17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

What do you notice about the simplicity of this passage? How do you become a new creation?

Much like Jesus’ death, old life buried, sin buried, new life rises again, rises from the depths of the grave. Jesus does the same thing in our life when we surrender and trust him. Our old life is buried and our new life with Jesus rises again. We are a new creation in Christ.
What does it mean for you today to live anew in Christ? What does it mean for you to live differently than the old/yesterday?

Baptism not only marks our faith journey, but it is a continual reminder of the old being buried and the new rising again.

 

Let’s take a look at this longer story, again, it is about baptism, but what do you see as the story of faith?

Acts 8:26-39- 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch
went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

What do you see about faith within this passage?

Notice how Philip was listening for God? Angel of the Lord said to Philip, go. Faith is having the courage to pay attention, listen, and follow what God is saying. I hear you, “but Aaron, that sounds hard, how do I know it is God’s voice and not indigestion from the pizza or it’s my own thoughts in my head?”

Part of hearing God is knowing what he sounds like and how do we know what God sounds like? What does his word tell us? Does what we hear line up with what God says in scripture? Does it line up with something Jesus would do? Do I want to stay self-protected, if so, that should be an indicator that I’m not listening to God, but I’m listening to my flesh/self. Having faith is learning the voice of God/Holy Spirit and then following what we hear.

The other part of faith that we see within this passage is the willingness to speak up. Notice because Philip listened to the angel of God, God put him in a position to be of assistance to the Ethiopian, then share the hope of Jesus.

Now some of you are going to be resistant to this because you think you need to have the answers for whatever comes your way and what if you don’t know the answer you need? Well… If Jesus’ promise in Matthew 28 is that he will never leave us or forsake us, do you think he would leave you, on your own to answer something that he invited you into? No, that is the deepening of trust, “God, you invited me into this situation/conversation, what do you want me to say? How do you want to tend to this person or this person’s question?”
Today, what does it look like to listen for God’s voice, hear it, follow it, and then invite God into responding to what you are hearing?

 

The next passage I want us to look at is from the Message version and it is Romans 6:3-5- That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country
of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace - a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country.

This is a beautiful picture of what baptism represents, as well as declared. Baptism declares that our old life is buried, like Christ’s death and the new life we experience is coming up out of the water, like Jesus’ resurrection.

In relation to our faith journey, our faith journey should declare to those around us resurrection living. That we are living in the new country of grace, the new land of living in a light-filled world. I’m curious, would those around you say that you are living in a light-filled world, grace country or would they say you are still living in the old country of sin? As Paul also says to the church of Corinth, living as a new creation or old creation?

Yes, baptism declares being buried and raised again, but our faith should declare to those around us that we live in new ways. May today be an invitation to live because he lives.

Because He Lives by Matt Maher

 

We are going to take another passage today and look at it not only through the lens of baptism, but the lens of faith.

The words we are looking at in Matthew 28 are the last words of the gospel of Matthew. According to Matthew these are the last words of Jesus to his disciples. What do you notice?

Matthew 28:19-20- 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus’ words are an invitation to action. Notice that faith is an active reality, not a passive belief. Jesus says go, make disciples, baptize, teach and obey with the covering of God’s presence with us.

One of the realities of baptism is that baptism is a response of obedience, we are doing something that Jesus commands us to do. But I would argue this entire passage is an invitation to do something. Are we going or are we staying comfortable in our “churches”?
Think about it in a simple way. Have you ever got a new car to you? Doesn’t have to be brand new off the lot, you can purchase it off Facebook Marketplace or a newspaper ad or a friend, but it’s new to you. Now you have this “new to you” car, do you park it in the garage, driveway, and on the road and never use it? It just stays parked, sure you have a “new to you” car, but it doesn’t GO anywhere.

Having a faith and not obeying God’s command to GO, is the similar picture. When God says “go” and make disciples, he is saying “go” and make a difference in people’s lives, go do “disciple” things. Go and love, forgive, serve, teach, challenge, be generous. All the while knowing that God’s presence is with you as you go.

Today, are you parked in your faith life? Or are you willing to go, go and love, forgive, serve, teach, challenge, be generous with others around you, not just your “safe people.”

 

This past Sunday we had the opportunity to celebrate people’s choice to obediently declare their faith through baptism. My desire this week is to share some reflection pieces around baptism, but the encouragement isn’t reflecting on this faith practice, as much as it is, reflecting and challenging the steps of our faith journey.

The reason I share it that way is because baptism is a declaration of something more inside. But that’s not the only way or reason why we need to declare our faith. My hope is that you will see within the passages this week, with baptism as the center point, you will see other opportunities to deepen your faith.

Today’s passage is the first time we see baptism specifically in scripture and it is Jesus’ baptism.

Matthew 3:13-17- 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

I love Jesus’ posture. John acknowledges, “I shouldn’t baptize you, you should baptize me.” Essentially saying, “you are greater than I, I am not worthy to baptize you Jesus.” But Jesus shows us humility, shows us trust and it is defined within the scripture as righteousness, right living according to God’s standard.

Because of his posture, trust and humility, it allowed Jesus to be baptized by John, which allowed this to be declared as Jesus came up out of the water. “This is my son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.” This declaration of God upon Jesus is a declaration of identity and purpose. Jesus is loved and he lives out of the purpose that God is already pleased with him. There is nothing he needs to do to earn or prove for his father to be pleased with him.

Our faith is marked by the same identity and purpose. When we step into the faith of Christ, we are his sons and daughters, dearly loved and accepted, that is the freedom we need to live in. The challenge is, can you take a look at your life and your relationship with God and ask- what are you doing to prove you are worthy to be loved? Or as the CEB version says, “God found happiness in Jesus,” can you say that God finds happiness in you, simply for being your Heavenly Father?

