God's Unchanging Hand

When we sing our praises in Heaven

I just might be in the bluegrass section.

Gen 17-18. Abrahamic Covenant

There's a ton of information in chapters 17-18: the origin of circumcision, the promise of Isaac, intercession for the fall of Sodom, etc... So I'm not going to try to summarize it in writing. Instead, I've attached Jon Courson's video sermon on it. It's about 11/2 hours. He also goes on a number of interesting tangents in biblical ethics and practices that's worth watching.. Enjoy!

Gen 17-18, with Jon Courson

Jon and his dog PawDre!

Gen 16 pt. 2, Hagar-Ishmael-Islam

The angel of the LORD found her (Hagar) by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.”
The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.”
And the angel of the LORD said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” -Genesis 16:7-12

As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. -Genesis 17:20

Islamic traditions consider Ishmael to be the ancestor of Arab people,[2] excluding Arabs who are descendants of Ya'rub. Arabs who are from Ishmael-descendant tribes are occasionally referred to as "Arabized-Arabs" to highlight their ancestry. The Prophet Muhammad was of these Arabs
-Wikipedia

Come to Jesus

Psalm 4- Hear me when I call, O God

Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.

Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God,

for to you do I pray.

O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house.

I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies;

make your way straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouth;

their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave;

they flatter with their tongue. Make them bear their guilt, O God;

let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name

may exult in you.

For you bless the righteous, O LORD;

you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Gen-16 pt. 1, Abram-Hagar-Ishmael

My top three favorite video's telling of the birth of Ishmael

Gen 15- Living in the Gap

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” -James 4:13-15


Most times it feels like I’m just standing in a room with my hands at my sides while God tosses random items in a suitcase for me. And as he takes some things from my shelves and throws them in, still others are picked up and thrown directly in the garbage as he says, “You gonna need this" and "You’ve never needed this.” All while I politely stare in dazed amusement wondering, “Where are we going?”


But it’s become a large part of my life with Christ to simply trust in Him to guide me. And that means learning not to worry about my future.


And it’s easy to worry isn’t it? In fact in a twisted way it’s almost fulfilling to be immersed in our worries. We’ve simply allowed ourselves to be shaped into worrisome people. All too easily letting our fears guide us more than our hopes.


Ah, the awesome power of the “What If’s.”- What if I lose my job? What if my spouse leaves me? What if I get sick? What if the kids get sick? What if our house burns down? It really can be paralyzing. So we bubble wrap our dreams in a sort of padded room of plans for our future. We plan, plan, plan as though we're tightening the straps on a straight jacket to be sure we've taken as few risks as possible.


We’ll stay at our unhappy, dead end jobs for decades just to ride out our 401K’s instead of going back to school or starting a new career. We’ll turn down trips to new places in lew of staying home for our annual vacation, trimming our hedges and cleaning gutters. We buy insurance for everything we own (even our own lives). And some who can afford it might even retain lawyers on the side just to watch over it all in case there’s something we might’ve missed planning for.


And I’m not against planning but maybe we ought to stop and ask ourselves, what are our motives? Are we planning with a sense of hope or are we planning out of fear? Because as I understand it God has taught us not to focus so much on the ‘what if’s’ of tomorrow but instead to focus on our faith in Him right here, right now.


But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! -Luke 12:28


Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. -Matthew 6:34


And so at least in my life, living out this command has been challenging because it goes against my own normal, worrisome, social flow. So I’ve made it a point to pray regularly about it, asking for God to lead me.


And when I pray I like asking God to lead me with the easiest possible signs- “Lord, please lead me through opportunities. Lord, please lead me through mentoring. And Lord, please lead me by putting your own will on my heart.”


Then I can rest in God while comfortably soaking in new opportunities along with any trusted advice and by following my heart.


So with all that in mind I've included this next sermon entitled Living in the Gap. It was taught at the Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas by Pastor Afshin Ziafat.


In this sermon Afshin uses the covenant by God with Abram in Genesis 15 to teach us that we as Christians tend to focus on the gifts of God (fulfillment of the covenant) more than God himself.


Here’s how he puts it:
1. We need to recognize what the true reward is-The Lord came to Abram saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” -Genesis 15:1
2. We need to take our eyes off whatever’s in God’s hands and put our eyes back on Him. (Quit worshiping what God gives you, worship Him.)


So using my little analogy from the beginning- Is it right for me to be asking the Lord, “Where are we going?” Or should I simply be strengthened in knowing wherever I am He is with me.


Give it a listen then ask your own self, “What am I expecting out of this relationship with God?”

