Cain Became Furious

In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also presented an offering -some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent? If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let’s go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Genesis 4:3-8 (HCSB)

The first violent sin was the result of unresolved anger.  Perhaps that is why Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, "Fool!" will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, "You moron!" will be subject to hellfire.
Matthew 5:21-22 (HCSB)

or why John said:

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
1 John 3:15 (HCSB)

That unresolved anger can lead to violence whether verbal, emotional, psychological, or physical there can be no question.  That is why this is such an important issue to address. 

There are two way to interpret what God says to Cain.  Traditionally God gives us a admonition.  He warns that unresolved feelings of anger and feeling down give sin a foothold in your life.  I imagine a predatory animal just waiting to pounce.  It seems that sin is a opportunist taking advantage of our emotional state to do it's dirty work.  In this case the goal is to do what is right, rule over sin, or it will rule over you. 

The second way is looking that the interpretation from Hebrew to English more literally.  The word interpreted sin in this verse is "chatta-ah" in Hebrew.  This word can either be interpreted sin or sin offering.  If we go toward the latter then it would seem that God was giving Cain instruction on what to do with his sin.  Consider this translation:

And Jehovah saith unto Cain, "Why hast thou displeasure? and why hath thy countenance fallen? Is there not, if thou dost well, acceptance? and if thou dost not well, at the opening a sin-offering is crouching, and unto thee its desire, and thou rulest over it."
Genesis 4:6-7 (YLT)

In this case he says if you have done well then there is acceptance.  We know that God did not accept his sacrifice so then God goes on to say there is a sin offering at the opening (door) waiting for him to rule over it.  If this is the interpretation then I believe the whole interaction makes sense.  Cain offers a first fruits or grain offering offering to the Lord from the produce of the ground (See Lev 2:14).  Abel did this as well, however he (either in place of or in addition to) brings an animal sacrifice.  It is clear later in the Old Testament and then fulfilled in the New Testament that there is no remission of sin without a sin offering. 

For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the most holy place by the high priest as a sin offering are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, so that He might sanctify the people by His own blood.
Hebrews 13:11-12 (HCSB)

So Abel's offering was not accepted because it was substantively better but rather it was a more complete (excellent) sacrifice offered in faith that God would remove sin (i.e., be approved as righteous before God; see Heb 11:4).  What is more if we follow this interpretation God provided Cain a second chance by putting a sin offering (at the door) which Cain subsequently rejected and went out and murdered his brother.  How often do we do the same when it comes to being angry.  We do not go out a literally kill someone, but we do reject the grace that God provides us and move into the greater consequences of greater sin brought about by passionate anger. 

Regardless of which interpretation you would follow there is action that is needed when it comes to dealing with anger.  Perhaps in this case we could take it to have double meaning (which does occasionally happen in the Bible) since they do not contradict each other.  First we must guard against sinful anger by doing what is right in the first place with a spirit of sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2).  Second, if we are angry we must be on guard to not sin (Eph 4:26).  If we do not guard ourselves then we will likely fall into sinful response in our anger.  Finally, if we do sin there is a provision of God's grace waiting at the door (Rev 3:19-20).  We must receive this provision of grace and allow Christ to overcome our anger at the moment it comes to us. 

Three principles:

• Protective: Do what is right.
• Awareness: Be on guard against sinful anger
• Restorative: Repent of anger and trust in God's grace through Jesus

May God Richly Bless You

Spiritual Intimacy

Image by ToniVC via Flickr

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.
Genesis 2:24-25 (HCSB)

Genesis 2:24-25 expresses the spiritual ideal for marriage. 

Leaving the family of origin

It is important to understand the meaning of this leaving.  Some would take this to mean that we must cut off our family of origin.  I have met with couples who take this stance.  They do this to there detriment at times in light of:

Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12 (HCSB)

Some would say that this command is only for children.  However Jesus plainly tells an adult that he is to honor his mother and father in Matthew 19:16-19.  So as you can see either we have a contradiction or the intent of Genesis 2:24 is not to communicate the idea of cutting off.  The idea captured by the word leave is that we are leaving something behind.  It is releasing some object.  Often those objects are a barrier that keeps us from being all that God wants us to be.  In this case holding on to intimacy with your family of origin will get in the way of full intimacy with your spouse.  Take a look at what Adam has just said in this passage:

And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called "woman," for she was taken from man.
Genesis 2:23 (HCSB)

Adam could not find a suitable helper from all of God's Creation.  First it should be recognized that man had a need.  We are incomplete in one sense without our helpmate. "This one" There is only one and not more than one, but "this one" is from me and with me.  There is hardly a more intimate bond that can be expressed than in the marriage relationship.  However not leaving the intimacy of your family of origin is detrimental to intimacy with your spouse. 

