It's Adam's Fault

So often I hear people blaming God for everything from Floods and devastation to hang nails.  Read or listen - Genesis Chapter 3   The results of this chapter has given us everything that we experience today.

Stop and think for a moment.  God made the earth perfect and gave Adam everything from naming the animals and plants to just having a one on one conversation with God each day.  There were no earthquakes, floods, or anything but peace in everything he did.  There was just one RULE.  The tree in the center of the garden.  It was because Adam was given a free will to make decisions that encouraged him to name things and make other decisions around the garden.

Satan knew of Adam and Eve's free will too and found a way to get Adam and Eve to rationalize that "God really did not mean what He said."  So the results were not only the labor and hardship things for Adam and Eve then and for everyone from that point on.  He also than allowed the earth to change, from which we get all the devastation we see from that point on until today.

From this third chapter of Genesis the world has been going downhill.  The physical side of the world is seeing the book of Revelation coming true.  We see scientist trying to "play" God in attempts of controlling the weather, and efforts to control our thoughts, nutrition, and lives by governments while discounting God's word.

Yet I believe that God can and does stop bad things from happening.  When you read the conversations between God and Satan in the book of Job, you easily can see that Satan is the master of pain and devastation here on earth.

Therefore the blog yesterday is where we need to focus.  Adam was the physical side of man that was made from the dust of the earth.  Jesus was a part of God and came into the world, not by dust, but by miracle.  He is the spiritual man who gives us the life with God and not the physical Adam (humans) life for eternity.  The spiritual side that rejects God will experience that feeling of pain we physically know today for eternity.

I know it is Adam's and Eve's fault for the fall of man but if were not him, I am sure someone else along the way would have given into Satan and God would have had no choice but to do what He did.

Would that person have been you?  I know it would have been me because I still go against what God wants for my life every day.  So stop blaming Adam and live for the Second Adam.  It is the Second Adam that cleans our lives every day.

Look up and not out!

Glossed over this all those years until Pastor Chris came along

Being a student of the bible for so many years, I read through the Word but most of the time never ponder what is on the page. I knew the end of the story and "WE WIN!"   We have a  Pastor who continues to challenge me and all of us when he reveals something in passing that makes me go, "Hump, never thought of it in that way".  Watching some of Pastor Chris Stephen's past #faithpromise sermons has driven me to dig deeper.  First to see if it is just a "preacher's story" or is it something I need to find out for my life.  Below is a scripture that for years I just glossed over and thought, "Go get-em Paul and Sosthenes for writing the book".

Then after a Pastor challenge I took a closer look. Read the verses first.

1 Corinthians 15:45-49 (MSG) | 

45-49 We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit. Physical life comes first, then spiritual—a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven. The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly. In the same way that we’ve worked from our earthy origins, let’s embrace our heavenly ends.

Adam came into the world and knew no sin.  Then Satan, in his cunning ways, convinced Adam that in disobeying God there would be no consequences.  From that moment on Adam was no longer the pure creation of God.  Then Jesus steps into the picture and Satan thinks he can do it again.  

Yes Jesus was able to be just like Adam in that he could have disobeyed the Father (which children like to do) and the results would have been devastating   If Satan did not think he had a chance to do to Jesus what he did to Adam then he would not have tried.  Satan is NOT stupid.

It was that Jesus was the second Adam in that He did not give into sin and therefore His message changed the world.  Giving us that connection to God and heaven was only possible if Jesus purely stayed as the Second Adam.  

More reasoning for Adam's impact to today will be discussed in the next blog.

Thanks Pastor Chris for prodding me to dig deeper than I had in 50 plus years.

Hey God, Fix-It

We go along our merry way each day until something goes wrong. We have not prayed in a while but when something happens we cry out to God, "Fix-It". But let's stop for moment and examine what we are asking of God. When an element goes out of a water heater, we call a plumber to fix it. It's the same water heater but with only a temporary fix.  The same goes for other things and what we want God to do to other people.  "Hey God, Fix-It".

You may have a situation in your life either with yourself or with another person and in your anger, frustration, or hurt cry out to God, "Lord, Fix this mess or Fix this person".

God may give you some peace of mind for a short period of time but the issues arise again and we get upset with God because the "Fix-It" did not make a total difference in the issue.  Some people walk away from God because they pray for God to fix something only to see that it is not fixed to their satisfaction.

If the water heater is bad them we have to change it our for a new one.  What we have to look at is for change!  This is not an escape in a relationship because I know that the issues will still be around on the next relationship.

We can cry out to God to Change whatever it might be and there are rare times He does exactly that.

I am and will always be a rescuer.  Like an alcoholic, we have been embedded in our brain to react a certain way when the stimulus is applied.  I have had relationships impacted because I was such a hard rescuer that it cause a rife in relationships and I was hurt.

A doctor asked me the question, "Are you tired of being hurt in relationships? Then you have to change something and not expect them to change."  Therefore I have had to re-learn to be server and not a rescuer.

Therefore, take a look at the things you want God to Fix and then look at yourself.  You can change no one but yourself.  They have to change because they want to change.   Telling God to Fix something or some one will never work.  As you take your finger and point faults out to others know that there are four fingers pointing back at you.  We may not see the change for years because of our old habits but you must look at yourself and understand the need to change.

God can change the hearts and lives of people and that should be our prayer but you may want to stop asking Him to Fix-It because that would only be temporary and you will never be happy.  Ask God to Change your heart so you can understand and love people for who they are and not for the person you want them to be.

Something to think about!

God changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

Daniel 2:20-22

Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide

Not too many years ago when we were tempted to do something that we knew was not good for us, a small voice in our heads would tell us to stay away or to go another direction.  Whether we had a relationship with Jesus or not we would pause to evaluate our position on the temptation.  We learned life conscience lessons from our family, church, and parents as to what was right and what was wrong.  It was also instilled in us through famous movies that taught us at a young age about the right and wrong in all of us.   In the 1940 Disney animated move "Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket sang a song to Pinocchio that said,  "Take the strait and narrow path;  and if you start to slide -  give a little whistle, give a little whistle and always let your conscience be your guide.

Famous Movie clip    Let your conscience be your guide

Then somewhere along the way all that conscience stuff got blurred.  

What does that mean today, "Let your conscience be your guide"?

We may speak the words but then when an opportunity to do something wrong, daring, exciting, or adventurous we jump at the chance and quickly dismiss our conscience which is telling us it is not good for us.  We rationalize that we won't get caught or it's just a little thing.

Society has become so desensitized to wrong that our minds are numbed to the difference.  Video games that make violent death exciting leads to taking the lives of children and any other person, not for religious expressions, but from being BORED.  The excitement of the game has faded and they need another kick of excitement so they find ways to kill with no conscience of what they are doing.  Things we do or watch we call entertainment and it does not seem to strike our conscience.  Just because something does not bother you does not mean it is good for you.  Ask yourself, am you being entertained by sin?

For those who have gotten caught in this area, realize that God's laws NEVER change.  We have the choice to do right or to do wrong.  In today's society the conscience is so dulled that we never let it guide us back to the Lord

Just as Adam and Eve sinned against God, we do wrong by not listening to the conscience of our soul but soon realize that there are consequences to our actions against God.  That moves on our heart after we are caught or we feel the consequences of our actions.   Too late.

Getting our act together by developing a relationship with the giver of grace will help you to once again have a conscience that is alive and using the Lord to be our guide.  Stop and talk to the one who wants that relationship with you and give you the grace we do not deserve.

Helps me avoid the consequences.