Category: Faith > Fear

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 3:7-15, 4:1-17 (day one) 

“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ “–3:11

Familiar place for me.  Insecurity.  Inadequacy.  “I can’t do that.”  “I don’t know how.”  I know these words all too well.

A few years before, Moses probably wouldn’t have verbalized self-doubt.  He was brash and self-confident.  Then, life collapsed.  A very public fall from grace and a criminal record and the loss of all he had.  Forty years in the desert at a blue collar job had done its job.  He learned humility.

Confidence is the second lesson of the spiritual life.  (Humility is always the first) Once God teaches us to say, “I can’t” (in my own strength), He teaches us to say, “I can” (if God will be with me).

It is a turning point.  For Moses.  For us.  “I CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”–Philippians 4:13.

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 3:1-19 (day seven)

“I will put enmity between you and the woman”–v 15.

“Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”–2 Timothy 2:3

It has been eye-opening for me.  Reading Genesis 3.  Reflecting on it.  Realizing that when sin came into the world God DECLARED WAR!  No other choice for a holy God to make.  And no option for His sons and daughters than to join Him in the conflict.

It has been a strange comfort to me.  The tension I feel, I am not “making it up”.  The opposition is real and so is His call  to courage.  Neutrality is no virtue, not in this eternal struggle.  Jesus didn’t look for a safe place.

My take-away this week is what the Lord told Joshua.  “Be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the Law that Moses gave you.”–Joshua 1:7.  We are in a war! May the Lord give us courage.

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 3:1-19 (day six)

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God…” Genesis 3:8

This is remarkable, only moments before if they had recognized God’s presence they likely would have run to him, but not now. It had to have been a very peculiar feeling, fear and shame, feelings they only experienced now since their eyes had been opened by the Knowledge of good and evil. The serpent promised they would become like God, but truly they became alone out of fear. They weren’t made to experience either, nor were we.

Notice though what God does almost immediately.

“But the Lord God called to the man and said to him…” Genesis 3:9.

Grace is God finding you and bringing you out from the shadows. He triumphs over your fear; he brings you out of hiding. That’s the good news of God!

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 3:1-19 (day five) 

“Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” I read this week that “the first evil act was to call into question the Word of God”. What separated man from God was ultimately unbelief.

This week I was again reminded of the importance and priority of learning, studying, and trusting God’s Word. In God’s Word we find salvation, freedom, and joy. Through God’s Word we understand best, “Who God is”, and “What is He like”. It is no small thing to read (each week), study (individually and in small groups), and worship around (the promises and hope) God’s Word. I am grateful for a church that intentionally presses its people deeper into God’s Word. (Re:Verse, graduate gifts, worship and music, are just a few of the ways)

God’s remedy for restoring His relationship with man answers the sin problem in its first form.   Believe!!  Mark 16:16, Romans 10:9-10

 

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 3:1-19 (day four)

This week begins a new Re:Verse study entitled Faith>Fear (> ‘is greater than’).  In our reading this week, in verse 10, Adam tells God that he was afraid.  There had been no fear until Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit.  Sin brought fear.  As a result of man’s sin, we now have fear of evil, fear of pain, fear of not having enough, fear of relationships, fear of death…and on and on the list goes.  Fear can invade every aspect of our life.  At its heart, fear is the loss of control.

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they thought they could be like God…knowing good from evil.  They thought they could be in control.  When we realize we do not have control of a situation, we are afraid.  Our only way to conquer fear is to turn to Christ in faith.  We look to God to be in control rather than ourselves.  Wasn’t that God’s plan all along?

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 3:1-19 (day three)

“Where are you?”  From Genesis to Jesus, God comes looking: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”  God seeks because men are lost.  But this is no tender tearjerker.  We are willfully lost.  We fear, but we don’t fear God.  That is, we don’t fear him out of the recognition that he’s good and we’re not.  Rather, we fear him because he’s out to ruin our hard-won independence.  And that kind of fear will pave the way to our death.  When God says to you, “Where are you?”–and he will indeed say that to you–which fear will rise up in you?

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 3:1-19 (day two) 

The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” vs. 12-13

Who wants to be wrong? Nobody. Look at any trial and even if a crime has clearly been committed lawyers will haggle over minutiae to exonerate their clients. This isn’t new. If you have ever wondered if anyone has ever just accepted the guilt of their actions, the answer is…no. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. Sound like a conversation with your children? It is our inherent sin nature. We want to be right, we want to have others look upon us as virtuous and when caught in sin we manufacture a lie to cover the deceit of our hearts.

Did Adam or Eve fool God? It’s folly to think we ever could. This probably won’t stop our predilection to pass blame, but hopefully we will be quicker to repent and face whatever comes our way.

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 3:1-19 (day one) 

” ‘You will not surely die,’ said the serpent to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.’ “–v 4.

If a ship is strong, capable of navigating the ocean, we call it seaworthy.  If (since) God is strong, capable of keeping His promises, we call Him trustworthy.

Eve would have saved herself (and us) great heart ache to have remembered this truth.  Why did she doubt God’s goodness and essential honesty?  Why would she lend credibility to the whispered accusations of a talking snake?  Why do we?

It is the second question that must be answered by every living soul.  1) Is there a God? 2) Is He good and worthy of my trust?

This confidence guides our reaction to His law.  Even when difficult or painful, God’s plan is “good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2) because that is who He is.