Living in the Gap, Afshin Ziafat

Psalm 1, Blessed is the Man

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel

of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

   In all that he does, he prospers.

    

The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Gen 15-18, with Chuck Smith

Chuck Smith has been the lead pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Ca. since 1965. He's done a wonderful job of teaching through the entire bible verse by verse and then making those recordings available for free online. 


When I first started reading the Bible I realized right away that I wanted help understanding more about the scriptures so I asked around. Chuck's name came up right away. I didn't have a computer at the time but I was able to listen to his sermons using the internet on my cell phone. So week after week I avoided many phone calls while listening to Chuck take me through entire books of the bible.


So here's a section of his C2000 series from Genesis 15-18. I hope you enjoy him as much as I have. I've since bought the C3000 series on mp3 and read a number of his books but to me, nothing is as good as this first series. It's almost like sitting at the feet of your easygoing, funny and tender grandfather while listening to him teach. You can find the whole series at:
Chuck Smith, C2000 Through the Bible

Gen 15-18 with Chuck Smith

Down to the River to Pray

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved... Mark 16:15-16

Gen 18-19, Search for Sodom and Gomorrah

These are two links to the same awesome video. The link above is a lower quality but watchable video in YouTube format. The link below is a perfect quality video in Windows Media format. So chose whichever works best for your computer.

So this is a 1 hour documentary on the modern textual study and archaeological search for the locations of the two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. And yes, you might have to either be a bible geek (like me) or maybe just a history nerd (like me) to appreciate this but I know I'm not the only one because 19,000 people already viewed it on YouTube!

Sodom and Gomorrah, 2009 Seattle Creation Conference

Gen 12-13, Abram and Sarai in Egypt

“When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman (Sarai, his wife) was very beautiful. And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.” Genesis 12:14-16




I’m almost ashamed that I’ve allowed myself to get this old. And now I sometimes feel like I’m left unwillingly wallowing in the social side effects of being in my late 30’s.


For instance, most all of my friends can be split into one of two categories- Married or Divorced. Having never been either, I usually stay awkwardly silent about the whole issue of marriage. Also because I’ve been warned by every former girlfriend to, “Never give anyone any type of advice on relationships, ever.”


So that in mind, I’ve used this sermon by Mark Driscoll (posted below) to interpret the blessings and woe’s of Abram’s first recorded dealings with Sarai, his wife. And for all its immature humor Mark does bring a curious peek into what might have been the early personality of Abram.


An important point to mention is that Abram was by no means a saintly man. In fact I think Mark may refer to him as a “lug-nut” more than once. However, that does create a beautiful setting for us as God’s children to understand. Because God does not call extraordinary people into service, He calls ordinary people into an extraordinary service.


In another key point during the sermon, Mark talks about the gifts Abram received from an ungodly pharaoh as rewards during Abram’s sinful acts. Mark say’s, “It looks like Abram is totally profiting from ungodliness. The truth is that everything he obtains later becomes for him, a curse. The point is this, you can obtain wealth and fame and power but if you do so apart from the kindness of God; what you perceived to be a blessing will actually consume you in the end.”


That hits home with me. I’ve often been confused in life by the imbalance of wealth and fulfillment. For me, they’ve always seemed to conflict. I do know that the times in my life when I’ve been most wealthy are those same times when I’ve been most destructive.


And that’s not to say that wealth is by any means a destructive thing. But it is important to understand that even a seemingly godly blessing such as wealth can be obtained sinfully, thereby being granted by Satan for our harm (see Luke 4:5-7).


Any-who, read Gen 12-13, listen to the sermon below and write your own damn commentary. I’m headin’ over to the Christian Singles website.

Mark Driscoll, Genesis 12:10-13

oh, to save time skip the first 10 minutes of the sermon.

(he's just doing some church announcements)

Don't Fade Away

Don't fade away

My brown-eyed girl

Come walk with me

I'll fill your heart with joy

And we'll dance through our isolation

Seeking solace in the wisdom we bestow

Turning thoughts to the here and everafter

Consuming fears in our fiery halos

Say what you mean

Mean what you say

I've heard that innocence

Has led us all astray

But don't let them make you and break you

The world is filled with their broken empty

dreams

Silence is their only virtue

Locked away inside their silent screams

But for now

Let us dance away

This starry night

Filled with the glow of fiery stars

And with the dawn

Our sun will rise

Bringing a symphony of bird cries

Don't bring me down now

Let me stay here for awhile

You know life's too short

Let me bathe here in your smile

I'm transcending

The fall from the garden

Goodnight

Somnambulist

Has anyone ever told you to be careful when waking a sleepwalker? Urban myth says it can send them into cardiac arrest. I did some sleepwalking as a kid. And if you've never had the experience then let me tell you- Being woken up in a strange place is weird but, then realizing you walked your own self there is terrifying.


