A WARNING I CANNOT IGNORE

Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  Genesis 3: 11-13

         Not wanting to take full responsibility for my choices is deeply embedded within my sin nature.  To be holy is to see my sin as God sees it; to acknowledge that I, and I alone, am responsible for what I do.  The tempter is cunning but he can’t make me sin.

         On top of that, I am warned all throughout scripture of Satan’s character.  I’m told he is a liar.  I’m told that he weaves schemes of destruction.  I’m told he comes to kill and destroy.  I’m told he comes in stealth mode and to be wary.  So why in the world would I listen to Satan’s voice?

         If a dear friend of mine, someone I trusted with my life, warned me about a certain person, I would listen.  I wouldn’t get involved with him on any level.  Because of the integrity of the one who warned me, my guard is up.

         Yes, it is much more than a friend who warns me about my spiritual enemy.  It is God!  Is He not credible?  How could I flirt with the one He says is out for my demise?

         If I discount the warning of a friend and get hurt, I find out quickly how much that friend loves me.  If there is disgust and “I told you so!” the relationship will experience a serious fracture.  But if I discount God’s warning and suffer the consequences of my choices, He still offers open arms when I come running home.  Though I am severely wounded, and I knew better, He is willing to forgive and restore.

         A stronghold is formed when I have given ground to the enemy and left it to fester over a long period of time.  Satan has legal right to walk into the boundaries of my life and plunder my territory.  The reason a stronghold exists is usually for three reasons: 1.) I haven’t had the spiritual instruction to know what a stronghold is.  2.) I’m afraid, or too proud, to acknowledge my sin and risk God’s anger and broken heart.  3.) I am enjoying the pleasure Satan offers even though I know it’s a stronghold.

         God is clear.  “Don’t believe our enemy.  He hates you because you’re mine!”  If I trust God’s love, I run from sin and hurry to do personal housecleaning where strongholds are concerned.  Otherwise, I am continual prey to a known spiritual felon.

To grow up spiritually is to listen to everything you say and obey for my own good.  No questions asked.  Help me.  Amen

AND GOD CAME SEARCHING…

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”  Genesis 3:8-9

         I love the sound of the footsteps of one I’m longing to see.  The closer that person comes, the more the anticipation grows.  However, I dread the sound of the footsteps of one I’m not longing to see!

         When I was 8, I ate some Easter candy that my parents told me not to eat it.  They were saving it for Easter.  The next afternoon, I was playing outside with two friends and remembered the candy.  Thinking that it would be the perfect snack for the three of us, I snuck in the kitchen and snatched it.  Oh, it tasted good and delighted my friends.  Continue reading “And God Came Searching” →

SHAME

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons and they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:7-8

         Self-hatred is one of the most difficult things to conquer as a Christian.  When I mess up badly, I not only hate what I did but I hate myself.  “I can’t believe I did that!  What a jerk!”  You’ve said that to yourself, right?          Can you imagine the self-talk in the Garden of Eden after the forbidden fruit was eaten?  Self-hatred and self-condemnation must have ruled their hearts.

         Shame says, “There’s not only something wrong with what I do, there’s something wrong with me!  I’m deeply flawed.”  This has NO fix that is holy outside of the healing love of Christ.  He is the only One who says, “I hate what you did but I love you!”

         What is Satan’s counterfeit?  “Love yourself.  You’re not that bad.  You may mess up once in a while but you’re a god!”  None of that is true.

         I am a desperately wicked sinner but one that is infinitely loved by Christ.  When I sin, I can want – with everything in me – to punish myself but Jesus reminds me that He already bore my punishment.  He died for the awful thing I just did as if He were the person who committed it.

         One of the meanings of ‘forgive’ is to send away.  When God forgives my sin, he sends it away from me.  He puts it behind His back and never takes it out again to hold it up to my face as a reminder of how bad I am.  He would want me to know today that I am not my sin.

