Genesis 3: The Crash
But God did say, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die."
Even though Adam and Eve have everything a person could possibly want in Paradise, a thought still nags at them..."Are we missing out on something?" Though created good, we have disobeyed God right from the beginning. Genesis helps us understand why the universe is so strikingly beautiful, yet so terribly tragic. The former being because God created it...the latter because He trusted us to take care of it. The pivotal question that God poses to this couple is simply, "What is this that you have done, and are you ready to take responsibility for it?" Sadly, Adam and his wife tremble in fear and attempt to hide from their Lord. Fortunately for us, God, in His eternal love, reaches out and continues to guide us along our journey knowing that we are so like these first people who walked the earth.
LIfe Question: Have you ever felt hemmed in or stifled by one of God's commands? How have you responded to this feeling?
For years, I attended church services out of habit. I have so many fond memories of playing with the St. Vincent group, but as I look back on those years, I was so wrapped up worrying about keeping our group together/ "on the same page" that I missed out on the whole reason for participating in music ministry...to glorify Christ.
What did I do about it? Well, it took a while, but after a lot of soul searching and thanks to my sister's invite, I soon found myself sitting in the Chapel's worship center and simply feeling "at home"...and eventually gathering up the courage to ask to join the Worship Team. Having been here a little over a year, I truly believe that Christ is at the forefront of everything that we do in our music ministry, and as a result, leading Sunday worship comes relatively easy and is definitely a highlight of my week. When our hearts are in the right places, Christ isn't much into critiquing our every move/ note...instead, I think, He's ecstatic that we can all find a common time during the week to worship Him together as one family.
But God did say, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die."
Even though Adam and Eve have everything a person could possibly want in Paradise, a thought still nags at them..."Are we missing out on something?" Though created good, we have disobeyed God right from the beginning. Genesis helps us understand why the universe is so strikingly beautiful, yet so terribly tragic. The former being because God created it...the latter because He trusted us to take care of it. The pivotal question that God poses to this couple is simply, "What is this that you have done, and are you ready to take responsibility for it?" Sadly, Adam and his wife tremble in fear and attempt to hide from their Lord. Fortunately for us, God, in His eternal love, reaches out and continues to guide us along our journey knowing that we are so like these first people who walked the earth.
LIfe Question: Have you ever felt hemmed in or stifled by one of God's commands? How have you responded to this feeling?
For years, I attended church services out of habit. I have so many fond memories of playing with the St. Vincent group, but as I look back on those years, I was so wrapped up worrying about keeping our group together/ "on the same page" that I missed out on the whole reason for participating in music ministry...to glorify Christ.
What did I do about it? Well, it took a while, but after a lot of soul searching and thanks to my sister's invite, I soon found myself sitting in the Chapel's worship center and simply feeling "at home"...and eventually gathering up the courage to ask to join the Worship Team. Having been here a little over a year, I truly believe that Christ is at the forefront of everything that we do in our music ministry, and as a result, leading Sunday worship comes relatively easy and is definitely a highlight of my week. When our hearts are in the right places, Christ isn't much into critiquing our every move/ note...instead, I think, He's ecstatic that we can all find a common time during the week to worship Him together as one family.
3 comments:
I guess the main issue in this passage is : Does God love me enough to tell me the truth? Are parts of His instruction optional? Is there a loophole? The Satanic attack comes at the point of faith where we choose a path with consequences. For those of us certain of His love ; we know His commands are not multiple choice but reguire "yes" or "no" answers. The real beauty of this passage comes when a covering for the naked heart requires a blood a sacrifice. I am just greatful that when I don't get it right; God has a way to cover me with Christ.
To pray without ceasing has always baffled me! I'm a talker so to do that without ceasing isn't difficult to fathom - but to talk to someone who will not audibly respond is a difficult concept for me. I want feedback, just ask my husband - I don't often take NO for an answer when I want him to talk. Prayer has been defined by some as "keeping company with God." Keeping company with someone unseen is like the X Files. So what am I doing to work on this area - right now I'm reading Philip Yancey's book "Prayer: Does it make any difference?" It's a thoughtful, honest look at prayer and hopefully it will give me a better grasp on the "pray without ceasing" mandate.
Lisa,
That audible response concept (or lack thereof) definitely must be a "guy" thing...I've been trying to convince Cindy for years that I can hold a conversation with her while watching the Buckeyes or Browns at the same time (ha, ha)
Seriously, I have struggled with prayer with what seems like forever...it has never come easy for me, and I certainly do not have the skills/ comfort level to lead a small group in prayer...like so many of the folks on our Praise team seem to have. I'm going to check out that book that you mention.
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