Starting Over

Starting Over

Genesis 8: ¹³ And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried.

 

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GOD created a wonderful place for humans to live with HIM. HE gave humans millions of trees and had two for HIMSELF. Satan, wanting to be GOD was thrown from heaven. He was determined to be GOD, so he tempted the first humans to disobey GOD. Humans fell and every human from then on was born with the inclination to sin. They wanted to get back into the Garden of Eden, but the cherubim would not allow access.

 

Humans had become so violent that GOD decided to wipe them out. But Noah walked with the LORD and did not listen to his sin nature. GOD blesses Noah and his family by telling him to build an ark. GOD flooded the earth, killing every human, animal and insect that was not on the ark. The floodwaters receded and the ark was now on dry ground.

 

My Observations:

• GOD gave Noah and his family a new place for them to start humanity over.
• GOD broke apart the Garden of Eden, scattering pieces of gold and precious stones everywhere.
• GOD gave humanity ample time to walk with HIM, but they chose to ignore HIM by going their own way.

 

At six hundred and one, Noah was given the responsibility to start humanity over. This time the relationship would be different. The Garden of Eden would no longer be there as a reminder of humanity’s fall. The great flood would now be that reminder as bones and carcasses were spread across the globe.

Dry land was now available. The dove Noah released did not return. She built a nest somewhere close by. GOD had kept HIS promise of saving humanity through one family.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about Noah’s age?
• Have you ever felt you were getting “too old” to start over?
• Are you willing to believe in GOD regardless of your age, so HE can start a new thing through you today?

End of the Line

End of the Line

Genesis 5: ³² And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

 

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Nine generations from Adam, Noah arrives on the scene. “And Noah” indicates to me, that this list is now complete and something else is about to happen. Thousands of years had passed and now the world was populated in two distinct ways, those who called to the LORD and those who did not. Satan thought he won by making all humans sin. But he did not know JESUS had a plan.

 

My Observations:

• GOD preserved the lineage of CHRIST by walking with people, never leaving them alone.
• Noah had three sons after he was five hundred years old.
• GOD’s plan of redemption included Noah’s family.

 

Seeing the plan of redemption makes the list of people more understandable. GOD seemed to want us to know why HE cursed creation in the first place. Not that HE needed to explain things to us. HE revealed the pride of Satan, his lies and deceit and the affects they had on mankind.

 

GOD graciously used the best of the worst to save humans and provide eternal life. When I say “worst” I mean, there is no human without sin, not one. Even our best efforts have sin in them.  We were born with it. But some will “cry out to the LORD” asking for help with the sin nature caused by Satan. Noah is the beginning of that story.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD end the genealogy dictated to Moses with Noah?
• Where are you with your walk with GOD?
• Are you being distracted into fear causing you to overthink GOD’s love for you today?

Bound Until Freed

Bound Until Freed

Genesis 3: ¹⁶ To the woman He said:

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”

 

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What a mess Satan caused. GOD had created a place and people and said “it is very good!” Satan, wanting to be GOD, was thrown from heaven to earth. He tempted the woman by lying and questioning GOD. Unfortunately, she fell for it. She was comparable in intelligence to Adam, and could have said “No” to Satan. But her curiosity got the best of her.

 

My Observations:

• GOD introduced sorrow into the woman’s life.
• GOD introduced pain in childbirth.
• GOD introduced inequity, inequality and bondage.

 

From the time of the garden to the raising of JESUS, inequality ruled the world, and still does to this very day. This is a curse that causes many battles over hierarchy. The fight for who should rule would be one that could not be solved by humans, only GOD. Satan and Adam were standing there during this curse.

 

GOD sees HIS child, not a man or a woman when HE looks at us. HE expects men and women to bow down to JESUS to restore equality. But the curse goes deeper that inequality. Pain and anguish was introduced in childbirth. Not only physically, but pain caused by tyrants who desired power and would execute children to remain in power. Conflict was introduced with only one way out, namely JESUS.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD mention the curse of the woman to Moses?
• Have you ever questioned GOD about the inequality that exists in the world over gender, race or age?
• Will you become part of the equality solution by placing your hope in JESUS today?

Redemption Foretold

Redemption Foretold

Genesis 3: ¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

 

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Desperate act of Satan to make humans imperfect seemed to work, but it didn’t! Satan really, really wanted to be GOD. I believe that his plan was to ruin Adam, Eve and any children they had. All humans would come from this couple. Satan could not create a human, so he figured he would steal them from GOD. Big mistake!

 

My Observations:

• GOD told Satan that HE was going to curse everything, but he was “more cursed” than any living being.
• GOD told Satan that his plan did not work, but it did hurt, so HIS heal would be bruised.
• GOD told Satan that HE was going to kick him in the head and there was nothing Satan could do about it!

