Sin quits, faith keeps on . . .

Genesis 4; Matthew 4; Ezra 4; Acts 4

Imagine a painting refusing certain colors, or an automobile insisting it will run itself without the correct working parts. Imagine a house refusing framing or insisting on its own decisions regarding design and function. These are silly suggestions yet right from the beginning, humanity was created in the image of God yet rebels against our creator.

In Genesis, the first offspring of Adam and Eve murdered his brother right after he realize his own offering to God was not accepted as his brothers had been. God told him, “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 contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6–7) Cain was warned but he sinned anyway. Instead of confessing his shortfall and asking forgiveness, he retaliated.

If I do anything that falls short, I cannot please God by anything other than humbly admitting my error.

In Ezra’s story, God gave his people freedom from their exile to go home and rebuilt their temple. Opposition arose and instead of listening to God, they were afraid of the people in that land and the current king and stopped their work.

Giving in to those who oppose what I do in obedience to God is lack of faith and disobedience.

Matthew tells of the temptation of Jesus. His enemy (and ours) made three offers to Him and He turned down all three.

And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” (Matthew 4:3–10)

Jesus had work to do. Satan tried to stop Him by offering shortcuts that would benefit Him but do nothing toward fulfilling the salvation plan of God. instead of giving in to the temptations, Jesus began to teach and preach, calling others to work with Him as He proclaimed the gospel and healed diseases and afflictions. He simply did as His Father wanted.

Because the devil went after the Son of God, I can fully expect to be attacked as well. My efforts to further the kingdom of God are not at the same level of effectiveness as were those of Jesus, but anytime I give in to the lies and shortcuts the devil offers, I am rebelling against the plan of God.

Chapter 4 of Acts gives a wonderful example of what to say and do concerning opposition. Peter and John, in the name of Jesus, healed a man. Five thousand put their faith in Jesus. The religious leaders in that day were upset and confronted them. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said this:

“If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:9–12)

The opposers told them to stop speaking in Jesus’ name, but Peter and John answered, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19–20) Their example prompted others to pray for boldness and “when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)

What former people of faith could not do, Jesus did. Then He gave His Spirit to His followers and they also were able to resist the temptation to quit when facing opposition. I want to have the courage to always resist temptation and the strength to remain obedient so I am also numbered among God’s faithful servants.

Only three kinds of sin?

Genesis 3; Matthew 3; Ezra 3; Acts 3

This week I heard a pastor say in a radio sermon that there are only three kinds of sin. He quoted 1 John:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

He said that sin involves wanting what we see that is not meant for us, desire pleasure or comfort that is not intended for us or wanting what we think will in some way make us better than others. This morning I see these three in the original sin in the garden of Eden . . .

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Genesis 3:6–7)

The rest of the chapter describes the results: they were ashamed, hid from God, did not admit their disobedience but shifted the blame, and were placed under a curse. The enemy was cursed and doomed. The woman was cursed to pain in having children and wanting to be the boss all the time. The man was cursed for not taking his leadership role by a lifetime of hard work to make a living. They were also cursed with physical death even though it was delayed.

God is merciful. He clothed them to take away their shame, then took them out of the garden to protect them from eating the tree of life and living forever with the curse. He had a plan. The curse came with a promise — a curse on their tempter who would meet his demise through the woman’s offspring — who would “bruise his head.”

This story has been called a myth to explain the origin of sin but not an actual event. Some say things like that to avoid admitting that sin is an issue. Odd idea. That sense of right and wrong gets blurred these days but it remains. We know. The daily news gives evidence of sin, as does the conflicting desires in our own hearts. Besides, sin had to start somewhere and God’s version makes sense.

Three sins are hard to generalize. I suppose sin with my eyes includes stealing, covetousness, and a host of other things. Sin with my flesh equals sexual stuff and excessive desires for comfort in things and total selfishness. Sin rooted in the pride of life starts with “I will run my own life” and disobedience to all the good that God wants for me. Every day there are temptations in these areas, from eating too many cookies, to bragging, to lazing around instead of taking care of my responsibilities. I cannot imagine being without the ability to recognize good and evil. Yes, sin wants the evil and makes all sorts of false assumptions about what is good, but by the Word of God, at least I can recognize the evil.