         As John Newton put it in 1725, “I am a great sinner but Christ is a great Savior.”  As long as I keep the focus on Him and the love He offers me, I am not plagued by a life-long struggle to forgive myself for something I consider unforgivable.

I can forgive others much easier than I can forgive myself.  Help me know how you love me in a deeper way.  Amen

WHY DIDN’T HE STOP HER?

She took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.  Genesis 3:6b

         The woman allowed the serpent to engage her.  The topic and the way he presented it was so beguiling that she let down her defenses.  Adam was there with her.  Was he listening?  Was he alert?  If he was distracted, then wouldn’t he have been shocked when he saw that she had eaten of the tree?  When she offered him some, wouldn’t he have felt alarm by her disobedience to their God?

         This lack of male leadership plagues our churches and families.  I am not a man-hater.  I don’t have an axe to grind.  Continue reading “Why Didn’t He Stop Her?” →

TRADING HIM IN

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… Genesis 3:6

         If Eve had regarded the tree as God described it, there would have been no sin.  He clearly communicated that consummation of the fruit of the tree meant death.  Wouldn’t that make the tree undesirable?  Once Satan appeared to reframe the story, the tree took on a different appearance.  It was transformed to ‘a tree that was good for food, a delight to her eyes, and the path to wisdom.’  Oh, how far her mind traveled!

         Could a piece of fruit make her wise like God?  When I consider her assumption, it was ludicrous.  She kept company with Wisdom, knew Wisdom, and had only to ask His advice on any matter and He would speak to her.  She was going to trade Him for a piece of fruit.

         I am wise only if I bow to God’s superior understanding.  I could spend my youth earning two earned doctorates and be a fool. I could be the cleverest wordsmith and still be a fool.  I could have an entrepreneurial gift to make myself a fortune but still be a fool.  I could be an expert in my field.  People could pay to hear me speak.  They could call me ‘brilliant’ and I might begin to believe them while the opinion of the One who matters is not in my radar.  I’ve chosen to believe that it’s possible to be filled with knowledge without having a covenant relationship with my Creator.

         To put it in simple terms, Eve had God but, at that moment, didn’t value him.  She opted to trade him for the temporary pleasure of eating something that looked delicious.  That is the best definition of sin and I didn’t think of it, believe me!  Paul is the one that put it like this in Romans 1:22-23  “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for __________________________.”

         I know all too well from 59 years of experience. I see something I want.  Instead of walking away and keeping the beauty of Jesus in front of my face, I pick the fruit.  I turn it over and over in my hands.  I imagine its taste.  Then turn my back to the gaze of Christ and consume it.

         What is His love like?  In spite of how many times I do it, when I come running back and tearfully admit I blew it, He forgives and forgives and forgives and forgives.

You made a new covenant with Your death for my sin.  I’ll never get over it.  Amen

HE DID IT TWICE!

And the women said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:3-4

Satan’s original sin was to want to be like God.  He didn’t want to sin alone so he persuaded 1/3^rd of all the angels to rebel with him.  Because of it, he, and they, lost everything and were expelled from heaven.

Sin loves company.

Satan tempted Eve with the same sin.  “Eat this – and you will be like God!”  She acted on the same temptation and invited Adam to join her.  They ate of the tree and were expelled from the Garden.

Why did they listen to Your enemy?  Why do I?  If I love You, then Your enemy should be my enemy.  If You call him a liar, then I should not trust one thing that comes out of his mouth.  I align my allegiance to You in iron.  Amen

ACTUALLY?!

He (Satan) said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”  Genesis 3:1

         You’re kids, you don’t like a certain rule, you both want to break it, so you’re looking for an excuse.  The only way is to review what your parent originally said, to see if there is a tiny loophole.  “Well, did she actually say we had to be home by 5:00?”   The word ‘actually’ introduces shades of disrespect but the truth is, one kid might as well say to the other, “I want to disobey but if I’m caught, I want to be able to say to my mother, ‘But you didn’t say the word _______________.’” I think the rule is stupid anyway. 