 

This may sound like a slap on the wrist, but it was not. The “seed” of Adam had been ruined. Any child that was born, would now have the nature of Satan, otherwise known as a sin nature. It would be natural to not want what GOD wants. BUT JESUS told Satan, this plan did not work!

 

HE foretold a miraculous birth that would deal a crushing blow to Satan. “I will die for the humans”, I believe is the bruise on the heel of CHRIST. But you, Satan, will be kicked in the head, I believe was JESUS saying “I’m going to open the scrolls and you ARE going to hell, just as it was written.” “Your plan did not work, AND, you will pay for this.”

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about the curse of the serpent first?
• Have you ever wondered what makes you do things that are not pleasing to GOD and you know they are not pleasing?
• Are you willing to give the part of you that rebels against GOD to HIM, so HE can guide you to HIS path today?

First Actions. First Questions.

First Actions. First Questions.

Genesis 3: ⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

⁹ Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

¹¹ And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

¹² Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

¹³ And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

 

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Now the man and woman were spiritually awake, but in a bad way. They knew they had made a huge mistake and the first thing they did was hide. I feel like doing that too when I made mistakes. They hid their nakedness and then they thought they could hide from GOD.

 

My Observations:

• GOD is all knowing, all seeing and is everywhere.
• GOD knew where Adam was, yet HE asked a question so Adam could understand.
• GOD knew what happened, yet HE asked the woman a question, maybe to take responsibility.

 

Personally, I believe this was JESUS in the garden. HE knew HIS creation had fallen and knew HE was the answer for the huge problem Adam and Eve had caused. The first actions from Adam and Eve seemed so futile. Innocent people trying to develop a coverup with no plan, led to hiding from the one who could solve the problem.

 

Instead of asking for help, the first blame came out. “It was YOUR fault for giving me the woman who gave me the fruit from YOUR tree” it could read. Or “The devil made me do it.” BUT GOD handled it graciously. HE never accused them of doing wrong because they knew and so did HE. JESUS knew what HE had to do. HE had to die and be raised from the dead to repair the fall.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses this conversation?
• Have you ever messed up and tried to cover it up?
• Have you tried owning up to what you did wrong by uncovering “that” secret so GOD can heal you?

Waiting to Rejoice

Waiting to Rejoice

Revelation 18: All the ships' captains and passengers, the sailors and all others who earn their living on the sea, stood a long way off, ¹⁸ and cried out as they saw the smoke from the flames that consumed her: “There never has been another city like this great city!” ¹⁹ They threw dust on their heads, they cried and mourned, saying, “How terrible! How awful for the great city! She is the city where all who have ships sailing the seas became rich on her wealth! And in one hour she has lost everything!”

²⁰ Be glad, heaven, because of her destruction! Be glad, God's people and the apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her for what she did to you!

 

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As the teacher separated the thug from the rest of the class, I felt relieved. It seemed like she allowed the thug to torment us forever without doing something about it. Before she left with the thug to go to the principal’s office, she gave a warning. “Do not celebrate, because this could be you.”

 

• She put a damper on my celebration.
• I wanted to get excited because justice had finally been served.
• I was told to hold back on my celebration, which was kind of a letdown.

 

John, the disciple JESUS loved, saw world trade and ocean travel come to an end. The great city that made it possible for goods to be sold around the world, and for luxury cruises to make people rich, had come to an end. This was the final piece of demolition that GOD put in place.

 

My Observations:

• Wealth without GOD can lead to my destruction.
• Luxury without GOD can cause me to move further away from hear HIM and seeing HIM.
• One day, the rich, powerful and arrogant leaders will mourn over the fall that GOD has planned.

 

Wealth is a touchy subject that can cause highly charged conversations. I mean, one person preaches prosperity, the other preaches poverty, in terms of being close to GOD. JESUS said “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the SON of man does not have a place to lay HIS head” while HE walked on earth. HE owned everything, yet chose to be the poorest among HIS people.

 

To HIM, worldly wealth was not a thing to be obtained because HE owned it all anyway. But what was HE after? HE wanted to save all HIS humans HE created, from destruction. One day, JESUS will judge the world for stealing people away from following HIM. I gladly seek HIS kingdom, which are the lost people HE wants me to find.

 

Challenge

• Does the writer give a sense of urgency?
• Have you ever wanted to be rich or follow those who are?
• What is GOD’s plan for your life and why do you think HE has you where you are today?

Playing with Shadows

Playing with Shadows

Hebrews 8: ³ Every high priest is appointed to present offerings and animal sacrifices to God, and so our High Priest must also have something to offer. ⁴ If he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer the gifts required by the Jewish Law. ⁵ The work they do as priests is really only a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven. It is the same as it was with Moses. When he was about to build the Sacred Tent, God told him, “Be sure to make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.” ⁶ But now, Jesus has been given priestly work which is superior to theirs, just as the covenant which he arranged between God and his people is a better one, because it is based on promises of better things.