Sit with God around your identity and purpose and the reality that you go through a lot of other motions to live out a different identity and a purpose of earning.
I would also encourage you to sit with this song as a model of living this out.

More Like Jesus

 

Yesterday we looked at the power of pain, grief, loss, anxiety, worry in conceiving to raising children and all points between. Ultimately naming the fact that those things happen, but how do we trust God in the midst of those things, because the world is broken and God didn’t do this to you. Building trust is inviting God into your grief and unfulfilled dreams.
Let me fast forward briefly to how Jesus shared a story that indirectly applies to this.

Matthew 7:24-29- 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does notput them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

What’s the moral of the story?

What’s your foundation?

Our foundation doesn’t exempt us from storms in life. Our foundation ensures how we go through those storms. If our foundation is on anything but Jesus, our life will wash away when storms come.

But if our foundation is on Jesus, as our rock, we can weather the storm, no matter how unexpected or intense or destructive, we will still stand with Jesus.

Besides, Jesus says in John 16:33-, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world.” God’s response to brokenness is acknowledging pain, worry, anxiety, and hardship, but can you trust him despite the grief?

What "storms" are you currently facing?

Is your foundation Christ, or something else? What needs to shift?

"Lord, we thank You that You didn't curse us, but instead made a way back to Your presence through Jesus. Help us live as victors, not victims. Meet us in our pain, and teach us to trust You even when we don't understand. In Jesus' name, amen."

 

Let’s keep going. Notice God’s interaction with Eve. Genesis 3:15- 16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.

I’ve always understood this passage to mean, guess what ladies, giving birth was going to hurt. I got it easy with our two kids, besides not having to do anything, both of our kiddos came as C-section, challenge to Theresa, but for me, piece of cake.

But as I continued to study this week, I think there is something more and something deeper going on.

You have to remember, translation is always an act of interpretation. We are taking another language, written thousands of years ago into our current language and setting. Besides there’s an old adage that says, “you get five rabbi’s in a room talking about a challenging passage and you will get ten interpretations.”

I don’t want to take you too far into the weeds. I am going to try and make it plain for you. The word “pains” is used as the same word in verse 17 for toil, which means hard/difficult work, but this word is never used for labor or childbearing. The root word of “pains” refers to pain, agony, hardship, worry, nuisance, and anxiety.

Also, the Hebrew word for childbearing or childbirth should be defined as “to become pregnant” the root word is used 62 times and every time it means to conceive.

Which means, the chaos and brokenness of universal sin in the world means that there is agony, hardship, worry, anxiety around the circumstances in which children are conceived, born, raised, and in which they die.

God is naming the fact that there is pain (worry, hardship, anxiety) in conceiving or not being able to conceive, being pregnant, having a child, raising children, losing a child. God
is declaring this is broken, he didn’t do this to you, he is saying this is the pain of a broken world.

Many of you know that Theresa and I faced challenges in this area. We struggled in getting pregnant, then staying pregnant, having five miscarriages. There is no doubt we had more questions than answers. And I would say we did blame God for the brokenness of this part of our life. Fo others, you have different stories of brokenness.

My push is this; this isn’t about blaming God for the brokenness, He didn’t do this to you, it’s a crying out of saying, “I don’t know why this is hard, but I know life is broken, how do I trust God in the midst of brokenness? How do you trust despite the grief and pain?

We have a hard time with the practice of grief within the church. We have a belief that we should always be happy, silver-lining, glass half-full. Even yesterday we talked about living in victory. Those things are true, but I would argue those things are even more true when we are honest with our emotions, specifically grief and fear.

Jesus was honest with his grief as he faced the brokenness of the world. This is God’s lament, his poem of grief of the brokenness of the world. Which should give us permission to bring our grief to God, our Father who sees us with open arms.

I’ve talked directly about the impact for women in conceiving, pregnancy, birth, child rearing, and loss. But I believe this is invitation of grief is for all of us.

"God is saying, 'I hear you, I want you to cry out to me... I want to love you in the midst of your pain and grief.'" How comfortable are you bringing your raw emotions—anger, grief, disappointment—to God? What might help you grow in this?

Meet with God, honestly around your grief, your broken dreams, share with him how you feel and allow him to meet you there. You can use this song as a guide as well. Come to the Altar

 

Genesis 3:15- 15 And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

What else do you notice about the offspring?

Point of reference, some translations also have seed for offspring. For the sake of the rest of our discussion, we are going to look at this passage as seed.

The seed will crush the head of the serpent, and the serpent will strike the seed’s heal. I love this, because is seed singular or plural?

Yes. We can have a singular seed, but you can also have a bag of seed, plural. You can have a singular offspring or you can have offspring, as your family/legacy.

I believe this is a statement of the ultimate seed of Christ, defeating chaos at the cross! But it is also a declaration for the seed of the Body of Christ, the church, that because of Christ’s victory we have victory.

Notice Romans 16:20- The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

Remember, peace isn’t just something from the 60’s or kumbaya. Peace brings wholeness to what is broken, you can’t have peace without pieces. The God, brings peace to what is broken, order to disorder. How will he do that?

Through Christ’s power in you! Because of Christ’s victory at the cross, we have the power to crush the serpent under our heel. If you want to read a touch more take a look
1 Corinthians 15 is a great reference as well.

God’s response, lament, is naming that there will be continued hostility between humanity and evil, but God doesn’t leave us there. He gives us a way out, he gives us victory over evil.

Are you living as a victim or a victor? Are you living as a victim because this is what “life” did to you? It’s “their” fault. Or are you living as a victor? Because of Christ’s victory in your life, you can crush the serpent with your heal, walk in the Spirit.

