Day 16: Gen 42:24 - 44:34

In this part of the story we learn a very important lesson about trust and forgiveness. Alot of times, people seem to think that if you forgive someone, you're just supposed to begin trusting them whole heartedly without even thinking about it. But I think this story shows us that that isn't how it should be done. It's difficult to say for sure what I would've done if I were in Joseph's shoes, but I probably would've ended up putting all of the older brothers in prison and forgetting about them. But we see here how wise Joseph really was. There are alot of people out there who probably would've gone ahead and forgiven all of the brothers and just assumed that they will magically be faithful without first making sure, but although Joseph had already forgiven his brothers, he needed to make sure that he could trust them again. This is a very important and practical lesson for us to learn. We've all had people in our lives who have done things to hurt us, and although we absolutely need to forgive them, we should also learn a lesson from Joseph and make sure that they've changed and matured before we just patch everything up and go on like nothing had ever happened. It has always been and will always be God's will for us to forgive others, but He also wants us to be smart and not foolishly put ourselves into positions where we can end up getting hurt again. God gave Joseph a wonderful plan to search the hearts of his older brothers and, fortunately for everyone, he was able to determine that they had matured.

- Lord help me to walk each and every day with Your wisdom. Help me to not just walk around with my heart on my sleeve waiting for someone to hurt me, but help me to be smart and careful about the relationships I build. And help me to be strong enough to forgive others even when they don't deserve it and even when they haven't changed. You've forgiven us and given us mercy when we never could have possibly deserved it, so the least we can do is pass it on to others. - 

Day 15: Gen 40:23 - 42:23

It's so amazing to see how despite the devil's best efforts, Joseph was still able to accomplish what God wanted. One of the most irritating parts of this story is the part where the cupbearer suddenly forgets all about Joseph and all that he did for him. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Joseph to go two whole years sitting in that prison wondering if that cupbearer ever even remembered who he was. But God knew exactly what was going on. And even though the Devil tried to get the cupbearer to forget, the Pharaoh's dream and his difficulty having it interpreted was just enough to jog his memory. 

Now we are starting to see God's amazing plan. If Joseph hadn't been in Egypt stockpiling all of that food, Jacob wouldn't have been able to send his sons down there to get food during the famine and the entire family would've died. Not only did Joseph provide a way to save the lives of all of those Egyptian people, but he was also responsible for preserving the early beginnings of the Israelite nation. It's just incredible to see how God works!

- Lord, thank You for being faithful regardless of what the devil or other people try to do to us. Thank You for reminding us that even when it looks like all hope is lost and our one chance for survival has disappeared, You haven't disappeared and You'll always be there waiting. Thank you for always providing a way for us to live out the plan that You have for our lives. - 

Day 14: Gen 37:23 - 40:22

It's hard to say whether or not I think it was necessarily God's will for so many bad things to happen to Joseph in the first part of his life, but I think to dwell on that matter is just a waste of time that many people fall into. Instead of worry about whether or not it was God's will for some unforeseen tragedy to happen in our lives, maybe we should put our focus more on what God can make happen as a result of that tragedy. I guarantee if Joseph would've gotten stuck in a rut worrying about, "Why would God let something like this happen to me?" he would've never gotten to place God wanted him to be.

The story of Judah and Tamar is a little difficult to understand and really get a good grasp on because of the fact that alot of it deals with the custom of the day, of which I have no clue. The one thing I can get from the story is this: dishonesty, though it may eventually make things turn out the way you wanted, is never in Gods will. Although it may solve problems now, it will always cause even more problems than before. Elementary ethics 101.

The biggest thread we can see in the story of Joseph is integrity. It didn't matter what was happening to him or around him he always carried himself will a level of integrity that couldn't help but propel him to the top of whatever situation he was in. Whether he was fighting off the lustful wife of his boss or interpreting dreams in prison, he did everything with integrity.

- Lord, help me to see past the bad things that have happened or are happening in my life right now and give me the vision to see how You will turn those situations around. And help me to live my life with the utmost levels of honesty and integrity. Though in our society, those two ideals have all but vanished, I know that you have called me to a life of honesty and integrity and if I will stay true to that, there's no telling what I'll be able to accomplish for You. -

Day 13: Gen 35:1 - 37:22

The first part of this passage has a very nice feeling to it. I love it when God sends us back to where we first began to remind us of how far we've come. Just as I talked about a few days ago when we first read of Jacob setting up a memorial, we see here the importance of remembering where it all began. And it's wonderful to learn that after Jacob obeyed God and went back to visit the place where it all began, God reinforced the blessing that He had originally given Jacob.