 

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Bored waiting on whatever my parents were doing, I looked around and could not find anything to play with. The sun was shining, so when I raised my hands I noticed the shadow on the floor did the same thing. I decided to play with that. I lifted my foot and the shadow responded. Soon I was making all kinds of things happen with the shadow. But when I got home, I was able to play with real people. It was so much better!

 

• I played with my shadow, but it could not do what a real person could do.
• I was able to make the shadow do what I wanted, but it could not do what I needed.
• I pretended the shadow was enough, but when reality came I felt better.

 

Paul, the assumed writer, compares the activity of human high priests to that of JESUS, the true High Priest. He says that what they do to atone for sins is only a “shadow” of the real thing. What Moses was told to do was only a pattern of the real thing.

 

My Observations:

• JESUS is superior to anything I could ever do.
• JESUS is above any “good” act I could ever try.
• JESUS is where I can place all my trust because humans can fall.

 

Pastors, priests and preachers are nice to have, but are full of flaws and sometimes contradictions. I mean, it does not matter who is preaching, there is a part of him or her that is made up of sin. BUT JESUS has no sin. HE can speak worlds into existence because HE has no flaws.

 

JESUS is the “real deal!” What I do for HIM and what others do and say about HIM are only a shadow of the real thing. Shadows are weak and powerless, but they exists. My actions are weak and powerless, but they exist. GOD sees when I mimic HIM and is pleased. I am grateful, GOD turns my weak, shadowlike actions into treasures I can’t imagine.

 

Challenge

• Why does the writer compare the actions of a high priest to a shadow?
•  Have you ever done something as a child, then done something similar as an adult and laughed at your childish actions?
• Will you seek JESUS as the real thing to come and keep going with the actions the HOLY SPIRIT leads you to do, knowing you will be rewarded by GOD someday?

Recognizing the Curse

Recognizing the Curse

1 Corinthians 11: ² I praise you because you always remember me and follow the teachings that I have handed on to you. ³ But I want you to understand that Christ is supreme over every man, the husband is supreme over his wife, and God is supreme over Christ. ⁴ So a man who prays or proclaims God's message in public worship with his head covered disgraces Christ. ⁵ And any woman who prays or proclaims God's message in public worship with nothing on her head disgraces her husband; there is no difference between her and a woman whose head has been shaved. 

 

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Very confusing verse. I mean, I don’t have a story to associate with this because it is very unusual. Paul speaks about head coverings relating to men and “married” women.  He gives the hierarchy of CHRIST being over the man (or husband) and the husband being over the woman (or wife) and GOD being over CHRIST (or JESUS).

 

My head explodes trying to make sense out of this. The only thing I can figure is that before Genesis 3, man and woman were equal and shared the responsibilities. But an external source, Satan, came in and tempted the woman by tricking her into doing something she was told not to do.

 

After this, GOD cursed the relationship by putting a hierarchy in place. Who wants that? No one. But unfortunately it is there. Now, because of a curse, ill equipped men will need to seek CHRIST and lead a wife who was supposed to be equal.

 

How unfair is that?

 

• GOD wants me to know the curse can be fixed.
• GOD wants me to know the curse has been lifted.
• GOD wants me to recognize the curse and follow HIM as the only master.

 

Leading a wife just because I am a male is a curse. I mean, I have no qualities to follow. BUT JESUS does. HE wants me to point my wife to HIM versus thinking she is “my” servant. Fortunately, CHRIST brings us back into equilibrium. When she speaks, she can recognize the curse and speak about JESUS.

 

No challenge questions today, only a prayer that we all seek peace through CHRIST who is the answer.

Needs of the Many

Luke 2: ³³ And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against ³⁵ (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

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“Will you be able to fire a third of our department?” was the question in the interview. “No” was my answer. At one point my ruthless heart would do anything for “the company” but I realized something… these were people.

• One day I woke up and realized there were people around me.
• One day I woke up and saw many people around me that I could serve.
• One day I woke up and understood that I have been put here with a much higher purpose.

Simeon’s final declaration was that JESUS would be the cause of many to fall and many to rise. HE would be the ONE who would reveal the true hearts of humans. How cool is that? Not so cool, because the revelation would be through blindness, pain and death. JESUS needed to do something.

• JESUS has my situation already determined.
• JESUS has my circumstance already taken care of.
• JESUS has my life already planned out and HE has declared victory over eternal death for me.

I have a choice to look at JESUS as my savior. By belief in HIS action, I can be part of the “Rise of many.” HIS power, mercy and grace enables me to have life so when my wicked heart is revealed, it will not be as painful because I acknowledge the need for GOD in my life.

• Are you living your life for “the company?”
• Do you think your project is more important than those GOD has placed around you?
• Can you open your eyes and seek HIS face today so HE can show you your purpose?