Not wanting to be misunderstood, let me plainly say that we need to honor our parents.  This would include listening to them, caring for them, seeking their wisdom, cherishing them, loving them, and respecting them.  This passage has no effect on this part of the relationship with our parents.  However, one must make a spiritual break from his or her parents if they are to experience oneness with his or her spouse. 

Bonding

Bonding is the intimacy that occurs in a relationship that draw two together into one relationship.  Ideally the highest bond is our relationship with God.  Next in order would be our relationship with our spouse.  We bond to our spouse by approaching and holding.  This bond in consummated in the act of sexual intercourse (more on sexual intimacy in a future post).  Often in our free culture with regard to sexual morality we have weakened the bond by reducing the spiritual nature of sexuality into a mere act of gratification and procreation.  Bonding is a process that occurs as the couple meets, get's to know each other, develop trust, become physical, then sexually involved as well as Spiritually intimate.  Ideally the last part occurs in the safety and security of marriage bonds.  When people trade the bonding process for sex (the act not intimacy) then then tend to bond with whatever object is used for sexual gratification (more on this in the Sexual intimacy post). 

Becoming One

It is a great mystery of how two individuals can become one.  It is a spiritual connection that ties them together at the depth of the soul.  This oneness is expressed in all manner of actions and yet the actions themselves do not make a couple one.  For example oneness is expressed in devotion to one another.  However devotion is not a way to achieve oneness.  There is an expression that the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts.  In this case becoming one is greater than the acts that express that oneness.  Magnetic attraction is a useful illustration:

This is two magnets aligned to repel each other.  Note how the magnetic fields do not connect and radiate away from each other.
This one the magnets are still aligned to repel, but are forced together.  It makes a nice flower shape, but still the fields radiate away from each other.
In this one the magnets are separated but aligned to attract each other.  You can see that even though there are two different fields they still are connected.
In this picture the magnets are aligned to attract and are connected.  Notice there is one single new magnetic field that is created.
What is more is that it looks like the magnetic field of a single magnet. "The two shall become one"

Images use with permission Hoadley, Rick.  "Magnet Man".  http://www.coolmagnetman.com  1998-2010

These illustrate spiritual intimacy in this way. If a couple is not aligned spiritually no amount of forcing them together (even with religious doctrine) is going to make them one.  What is more the spirituality of the other is likely going to repel the other away from them.  For example this happens often when a spouse looks at the other and says he/she is not acting according to God's word while not examining whether they are loving or honoring their spouse in the way that God desires them to.   On the other hand, If a couple is aligned spiritually then separation will result in an attraction that pulls the couple back together.  What is more when they come together they become one.   The attraction or repulsion is evidenced by the effect on the two individuals, but the spiritual field is invisible to the naked eye. 

They Were Naked

Spiritual intimacy involves vulnerability at its deepest level.  Believe it or not being comfortable with each other while naked is a good measure of spiritual intimacy in my estimation.  If there is a lack of comfort then it indicates that the spouse has some insecurity that has not been overcome by spiritual intimacy.  That is not to say that you go around naked all the time.  But in those intimate moments there is a deep love and devotion toward each other that transcends nakedness.  There also is a purity spiritually speaking as well.  Note it was not until after sin entered the world that the first couple realized they were naked and they rushed to cover up at that point (see Genesis 3:7).  When sin enters a relationship spiritual intimacy breaks down. 

Feeling No Shame

Negative feelings are destructive to Spiritual Intimacy none more destructive than shame.  Shame seeks a way out, run away, cover up, escape, fight back, blame, close off, avoid, push away, and ultimately cut off.  Being able to come together and experience no shame is a spiritual event in the life of a couple.  It is a feeling of all is right in the world as long as we are together.  Without shame marriage is a place to honor, celebrate, admire, exult, prize your spouse.