Where do you need victory today? What area of life or relationship do you feel defeated? Do you feel as though the serpent is tripping you up? How does God want to give you victory in that area?

How can you seek his presence, what needs to be given over? Laid at the cross?
You can use this song as an encouragement- See a Victory

 

This week we are unpacking Genesis 3:14-24, if you listened to the message from Sunday, you will know that we only got so far. There is much within this entire passage. It was also cool to hear of people taking time to unpack portions of this passage for themselves, not just unpacking during the message. That’s the value of giving you these faith challenges, to take what is shared on a Sunday and apply it throughout the week or dig deeper on certain things that connect.

Let’s go back to the first verse in our section, I want to draw your attention to the characters and the impact for each of them, not only individually, but how it also impacts relationally.
Remember this is God’s lament, his poem of grief and the impact of brokenness and lostness in the world.

Genesis 3:14- 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

I mentioned last week that the serpent slithered, but here we see God “curse” the serpent by crawling on his belly and eating dust. Does that mean in the first part of Genesis 3 it was a walking and talking serpent and as a part of the curse he got his legs taken away? Others say that the serpent had wings, like a dragon, a chaos monster and now is grounded. I don’t know which it was, but what I do know is there is an imagery of being brought low, a defeat. Either way the serpent is cursed and destined to be brought low from its high position.

Notice what happens next with the serpent and Eve. Genesis 3:15- 15 And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Let’s break this down, there is hostility between Eve and the serpent (remember, the rest of scripture shows us this ancient serpent is the satan, evil). Which means God’s lament is that there is hostility, division, oppression between the woman and the satan. But it isn’t just Eve, or the woman, it also says there is hostility between the offspring or the seed of the woman and the offspring or seed of the serpent.

This is a continual battle between good and evil, tov and ra, life and death. This doesn’t mean that the battle is against baby snakes, I would argue it doesn’t even relate to our battle being against demons, as if the seed of the satan are demons. I believe God is naming the what Paul names in Ephesians 6:12- our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and evil forces of this dark world. Or what James 4:1-2 says, “What causes quarrels and fights among you? Does it not come from your desires?”

My point is this, in God’s lament, his grief is that we will always have an adversary, it can be spiritual forces, it can be humanity that goes against the things of God. Either way, the pain of this world is that we will have to deal with hostility and at times from unlikely sources (we’ll see this firsthand in our next chapter with Cain and Able).

For a moment, where in your life do you see an adversary? This isn’t about “not getting your way” but when you seek the things of God, something comes against you? How do you seek God’s guidance and endurance through situations like that? How can you reset yourself and see that your battle isn’t against flesh and blood, but against evil forces? Which means, spiritually speaking you need to have a different response?

 

If you missed last week, I strongly recommend going back and watching it because it sets us up for this week. Let me give you a quick recap.

We talked about how the serpent confronted Eve with misleading questions and statements, Eve responded with some truth, but also some fallacies, Adam was an observer, not a protector. Eve took the fruit and gave it to Adam and sin broke into the world, which we also named chaos. Chaos was brought back into creation, Adam and Eve were filled with fear, they ran away and hid. God pursued them, he went “looking for them” with three questions: Where are you? Who told you? What have you done? All three questions were about proximity and grace?

Where are you, why have you wandered away from me? Who told you, what voice are you listening to? What have you done, can you take responsibility or continue to blame?
Now we come to God’s response. What is he going to do with sin, chaos back in his created order? Does he start over? Does he destroy the serpent?

What is God’s response to a broken and lost world?

Read Genesis 3:14-24- 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” 20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

What stood out to you? What are you wrestling/struggling with? How can you see this passage with fresh eyes?

Obviously, I can’t tackle everything in this passage. I may answer questions you have and I may not. That’s the joy of scripture; it is continual learning. I do want to give just a few quick side bars and then jump into the nuances of the passage.

First, who or what was cursed?

The serpent and the ground. That’s important because humanity wasn’t cursed, there is pain and consequences to living in sinful disobedience, but humanity wasn’t cursed.
It is important to note that the ground was cursed. Think about, not that work wasn’t going to be hard, but God is saying, it will be even harder than before. Work will create strife, grief, and at times feeling purposeless. We also see that the land will lay barren at times, hence we see famines and desolation. All a part of the brokenness of sin and the chaos of the world, the whole world grieves.

Second observation, cherubim with flaming swords. Cherubim are supernatural creatures, referred to over 90 times in the OT, they typically functioned as guardians of God’s presence. Here they are guarding the tree of life, because God knew that if Adam and Eve took from the Tree of life that they would be forever stuck in the broken and lost world. We get a glimpse of God’s warrior motif.

Final sidebar, which is more a perspective change, what did you notice about how this passage was written? You see it more directly if you read it from your bible. It had stanzas, sections, some theologians believe God’s response was like a poem, a lament, it is his song of grief. God knows, that because humanity “took” wisdom into their own hands, that ushered in chaos; which we define as brokenness and lostness, sin.

John Sailhamer shares it this way. “In this subtle verbal interchange, the author has shown that human happiness does not consist in being “like God” but rather being “with God” enjoying the blessing of his presence.” God knows that is broken and lost now, sin defiles God’s presence and prevents us from access to him. Or as John Walton shares, “The overwhelming loss was not paradise; it was God.”

What we see in this passage is the result of the fall, the result of the brokenness of sin in the world. Some of it is natural consequences, stating how it is broken now. Other parts of the consequences still gives us a choice. Are we going to choose to take “in life” which will come with consequences or choose to trust God?

If we take, this is what can happen. If we trust, we can have a different experience, like the Psalmist says. Psalm 16:11- You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

That’s what God is desiring to move us towards, but he names the struggle of what that will
be. 

