diversity do different things. Some are the land owners, some have heavy machinery to "subdue" the land to do earthworks fore rainwater harvesting, Introduce edible, beneficial and useful species, all in the patterned language of creation,. flow of water, wind, shelters, making wise use of God's resources, Sun, wind, water, earth, biological processes, beneficial relationships. Not the wasting of resources that pollute other resources to extract.  "Knowledge and wisdom are applied for the glory of the Kingdom. Revelation 2:7 "…To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."


From Mark Shephard's presentations to churches.
 Genesis 1 26 Then God said, “Let us make man[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Dictionary definition: Subdue: to render harmless, to bring under control Dominion: To have jurisdiction over. (Jurisdiction: the power to make legal decisions and judgements) From Latin dominion “to have mastery” (Mastery: Comprehensive knowledge or skill.) Subdue & have dominion: To make it so that nature doesn’t wipe out the human race, then to learn about and understand it in it’s entirety, and to manage it skillfully and prudently.
(Observe and interact)

 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 1. Genesis 2:9 "And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." A river watered the garden from Eden.  2. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat[d] of it you shall surely die.” When we live out from our observations of what really IS, we are in a paradise state… We tend the natural world, eat from trees and animals, when we, with our limited minds decide what is good and what is not good, we “fall from grace” and are no longer living in reality.When we judge ourselves or others, or "weeds"  we’re living in our CONCEPT of reality and are therefore no longer in a paradise state…
 The Parable of the Tenants Matt 21: 33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]? 43  The point is, that we are of a different kingdom than this world… “Come ye out from her” The fall of Babylon the great. The reward? Revelation 2:7 "…To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." Best to you! -Mark Shephard's presentation



Psalms, 105 13-15-You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home and fill the earth with the fruits of your labor. 
-You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for the people to use. 
-You allow them to produce food from the earth, wine to make them glad, olive to soothe the skin and bread (manna) to give them strength.

Psalms 105 v 24. O lord what a variety of things you have made. In wisdom you have made them all, the earth is full of your creations. 
v 27. They all depend on you to give them food as they need it. When you supply it, and they are richly satisfied.
105 v 1 Give thanks to the lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him, tell everyone about His wonderful deeds.
-Search for the lord and for his strength, continually seek him remember the wonders one has performed, his miracles and the rulings he has given. 

Psalms 92 v 12-14:  The godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars... for they
are transplanted to the lord's own house. Even in old age they will still produce fruit, they will remain vital and green.
the Lord will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up. 

Luke 6 v 43.   A good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit.  
v44.  A tree is identified by it's fruit.  Figs are never gathered by a thorn bush, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. v45.A good person produces good things from a treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from a treasury of an evil heart.  What you say flows from what is in your heart. 

Luke 7 v37 Do not judge others, and you will not be judged, do not condemn others or it will come back against you.  Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.  v38.  give and you will receive, your gift will return to you in full. pressed down and shaken together to make room for more, 
running over and poured into your lap.  The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.-Jesus

Mark 5 v26. Jesus also said:  "The kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he is asleep or awake, the seeds sprout and grows, but he does not understand how this happens.  The earth produces the crops on its own.  First a leaf blade pushes through then the heads of wheat are formed and finally the grain ripens.  And as soon the grain is ready the farmer comes and harvests it with the harvest time has come.