Receiving the Moment (even when it does not make sense)

This post is dealing with one of the most difficult aspects of contentment.  There are times in life that we are presented with seemingly contradictory information when looking at intrinsic truth and experiential truth.  Intrinsic truth are things that are true in themselves.  that is to say they are based in some value or moral that is contained within the truth itself.  Some examples of intrinsic truth is God, ethics, morality, and goodness.  On the other hand experiential truth is based on what can be observed, described, measured, tested, and/or experienced.  Some examples of experiential truths are empirical knowledge, heuristics (rules of thumb),  constructs,  and Common sense.  Unfortunately there are times when these two classes of truth present a dilemma in our lives when they appear contradictory.  If I have lost you that is OK I will attempt to give an example from the Bible that should clear up what I am saying.

"Take your son," He said, "your only [son] Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."  Gen 22:2 (HCSB)

This is quite possibly one of the most bizarre commands of God recorded in the Bible.  We tend to overlook it when we read it because we know the end of the story.  Abraham did not know the end!  In fact if we have never read the story before we are only held in this uncomfortable state for as long as it takes to read 10 verses (It took me 42 seconds to read the whole story).  Abraham on the other hand wrestled with this command for 3 days (Side note:  for those interested in symbolic numbers Jesus was in the grave for 3 days) .  By the way my interest in this dilemma was influenced by S�ren Kierkegaard's book "Fear and Trembling."   

I am not being irreverent when I say it is a bizarre command.  I am basing my opinion on experiential truth.  And my guess is that you would draw the same conclusion as well as well.  Considering it empirically (ie science of mind/brain) a man that hears the voice of God tell him to sacrifice his son is by definition psychotic.  In this case the command hallucination would be considered a bizarre hallucination.  Considering the rule of thumb it would be unwise to hang out with a person that would kill his son to please a deity.  God in my understanding loathes child sacrifice.  So hearing a command from him stating otherwise does not fit within my construct of who God is.  Therefore the command is absurd.  Common sense would say "God would not want you to do that!"  I am guessing the Sarah had it in this couple which is why he probably did not share what he was doing with with her.  Truly the command is beyond experiential truth and reason.  That makes the command bizarre.

'We must never tolerate an instant's unbelief as to the goodness of the Lord; whatever else may be questioned, this is absolutely certain, that Jehovah is good; His dispensations may vary, but His nature is always the same' (C. H. Spurgeon).

Intrinsic truth on the other hand indicates that God knows what he is doing (Omniscient).  What He does is good.  He can do and accomplish whatever he wants (Omnipotent).  Often times it is pointed out that God Abraham was trusting in the promise of:

I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly. Gen 17:2 (HCSB)

Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring. Gen 17:19 (HCSB)

This is usually based on:

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and he was offering his unique son,  the one it had been said about, Your seed will be traced through Isaac.  He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead, and as an illustration, he received him back. Heb 11:17-19 (HCSB)

This fine for us who only have to be discomforted for the minute or so that we are uncomfortable while we read the story, but we did not walk in Abraham's shoes for those three days.  He is a hero of faith to be sure, but there is no way that anyone could walk in his shoes and feel heroic going through to do what he was going to do!

It is then reasonable to conclude that Abraham struggled with this very dilemma that I have put forward.  It is not possible in my estimation that a person of commendable reputation and character could be resigned to carry out such a task without this struggle.  If I were him I would have said something like, "My experiential knowledge is in conflict with my knowledge of God!"  I think if we are honest there are times (though not to this degree) that we to enter into a similar dilemma.  The dilemma usually starts with the word "why" and questions why God does or does not do something (usually the latter). 

This is a long introduction to my main point which is, We can only be content when we receive the moment exactly as God has given it to us.  I have already talked about how fighting reality in relationships is unmindful and invites suffering.  We can do the same in our circumstances.  Spiritually speaking when we choose our experiential knowledge over the knowledge of God we invite spiritual suffering.  This dissonance is no more greater than when our circumstances seem to contradict what we know about God.  At that moment we have a Crisis of Faith.  The difficulty with this crisis is that it gets to the root of whether we trust in God.  Do we accept what we have been given with the faith that God will work it out for His Glory and our good?

Abraham is a hero of faith because he chose the absurd and bizarre to be obedient that he might glorify God.  Frankly there are not many people like that in this world, but when it is put into context our minor discomforts seem trivial compared to what Abraham had to go through on those three days.  If we accept Abraham as a hero of faith then we ought to at least model his behavior in our own circumstances even when God does not make sense. 

