Genesis 3 - Tragedy and God

Genesis 3

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 desirable to make wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. (verse 6-7)

Message: Tragedy and God

Time: Genesis is the first book and Moses is credited as authoring. The book spans 2400 years of time. It was originally written in Hebrew.

What the Lord is Saying: Mining dam shocks a community killing 19. Events like this having us questioning evil, wondering about God. The Bible reminds us of (1) the reality of the moral and spiritual fall of man; (2) the holy and just character of God; and (3) the suffering of Christ Jesus for us. Apart from grace, all of fallen humanity is subject to the just punishment of God, which includes temporal evils (like disasters) and spiritual afflictions, both in this world and the world to come. 

Genesis says, "Cursed is the ground because of you" in Genesis 3:17. So natural disasters as well as issues due to human error occur because God has cursed the ground because of the sin of men and women. These events are to wake us up to reality of who God is, bring us to repentance, restrain us from sin, focusing us not on the things of life, but on the ways of God and the things to come. 

These bad events that occur in our lives is the product of our collective apathy toward God. Thus, it is Christ who God has sent to enter our lives to end the suffering of man from sin, forgiving us and bringing answers to us and comfort in these hard times. He works through people and gives us comfort and hope for tomorrow. 

I speak to a lot of people online that bring up these issues. People sometimes don't believe in God because their immediate needs are not met. Sometimes it is hard for me to reconcile those that have versus those that don't have. But the reality is God has mercy on us, offering forgiveness to those that profess their faith in Him. Not all people will. Some will choose their own way. For some this seems random, but I think to God there is a real determined focus on who receives the blessing. Thus, we seek God in the difficulties, thank Him for His grace, look forward with hope for the future and comfort one another in the losses. 

Prayer: O God, I am so thankful for your grace that I don't deserve, but I so desperately need. Thank you for the peace that you give and the good life I have. I don't understand but keep giving me peace and increase your peace to others. Help them trust in You. It is hard to hear how many reject you because of a tough life. Keep me grounded in You, trusting in You and living for You. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

My Utmost for His Highest - December 1 - The Law and the Gospel

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. JAMES 2:10

The moral law does not consider us as weak human beings at all, it takes no account of our heredity and infirmities, it demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never alters, either for the noblest or for the weakest, it is eternally and abidingly the same. The moral law ordained by God does not make itself weak to the weak, it does not palliate our shortcomings, it remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we do not realize this, it is because we are less than alive; immediately we are alive, life becomes a tragedy. “I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” When we realize this, then the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a man gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Jesus Christ is a farce to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful binding sense of the law, it makes a man hopeless — “sold under sin.” I, a guilty sinner, can never get right with God, it is impossible. There is only one way in which I can get right with God, and that is by the Death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the lurking idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience — which of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!

We only realize the power of the moral law when it comes with an “if.” God never coerces us. In one mood we wish He would make us do the thing, and in another mood we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in the ascendant, all compulsion is gone. When we choose deliberately to obey Him, then He will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us. 

From My Utmost for His Highest Classic Edition

Highlights and underlines by my mom. 

My Thoughts

• There are no excuses related to the moral law. 
• What makes me 'not right' with God is my sin and the only answer is the Death of Jesus Christ, the cross. It is never the result of obedience. 

My Utmost for His Highest - November 26 - The Concentration of Spiritual Energy

…save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. — Galatians 6:14

If you want to know the energy of God (i.e., the resurrection life of Jesus) in your mortal flesh, you must brood on the tragedy of God. Cut yourself off from prying personal interest in your own spiritual symptoms and consider bare-spirited the tragedy of God, and instantly the energy of God will be in you. “Look unto Me,” pay attention to the objective Source and the subjective energy will be there. We lose power if we do not concentrate on the right thing. The effect of the Cross is salvation, sanctification, healing, etc., but we are not to preach any of these, we are to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The proclaiming of Jesus will do its own work.

Concentrate on God’s center in your preaching, and though your crowd may apparently pay no attention, they can never be the same again. If I talk my own talk, it is of no more importance to you than your talk is to me; but if I talk the truth of God, you will meet it again and so shall I. We have to concentrate on the great point of spiritual energy, the Cross, to keep in contact with that center where all the power lies, and the energy will be let loose. In holiness movements and spiritual experience meetings the concentration is apt to be put not on the Cross of Christ, but on the effects of the Cross.

The feebleness of the churches is being criticized to-day, and the criticism is justified. One reason for the feebleness is that there has not been this concentration of spiritual energy; we have not brooded enough on the tragedy of Calvary or on the meaning of Redemption.


My Thoughts

• brood - think deeply about something that makes one unhappy

Ezekiel 24

Message: The siege of Jerusalem spoken by a parable and Ezekiel's wife dies

Time: 9th year, 10th month, 10th day, word of The Lord came to Ezekiel. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem.

What the Lord is Saying: we have a pot with water and meat pieces - the choicest one of the flock.

Wow or take note of the bloody city that also sits in this pot, bleeding. You are unclean and doing nothing about it. The Lord's fury will be satisfied. The Lord will word according to His way.

The Lord speaks and tells Ezekiel he is about to take the delight from him. He speaks to the people and then his wife dies. The Lord asks Ezekiel not to mourn in the traditional way upon his wife's passing. This was probably hard for Ezekiel, but his obedience is clear. I am not sure why this was requested. Perhaps, the Lord did not want Ezekiel not fill his time with this.

Promise: All will be made good for Israel. Through the trouble, the people will know that He is the Lord.