You might flicker your eyes open in wonder trying to understand where you are but then you start to see vague and unfamiliar shapes in the darkness and you start to cry. Your first thought is something like, “Did I hurt myself?”


And that’s what the first days of sobriety can be like too. After a week or so of not poisoning your body, your mind starts to clear and a sort of dream-like haze lifts.


Then you start seeing glimpses of what your true reality is and you realize, “This is not the place I thought I was.”


You’re a lot older now. You look awful. Your life is full with debt, shame, and dead-ends. Then you get to check your body for scars.


It’s too much for some people. I’ve watched friends waking up from their old life become so overwhelmed that their first sober act is to try to kill themselves. And honestly, what’d you expect?


This reality is heartless. It’s a world so fueled by self-preservation that everyone has already moved a lifetime ahead of you. So now you don’t just feel like your starting over; you feel like you’re starting from years behind.


And that’s why I say, don’t expect me to slap on a suit and a smile. I’m not ready to seize life as though the last 20 years of self-mutilation never happened.


No, addiction recovery isn’t that feel good fairytale with a plot that turns on a kiss as trumpets sound and everyone cheers. This is a lot more like waking a sleepwalker who then buries their face in their hands and sobs.


So if you’re an addict or know an addict or for whatever reason are feeling the same way, don’t be so anxious to jump into the normal life of those you see on the sidewalk with you. Yeah, their lives do look better than yours. Frankly, yours looks like a train wreck and that’s ok.


Just focus on getting to a safe place. Somewhere quiet and somewhat calm where you can slowly get used to being awake.


Blessings…

Gen 11, Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel was most likely a type of
Ziggurat (click on the word ziggurat).

And it isn't that God was worried that the people would

actually accomplish a tower that reached to heaven.

(I was always confused by that)

It's that they were disobediently building a one-world city

after God had commanded them to "Fill the Earth" -Gen 9:1

The Origin of Races in a fast 3 minutes

oh. and if the video confuses you then let me help make it clear-
Adam and Eve weren't White.

Gen 10- After the Flood

After the flood of Noah there was a lot of rehabilitation needed. Namely, Re-Habitation.

Here's how it plays out: Noah had 3 sons with their wives on the Ark with him- Shem, Ham, and Japheth (see cartoon in Gen 6-8 post).

From these three sons came  what's known as The Table of Nations (mapped below).

There's a sermon beneath the map by John MacArthur that'll help carry you through.

It can get confusing. I've been at it all week and it's just now sinking in. But your probably a whole lot smarter than me so give it a shot. 

History in the New World, John MacArthur

Gen 1-7 Recap

Here's a 90min video sermon recapping Genesis 1-7. I like recaps at the end of each few chapters just to keep everything fresh in my mind.


Jon is an excellent teacher. He likes to use a lot of easy analogies and corny humor to teach with. There are some points in his teachings that are opinionated but I like those too because even if I don't agree with Jon, it helps me to properly question what I do believe. Anyway, put the kettle on and enjoy.

Gen 1-7, Jon Courson 2011

Gen 6-8, A Fairly Accurate Documentary- 1933

For those who still don't believe the flood actually happened.

Watch and learn!

Gen- 19, Looking Back

I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there. –Herb Caen


Warriors should be careful with war stories. It’s easy and it’s entertaining to take a time in our past when we might’ve run through hell on earth and then glorify it; even romanticize it. And I’m no exception. But we need to be careful when we reminisce about the things we’ve done in war. And by war I mean a time of chaos in our lives. When we lived so close to fear that we did almost anything to survive. My war was in drugs and alcohol but it could be a lot of other things for each of us.


I was with a friend a few months ago and I showed them the painting posted above and asked, “Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah?” He said, “Yeah, a little.” And I said, “You know, we used to live our lives in a sort of Sodom before Christ saved us...


And now the music and drunken parties may have ended- the drugs may be gone- the money- the women- even our youth; But deep inside the wrinkles in our eyes when we smile there’s still a small sparkle of that glitter from the night we were pulled out.” And we need to be aware of that.


We need to consider that maybe we’re still susceptible to being pulled back in. Remember what the Angel's said to Lot as they we’re dragging him from the city- “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” -Genesis 19:17


And what did his wife do as they were being rushed to a safe place to start new lives? She looked back. The story says, “But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” -Genesis 19:26


You see where I’m going with this? I mean, is it right that we look back on those days of our sinful past with heroic tales as though we miss them?