So what did he do?  First he was listening.  Second, He received the instruction and the moment without objection or fighting.  There are times when we have to do just this.  We have to accept even though it does not make sense.  Third he put his faith into preparations.  It is quite easy to say that you believe something, but it is quite another to act on that belief.  Your actions are evidence of what you believe.  Don't get me wrong, it is easy thing to fall into doubt, but prolonged doubt is the catalyst of spiritual suffering. 

Fourth he moved forward without a clear picture of how God was going to work this out, only with the knowledge that he would.  This part strains the very core of our being.  Humans like to see the end before setting out on a journey.  Unfortunately if we are able to see the end in our mind and like the outcome, then choosing it is nor more faith than picking your favorite meal off a menu.  "I think I will take the Spaghetti Marinara."  Accepting God's will and taking the next step requires great faith when the outcome is unknown especially when the circumstances make it look hopeless. 

Fifth he placed his trust in the Lord's provision.  God is faithful.  Finally he endured great pain.  I think of sheer agony of binding his son in order to offer him up to God.  I would have been an emotional wreck.  Just thinking about it right now brings tears to my eyes and I was not there! 

Enduring pain and agony is the stuff that heroes are made of. I do not aspire to be a hero.  Most heroes don't either.  They are thrust into this role by their circumstances.  They become heroes because they are willing to enter into the absurdity of their circumstances and act in faith without the possibility of knowing if it will turn out good or bad, yet acting anyway! This is at its core is the greatest example of "recieving the moment" that I can think of.  In our own lives we fail to receive the moment when we 1) reject the reality of the situation, 2) fail to act, 3) fail to trust God, 4) try to find some way of escape.

In summary then we have to willing to "receive the moment" as it is.  This is done without fighting, yet not being resigned as a victim of fate.  But rather with great trust in this: 

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him. Heb 11:6 (HCSB)

And this:

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (HCSB)

With this kind of faith we can move through what ever circumstances this life might give us.  My hope is that when the trial comes my way that I would be found worthy of such honor and put my whole trust in God that He might see me through.

God bless you all!

The Devil's Grammar Lesson

1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden'?"

2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.' "

4 "No! You will not die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate [it] ; she also gave [some] to her husband, [who was] with her, and he ate [it] . 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

The title of my sermon this morning is "The Devil's Grammar Lesson." As I have already mentioned this morning's sermon is going to be a bit technical so if it feels more like a lecture than a sermon than forgive me. I do have a purpose in tackling this passage in this way though. You see our biggest barrier to personal holiness is sin. I believe that looking at the original sin that we can learn something about the nature of temptation and falling that we then can apply to our own lives and work on the sanctification (that is personal holiness) that God desires from his children.

This is of course the dialog between Eve and Satan in the garden of Eden. This conversation though only a few verses in length has had a profound affect on the whole of creation and the lives that we live today. At this point in the account of God's creation of the world we have seen that God has created everything and that it was good. Sometimes that word good seems so plain. I think that in the age of super, fantastic, perfect, outrageously fun, hot, excitement, wonderful, superb, blowout, greatest things competing for our attention and for the money in our pocketbook, we miss out on the good that God has to offer. Frankly God's goodness is incomparable to the wealth and wonderment that this world has to offer, and blessed are those that find it. So His creation was good. We also have seen that God has created a woman to be with man and that they have a perfect bond of love with no shame. Then enters the serpent into this land of God's goodness.

Here is an aside. Isn't interesting that the Devil and the angels that follow him seem to insert himself into our lives when we are experiencing God's goodness. Have you ever noticed that. The scriptures rightly call him a thief. He does in fact come to rob, kill, and destroy. His target is God's goodness.

So we have the devil enter this scene. I am going to use a word for word translation from Greek to aid in our discussion. Word for word translations are useful when looking at the grammar in Greek since English translations do not always capture the nuances of the original languages. The draw back of word for word translations is that they sound very choppy since we are not accustom to the grammatical structure of Greek.