 

This week we’ve been unpacking the first 13 verses of Genesis 3. My desire has been to help you “unsee” all the ways you have perceived Genesis 3 and begin to see the chaos of disorder that came through the serpent, the satan, sin. But to also see how God pursue us despite our choosing chaos over trust.

I do want to draw our attention to hope. I do want to draw our attention to the significance of the gospel, Good News, even in Genesis 3.

Tim Mackie shares it this way. “The plot conflict introduced in Genesis 3 can only be resolved by the divine and human becoming one. The human has to become one with God in such a way that they don’t seize the knowledge of good and evil for themselves, instead submit to the wisdom of the Father.” Which John shares in John 17:20-26. That was Jesus’ prayer, that we would be one.

Actually, Jesus is the one, who becomes one with God and for God, to redeem what was broken in the garden. Jot down Romans 5:15-21, we don’t have time to look at it. But it can be summarized this way. God becomes the human we were made to be, allowing all humans to live as intended in the garden. Christ satisfied what Adam and Eve couldn’t.
Understanding what the actual problem is will shape what you think Jesus came to do and what he’s there to resolve.

John Walton puts it this way. “Christ was able to achieve the desired result where Adam and Eve failed. We are all doomed to die because when we sinned we lost access to the tree of life. We are therefore subject to death because of sin. Christ succeeded and actually provided the remedy to sin and death.” Which means, not only do we need a savior, a redeemer, we need one to model our life after.

How did Jesus answer the questions God asked Adam and Eve in the garden?

Where are you?

Jesus’ proximity to God was always close, he routinely got away to spend time with the Father.

Who told you?

A great example of this is Matthew 4:1-11 and the satan’s temptation of Jesus. Satan, the chaos monster, did the same thing to Jesus as he did to Adam and Eve, did God say that? Do you want to take that for yourself? You can’t trust God. But Jesus listened to the voice of his Father, not the lies of the evil one.

What did you do?

Jesus responded with a perfect life and said, “I take all of what you did upon myself and will die on the cross for your sin.”

I want you to take an assessment of your life, based upon those three questions. Before you do that though, listen to this song as a part of that encouragement to meet with God.
Run to the Father

Where are you? Where is your proximity to God? If you are far off, how do you respond with humility, like the prodigal, and come back to God?

Who told you? What voices are you listening to? Truth or lies? The accuser wants to cast doubt on God’s character and truth. How are you testing the voices and what you hear? Would God say that of me? Would God have me do that? My wisdom or God’s wisdom.

Then finally, what did you do? This is coming to the cross with confession and repentance, not blaming. Take responsibility for your actions, for the chaos you caused, the sin you committed. Confess what you’ve done and pursue God’s directive.

Our response to sin and chaos is fear, hiding, and blaming. God’s desired response is humility, coming close to Him, confession, and repentance. Trusting the Creator as the
created means we seek His order over chaos, His wisdom over our own, His provision over our taking and His freedom despite our failure.

 

Yesterday I shared this quote from Tremper Longmen from his commentary .

“The story of Adam, though does expose the nature of sin. What is sin at its heart? Sin is rebellion against God, a refusal to accept him as Lord. Sin places oneself in the position of God, and like Adam and Eve, humans substitute their own ideas of right and wrong in the place of God’s definition. Sin rejects God… The account of Adam and Eve is a way of telling us what we would all do (and indeed we all do) if we were in their place.”

If this was the end of the story, we would all be a hurting case and it would be a short story, only 2.1 chapters and it probably wouldn’t be called the Bible. It would be called the Epic Failure of Humanity.

Thankfully the story continues. Now notice this dialogue that takes place.

Read Genesis 3:7-13- 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Don’t get me wrong. I for sure would not have wanted to be there when this took place. But there is part of me that would have liked to be a fly on a tree and see how this took place.
Think about it? How would you perceive God responding?

Within two short chapters his created beings brought chaos back to his ordered world. Yet, what do we see? We see God’s proximity and we see God asking questions.

Before Adam and Eve ever repent, God pursues them, out of his great love.

I just want to highlight the wonder of this statement, “heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day… Oh what that must have sounded like.
Some translations instead of “the cool of the day” have “the wind of the day”, which is also translated ruakh, wind, breath, spirit. God is still making parallels to hovering over the chaos in ch. 1, breath within humanity in ch. 2, and the spirit in ch. 1. God’s presence, his Spirit, His breath, was in close proximity to Adam and Eve.

Let’s take it one step further, draw your attention to God walking… What’s amazing is that word, “walking” can actually be translated as a “walkabout”. Like our friends down under. God was on a “walkabout” or a stroll through the garden.

We also see that in chapter 5 with Enoch, chapter 6 with Noah, chapter 17 with Abraham, Leviticus 26 with the people of Israel. And I would say we see it indirectly with Jesus was he walked the land with the disciples and crowds.

All of that to say, God desires to walk with his people. God desires to stroll through life with you, he desires to have his proximity close to you. That’s why I am usually asking the question, “God never left you, but did you pull away from him?” God desires to be in close proximity to you, despite your chaos.

Which is evident in God’s first question. Remember, because of sin, Adam and Eve ran away in fear, hid, and put fig leaves on to cover their nakedness/shame. God’s first question is, “where are you?” It wasn’t because he didn’t know, it was a question for them. God is saying, I know where I am, but where are you? Why are you not in close proximity to me.
Which is a wonderful grounding question. Throughout your days and weeks, you should ask yourself, “where am I? Have I wandered from God’s proximity? Have I believed something that has caused me to pull away from God?” Where are you?

Second question God asks, “Who told you that you were naked?” Almost like, God knew they were naked, innocent, pure, even though they didn’t know. But now they are seeing life completely different.

