Is it possible to
re-enact the Garden Experience from Genesis 3 again in 2014?
Do you think it is possible this modern day of 2014 to
relive the Garden experience as Adam and Eve did? I think the answer may surprise you. Yes, as it happened to me last night and each
time I’m confronted with a choice to do the right / healthy option or to pick
one that isn’t. Let me describe to you
what happened.
I spent the day enjoying the Word of God at church through preaching,
teaching, and worship. It was really a
wonderful day. Then it happened. I was literally not a few feet away from the
wonderful experiences of the day when I was confronted by a box of
cookies. I must confess these weren’t
ordinary cookies. These cookies were
fresh from the store chocolate chip cookies.
The box of cookies in and of themselves were a harmless sweet
treat. So what went wrong????
You might remember in Genesis 3 Adam and Eve were walking
through the Garden when they came across the one tree that God had told them
not to eat of. What were they doing so
close to it? Why were the cookies in my
house? And then it happened. Adam and Eve took their mind off of God and
began to examine the possibilities. It
didn’t help them that along with this really great looking fruit there was the Serpent. The Serpent asked them to hedge around the
truth of what God had commanded. “You
will not certainly die” from verse 4. The cookies while they are sweet will not make
you unhealthy, you may need to do a little extra walking that’s all. The cookies are so small and tasty. Just like Adam and Eve the minute I took my
eyes off of God and the truth which is more than a serving of cookies really
will make me unhealthy I had hurt my relationship with God. You see I believe that God knows
everything. That my present and future
are in God’s memory. That being said I forfeited
the closeness with God by finishing the box of cookies last night.
Now you might be thinking, Larry, that is really said. Are you worried about God being mad at you? Taking away your health? Striking you with lightning at any point
today? The answer is no.
How can you be so confident that you haven’t ruined your
relationship with God forever? There is
only one reason, and that reason comes by way of my Savior Jesus Christ. You see I’m not perfect. I will try not to hurt my relationship with
God by eating too many cookies again but the truth is I might. And the disobedience that God sees in me has
already been dealt with on the Cross at Calvary. You see when Jesus was on the cross God put
the penalty of my disobedience on him. If
I were to die today and stand before the almighty God and was asked ‘Larry, why
should I let you into heaven?’ the only answer I can give is that Jesus paid
the price for me. Romans 5:8, Romans
3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2, and 1 John 4:10.
As you read this today I hope you’re not shocked to find out
that I’m not perfect! But instead I
write this to you as an encouragement.
It might not be cookies that have caused you or someone you know to lose
sight of God. Truthfully it doesn’t matter
what it is. But as I’ve said this should
be an encouragement to you. Please if
you haven’t done so please confess your disobedience to God, tell Him that you
would love to start over, to have a mulligan, and to experience re-birth. Acts 4:12
I’m not sure how it happens but I do know that when we confess our sin and
admit to God that Jesus is the only way back into relationship with Him we are
granted the Holy Spirit to come live in our hearts and minds and nothing is the
same. All past, present, and future
disobedience has been paid for by what Jesus did on the cross. You and I are finally free to live by the
Holy Spirit and seek after what pleases Him.
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