The devil starts out by saying, "Indeed! that He Elohim said.." There was no formal introduction, no building up to the presentation. No chance to warm up. He right out of the gate begins his criticism of God's word. Indeed. "Af" in the original language. My interpretation would "Aw, Did God really say..." His criticism was not really from a place of understanding what God had said, but rather the intent was to call into question what God had said. We have this happening with regularity in our modern times. Every where we look we find people actively criticizing the Bible and what it says, not because they want to understand it better, but rather because they want to call it into question. There is a process of understanding the Bible called textual criticism which the primary goal is to challenge the text and press to see if the text is really saying what we think that it says. Don't get me wrong. I believe that we should wrestle with God's word until though His Holy Spirit we arrive at a deeper and more meaningful understanding, but when we call into question the things that are plainly understood in the Bible then it is not a new understanding, it is the old rebellion that was initiated by the devil himself.

He says next, "Not you shall eat from any tree in the Garden." I would like to compare this to what God said and note how the Devil works in distorting the word of God. Remember the power of Satan is not is some magnificent awesome forcefulness to inflict pain and suffering, but rather deception. Deception is the most powerful tool that the devil uses against people. What God really said was "From any tree in the garden to eat you shall eat." Notice that the serpent states God's provision in the negative. I believe that the serpent is trying to get Eve to look away from the generous provision that God has given. God said that from any tree to eat you shall eat. This double eat is a statement of abundance and blessing. God's goodness was an abundant blessing, but that is not what the serpent wanted Eve to focus on, so he starts out by saying God's provision in the negative. If she were facing some uncertain medical crisis he might say, "Surely God didn't say he would heal you?" If she were facing some finical crisis he would say, "Come on, God couldn't have said that he would give you abundant life." If a person was facing a relationship crisis he might say, "Surely God does not intend for you to love him?" The devil loves to state God's provisions and commandments in the negative. He causes Eve (and us when we buy into his lie) to question our own understanding of what God has said.

Notice Eve's response. "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we are eating." She nailed it. Her understanding of what God had provided was right on target. Notice she said "we are eating." This makes me believe that Adam is right there with her. Often times much is made of the woman being the first to sin, but Adam actually made the first mistake by not protecting his bride from this deceiver. Anyway, if she got it right then what happened? For starters she did not state the double provision that God had given them. That is to say she missed that God was not only fulfilling her need, but he was doing it abundantly. But her straying from what God has said goes further.

Notice what she says next, "but from the tree which in the midst of (literally center) the garden he said Elohim not you shall eat from it. Let's compare that to what God really said. "and the tree of the lives in the midst of (center) the garden." Notice how by introducing the thought of what God was withholding from her by stating his provision in the negative, how the devil has replaced the center of attention from the tree of life. God says that the tree of life is at the center of the garden and mention the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as being there. Eve now refers to to the tree of knowledge of good and evil as being the center of the garden and does not mention the tree of life.

How often we focus on the one thing that God has not given to us. We are unaware of the wonderful blessings that He has poured out in our lives and we choose instead to center our attention on the one thing we do not have, or that God has told us in not for us. Every tree was available and the tree of life was at the center, but now the center of her universe was the forbidden tree. Sad really to think about how much of our joy is robbed from us when we choose to focus on the forbidden. In short the devil's deception has worked. Eve is no longer has a clear understanding of what God has said; instead it has been replaced with a distorted understanding of who God is, namely He is withholding something from you.

Continuing on she says, "and not you shall touch it." No where did God say that Adam and Eve were not to touch this tree. Eve is adding on to what God said. You see adding on to what God has said can be as dangerous as taking away from what He has said. In some respects we see the roots of legalism in this statement. Legalism is a set of rules designed to keep a person from offending God by preventing unholy action. It sounds like a good idea at first, but the reality is that Legalism does not produce holiness. The only thing it accomplishes is a sense of self-reliance in that it creates a false belief that we through our actions independent of God can please Him.

Next she says "lest you shall die." When we compare what she is saying to what God has said we find the other mistake of taking away from God's word. God said "in the day of to eat of you it to die you shall die." The difference is subtle but it is very important. God states the certainty of death by saying "to die you shall die." Eve on the other hand state the likelihood or possibility of dying. I mentioned last week that we do not fear the God of the New Testament and that in fact God is the God of both Testaments. He has not changed. Like Eve I think we toy with the possibility of judgment rather than the certainty of it. Let me make this clear unless you repent of your sin you will face God's judgment! That is a certainty not a possibility. Parable?

