What the serpent (Satan) said to Eve in the Garden of Eden:
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 surely die," the serpent
said to the woman.
5 "For God knows that when you eat of 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.(Genesis 3:2-6 NIV-1984)*
How the people reacted to what Jesus said to those mourning over a twelve year-old girl’s death:
52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing
and mourning for her. "Stop wailing,"
Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep."
53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But he took her by the hand and said,
"My child, get up!"
55 Her spirit returned, and at once she
stood up. Then Jesus told them to give
her something to eat. (Luke 8:52-55 NIV-1984)
With a discernment that exercises loyalty to the Lord Almighty, we are able to rightly understand when the enemy of our souls tell us an untruth—he often packages a lie into something desirable, because it can be so alluring. We see that in the Genesis passage.
But what about facts that are staring at us in the face? The passage from Luke poses this polemic. Is this knowing necessarily what we must accept and to which we must adjust our lives? Now, we should be generous to those who laughed at Jesus. After all, how often is it that God-incarnate physically comes upon the scene to intervene on our behalf, breaking the laws of nature in the process?
But now, for our benefit, a divine shot over the bow, as it were, has been launched to awaken us and keep us alert to the reality that God does move in an overriding way in our affairs. Even when we are not aware, even when we don’t sense or see the effects of divine favor.**
What followers of Messiah Jesus need to keep in mind is that the reality around us should not always be used to conclude that things are always meant to turn out or be carried out a certain way. How
often can this happen? Only He knows.
To take it up a notch: when we are faced with situations that not only seem to be--but actually are overwhelming, intractable or impossible to resolve by human efforts, let us attend to the truth that
“we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (Act 2:1, NIV-1984).
And then? By faith, we accept that God is for us, not against us (re: Romans 8:31). And then? We keep ourselves open to be surprised (maybe now, perhaps in the future, most assuredly if it is only until we are with Him—”Then shall I know even as also I am known” - 1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV) by how our lives progressed/are progressing/shall progress to His glory. We dare not put God in a box in those times when we see ourselves as stifled, limited—boxed-in.
And without faith it is impossible to
please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 NIV-1984)
And we know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love
him, who have been called according to
his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV-1984)
___________
* All bold and italicized Scripture citations are mine
** For everything that was written in the
past was written to teach us, so that
through endurance and the
encouragement of the Scriptures we
might have hope.(Romans 15:4 NIV-1984)
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 surely die," the serpent
said to the woman.
5 "For God knows that when you eat of 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.(Genesis 3:2-6 NIV-1984)*
How the people reacted to what Jesus said to those mourning over a twelve year-old girl’s death:
52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing
and mourning for her. "Stop wailing,"
Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep."
53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But he took her by the hand and said,
"My child, get up!"
55 Her spirit returned, and at once she
stood up. Then Jesus told them to give
her something to eat. (Luke 8:52-55 NIV-1984)
With a discernment that exercises loyalty to the Lord Almighty, we are able to rightly understand when the enemy of our souls tell us an untruth—he often packages a lie into something desirable, because it can be so alluring. We see that in the Genesis passage.
But what about facts that are staring at us in the face? The passage from Luke poses this polemic. Is this knowing necessarily what we must accept and to which we must adjust our lives? Now, we should be generous to those who laughed at Jesus. After all, how often is it that God-incarnate physically comes upon the scene to intervene on our behalf, breaking the laws of nature in the process?
But now, for our benefit, a divine shot over the bow, as it were, has been launched to awaken us and keep us alert to the reality that God does move in an overriding way in our affairs. Even when we are not aware, even when we don’t sense or see the effects of divine favor.**
What followers of Messiah Jesus need to keep in mind is that the reality around us should not always be used to conclude that things are always meant to turn out or be carried out a certain way. How
often can this happen? Only He knows.
To take it up a notch: when we are faced with situations that not only seem to be--but actually are overwhelming, intractable or impossible to resolve by human efforts, let us attend to the truth that
“we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (Act 2:1, NIV-1984).
And then? By faith, we accept that God is for us, not against us (re: Romans 8:31). And then? We keep ourselves open to be surprised (maybe now, perhaps in the future, most assuredly if it is only until we are with Him—”Then shall I know even as also I am known” - 1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV) by how our lives progressed/are progressing/shall progress to His glory. We dare not put God in a box in those times when we see ourselves as stifled, limited—boxed-in.
And without faith it is impossible to
please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 NIV-1984)
And we know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love
him, who have been called according to
his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV-1984)
___________
* All bold and italicized Scripture citations are mine
** For everything that was written in the
past was written to teach us, so that
through endurance and the
encouragement of the Scriptures we
might have hope.(Romans 15:4 NIV-1984)
