Out of Hiding

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!

Believing God’s Word

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

 

Who is in Control?

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?

Killjoy

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?

Blame Game

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.

Trustworthy

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.

No king in Israel

Re:Verse reading–Judges 17:1-6; 18:1; 19:1; 20:1-7; 21:25 (day seven)

“In those days, there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”–17: 6

Most scholars think that Samuel wrote the book of Judges.  Years later, he was the historian who reflected on the lessons of this unproductive chapter and recorded them as a warning.

Authority is good.  (The Spirit, government, parents, pastors–see Romans 13).  Samuel will later struggle with the idea of a human king for Israel (see 1 Samuel 8) , but even he concedes that unrestrained personal freedom is an unworkable system.

Haven’t we come to the same place?  Headed there?  Challenging any authority outside of self?  Don’t we (apart from the influence of Christ) resist leadership too?

“I am a man under authority” said the Centurion who so impressed Jesus.  (Matthew 8:9) For Jesus, submission is a virtue.  Like Samuel, He warns those who recognize no king but self and its thoughts, “You are on an unwise path”.

Our Own Image

Re:Verse reading–Judges 17:1-6; 18:1; 19:1; 20:1-7; 21:25 (day six)

And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” Judges 17:3

The Israelites committed two grave evils: idolatry and casting the LORD in their own image. They were quick to adopt the lifestyle of pagan worship, and even when they did get the name right (the LORD) they believed things about him or worshiped him in ways that he did not prescribe at all, not even close. Judges 17 is a keen reminder of this reality in the ancient Israelites…and us. We can make God into our own image. We can be guilty of getting His name right, but ascribing things to Him that He has not revealed. This only ever happens when we choose to listen to ourselves, others, or culture over God; or we interpret what God has revealed to us through the lens of our own choosing.

Sadly, the result is the same, chaos and subtle (and not-so-subtle) destruction. How do we ensure we are actually listening to God’s voice? Two connected ways. One, by faithfully
and regularly reading the Bible. The Holy Spirit teaches us, which means that consistent reading of God’s Word has a self-correcting affect on us; the Holy Spirit won’t let us continue casting God in our own image. Two, faithful fellowship with other Christians. When we do fellowship right, we can gently nudge each other the moment we begin to make God in our own image.

So, Christian do both faithfully! God desires that you know Him!

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8

Default Setting

Re:Verse reading–Judges 17:1-6; 18:1; 19:1; 20:1-7; 21:25 (day five)

“In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

It seems like this was the “default setting” for the Israelites- When there was no King (voice of God), they selfishly turned inward to find guidance and understanding.

Thousands of years later, we see that we are the same.  Sadly, this inward and selfish bent has been the default setting for the human heart throughout history. Apart from a relationship with God through Christ, we are left with our own (man-made) wisdom and understanding to guide and govern us.

The good news of the Gospel, is that God has made a way to speak to the human heart that will trust and follow Him.  Even in relationship with God, there is still the struggle against this “default setting”.

How can we resist?  What can we do?  Start with these:

Accountability-  Hebrews 10:23-25

Discipline- 1 Timothy 4:7

Humility- Psalm 139:23-24

UnChanging

Re:Verse reading–Judges 17:1-6; 18:1; 19:1; 20:1-7; 21:25 (day four)

Micah’s mother meant well.  She was pleased to find what happened to her silver and she dedicated it to the Lord.  Where she failed though was in her application.  Instead of worshipping the Lord in the way He had prescribed, she did it in her own way.  She disobeyed God’s direct command to make no graven images.  She sought to worship God according to her own sinful heart.

Are we guilty of ignoring God’s commands and doing things our own way?  Have we placed idols before God?  Maybe we had good intentions, but we failed to base our actions in Scripture.  Have we lost sight of the Truth in Scripture…saying that it was good for the ancients, but it is no longer valid for today?   Ask the Lord to search your heart and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.  God’s Truth never changes…it applies today just as it did thousands of years ago.