These three sins are seen in Eve’s response to the suggestions of the evil one. She saw the tree would be good to eat. It delighted her eyes and appealed to the pride that can come with being wise. The difference now is that God sent Jesus and my heart can respond to Him instead of temptation. His lessons may take a lifetime to learn but He shows me that disobedience is not good for me, even if it looks good. He shows me that human wisdom is folly compared to God’s wisdom. He also shows me that when I share my sinful desires and encourage others to join me (like Eve invited Adam to eat too), it will bring great disaster.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— (Galatians 3:13)

Jesus came to reverse the curse, and the only way I can enjoy the benefit of that goal is by cooperating with Him. The pain of life does not disappear entirely but the power of the curse is broken by faith in the One who forgave me and takes away my shame, the One who died on a tree and who lets me have the abundant life He created for me, allowing me to feast on the life that He graciously grants. Because of Him, I look forward to living forever with Him and in total freedom from the curse of sin.

Saying just the right words . . .

Genesis 2; Matthew 2; Ezra 2; Acts 2

People who live in the north have several words for ‘snow’ depending on who did the research. However, the New Testament DOES use at least two Greek terms for “word” — one being “logos” which is a large concept about knowledge and about Jesus. The other is “rhema” which is more intimate and personal. Some define it as “God speaking to the need of the moment.”

In reading Acts 2, I notice that Peter used “rhema” as he spoke to the Jews after a mixed crowd had gathered to hear the disciples speaking in various languages that they could understand.

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words (rhema). (Acts 2:14)

While this could simply refer to literally speaking in a language they could understand, in context it seems to refer to the message Peter he gave to the Jews who were listening. They spoke the same language as Peter so he didn’t need to speak in a different language; they just needed to understand what he was telling them. Since Peter was “filled with the Spirit” (verse 4), it seems he was telling them specifically what they needed to hear from God. This included:

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it . . .  Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing . . .  Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:22-24; 33; 36)

My thoughts are confirmed by the results. From my experience, just reading the Bible is not as vital as hearing “rhema” for a direct and personal word from God changes my life. Sometimes those words are strong and direct, even hard to hear. In this case, Peter’s rhema changed these listeners . . .

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit . . . So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:37–38; 41)

Oh my, this is significant for practical faith. First, I need to be filled with God’s Spirit. I also realize that when I speak, my words can change lives — if they are the words God gives me to speak. Again I am convinced that when I am with other people, it is important to pay attention, to listen and open my mouth with wisdom, saying the words the Lord gives me to say. Jesus, this is fodder for prayer. Give me ears to hear You and speak as You desire from me.

NOTE: This was a strange day. Concerns for my sister are still with me, but when my hubby was having breakfast, he said he felt nauseous, sat on the sofa and came within a hair of passing out. I was calling him to stay with me and dialing 911 at the same time. The ambulance came quickly. How scary to have 3 EMTs and 4 firemen in our small living room. Hubby spent the day in ER without further incident and without finding out what happened to cause it. The paramedic said only that his pulse was different in each arm indicating a heart issue. The doctors and the hospital did many tests and could not find anything unusual. He is home and we are both very tired.

Implications of being created rather than evolved . . .

Genesis 1; Matthew 1; Ezra 1; Acts 1

I start a new year with a devotional guide describe in the sidebar. Carson is a respected theologian with thoughts that are deep and will be enlightening as well as challenging. His entry for today reveals a keen observant mind. It also exalts God.

From reading four passages about new beginnings, I’m settled on the glory of creation in Genesis 1 where the created order points to the glory of its Maker. Later, David writes this:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)

How can anyone miss it? Aside from their insistence that these glories happened by time and chance, several television channels feature nature programs that fill me with awe, the same as when I can get out where I can see them in person. I’m also in awe (a different kind) that many people cannot see that such beauty and intricacy necessitate a designer. For me, all of creation declares the wonder of the Creator.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)

As Carson says, this points to His transcendence. He is above all things yet in sinful blindness many people assume that God is a figment of human imagination — as if we created Him.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place . . .  (Acts 17:24–26)

Not only that, along with all of humanity, I am, created in His image. I’d be a fool to think God can be pictured by any image I or anyone else could create.

Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. (Acts 17:29)

And then there is Jesus. Genesis 1 repeatedly says, “And God said . . .” in the act of creating the world. John wrote:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:1–3)

God spoke and that Word was Jesus who willingly became a babe in a manger who grew to manhood and died for my sin. He is God in human flesh, sent to the people who knew the most about God, yet they rejected Him, but not all. Some believed and were restored to His family by a new birth . . .

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:10–14)

As a person made in the image of God, given the right to be His child and one given a glimpse of His glory, I have a responsibility to show forth that image, to reflect the Maker in whose image I am made. If I ever thought I had no calling, this makes it clear; I am called to reflect of the wonder of God. Something I know I cannot do apart from being filled with His Spirit and totally yielded to His will.

This is easy to say in the comfort of home, but not so easy to follow through, even here or when out of my comfort zone. I want the Lord to keep me shining, paying attention, listening, obedient. May His perfect will be done.