Good day dear friends. A prayer update/prayer praise! Don Chapman who entered a local hospital with chest pains, underwent all the tests associated with blockage and none was found; doctors believe it was inflammation around the rib cage that caused his pain and Don was released to go home yesterday. Thank you for your prayers!
Our text for today comes from Genesis 3: 8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate." 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." (NRSV)
This story paints a picture of life before prayer. God walked the earth with this first couple and held conversations with them. They could speak their minds and hearts and God would listen. God had shared what was on God's heart and they, sadly, did not listen,but they could have. The couple chose instead to follow the lead of the tempter and they gave in to what comes natural to most humans, disobedience. This was called original sin; the bent we have to be disobedient towards the things of God. As a result they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and this opened their eyes or so they thought. Their first act was to judge that being naked was bad, which was a reflection against the litany of "God saw that it was good" we find in the first chapter of Genesis. Then their second decision was to hide from God which is where this passage begins. An Old Testament professor once asked a group he was addressed to portray Adam and Eve, God, and the serpent. He poised them in the front of the God and gave them their lines. He then asked, "What tone do you believe God used in asking, 'Where are you?'" The student read with anger, "WHERE ARE YOU?" The professor smiled and asked, where do we see that God was angry in this passage? The student tried again and this time, sounding like a concerned parents, asked gently but excitedly, "Where are you?"
The Blame Game began right then and there. We hid because we were naked, the man replies. "Who told you you were naked?" is asked but not expecting an answer, for God knew already what had happened thus the second immediate question, "Have you eaten from the treevof which I commanded you not to eat?" The man replies, that woman that YOU gave me, it's her fault! The woman replies, It wasn't my fault! The devil made me do it. (Thought "devil" does not appear there, it has in the years since!). And then God speaks to the serpent and established a less-than-pleasant relationship between the woman and the serpent, that some believe led all the way to the cross some many years later.
The lesson is simple. Walk with God and as you do, listen to what God says. Learn God's ways through faithful study and obedience to God's Word. And when you do make a mistake, take the responsibility for it and do not seek to blame others. God's love and patience for and with us, never ends. And if you do make a mistake or a wrong choice, don't try to hide from God; God still desires your relationship and we should not seek to break it for any reason.
PRAYER: Loving God, I pray with those who read this and make it their own, to be more faithful and responsible to You and Yours. Help me to walk and talk with You and help me to listen and obey. I pray in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
PS Prayer please for annual conferences being held around the denomination. Ours begins today and we need God's blessing and presence.
