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Tempted by the Forbidden

I believe the verse from my last post deserves a deeper dive, so this time I’d like to focus more on Eve and the forbidden fruit rather than the serpent. Here is Eve’s response to the serpent’s question again:

“It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

Genesis 3:3 NLT

Many Good Options

Granted, the serpent got the ball rolling by choosing words that put the emphasis on God’s restrictions, but it was Eve who made it even bigger than it was. God said she could eat the fruit from any tree in the garden, except for one. Because I don’t know how many trees were in the garden, I can only guess, but I imagine there were quite a number of them. Eve had options from which to choose, but it was the forbidden tree that captured her attention. However, she did get some assistance from the enemy.

The serpent went on in the next two verses to tempt Eve in a way that made that forbidden fruit simply irresistible.

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

Genesis 3:4-5 NLT

Focusing on the Forbidden

If you don’t have kids of your own, I imagine you remember being one yourself. Aren’t we much like Eve when it comes to boundaries? Parents set boundaries for their children to protect them. And God does the same for His children. Kids aren’t real fond of boundaries! Do you remember thinking your parents were the meanest people in the world when the answer was “No”? Even when we’re allowed to do plenty of things, we tend to get fixated on the thing that we are forbidden to do! That, I believe, is called human nature.

Decisions Have Consequences

God has given each of us freewill, but there are always consequences to the choices we make. When Eve made the decision to indulge in the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, the consequences affected all of humankind. Because of Eve’s choice, sin entered the world and separated us from our Heavenly Father. But, God had a plan for our redemption. His name is Jesus.

“Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.”

Galatians 1:4 NLT

So, Jesus bridged the gap between us and God as the final and perfect sacrifice for our sin.

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV

Some might say the ULTIMATE gift!

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When Doubt Creeps In

Image result for truth vs lies images

That serpent is a crafty one! He has very subtle ways of casting doubt into our lives. I’m fairly gullible, so it doesn’t take much for me to fall for one of his lies. How about you? That snake can cause doubt to form in a heartbeat!

In the book 40 Verses to Ignite Your Faith, by Laurie Polich Short, she shares her insight on some lesser known verses of the Bible. This book had a powerful impact on me and my small group as we studied it last fall. The first verse she shared is set in the garden of Eden and is one I’ve read many a time. In Genesis 3:3, Eve tells the serpent, “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

You see, the serpent asked Eve a question a few verses earlier—“Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) Though quite subtle, the enemy was casting doubt about God into Eve’s mind by highlighting God’s restrictions.

Eve took that and ran with it when she responded by building even more restriction into her response simply by adding a few words. I’ll admit that I read both of these verses when reading the book and didn’t even catch the difference until Laurie pointed it out. I’m gullible AND also not very observant! Did you catch it? Eve inserted the words “or even touch it” in her response. Satan simply asked a question, but carefully crafted his words to get Eve to focus on the restrictions God was placing on her. Can you relate?

I believe I am a frequent victim of Satan’s lies. His mission is to drive a wedge between us and our Heavenly Father. One of his tactics is to get us to doubt the goodness of God. The enemy delights in the opportunity to feed us lies that will cause us to question God’s character. He’s so sneaky that I often don’t even recognize it for what it is—a lie. Remember, I’m not very observant!

What is the opposite of a lie? If you said “the truth” you get a gold star! Truth is the antidote we need to combat the enemy. If that’s our weapon, we’d best get familiar with it!

“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.”

John 17:17 NLT

God’s Word is Truth. Jesus is described as the Word in John 1:1. Therefore, Jesus is Truth!

The more we know the Truth, the easier it becomes to recognize those lies. We all need to be armed when we go into battle with the father of lies. As I write this, I can just hear my pastor saying this familiar saying of his: “Read your Bible. Read your Bible. Read your Bible.”

Our relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship we’ll ever have. Relationships require an investment. The best way to get to know Him better is to spend time with Him. Nothing would delight Him more! Jesus is the Word. Happy Reading!