Oscar Wilde said, “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”


And I don’t think we can fully embrace our future until we’ve fully let go of our past. It’s as though we have to set something old down in order to pick something new up.


Anyway, all these thoughts are usually swirling somewhere in my head but maybe a little more clearly tonight than most. Tonight’s November 22 and it’s been exactly 1 year since my last drink. Tonight was the night I was arrested and finally humbled enough in my depravity to call out to Jesus.


And I guess I just wanted to take a minute to acknowledge the bombs that still fall as Jesus continues to completely destroy my sinful past. Thank you Jesus for continuing in my rescue.


And if it's God's will for me to use the salvation from my past as lessons to teach others of His mercy then let me continue to do that. But I know that's still me looking back so, Lord help me to be careful not to stare.

Jon Courson, Genesis 19 *excellent teaching

Gen-4, Killing My Brother

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. -Genesis 4:1-11





I like looking at my house on Google Earth. I like to zoom way down to the street level. All the way down till I'm standing in virtual reality in front of my driveway. Then slowly, click by click, I pan out further and further till I'm at the fullest distance of about halfway to the moon looking down on earth as a whole.


And then slowly again I zoom myself back in to street level and start over. All to get the accurate perspective. I see my little home, my little bills, and my little life engulfed in this immense world. And it's perspectives like these that help me to understand myself better.


It's putting something in context to its surroundings. A sort of getting-out in order to get a full view from above rather than fumbling in emotions while stitching together a dozen side-views from within.


With an admitted over-simplification I call it the God Perspective.


It's also one of the secrets I've learned to reading my bible. I try to think about it from God's perspective. For instance, the Cain and Abel story is familiar but it never really hit home with me. I mean, so what if one guy killed his brother. I've never killed my brother. I have no property in that neighborhood; no perspective to relate to this story.


And besides, thousands of people are killed off like ants throughout the Old Testament and even millions more since then. So I figured it was just an example of how murder is a sin and left it at that. You know, for those prison preachers to teach about.


But then I heard the Mark Driscoll sermon on it (posted below) and I began to look at it contextually- Cain was the firstborn son of Adam (father) and Eve (mother). They had sex just like we do and Eve got pregnant with a boy. So Cain must’ve had an unusual childhood to say the least.


He must’ve often heard from his dad (Adam) about being created from dust by God. He would’ve known about the days before “the fall” when his dad named every living creature.


Cain would be aware that God created his mother from his fathers’ rib. He would've heard stories about the beauty and blessings within the Garden of Eden. And Cain would've known how his mother and father were lured by the serpent and eventually expelled from Eden forever.


So using all that as the surroundings to Genesis 4 when Cain and his brother Abel brought their offerings to God, there shouldn't have been much doubt in Cain's heart of: (1.) Who God was (2.) What God expects (3.) That God delivers justice.


So now I’m racking my brain thinking, why then would Cain kill his brother practically right in front of God? Well just speculating but, maybe he didn't know he could kill him. Up until then the bible hasn't mentioned of anyone dying. Maybe they just didn't know what human death was. It’s obvious that Cain was up to no good. Scripture says, “Cain was very angry” and “Cain rose up against his brother.” But murder? The 10 commandments didn't even exist.


I decided to plug this into my Google Earth technique. It's as if God was saying, "Come here John. Sit up here beside me and watch how this unfolds." Kind of like a heavenly view of the Globe theater.


So I try panning out a little further...


Then I notice something. I begin seeing how God continually leaves my side to head down there and interact with Cain. And watching as God returns to his seat then smile while standing up again to head back down I'm starting to think this isn't about a murder. This is about a repentance.


It's about repentance and the persistence of God’s mercy. I think God is showing me how he comes to us and gives us multiple chances to accept our sin, to confess our sin, and to repent.


Let’s play around with the story a little and I’ll show you what I mean.


First off, the Lord said to Cain before the murder even happened- “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."


And remember, God already knew Cain would murder Abel. So when God said, “sin is crouching at the door” and “you must rule over it”, he wasn't so much warning Cain. God is preparing Cain for what’s about to happen.


And that helps me start moving the fog around a bit too. Because after the murder God said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" When God already knew Abel was dead. God already knew Cain had killed him. God knows everything.


And I could be way off here but I think God allowed all this because he was trying to get Cain to admit what he had done. Because by getting Cain to own up to it, God could then help Cain understand it was wrong and then to repent.


Like a kid who’s drawn on the living room wall with crayons. The parent says, “What have you drawn on?” while staring at both the wall and the child. The parent knows but he wants to get his child to understand. He wants the child (who is plainly guilty) to have the chance to learn about his involvement in and results of his own actions.