What voice are you listening to? Another grounding question, “who’s voice are you listening to? Who told you, whatever it is that you believe?” Was it God’s voice? Or the chaos monster? Is it the voice of truth? Or a voice of doubt, deception, accusation?

Then the last question God asks, "Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Essentially, what have you done? What are your actions, what have you “taken”?

How did Adam respond? He blamed God first (this woman you gave me) and then Eve (she gave it to me to eat). How did Eve respond? Blamed the serpent. In their pride, in their fear, in their sin and chaos they blamed.

Sin’s response was to run away in fear, hide, and blame. Chaos creates fear, hiding, and blaming. How real is that in your life?

How often are you in fear, uncertainty, anxiousness, maybe because of sin, but maybe because we are trying to be God, or we fear God is holding out on us or that we don’t trust God.

How often do we hide? Hide in our careers, hide in our hobbies, hide in our false selves, because we’ve believed a lie, the accuser is slithering through our minds and relationships.
How often do we NOT take responsibility for our life, stay in our pride, God it’s your fault? It’s the woman you put me with? It’s my boss, my friend, that person.

Today, I want you to reflect on so many of those questions. Pick one, pick them all. Take your tine with them. But first, I want you to sit with this song, Reckless Love.

 

Read Genesis 3:1-6- Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Do you notice the dialogue that takes place with the serpent and Eve? The serpent is making statements or assuming questions, almost playing dumb and Eve is answering them, but incompletely.

Notice the first engagement- He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

Really? The serpent said, “you must not eat from any tree.” Deception, doubt. Stating, God is holding out on you.

Let’s check the facts, what DID God say?

Genesis 2:16-17- 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Here’s a clue to combat chaos, knowing truth and knowing God’s character. God isn’t holding out on Adam and Eve, he is giving them abundance. We also need to know the truth, the lie was; can’t eat from any tree in the garden, truth is, you can eat from all but one.
Even though Eve rebutted the serpent, she was still incomplete in her answer. She said, “you must not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden and you must not touch it.”
Again, incomplete, there were two trees in the middle of the garden, one they could eat, one they couldn’t. And God never said they couldn’t touch it. The serpent’s questions created chaos, doubt, uncertainty.

Let’s keep going. 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Wait, what? The serpent must be ill-informed. Because God did say they would die. Sure, not a present physical death, but a spiritual death.

But I want to highlight something else. Why would they need to be “like God”? They were created in the image of God. Again, check the facts. What DID God say? Genesis 1:27- God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them.

Again, the serpent is contradicting what is true and essentially saying, “you can take (wisdom) for yourself, and you will be like God.” Take the wisdom, take the knowledge of knowing good and evil, which means you will be like God. Versus trusting God’s wisdom in our life, because we were created in His image.

Before we get to Eve’s response, the crafty serpent, created all kinds of chaos through deception, doubt, and accusation. The serpent was essentially saying, “God’s holding out on you, you can’t trust God, so you should take (wisdom) for yourself.”

I wonder how many times in our own journey we have wrestled with the same realities? God IS holding out on me. I CAN’T trust God. I SHOULD take that for myself.
Because that’s eventually what Eve does. 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, (Which by the way, they already knew that Genesis 2:9) and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

This choice, free choice to listen to the chaos monster over the truth of God disrupted all of life. Brought chaos to humanity, creation, and our relationship with God.

Tremper Longmen shares it in his commentary this way. “The story of Adam, though does expose the nature of sin. What is sin at its heart? Sin is rebellion against God, a refusal to accept him as Lord. Sin places oneself in the position of God, and like Adam and Eve, humans substitute their own ideas of right and wrong in the place of God’s definition. Sin rejects God… The account of Adam and Eve is a way of telling us what we would all do (and indeed we all do) if we were in their place.”

Adam and Eve’s sin is a departure of love and trust of their creator. It was a departure from their purpose of bringing order to the chaos as God’s representatives. It was a departure from intimacy of one another and how they were invited into community.

John Walton also shares, “Humanity was supposed to continue God’s process of moving the cosmos from nonorder to order. With the failure of humanity all creation was stuck in ripple effect of sin and the disorder it brought.”

Today, pause and identify the chaotic voices in your life. What doubts are you entertaining? What fears are creating disorder? Recognizing the serpent's strategy is the first step toward resisting it. God's truth brings order; the enemy's lies bring chaos.

The serpent suggested that God was "holding out" on Adam and Eve. When have you been tempted to believe God is holding out on you? How did that belief affect your relationship with Him?

 

Notice how the serpent creates chaos for Eve and Adam. If that sentence doesn’t make sense, go back to yesterday’s Daily Faith Challenge for a review.

If it does make sense, then read Genesis 3:1-6- Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Few quick observations. I want to reference my statement last week. Remember when we talked about God giving humanity a suitable helper, an ally. What is the first thing the serpent does? He goes after the ally, the suitable helper, sneaky enough to create division.
Which we should also pause and ask, where in the world was Adam? What was he doing?
I firmly believe he was there the entire time. Notice the last line, who was with her. He was there with her.

What was Adam’s purpose? Responsibility that God gave him? To guard and protect/rule the land. He was supposed to be guarding and protecting Eve and the Garden. But he wasn’t.

I’m reminded of King David who was supposed to be out at war with his army, instead he was back at the castle, he sees Bethsheba and the rest is history.

I think those two observations, serpent going after the suitable helper, ally and Adam/King David not doing what they were intended to be doing is a great reminder for us.

Attention to prayer of protection for our “allies”. And men, how are you guarding and protecting, not only your home, but also creating safe space for others around you? Guarding and protecting physically, emotionally, spiritually?

In both cases, the serpent created chaos within their purpose.

How can you live out that? Our “allies” are other humans, as well as spouses, but how are you praying for protection? Is there an attack on one of your “allies”? Is there division? How can you pursue God?