Yet another entire chapter of genealogy, and God was still able to show me a little something. You know, I normally don't think about the fact that God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations as much as just being the father of the nation of Israel, but we can see in this chapter that even before the Bible mentions Joseph or his struggles or before we ever learn of the Children of Israel and their long journey out of Egypt, we see that God has already made good on His promise. We see that when God makes a promise, He doesn't just do it halfway, He goes all out.

Starting into the story of Joseph, we see how costly big dreams can be, and yet by the end of the story of Joseph, I know that we'll also see how monumentally rewarding they can be. It's so easy for some people to turn off the big dreams that God has given them for fear that it might be too hard or too costly, but we must always remember that the higher the cost, the greater the reward. Just think, if Joseph had just ignored those incredible dreams that God gave him, his brothers probably wouldn't have hated him as much. That means they probably wouldn't have thrown him in the well when he came to visit them, which means he would've never made it to Egypt and so forth and so on. The entire history of the Children of Israel was made possible because one kid had the guts to dream and dream big.

- Father, let me never forget the days where it all started. Help me not take for granted the times when things were just starting to pick up, and refresh the blessing within me whenever I go back to those places. Thank You for never doing anything half-way, but for always making good on each and every promise no matter how big or small. And give me the strength and the courage to dream big and not be afraid of what others will think. I'm sure Joseph didn't think that his dreams would eventually lead to him rescuing the nation of Israel, but he was faithful to the gift You gave him. Help me to stay faithful to dreams you've put in my heart no matter what the cost because I know that whatever it costs now is no comparison to what it will be worth in the end. - 

Day 12 Gen: 32:1 - 34:31

Not many people can say that they physically wrestled with God, but Jacob sure can. This story is such a great of the fact that God honors our perseverance. It's so much easier to just ask God once or something and then get upset when we don't get it, but we can see in this passage that God appreciated the fact that Jacob wasn't willing to just give up and walk away. We need to learn to build up our faith my sticking with it and fighting it out, not letting go until we've gotten our blessing.

It always makes you feel good to read  stories that have a happy ending and the story of Jacob and Esau is one of those stories. Esau had ever right to be upset with Jacob and ready to attack him and everything he had, but instead Esau welcomed Jacob with open arms letting him know that he was completely forgiven of what he had done in the past. Once again, we see a picture of Sweet Redemption!

Chapter 34 can sometimes be a tough one to deal with. It's so easy to read this story and think of how I would feel and think that Israel's sons were completely justified in what they did, but the fact is that Vengeance is the Lord's. how many times have we had something wrong done to us or someone we love and decided to take it upon ourselves to "take care of it"? It's not our job to retaliate, it's our job to give it up to God and let Him take care of it His way.

- Father give me the strength to stick with it and not give up on the call that You've placed on my life. Help me to fight as long as it takes until I've gotten what was promised to me. And please help me to forgive anyone that I still hold a grudge against in my heart. Your word says that if we don't forgive others, that You can't forgive us, and I know that I definitely am in need of forgiveness every once and again. And I pray that You please help me remember that Vengeance is Yours. You are the only holy and just One and You are the only One to be trusted to deal rightly with those who have hurt Your children. - 

Day 11: Gen 30:21 - 31:55

To be honest, this part of chapter 30 has always bothered me a little bit. I've never really been able to tell if this is in the Bible to show what a great idea God gave Jacob or if it's in there to show us how dishonest Jacob was. I suppose this isn't anywhere near as bad as Laban promising Jacob a certain wife and then switching them though. Nonetheless, I think what I  get from this passage is that even when Laban didn't want to help Jacob out, God gave him a clever idea of how to make a deal and come out on top. Sometimes it's easy to think that God only gives us these high and lofty spiritual ideas, but he really does help us out with the day to day tasks if we'll just trust in Him

- Lord, help me to remember that You're there not only to help us with getting people saved or changing the world, but You also know how to give us clever ideas and show us simple solutions to life's problems. Help me to keep my eyes on you and remember that You want to help us through life, no matter how menial the task may be. -

Day 10: Gen 27:46 - 30:20

In the story of Jacob's ladder, we learn a very important principle about setting up memorials. It's easy sometimes to hear God tell us to do something or give us a blessing and get so wrapped up in what's about to happen that we end up forgetting where it all started. I think it's important though, to always put some sort of book mark in our lives to remind us of the times when God was first commissioning us to go out and do what He said. For example, right now in my life, I'm in the process of being a big part of starting the church that I believe God has called us to start. It would be very easy for me to totally forget about the last 2 years of meeting in people's houses and only look towards my goals and dreams, but I think it's important to never despise the day of small beginnings because they always serve to remind us of how far God can take us and how much farther He will take us.