Next the devil says, "Not to die you shall die." This is a direct contradiction of God's words. He goes on to say that if she eats of the fruit that her eyes will be opened. Open your eyes. This reminds me of the arguments that people give in protecting our children. You might hear things like, "You can't shelter them forever." or "That is old-fashioned." Don't get me wrong opening your eyes is a good thing, but what is it that you are allowing into your soul? Luke 11:24-36 says

34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, the whole body will be full of light, as when a lamp shines its light on you."

That phase take care then that the light in you is not darkness. This tells me that there is false light. In this case there is false openness that leads to your whole body, your whole life being filled with darkness. The devil was not lying when he said your eyes will be opened, but he was deceiving her by making is sound like a good thing.

Satan goes on "that one knowing Elohim that in day of to eat of you from it and they are unclosed eyes of you and you become as Elohim ones knowing of good and evil." Interestingly the devil is not lying here technically, but he most certainly is deceiving. The serpent is hinting at omnipotence (that is knowing all things). They will become like God knowing all things. In fact what was the truth is that they were already made in the image of God. They were already like God. However they had not yet experienced evil.

The difficulty of this passage arises from the issue of God's sovereignty versus man's free will. God placed in us an ability to chose for ourselves moral right and moral wrong. It was not until Adam and Eve chose the moral wrong that a full understanding of good and evil really comes into awareness. Think about opposites for a moment. Let's say you are from a desert where it is always hot. If you only know hot and never experience cold then your awareness of cold being the opposite of hot is not full. You might know something of warm and hot. In this case warm would be your idea of cold.

Up to this point Adam and Eve only experienced good. God's creation was good, His provision was good, His fellowship was good, His word was good. There was only an understanding of good. That is to say an knowledge of good. By choosing that which God had prohibited using their free will they awaken a conscious awareness of evil that was not understood before. The possibility of evil existed in man's ability to chose something that God did not want them to have, but the awareness was not. Using the hot cold example; we have the ability to feel extreme cold, but until we experienced it then we do not have an awareness of cold. Interestingly this awakening aroused a moral sense of right and wrong that they instantly reacted to. The shame of evil can be quite profound.

I think that if we could have full awareness (and then not be distracted) of the consequences and destructive nature of sin before we acted I think that we would not choose it. Distracted by what? The belief that sin holds something better than what we already have in Christ, the belief that we are missing out on something when we choose not to sin, the desire for the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the desire to be great.

These last three are seen in the text. Back to the word for word translation it says "She is seeing, the woman that good the tree for food (lust of the flesh), and that yearning it to the eyes (desire of the eyes) and being coveted the tree to make intelligent of (Coveting greatness)." When we move beyond God's word, when we are unrestrained by His truth, When we cast off the desire of right living when we become a slave to lust of the flesh, desires of the eyes, and a coveting greatness. Eve had reached a point were her focus was no longer on God's provision, life, or His word, but rather on the forbidden, lust of the flesh, desire of the eyes, and coveting forbidden wisdom. Sin had a death grip on her and so she ate. I could continue on about the consequences of sin, but I do not need to. We live it every day. Sin is the most destructive force in our lives today.

So how can we apply this lesson to our lives today? First we must recognize the power of Sin rests squarely in the deception that God is not really good, nor does he have our best interests at heart. The reality is that God is abundantly good. Secondly there is a danger in adding to or taking away from God's word. I believe that the best prevention for this is regular and intentional Bible study. If you are not reading your Bible then start, if you are occasionally reading your Bible then make and effort to start reading it every day. If you are in the word everyday then continue with consistency. Understand the Word of God like prayer is essential to the Christian walk. Third, the tree of life (Christ) should be the center of our garden. True the forbidden fruit is available in our lives, but when the forbidden becomes our focus over Christ then we are more likely to fall into sin. On the other hand when Christ is the center of our life we are protected from sin. Forth, we need to have a healthy fear of and respect for God's judgment. We presume too much on His longsuffering. Fifth we need to be very careful what we allow into our lives especially through our eyes. God's word says, "Take care then that the light in you is not darkness." If we do not protect then our lives will be filled with darkness. Finally if we are waiting until it becomes and issue were we are fighting against the lust of the flesh, desires of the eyes or the coveting greatness, then we will lose to sin every time. If you are at the point of wrestling with desires this morning there is only one cure. Repent and turn fully and purposefully to Christ. If you have never given your life to Christ and are wrestling with the possibility then in a moment while I stand up front, come forward and I will share with you how you can enter into this relationship. If you need to commit to reading the Bible and Praying daily please do not wait another day start now. If you find yourself caught up in sin's grip, then please seek God.

