Devotionals for April 18, 2023
Sign up for Starting Point! Class begins on April 30th at 12:30pm. CLICK HERE to register!
READ
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
REFLECT
Everything in creation was good and oh-so-right until that slick serpent came along making that one forbidden fruit look inviting and delicious. He even made it sound like God was withholding something good from Adam and Eve, so they ate. That one bite…that one fateful act of rebellion may have seemed small and harmless at the time, but it came with a huge price…the price of brokenness, shame, fear and anxiety, and spiritual death. It opened the door for all mankind to crave what looks good in our own sight but ends in the same brokenness and shame that Adam and Eve experienced. Proverbs 14:12 describes it best: “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” We all, being created in the image of God, have a moral compass, an inherent ability to know right from wrong, but we also have a tarnished nature that trips us up a lot and bends us toward skewed perspectives and self-driven choices (Romans 7:18). Thank God, He did not leave us in the place of brokenness. He gave us Jesus who made a way for all who believe in Him to be free from the penalty of sin and death. 1 John 1:9 says, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
APPLY
Q: What happened when Adam and Eve disobeyed God?
Q: How does this understanding of your sinful nature change your perspective on the popular phrase, “follow your heart?” (For further understanding, read Jeremiah 17:11)
Q: Who do you know that is notably experiencing brokenness and shame because of a sinful choice? Will you tell them about the love and forgiveness of God through Jesus?
SING
Good Grace
PRAY
"May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."
Search me O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
READ
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
REFLECT
Everything in creation was good and oh-so-right until that slick serpent came along making that one forbidden fruit look inviting and delicious. He even made it sound like God was withholding something good from Adam and Eve, so they ate. That one bite…that one fateful act of rebellion may have seemed small and harmless at the time, but it came with a huge price…the price of brokenness, shame, fear and anxiety, and spiritual death. It opened the door for all mankind to crave what looks good in our own sight but ends in the same brokenness and shame that Adam and Eve experienced. Proverbs 14:12 describes it best: “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” We all, being created in the image of God, have a moral compass, an inherent ability to know right from wrong, but we also have a tarnished nature that trips us up a lot and bends us toward skewed perspectives and self-driven choices (Romans 7:18). Thank God, He did not leave us in the place of brokenness. He gave us Jesus who made a way for all who believe in Him to be free from the penalty of sin and death. 1 John 1:9 says, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
APPLY
Q: What happened when Adam and Eve disobeyed God?
Q: How does this understanding of your sinful nature change your perspective on the popular phrase, “follow your heart?” (For further understanding, read Jeremiah 17:11)
Q: Who do you know that is notably experiencing brokenness and shame because of a sinful choice? Will you tell them about the love and forgiveness of God through Jesus?
SING
Good Grace
PRAY
"May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."
Search me O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.