Back to Paradise

From Sunday's Message in Genesis 3:20-24.

Here we see one of the consequences of Adam & Eve's failure to obey. Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden for their own good. 

Often times we may not immediately realize the dire consequences of our sins. This false sense of security may lead us to think that we got away with it and that we can sin again since there were no immediate consequences but be sure your sin will find you out.

In Hebrews it tells us, "It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment."

We will all have to give an account for our actions. If we suffer no punishment in this life we can be sure we will in the next. Part of the deception of sin is that we can get away with it but in reality we won't. 

Adam and Eve lost their home, their comfortable lifestyle but most importantly they lost their close relationship with the Lord. It was this relationship that Jesus Christ came to restore.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through might be saved." John 3:18.

The best laid plans of mice and men.....

Well it happened. After careful planning and scheduling something went wrong, terribly wrong. The new carpet was supposed to be installed on Tuesday. I received a call first thing in the morning on Tuesday and it turns out the it was the wrong carpet. 

So it will be another two weeks before the new carpet gets installed. I was so disappointed and frustrated. 

It seems that no matter how hard we plan and prepare something is bound to go wrong. Murphy's Law says, "if anything can go wrong it will." Thanks a lot Murphy!

Oh well, when life gives you lemons you just make lemonade. So please be patient as we remodel our Sanctuary. 

How about you? Life not turning out like you planned? Got thrown a curve-ball? Don't know what to do? Jesus said, "Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest."

Stop and take stock of what is truly important. Take a moment to rest in Christ. Take your burdens to the cross and lay them down. 

Forgiven

Isaiah 53:1-12

"Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?

My servant grew up in the Lord's presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground.

There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.

He was despised and rejected - a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.

He was despised and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.

And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.

He was beaten so we could be whole.

He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before his shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man's grave. 

But it was the Lord's good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy long life, and the Lord's good plan will prosper in his hands.

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied.

And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death.

He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels."

from the New Living Translation.

God is a righteous judge

Satan's Secret Strategy.

The second thing Satan tries to do as he is talking to Eve is he tries to deny God's punishment for sin. In fact he boldly declares to Eve, "You will NOT die." A bold faced lie. Jesus calls Satan a liar from the beginning and the father of lies. There is no truth in him.

The new age movement repackages the same old lie with their teaching on reincarnation. If you don't get it right in this life you will have another chance but that is not what God's word, the bible, teaches. In Hebrews 9:27 it clearly states, "It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgement."

Be sure your sin will find you out. Some think God is too good to punish sin but the truth is God is too good not to punish sin. What would you think of a judge who continually let criminals go unpunished? You would say that is a bad judge. A good judge punishes evil and God is a good judge. The cross is in fact the proof that God demands punishment for sins. Jesus Christ took our punishment for us when he died on the cross. God accepted the payment in full and was pleased with Christ's sacrifice so he resurrected him from the dead and gave him a place of honor at his right hand. 

Don't let the devil lie to you and tell you that you will get away with it. No one gets away with it before God. We will all have to answer on that day as we stand before God's judgment throne. 

Thank God for mercy and grace! 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

There is forgiveness of sins for all those who repent. Thank God I'm forgiven. How about you?

Satan's Secret Strategy

Continuing our series in Genesis we looked at Genesis 3:1-7. 

Satan has a strategy. Jesus pointed this out in John 10:10. "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."

As we read the story of the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden we learn several things about the enemies schemes.

First the devil tries to get us to doubt God's provisions. Though God had given all things to Adam and Eve he did have one rule and that was not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan's goal was to take Eve's eyes off of what she had in abundance to what she could not have i.e. the forbidden fruit. Satan tries to convince us that God is holding out on us. He's not giving us everything when we want it. 

During this time of Hurricane cleanup in Galveston and the surrounding area we can easily be tempted to focus on what we have lost instead of what we still have. We begin to doubt God. We begin to question God. When we begin down that path without realizing it we begin to bring God's character into doubt. 

When Job lost everything in one day he fell on his face before God and cried out, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." At the end of the story of Job God gave him much more than he had to begin with. In other words God is able and willing to restore not only what has been lost but also more because of His great love for us.

Tell the devil to take a hike! We're not biting into his lies. I will trust God to see me through and I will do my best with God's help, to aid my neighbors and demonstrate the love of Christ.