Also, how are you attentive to guarding/protecting others? Are you creating safe space for people emotionally, physically, spiritually? That is part of our created responsibility to bring order in the midst of chaos.

 

I don’t know about you, but once you’ve seen something one way, it can be really hard to see it another way or shall I say, “unsee” it? For instance, the classic optical illusions you would see in Psychology class. What stands out to you? Do you see a duck or a rabbit? Can you go back and forth between the two or are you stuck seeing one versus the other?

My desire is to help you with that today. Because the story we are going to look at, I’ve typically have seen it one way, I think many of you have as well. My desire is to help you unsee it, not dismiss it, but “unsee it” in a certain way, because I believe it will elevate the meaning of the story and the passage. My hope is that you will walk out and see the craftiness of chaos all around that God invites us differently into trust and freedom.

Remember, as we continue to approach Genesis, the ancients were trying to give language for their understanding of how the world worked and their understanding of Yahweh, God. I say that, because we just got done going through 10 messages with the first two chapters of Genesis; looking at the beauty and wonder of the Creator and his intention, formation, and invitation. We saw that it was good, tov, until last week when we began to see how it wasn’t tov, good, for man to be alone, which gives us the need for humanity, out of the one came two, to be one.

Read Genesis 2:25-- Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Can you allow yourself to see the wonder, beauty, intimacy, closeness, AND no shame. It’s fantastic….

Keep reading, because it goes right into Genesis 3:1a - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman…

Wait, what? Don’t run past that…. So many questions? Where did the snake come from, why is it talking? Let’s just acknowledge that this is a strange story to our contemporary eyes and ears. But let us also not jump ahead and simply say “this is just Satan.” We will get there, but I want to show you something first.

Remember, the ancients are describing something, especially within creation. At creation when God spoke into existence the animals, what did he say? Creatures of the land, sea, and air, filled the earth above and below. Where does a serpent fit? Sea? Land? No legs, slivers on the dust of the land. Not only that the ancient Egyptians used them as symbols and they represented powerful symbols of chaos creatures, creatures that don’t properly belong to the divinely ordered world.

Pastor and author Manny Arango shares it this way in his book, Crushing Chaos, “Images aren’t just images. They are symbols that must be interpreted, and those interpretations contain ancient wisdom for the modern reader. The Bible paints a consistent and compelling picture for us of what kind of beast stood before Adam and Even in the garden temple of Eden…. The ancients would’ve seen Genesis 3 as the moment that the untamable force of Chaos broke into our culture.”

The image of the serpent would have meant more to the ancients than it does to us today. Granted, I’m not a fan of snakes for a variety of reasons, but I do believe this is one of them, the fear of how the snake came into the garden, tempted Eve and Adam and disrupted all of life.

But to go a step further, we can’t simply say this was a serpent, and it represented chaos in ancient tradition. We must see how this image, this serpent is portrayed in other parts of scripture.

Notice Isaiah 27:1- the Lord will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.

Job 1:7- 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

Revelation 12:9- The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Yes, we can see the serpent as the satan, evil, but I also want you to keep that picture of chaos. Even Revelation 12 referenced it, leads the world astray, creates chaos, disrupts the order, is crafty, deceptive.

The reason I want us to see it more than just the avenue of sin, is that for some, you are in sin management. You either try to manage your own sin or the sin of others. But we miss the power of what sin actually is and how the serpent deceived humanity, Adam and Eve.
Because even though anxiety isn’t a sin, it is a form of chaos. Poverty isn’t a sin, but it creates chaos. Suffering and sickness aren’t sin, but chaos is created. The serpent and sin distorted all of life and we must understand that so we can see the Hope we truly need.
Let’s acknowledge that chaos slithered into the garden and it is bigger than what we think.
What does looking at the start of Genesis 3 like that mean for you? Is it a shift to what you traditionally believe about it? How can seeing sin and satan as a chaos monsters actually elevate the destruction of sin? In the world? In your life?

Take a moment today and reflect, but also invite God, the one who brings order in the chaos into your day. Asking, seeking him for order along the way.

 

Read Genesis 2:21-25- 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man
leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Notice the beautiful poem that Adam shares, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” This is also a play on kinship, family, but the depth of this is saying, out of one came two, but are one, are unified. The depth of oneness.

Yes, it gives us this invitation to marriage, why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife. That picture of united with his wife, some translations says, “cleaved to his wife”, the picture of leaving and cleaving. Leaving the family unit to cleave to another. The picture of this is their lives are interlocked. Interlocked emotionally, physically, psychologically, spiritually. God gave married couples the gift of sex, intimacy of unity.

I do want to briefly share, this passage and others, is why I do believe God designed sex to be in the confines of marriage. It’s not because God or I am an old fuddy-duddy. It is because he knows the depth of closeness and oneness you were created to experience and that sex is a gift to be used in marriage. There is a tearing apart of lives when we choose to live by our wisdom of sexuality versus God’s design.

Please hear me, I’m not saying this out of shame and guilt. Because notice how Genesis 2:25 closes, they were “together” and felt no shame. The invitation for marriage was God’s design, it got corrupted by sin, and we try to live by our understanding of sexuality. That’s why we need grace and you are offered grace. Amazing grace. If you desire to meet with God around his design, please, take some time with him and commit yourself to God’s design of intimacy.

My point is this, community is two out of one to be one. Community is oneness. God created humanity to be singular and plural, to be one and out of one to be two, a dependence on one another to experience tov, the goodness of his creation.

Tim Mackie shares it this way. “One human cannot do what God has called them to do alone. There must be many humans who are different. When the many realize they are one because of their differences, not in spite of them, their oneness images God more richly than one human can do.”