Of course Cain just smarted off to God by saying, "I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?" And that would be like the child saying to their parent, “What am I, Picasso?”


So then God says plainly, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” And to me that sounds like the parent saying, “There’s crayon all over the wall and you’re the crayon kid.”


So now both Cain and the child are at a point of accepting, admitting and repenting that they have been engaged in a wrongful act.


Now whether or not Cain actually repented is debatable so I'll leave that up to you.


But all this is very important to me. I was raised with very few guidelines being taught about what sin is in God’s eyes. In fact, I was plainly raised to believe God was an inactive God and that I should sin as much as I could get away with.


And now by the grace of God's active love for me (like a father for his son) I have heard God’s voice call when I’m on the edge and say, “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” It is a warning, yes. But I think sometimes it’s also a preparation, knowing I will fall.


And to me at least, the point I get from Cain and Abel is how even in our sin God in his foreknowledge is already calling to us. Not in condemnation but in love. He lovingly holds our sins accountable to us to try to get us to see ourselves through his eyes. And we as his children must have the humility and courage to not deny our sin or hide our sin or even minimize our sin.


No, we must admit our sin even before it occurs- when it first becomes a thought. The way Cain was given the chance to when he first became angry and God came to him saying, "Why are you angry?"


So now I'm ready to start slowly zooming back down onto my life with a proper contextual reference. Through the story of Cain and Abel, God teaches me that as a descendant of Adam I am like Cain and in a continual headlong dive into sin.


And I must call to God now with the desperation of a convicted felon in repentance for my own murderous heart. And pray that in God’s mercy he will, “deliver me from evil” before I do something as awful as killing my own brother.

Genesis 4: Cain and Abel, Pastor Mark Driscoll

East from Eden

We didn't evolve from animals.

We've de-evolved into animals.

We were made in the image of God.

But as generation after generation

continues to walk further from God

we, in every way, resemble him less.

Make it Rain

I was in my favorite coffee shop today reading about Noah and the Flood in Genesis 6 when this song came over the cafe speakers. I just love when God sync's my surroundings with whatever he has me doing.

Gen 2-3, Falling in this Eden

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

-Genesis 2:8-9


And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” -Genesis 2:16-17


God created Eden. Within Eden he created the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He pointed Adam to the tree and said, “Don’t eat of it” knowing both Adam and Eve would disobey him.


It’s not as though God was at all surprised by what they did. In fact when you get right down to it, God even allowed Satan into the Garden knowing he would tempt them.


My point is this, God already knows when, where, why, and how we are going to sin. In fact, he knows all our sins before we’re even born. That’s why we have one  Cross two thousand years ago. Not ‘in case’ we sin but because to God, we already have.


And I don’t know about you but that raises a few questions in my mind. Going back to Adam and Eve- Why did God put the tree there in the first place? Why did he even bother to warn Adam? Why didn’t he just destroy the serpent the second it came in? Most importantly, is God just setting us up to fail?


And if you know me then you know I like to simplify things. So after reading and prayer and a few notes I’m beginning to understand it in this way- God knows how many times I’m going to fall before I learn to walk. Without letting me fall though, I might never learn.


Does that mean its Gods fault when I fall? No. But he does sometimes let me fall. And once I do, he’s right there to help me back up so I can try again. Even if that means falling a few more times.


And that really does help me to understand my life better. Because I know God loves me. I know God is always with me. Yet sometime’s I end up flat on my face and I want to yell out, “Where were you on that one!”


But that’s when he puts out his hand to help me up and says, “I’m right here.” And that’s just one of those things that make me smile and say, “Beautiful. The way you work is simply beautiful.”


I also like to imagine that this world I live in is still a sort of Eden. There’s a lot of trees that God has put all around me and told me not to eat from.


But using this simple analogy in my childlike brain, I’m allowed to recognize when the serpent is tempting me with evil by using the fruit from one of these trees that God has created.


Then I can call to God for protection. Not necessarily from the fruit but from the evil Satan's using it for. Namely, getting me to do what God told me not to.


Here’s a video sermon (Yea Video’s!) of John Piper using Eden to explain how God allows Satan to exist so that the glory of Jesus Christ can be revealed to us. 


Piper’s cool because he’s kinda like the mad scientist of preachers. I love to listen but I especially love when I can watch him because I think he really is on the edge of earthly insanity and a full on spiritual combustion.


Near the end of the video he’ll describe 8 things we should always do concerning evil followed by 4 things we should never do concerning evil. It’s worth watching till the end to find out. I think the whole lesson is about 40 minutes.


Blessings…

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