“A Believer’s Identity is their Superpower!“ — Anthony DiMaio
The first command the Lord gave to Adam and Eve was to “keep the garden.” That was their first instruction and charge. This kind of charge is important because we are designed to be keepers—not for hoarding, but for growth, multiplication, and stewardship of resources. It is not a covetous command but one framed by diligence. Even Cain’s response to the Lord when questioned about his brother’s whereabouts rebuffed the Lord by saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
7 Things to Keep
- Keep the garden (The parable of the talents/stewardship)
- Keep the Tree of Life (Keeping from)
- Keep my covenant (Including the marriage covenant, as it is written: “What God has joined together, let no one separate”)
- Keep the way of the Lord (The way you conduct yourself daily)
- Keep the Passover (The Passover symbolized the Hebrews’ deliverance from Egypt, and it also represents the day of salvation—when you were led from death into life)
- Keep the Sabbath (Rest is an expression of worship, while the idolatry of rest is a counterfeit form of peace)
- Keep your heart with diligence (“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” — Proverbs 4:23) Your heart represents the first garden of your life, so keep it with all diligence and be vigilant about the conversations that happen in your mind.
A believer’s identity is their superpower. Who God says they are is more powerful than what the world says they are not.
The words God has spoken provide us with the mental frameworks that shape how we interpret situations and make decisions.
You won’t be able to keep anything that God calls you to keep if you’re not keeping His Word. “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word…’” — John 14:23
Eve succumbed to what I call “weed brain”—the worries of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and ungodly desires for other things. Notice that Eve saw the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as possessing three qualities:
- It was good for food
- It was pleasant to look at
- It was able to make one wise
Temptations Come in 3’s
The devil will never present a temptation that is one-dimensional—it will always be multi-dimensional. Similarly, when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He faced three distinct temptations.