I've read Genesis and the story of 'the fall' in the Garden of Eden, many times over the years, sometimes in a deep way (when I studied Genesis at Bible College) and at other times just briefly. This time I'm stripping it down to its bare bones.. Eve ate of the fruit and Why?
Eve succumbed to the temptation of the serpant and assumed that she might be missing out on something, or that God was witholding something that could be vaulable to her to know/or experience. So she took matters into her own hands, disobeying God's protective instructions, let her mind be swayed by the argument of another (the serpent) and went her own way.
So...where do assumptions begin and decisions get made?
1. They take root and form in the human mind and heart.
2. The human mind is our most powerful adversary in life. This is the place where we most often are led to dwell on a whole myriad of things which over time can take root in our life. eg. entertaining flattery, accepting and believing negetaive comments, allowing discouragement to destroy our joy, getting weighed down by dissapointment and grief etc etc
Take a look at:
Genesis Ch. 3 'The Fall'
1 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.
Now putting Eve aside....here's a question?
Have you ever considered yourself 'spiritual'..or think that your immune to certain behaviours..like you've progressed a litle on am 'invisible' spiritual ladder?
In other religous belief systems, thats how it works, you make slow progress up a sort of spiritual ladder. You can advance but also retreat.
Within Christendom, there is no such ladder, if anything there is more a descent into a true realization of yourself in comparison to who God is..and a deep almost primal and heart sobbing awareness, that despite it all, he loves you and your still on the top rung! Hallelujah !!
God gives human beings 'free will' and a 'mind'. He doesn't want drones to obey because they have no other option. He desires relationship, and intamacy with all of us - who choose to be in fellowship with him.
The first lecturer I had at Bible College was one of the lovliest Christian men I have ever met..and why? beacuse he was humble...from the way he dressed, to the way he spoke. The only pride he possessed was in his greatfulness in what God had made of him over the years. He beleived if you saw anything good in him at all, it was the spirit of Christ who dwelt within him, that you were really seeing...and not him at all.....I loved that.
He had a big impact on me. He also kept reiterating to the class, that life was a spiritual battle ground, that the enemy stalked around seeking whom he may devour. He told our class. that there were things we needed to be on our guard against and that just as the Lord Jesus was tested, we would be too.
He told us to watch out for the 'pride of life', and to be on our guard against pride fullstop.
He warned us about the eyegate, the lust of the eyes & warned many will fall into this trap.
... and about how we need to be aware of our ego..because it likes to be stroked and complimented.
..that we need to be aware of our emotions and thoughts and not to be taken down by discouragment and criticism, which we will receive as Christans.
I remember thinking maybe he was dwelling too much on the pitfalls in life and not enough on the power of Jesus to overcome.
But almost 10 years on now, I am a bit older and a little wiser. Life 'is' not easy, life 'is' fraught with dangers and dissapointments..and while 'yes' Jesus's name is all powerful and we don't need to believe lies, we do have to live in our human-ness. We are not God, we are human beings, made in his likeness.
Some wise mind scritures:
Isaiah 5:21
'Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight'
2 Corinthians 10: 5
'...take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ'
and now some truth...
James 1:13-15
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
1 Corinthians 1:25
'For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength'.
The spirit equips us will all things needed for this life - a whole spiritual armour -
Ephesians 6:10 ff
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
So to finish off, just be alert each day, don't become complacent, be ever mindful of the spiritual forces all around us (good and evil) that prey on your mind and want to take it captive. Cleave to the heart of the risen Lord, fellowship regularly with believers, remain in God's word and stay ever fervent in prayer.
Psalm 19:7
'The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
This is the best defence against the snares of life..so walk in the authority you have in Jesus, recognise those thughts that arn't of the Lord, but rather lies from the enemy...because while we continue to walk this earthly plane, they will always diligently seek an opportunity for unwelcome entry into your life.
Blessings and Peace -Follower of the WAY
This is good too !!
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