Jacob is a wonderful example of a man who didn't settle. It's such a crazy thing to imagine that he worked for seven long years to marry Rachel only to end up getting ripped off by Laban and getting stuck with the old sister who had "nice eyes." Jacob could've easily just given up and gotten tired and decided to just go with Leah, but instead he agreed to work another seven years just so he could marry the woman of his dreams. We need to remember that if God has put a call on our lives, the devil will do everything he can to get us to settle for something that may be good, but probably isn't best. Something I heard a few years ago that has always stuck with me is that Good is always the worst enemy of Best. So we should never settle for good if God has promised us the best.

 - Dear God, I want to be faithful to always set up memorials for you. Help me to never take for granted the days when I was wandering in the wilderness searching out the thing that You've called me to do. I know that never again will I be in this place in my life, and I don't want to find myself sometime from now trying to remember how it all started. And please give me the strength to hold on to the things that you've called me to even when the world is offering me the cheap imitations. I know if I will just stick with it and stay the course that I will achieve all You've called me to do. - 

Day 9 Gen 25:23 - 27:45

Ah yes, the age old story of Jacob and Esau. The first lesson of this passage may be one of the clearest in the Bible - Think it through. Of course, I realize Esau was really hungry at the time of the famous "Birthright for a bowl of beans" transaction, but I can't help but think that Esau probably could've thought of something a little less valuable than his right as the firstborn son to gamble with. Never offer up tomorrow's blessing just so you can feel good today.

I can honestly say I don't actually remember ever reading chapter 26. I know I have before because I've ready the book of Genesis a few times, but I guess I've never really paid attention to chapter 26. It's wonderful to see how God will bless us if we'll just pay attention and listen to Him. Not only did God command Jacob to stay in the land where he ended up becoming a very wealthy and powerful man, but He blessed Jacob so much that the people ended up asking him to leave their country because he was too powerful for them. And then to top it all off, after the people of the land kicked him out, they chased him down and made an alliance with him so that if he needed help, they had his back, and vice versa.

I've always had a difficult time with the story of Jacob stealing Esau's blessing because it seems like such a horribly dishonest thing for one of the heroes of the Bible to do, but I guess it just proves that same principle that is found throughout God's Word - Redemption. God could've just smashed Jacob for fooling his father and his brother like he did, but we serve a God of redemption. I'm glad to know that even when I mess things up and end up making decisions that I will undoubtedly regret, God is still willing to forgive me and raise me back up.

 - Father, thank You for giving us such simple lessons in the Bible. Thank You for reminding us that we should always think it through before make any decisions that could potentially alter our future. And thank you so much for your willingness to forgive us and bless us even when we've fallen and made decisions that should have disqualified us from Your blessings. You truly are a Loving Father! - 

Day 8: Gen 24:1 - 25:22

If there's anyone out there reading this, I'm sorry this post is late. I was out of town and without a computer for the weekend so even though I wrote it down on a piece of paper, I wasn't able to actually post this until late Sunday evening. Nonetheless, here goes:

The story of Isaac and Rebekah has been one that I've heard many times before, but to be honest, I've never really gotten much more than simple matter-of-fact information from it. As I was reading it, I really wanted to get something new and interesting from it, and I believe God showed me just that. I realized reading this story that Abraham went through alot of trouble just to make sure that Isaac entered into a lasting covenant with the right person. I believe that God too wants us to make sure that we don't enter into covenant with just anybody, but that we are very careful about who we pick to form long lasting relationships with. This is so evident in the lives of new believers who end up having to choose whether or not to keep their old worldly friends. By no means does God want or expect us to forget about and ignore the unsaved people that we come in contact with, but it's always important to understand that the people we spend the most time with will ultimately have the biggest impact on us, even if our initial goal was to only influence them.