         All Eve had ever known was love and respect for God.  There had been no tone, no rolling of the eyes.  Satan knew that if he came to Eve with something overt, “You should hate that God of yours.  How about disobeying?”   She’d never buy that.  Instead, he knew he must come and whisper in her ear and appeal to her pride and ego.

         His agenda of discrediting God is still his highest priority.  He is a liar.  He speaks lies by default.  His native language is lies.  The devil does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  Jn 8:44  If he can get me to believe that God is ‘actually’ not that loving, or fair, or forgiving, or good, or caring…then my ability to trust God is eroded.  Intimacy is destroyed.

         Expect the whispers.  Be prepared with an answer.

• “Yeah, God forgives.  That’s what the Bible says.  But do you feel forgiven?  You should know He can’t forgive you for that!”
• “If God really loved you, he’d have delivered you by now.”
• “You’ve been praying and praying for this.  But has God answered?  No!”
• “You just aren’t very good at this!  Sally is, though.  God must love her more to give her such a gift.”
• “He’s not going to change.  How long have you prayed for him?  He’s been like this too long to change now!”

         Whispers of distrust.  How dangerous. No one should question God’s character and God’s intentions.  Anyone who does, whether human or a spiritual enemy, should be treated the same.  I rise up, quote scripture about who God says He is and what He’s promised to do, and I defend the One who has not done one thing that is not for my good.

I put on my belt of truth and declare that I will be listening for lies.  I won’t be passive when I hear them.  I will deflect each one with the shield of faith.  Amen

LITERAL OR ALLEGORICAL?

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. Genesis 3:1a

         The Bible is full of stories that challenge my faith.  If I approach the scriptures scientifically, needing proof to believe, then I will reduce God to someone who only does and says what I think is possible.

         I’m about to encounter a snake that can talk.  Is that feasible?  It’s out of the realm of my experience in the animal kingdom.  Surely this must be an allegory.  Also, Genesis doesn’t say that the snake was Satan.  Another reason to believe that this account is an allegory, the stuff of myths and fairytales.  I can be led into all kinds of errors if I don’t know my Bible and take into account the whole context of scripture.

         John confirmed that the snake was Satan. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan.  Rev. 12:9

         Paul confirmed it, too.  But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.  2 Cor. 11:3        

         And what about a talking snake?  I don’t hear my animals talk to me.

However, I do have a wild and imaginative side.  So, I’m going to give you a snapshot of the Wyrtzen dinner table when our kids were small.  Picture a family of four around a table.  Two golden retrievers and a cat are positioned at various chairs, pawing the legs of whomever they hope might give them a piece of chicken.  When I wanted to have fun, I bent down, cocked my ear toward the mouth of a pet and asked, “What’s that you say?  You think the kids should eat more green beans?  Oh, what’s that?  Huh?  You don’t like them either?”  We became hysterical and over the years, it became a game. We had all kinds of things come out of the mouth of our cat or dog.

         I love it, that in scripture, Genesis 3 is not the only instance where an animal speaks.  God gave a voice to a donkey, too. (Numbers 22)  Peter confirmed it.  A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s insanity.  2 Peter 2:16   If I reject the account of the fall, I am questioning the inspiration of scriptures.

         Randy Alcorn, in his book called HEAVEN, poses the question whether animals will talk in heaven.  Since there was ‘animal talk’ in the Garden, perhaps there will be ‘further talk’ when God creates a new heaven and a new earth.  Interesting to think about.

I celebrate You.  You are so colorful and powerful.  Even the stones will praise You.  Amen

WHEN FOLLOWING GOD BRINGS FAMILY TENSION

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  Gen. 2:24

            It’s easy for parents to feel that their children will always be under their authority.  The control they once held is not released easily.  No wonder leaving and cleaving is such an issue for newlyweds.  Jesus also modeled leaving and cleaving to show me how it’s done.  He didn’t leave his parents to cleave to a wife but He did leave his family to cleave to His Father, a higher authority.  This emotional clash was, at times, stressful to his parents.