In His Image

26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.  Gen 1:26-27 (HCSB)

That we are created in the image of God is one of the most precious truths of the Genesis story.  Think about it.  We are in the image of goodness, love, kindness, grace, mercy, longsuffering, righteousness, every quality that is God's is ours by image.  Bearing in mind that sin had not yet marred the nature of man God's conclusion was that it was "very good!" 

"Let Us make man in Our image." "So God created man in His own image."  This passage also gives us a glimpse into the nature of the God head.  Note the plural and then the singular in reference of whose image we were created in.  This is the Trinity at work.  God the Father, God the Son (see John 1:1-5), and God the Spirit (See Genesis 1:2) were all present and involved in creation.  Also the passage describes the God head as plural (three) and singular (one).  This is a difficult concept to understand, but God is Three in one.  This is the trinity.  And we see this truth right here at the beginning of the Bible. 

He created them male and female.  There is intrinsic value in every human being regardless of gender, race, or class.  Genesis tells us that we have equal footing before God.  We are in His image and He created us and it was "very good."  Think about it with the removal of sin (accomplished by receiving the gift of salvation) God looks down at you and says "very good."  The praise of a loving Father is powerful indeed.  God says "very good" when he looks at you and that is a blessing.

God also establishes the purpose of man in this account.  We are created to...

 
Rule the fish

Rule the birds

Rule the livestock

Rule the Earth and all the creatures

Be fruitful

 
Fill the earth

Subdue it

Steward every plant

Harvest food to eat

Feed everything that has breath in it

It was very good!

Creatures of the Earth

Then God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds..."  ...And God saw that it was good.

That in one day God created the creatures of the earth is awe inspiring.  The diversity of life each according to it's kind.  What is more amazing is that He built within them genetic code (the instruction book for biological life) creating a perpetual diversity of all creatures that would ever live.  Stated a different way tigers of today are connected by an unbroken chain of variations in the instruction book (genetic code) to the life of a cat created by God.  God did that.  It is truly amazing to think about. 

The creatures are also deeply connected to the earth.  Note God said "Let the earth produce living creatures,"  They are brought forth from the earth and they are sustained by the earth and it's produce. 

God created the connection of generation to generation, life to life, goodness to goodness.  We can celebrate this and worship Him for his Goodness. 

He created some to be domesticated animals

Some to be livestock

He created some to be creepy crawly :-)

 

He created some to be wild

 

Some to live on the mountains

 

Some to live on the sea

 

Some to live in the desert

 

Some in the arctic cold

Some Small

Some Large

and some to be cute

 

Let us praise God for his wonderful Creation.  It was Good and I think we can agree.  God bless you.

It was really Good

 

... Let the water swarm with living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky. 

I was blogging before there was a blog.  Every couple of days I would post a statement or short story on the bulletin board at my work.  I was working on campus in a carpentry shop.  I remember one time I posted, "Today I listened the the birds.  They praised God and I heard what they said."  Shortly after posting this someone asked "What did they say?"  I replied, "You will have to go listen for yourself to find out." 

 

 

God's creation is "good."  The sea-creatures and the winged birds are here on the earth as evidence of God's goodness.  We rarely spend anytime considering these.  My family recently went to the beach.  While we were there we saw crabs, clams, and starfish.  We also picked up   some broken up seashells.  It was yet another experience of connecting with my own origins.  With my dad we picked out the old beach house that used to belong to my grandfather.  I remembered that when I was young I would walk just a block and be on the beach.   I remember as a child going to the beach with my dad and grandfather.  And now my own children having the same experience was very special.  Thank You God for creating the creatures of the sea that my family may have this special experience of looking for seashells.  Now the creatures have touched four generations that I am aware of in my family.  I look forward to the fifth generation should the Lord tarry long enough for my children to have children.  ...it was good!

These special moments are there for the taking.  They are low fruit that we can pick if we only take the time to do it.  God's creation is filled with goodness whether it is listening to the birds sing, three generations walking at the beach looking at sea creatures, or any other amazing revelation of God's creation.  It is his special gift to us.  I pray that I make the most of the special moments as I celebrate God's Goodness as I celebrate His Creation.  Take a moment to experience it and then spend some time thanking Him for His Goodness.  Do it today!