The other part that really seemed to hit me like a ton of bricks was in Gen 25:21, "Isaac prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. God answered his prayer and she became pregnant." It's interesting to note here that Abraham's wife, Sarah, was also barren and it seemed like God had to constantly remind Abraham and Sarah about the promise that He gave them and continue to reassure them that it would happen. But with Isaac, it almost seems as though it was really no big deal. Rebekah was pregnant; Isaac knew that he was called to father a new nation; so Isaac simply believed that God would take care of it - and He did!

- Lord, help me to be careful about the people that I build covenants with. Keep me sharp and attentive and give me the discernment to know when I need to form a tight bond with someone and when I need to just pray for them and let Your work be done in their lives. Help me to develop my faith so that I can simply believe the promises you've given me and then sit back and watch them come to pass. As long as I will remember that realizing the promises that You've given me doesn't have to be a long difficult ordeal, I can easily and painlessly achieve what You've called me to do. - 

Day 7: Gen 20:18 - 23:20

The story of Abraham and Isaac is one of my favorite stories in the whole Bible. And, honestly, it has had one of the biggest impacts on my life. I don't know about you, but I've found myself in situations many times where I was actually more concerned about God's promise than I was about God Himself. Abraham had to have had some incredible faith to be willing to take the greatest blessing that God had given him and completely destroy it simply because God told him to. A very important thing to learn from this passage is that it is so much more important to put what God is saying to us right now above what we think we're supposed to be doing. If you truly believe that God is calling you to do something, then you must be willing to sacrifice it if it's His will. A good example of this is my relationship with my own wife. Before we got married, I knew that she was the one for me, but I found  myself putting our relationship in a higher regard than my relationship with my Lord. In order to truly make the right decision, I had to be willing to throw the relationship on the fire. And that's exactly what I did. In fact, I spent an entire summer on the opposite side of the world knowing that I may never be with her again just so God could put everything into perspective. We always need to remember that the call on our life is never more important than the One who put it there.

 - Lord, help me to remember to keep everything in perspective. The call that You have placed on my life is very important to me, but help me to never put it in a place above You. Show me anything that might be in my life right now that I've put in a higher place than it deserves, and give me the strength and the resolve to be willing to lay it on the altar. - 

Day 6: Gen 18:1 - 20:17

Ah yes, the classic story of Sodom and Gamorrah. Who knows how many times we've heard this story in our lives and yet there's always opportunity to learn something new. My wife and I were talking just the other day about how "cut-and-dry" much of the old testament is, and how sometimes it's difficult to understand the heart or the meaning behind the actions. In this story though, I would like to believe that Abraham was concerned with more than just the 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, and ultimately 10 righteous citizens and that maybe, just maybe, he wanted God to spare the entire city. How many times have we as Christians found ourselves thinking or, God forbid, saying out loud something to the effect of, living a Christian life would be so much easier without all of these lost people around. That makes about as much sense as a PR specialist saying, "This job would be alot easier if I didn't have to deal with the media." Or a sales person saying, "This wouldn't be too bad if I didn't have to deal with these customers." Without the lost to concern ourselves with, our lives as Christians we be completely pointless. So instead of just holding on until Jesus comes back so we can finally get away from all of these "worldly" people, let's try to see just how many of them we can get to come with us.

In Chapter 19, I learned something very interesting - Lot's "righteousness" had nothing to do with his survival, Abraham's request is what kept him alive. Gen 19:29, "And that's the story: When God destroyed the 'Cities of the Plain,' He was mindful of Abraham and first got Lot out of there before He blasted those cities off the face of the earth." I can think of a few people off the top of my head who are living in a place where they don't belong, doing things they don't need to be doing, and building relationships with people they have no business being around. Instead of sitting around griping about how we were right and they were wrong, we need to "stand in the gap" for those people and pray on their behalf. There's no telling when everything around them may end up burning to a crisp, and our prayers may be the only thing keeping them alive.

- Father, give me the compassion that I need to have for the lost. Whether they're close friends in trouble or complete strangers, help me to remember that my purpose on this earth is to reach out to them and do Your work in their lives. Help me to "stand in the gap" for those that aren't living right and help me to always keep them in my prayers. Help me to learn how to love the way You love - unconditionally. - 

Day 5: Gen 14:1 - 17:27

It's funny how you can read one group of scripture and it's hard to get any obvious revelation and then you can read another group of scripture and there are hundreds of topics all flying at you all at the same time. In Chapter 14, we see that Abram really and truly was a man blessed of God. Four armies came from different directions and attacked his nephew and his people and yet Abram, with God's help, took an army of 318 people, and chased these four armies until they had defeated them and taken back everything they had stolen. That's pretty awesome! And this passage of scripture is also the first place in the Bible where we learn about Tithing. Notice how Melchizedek didn't have to beg Abram for the tithe or tell him how it was God's will and that he would be sinning if he didn't tithe. He just did it because he knew it was what he was supposed to do.