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Sovereign

The definition of the adjective sovereign is “possessing supreme or ultimate power”. It is a word often used to describe God. Stay tuned for more on that.

It has been a difficult week for several people in my circle of influence—two had their jobs eliminated and one is having his lung surgically removed following a cancer diagnosis as I write this. And that’s just a small sample of the difficulties people I care about are currently experiencing! Life is hard at times, isn’t it? That’s what makes the timing of this week’s small group lesson perfect. We are currently studying “40 Verses to Ignite Your Faith” by Laurie Polich Short. In her book, Laurie gleans much meaning from 40 lesser known verses from the Bible and shares it with her readers. They are verses that I’ve probably read a hundred times and skimmed right past. Here is one that particularly caught my attention this week, considering all that was going on around me:

“He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.””

Ezekiel 37:3 NIV

Allow me to provide the backdrop of this verse. The prophet Ezekiel is standing in a valley full of dry, dead bones and God wants to know the extent of Ezekiel’s faith. You see, the Israelites were being held captive in Babylon at the time. Ezekiel prophesied a bright future for them in the preceding chapter, one where they would be united and strong. No part of that message seemed possible given their current predicament. It is in this valley of bones that God reveals a vision of miraculous hope to Ezekiel. The impossible becomes possible—the bones come to life, representing the bright future He has for the Israelites.

God often reveals His power to us while we are in the valley of despair. In Laurie’s words, “Our places of despair set the stage for hope.” I have been known to say that God does His best work in the valley. That may not quite be the correct wording. Often, I can look back later from a different vantage point and see the magnitude of His work in me while in the valley. It’s much more noticeable than when I’m standing on top of the mountain. It is also in the valley where we have the opportunity to demonstrate that our faith is real.

Ezekiel’s response to God’s question in Verse 3 has become my battle cry this week as I encounter so many who are hurting. I am at a loss. “Sovereign Lord, you alone know” clears the way for the miracles God has in mind. I imagine, if you’re anything like me, you have an idea for how you would like God to answer your valley prayers (and probably when too!). We limit Him when we ask Him to answer in a specific way and possibly set ourselves up for disappointment in the process. God sees the big picture and by acknowledging His sovereignty, we make room for how He wants to answer our prayers. He’s often up to something much bigger than the prayers we pray.

Let’s open the door and witness the unfolding miracle God has for us.

“Sovereign Lord, you alone know!”

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Misplaced Expectations

Have you ever expected more from people than from God? That doesn’t generally end well, does it? Though for the most part not intentional, people hurt people. Why? Because, other than Jesus, we are all sinners and fall short of His glory. We must be cautious of misplacing our expectations.

Over the summer I experienced a string of events in a short period of time that could be classified as hurt/rejection/disappointment. Call it whatever you like. The point is I didn’t handle these incidents very well. I expected too much from people and ended up disappointed. The first couple people probably never even knew they let me down. I believe that is often the case. We shrug it off and get over it in time without even a discussion. Though the third episode was purely accidental (and also an admittedly minor offense), it was that one that caused the greatest reaction from me. The accumulation of hurt feelings caused me to react more strongly to the one that should have been the easiest to overlook. That, and the fact that this person realized I was hurt and opened the door for me to address it.

As I worked through this with God over the next few days, He led me to this verse:

“A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”

Proverbs 19:11 NIV

My lack of wisdom led to a knee-jerk reaction. In short, I blew it when I failed to overlook the offense. Thankfully, over the course of a few days, we had both forgiven one another and moved forward. The relationship was restored; the lesson was learned. However, I’m sure I’ll get opportunities to relearn it along the way.

Misplaced expectations lead to disappointment, even though that’s the very thing I’m trying to avoid. As a defense mechanism of sorts, I tend to keep my expectations of God low so as not to be disappointed if things don’t work out as I wish. That is warped thinking for sure, not to mention a serious lack of faith! The truth is, He’s the only one who WON’T let me down. He knows me, loves me and knows what’s best for me. Even when things don’t work out as I had hoped, I can be assured that they work out in the way that is best.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Romans 8:28 NLT