            In John 2, Mary presumed upon Jesus’ divinity at the wedding feast but Jesus exalts his sonship to His heavenly Father above his sonship to his mother.  He had a radical allegiance to God’s will above his mother’s will.  He also felt a burden to make clear, not only to his mother and his brothers and sisters, but to all the rest of us, that no physical relationship on earth controlled him.  His mother and his physical family would have no special advantage to guide his ministry or even receive His salvation.  His miracle that day in Cana, the one of water turning to wine, would not be at his mother’s bidding.

            Jesus had to work against the assumption of his day that his physical family had an inside track.  I recall the time in Luke 11 that a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Jesus.  ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!’  But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’

            Jesus said, ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.’  Luke 14:26  Hate in this context doesn’t mean emotional hatred.  Hate means preference, deferring to the one who takes priority.  As adults, we are to leave the ways of our parents if what they expect of us conflicts with the voice of our Father.  Leave and cleave.  This is not an easy way to live but necessary for all disciples.  When we struggle with the tension it often brings in relationships, we are comforted that Jesus knows what it’s like and He’s walked this road before us.

You know I caved for many years to keep peace with my family.  This is not what You did.  It created friction in my marriage, but mostly, in my relationship with You.  Oh, continue to teach me how to live!  Amen

BRIDES AND GROOMS WHO NEVER LEFT HOME

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  Gen. 2:24

            To pledge myself completely to another is to forsake former allegiances.  I vow to make my spouse’s welfare my first priority after my relationship to God.  Our relationship comes first above all others.  Parents of newlyweds will feel the shift.  Mothers will feel a sense of loss over sons who have pledged themselves to a bride.  If the relationship was close, the sense of leaving and replacement will be profound.

            Fathers will feel a lump in their throat as they walk their daughter down the aisle to give her to another.  He knows she is on the cusp of leaving – and then cleaving to someone new.  She will dwell under the umbrella and shade of another.  Her quest for wisdom, protection, encouragement will all fall on her groom.

            I remember the morning after our daughter’s marriage ten years ago.  Her bedroom was strangely empty.  I knew in my gut that she wasn’t away at college or on a weekend trip out of town.  She wouldn’t be back to sleep in her twin bed again.  Our house was no longer her primary home.  I felt the ache and it was magnified by an unfortunate case of pneumonia.  That just intensified my emotions.

            When a groom doesn’t leave his parents emotionally, he can’t cleave.  When he’s consumed with bowing to his parents wishes and feels the pressure of them breathing down his neck, he will be too intimidated to take a stand when his bride needs to know she comes first.  Feeling threatened, she will ask him to choose in a thousand different ways and if he is not strong enough to know God’s ways in his new marriage, he will cause his wife to feel he can’t be trusted with her heart.

            When a wife can’t leave home, she can’t cleave either.  Her security still rests with father, or mother, and pleasing them takes priority over her husband’s wishes.  Feeling threatened, he feels his leadership has eroded.  He feels disrespected, betrayed and rejected.  If she cannot cut the apron strings, he will feel he can never earn her respect.  He is not allowed to be a man.  He will feel like a child, her parent’s child.

            Leaving and cleaving is found throughout scripture and it expands beyond the boundaries of marriage.  I am to leave and forsake the kingdom of darkness and cleave to Christ.  I am to dwell under His umbrella and live under the protection of His household.  I bear His name and my identity is forever changed.  I am to let Him lead me no matter how different His ways seem than the ways of my former life.  He loves me enough to lay down His life for me and I love Him enough to respond wholeheartedly with my unwavering allegiance.

Strengthen marriages today, Lord.  Let husbands lead with strength born of You.  Let women cling, trust and follow.  Amen