Which means, how do we live with community as withness, togetherness, and oneness, that is God’s invitation?

If there is division, what’s causing the divide? How can you move towards unity?

In your singleness, how are you honoring God’s wisdom of life? Similar question to married couples, how are you honoring God’s wisdom of unity?

I would also encourage you to spend some time with this song, it may be exactly what you need to live in God’s grace as he redefines intimacy for you. Amazing Grace- My Chains are Gone
Heavenly Father, thank You for creating us for community, for withness, for togetherness. Forgive us when we try to live independently, when we hide our loneliness, when we refuse the help You provide through others. Give us courage to reach out, wisdom to be the helper someone needs, and humility to receive help when we need it. May we reflect Your image more fully as we live in unity with one another, side by side, becoming one in purpose and love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

Read Genesis 2:21-25- 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

First off, back in Genesis 1:27-28, we already have seen God created male and female, this narrative isn’t about “how” the woman was created, this narrative gives us the imagery of purpose and partnership.

The primary reason for that is the word rib, tsela (sela). This is the only place in scripture that talks about “rib” as an anatomical description. The word is used 40x’s and each of those times it is used as an architectural term, the side of the tabernacle, the side of the tent of meeting, even the side of the hill in battle.

The author is saying that God took the side of the human to make another human, he took from one, from his side and now there are two. When you incorporate the picture of suitable helper, we have this picture of an ally, a companion coming alongside for the common good, for greater function within creation.

Which means, because of the image of God and creating humanity side by side, male and female are equal in the eyes of God. Because think about it. The woman is not created from Adam’s head, as if she is superior or from Adam’s feet as if she is inferior, but from his side showing mutuality and equality. Remember equality isn’t just about being the same, the beauty of equality is being aligned, yet different.

Community is two out of one to be one. Community is oneness. We’ll share a touch more tomorrow. But for the time being, settle in the fact that God created a suitable helper out of the side, to be by the side, two that are different to be one in purpose and partnership.
If you are marriage, how does that redefine marriage for you? If you are in a working relationship, how does that “side by side” working impact you? Remember you can’t live the fruit of the Spirit in isolation or by yourself. The fruit of the Spirit is meant to be lived in relationship. Where do you need grow, in community, with one of the fruit of the Spirit?
Journal about what "side-by-side" community looks like in your current season of life.

 

Read Genesis 2:18-20- 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
 
The author illustrates how God brought all the animals before Adam to name them and to see if there was a helper. I can’t help but imagine what that must have been like. Animal by animal coming to Adam, naming it, seeing the purpose, will it be my helper.
 
God bringing the animals before Adam, for what? “helper suitable for him.” What’s interesting is that depending on your translation you will get a variety of phrases. Helper counter-part, helper fit for him, helper as his partner, helper just right for him, or the classic KJV, help meet for him. What’s interesting is that all has the similar idea, but I think it is incomplete.
 
The Hebrew word for help is ezer, which is fine, but the English language doesn’t suffice, especially when you see how it is used in other areas of the Bible. Ezer is used twenty one times as a noun. Notice Deuteronomy 33:26-29, Psalm 33:18-20- We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 121:1-2- 1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
What do you see based upon the usage of the word “help” in those passages? It is talking about God as our ezer, our help, it is used in context to military, shield, protection, deliverance, aid.
 
Tim Mackie summarizes it this way. “The word help (ezer) does not mean assistant or helper. Rather, it describes someone who plays the role of the indispensable other without whom the desired good cannot happen.”
 
I know that’s a mouthful, but when it comes to God, creating a “suitable helper”, people in our life, I like that push. “Someone who plays the role of the indispensable other without whom the desired good cannot happen.” Maybe we can see it as our ally, someone who is with us, yes, but in a sense of togetherness for a greater purpose, or desired good.
 
Community is one needs two. Community is togetherness.
 
For instance, check out this quick clip of a guy whose legs gave out, just before crossing the finish line of the Boston marathon. Boston Marathoner finishes with help
 
Which one are you? Are you the one struggling? Maybe not physically, but emotionally, spiritually, relationally, you feel like you have a limp going on. Are you the one that can provide help? Come alongside of someone for the common good.
 
Take that picture of community, one needs two, community is togetherness. Personalize it, how can you see that in your marriage? An ally? Not an enemy? How can you see that in friendship, depth of togetherness for a desired good?
 
God is saying, “He is the ultimate ezer, who gives us ezer, in the form of other people, community, to be an ally in life.” Which, brief side bar. This heightens the tragedy in Genesis 3 when the serpent preys upon, targets the woman, the ezer, the ally. The one provided to rescue is the first one to be attacked or divided from.
 
Why do you think marriages are under attack? Why do you think evil, ra, wants to bring brokenness? Because he knows the intention by which God created humanity, male and female, husband and wife. This, and this alone should give us pause to fight differently for our marriages; in prayer, in communication, in support.
 
Where do you need to come alongside of someone to provide care or assistance? Where do you need to learn the word “help” and ask for help?

 

Read Genesis 2:18-20- 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

Let me point out, this is a narrative, an ancient explanation of how they understood God, creation, and the role they played in creation. We CANNOT look at Genesis 2 in chronological order to Genesis 1; that’s not the intention.

We already noted that in Genesis 1, notice Genesis 1:27-28a says, 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

In Genesis 1 we already see that God created humanity, male and female, in his image, that we are a reflection of the image of God. We talked about how God was one, singular, but yet had three parts (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) or a plurality of effect.

The author is getting our attention in a similar way. Because we are created in the image of God, it is not good to be alone, or let me say this way, lone is not tov. Being singular, alone, independent of others is not good, not tov, not the way we were designed to function.

The lone one cannot do what God called them to do. The intention of the divine is to live in His image, be a blessing, multiply and give life. That cannot be done alone, only with others. Yes, we are singular, but we need to function with another.

Community is not one but two. Community is “withness”.

“Withness”, yes, I know, it’s not a real word, being with is you being an individual, your uniqueness, quirks, gifts, blessings of giving life, but with someone else to mirror the image of God.

 

Again, thank you to the elders last week for sharing in the service, as well as the daily faith challenges.

We’re picking our series back up of Genesis- creation, failure, redemption, repeat and our mini-series of Genesis chapter 2 which is our last part of a four-part series, creation’s Divine intention, formation, and invitation. We saw that the creation story told by the ancients wasn’t simply about the how of creation, but the who of creation, God, Yahweh.

And that the Divine’s intention for creation was to bring life, bring life through water and breath. Divine’s formation had a purpose, us to be a purpose, for others. And that Divine’s invitation was wisdom, seeking His council between tov and ra, good and evil, wholeness versus broken, functional versus dysfunctional.

This week I want us to look at the last invitation we see in Genesis 2, that is the formula for community. I believe we can look at Genesis 2 and see a formula for community.

Community is not one but two, one needs two, and two out of one to be one.
Got it? If not, hopefully by the end of the week, that will be clearer.

Read Genesis 2:18-20- 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

Lots going on in this passage, but I want to focus on the first part of verse 18- “It is not good for the man (the human) to be alone.” I’ve shared this in the past, but this is absolutely amazing to me. Because at this point in the story, there is no sin in the world, God and humanity are in perfect union. Yet, this is the first instance where we see God say, “it’s not good for many to be alone.” It’s not tov, humanity alone is not the way God intended life to function.

Which means, if you ever thought this life or the faith life was just about you and God and that’s all you need. God is getting our attention and says, “it’s not good, it’s not the way we created us to function.”

Today, I want you to pause and reflect- how much of your faith journey, life is done alone? If so, what does that look like? What does it mean not to do life “alone”?

For others, this may be hard and we will talk more about it tomorrow, but short version, if you are feeling lonely please reach out, period. To anyone you may trust or reach out to church.

You can also use this song to connect with God’s presence in this midst of this journey. The Blessing

 

Think about a worship song that you really like; one that causes you to turn up the volume or start singing. Why do you connect with that song? Is it the melody? Is it the words? Does it reach your heart, your mind, your body? How does God work within you through that song? 

 

Communion Reflection: A Table of Grace and Gratitude
 
Dear Church Family,
 
When we come to the Lord’s Table, we are reminded that it is not just bread and cup - it is an invitation to remember, to receive, and to rejoice.
 
In the breaking of the bread, we remember the sacrifice that opened the way for our salvation. In the sharing of the cup, we receive the promise of new life. And in both, we rejoice that we are part of a family bound together by grace.
 
Gratitude naturally flows from this moment. Gratitude for Christ, who gave Himself for us. Gratitude for the Spirit, who sustains us. Gratitude for one another, who walk this journey of faith side by side.
 
I encourage you to pause and name three specific blessings God has given you recently. Let this simple act of thanksgiving draw you deeper into the joy of His presence. 
 
Pray to him and share with him your gratitude, he is waiting. 
 
May our hearts be full and our lives be a living “thank you” to the One who gave us everything.

 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:4

On Sunday, Sarah talked about Jesus’ invitation to his disciples to abide in Him.  To stay.  To dwell in Him.  To make Him my home.

Yet, we struggle as we spend a majority of our lives abiding in other things.  

• Busyness
• Expectations of self and others
• Technology
• The narratives in our heads
• Appearances
• Achievements
• Etc, etc, etc…

Be honest with yourself - what do you abide in?  Where do you pour out most of your time and energy?

Wanna get really honest with yourself? Ask someone else what they see you abiding in.
Jesus calls us to abide in Him because we are only able to grow and produce good fruit if we stay connected to the vine, our Sustainer and Provider.  An unattached branch is…a dead stick.  There is no fruit and no growth. There is only fear because an unattached branch is simply firewood.  Abiding apart from God brings death and fear.

Fear can hide within many things - frustration, selfishness, anger, retreat, impatience, or silence.  However it presents itself, fear is a familiar weapon of the enemy and a great indicator that you are abiding in things other than Jesus.

How does fear present in you?

Recognizing this is powerful. The Word tells us that God is love and perfect love casts out all fear.  God and fear cannot share the same space.  Fear informs you that you are no longer abiding with the One who has loved you since before creation.  You may have pulled away, but He awaits your return.

So, return.  Run to the Father.  There is no time to sit in regret or shame.  He calls and waits for you.  Approach His throne with confession and repentance while He lovingly grafts your dead branch back onto the vine. Let Him remind you of who and whose you are. This is where you belong, nestled close to the vine.  Sit with Jesus and let Him remind you that the cross is enough.  His grace and mercy are enough.  You are forgiven and fully loved as you are while also being loved into who He created you to be.  
 
Abide - Look at Him, looking at you, in love.

 

Gail shared a story of a painful secret her family held for many years. She stated that unwanted things are going to happen in our lives. She also posed several questions and challenges.

Reflect on your own life, what unwanted things have happened to you or those around you? How did you and those around you handle them? Was God present during all that occurred?

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2-3

Do you have the courage and faith to invite others into your pain; to allow them to care for you and your heart? Can you walk through the waters, through the river, through the fire knowing God is with you and will not forsake you?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Are you able to fully trust the Lord in all you do? Or, do you find yourself trying to solve everything on your own?

How do you let your burdens out? How do you let God in?

 

Today, replace one "Lord, if only..." and choose to trust God with the outcome. Allow the Lord to be the Captain of your heart. Pray: "Lord, rescue me from myself. Not my will, but Yours be done."