The next chapter has a very simple, yet very powerful, topic which we've talked about a few times at church recently. In this passage, we see Abram inside around his own little problem of not having a son and he starts to complain to God about it. Instead of God just trying to speak to him in the midst of his frustration, the Bible says (15:5) "Then He [God] took him outside and said, 'Look at the sky and count the stars. You can't do it can you? That's how many descendants you will have! You're going to have a big family, Abram!'." The point I want to make about this passage is that sometimes, we have to get outside. And I don't necessarilly mean that we literally need to go outside, but sometimes we need to get out of our own little box and get a different perspective on things. There have been so many times that I've been in a situation that I didn't know how to handle and once I took a step to the side and looked at it from a different perspective, God revealed to me exactly what needed to be done. Remember, if you're only looking at the problem, there's no way that you'll ever see the solution. 

Isn't it funny how any time we take things into our own hands, we usually just mess them up? Abram did just that when he agreed to take God's promise into his own hands and get someone else pregnant. I've always thought it was interesting how before Ishmael was born, everyone seemed to be in agreement that Abram was supposed to get Hagar pregnant, but as soon as it happened, everything fell apart. But even after Abram made the wrong decision and tried to take matters into his own hands, God showed up and established His covenant with Abraham. And once again, we see that recurring Biblical theme - Sweet Redemption!

- Lord, thank you so much for making me an heir to the blessings of Abraham (Gal 3:13-14). I know that even if I have to take my small army up against kings from all over the place, You will be with me and give me victory. Help me to always take a look outside and look somewhere other than my problems. Give me the faith to believe Your Word when it's spoken to me so that I don't try to take matters into my own hands. Keep me strong and in your arms and thank you so much for Your Redeeming Grace. - 

Day 4: Gen 10:21 - 13:18

The first part of this group of scriptures is mostly genealogy and explanation of who gave birth to who and how long they lived and so forth and so on. To be honest, it's a little difficult to really glean a whole lot of deep revelation from these sorts of verses, but I do feel like God showed me one thing about it all - It's always important to remember where you came from. That doesn't mean that we're supposed to live in the past, but our past is there for a reason and it wouldn't be right to completely forget everything that God has done for us. Recently, my sister and I went with my dad to a family reunion and it was so interesting to meet all of those people that we never knew and find out a little bit more about what makes our father the way he is and what makes us the way we are. God gave us a memory for a reason. If we weren't supposed to recall the past, He would've made us in such a way that once something happened, we never thought of it again. And what kind of a horrible life would that be?

The second part of this passage is the introduction to the story of Abraham. Just like Noah, God spoke to Abram and gave him instructions on what He wanted him to do. The big difference in this story is that God told Noah pretty much everything that he needed to do and how it would be done and what the result would be. God laid it all out for Noah. With Abram though, God only gave him a little bit at a time. Gen 12:1 - "God told Abram, 'Leave your country, your family, and your father's home for a land that I will show you'." Notice that God hadn't shown Abram the land yet. All Abram knew was that there was some mysterious land that God wanted him to move to - and that was enough for him.

- Lord, help me not to forget about my past and about the the things that You've brought

me through. Help me to remember the blessings that You've placed on my life and the grace

that You've shown me especially when I didn't deserve it. Lord speak to me and tell me where

You want me to go and I will listen. I won't wait for a deeper explanation of what You mean,

and I won't sit around waiting for more instructions. If You tell me to go, I will go. -

Day 3: Gen 7:1 - 10:20

When reading this passage, I can't help but think about Psalm 91:7 which says, "A Thousand could fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you." God could have very easily just left Noah and his family to fend for themselves and figure out their own way to survive, but God prepared a way out for them. In fact God even went so far as to seal up the door behind them. I think that this wasn't just an obvious thing that God did to keep the boat from leaking, but I think it's also very symbolic of what God is willing to do for us. if we will do as Noah did and do everything that God commands us, he'll be faithful to take care of the little details that could end up getting in the way.

- God, help me to keep my faith in You and remember that even if the world is falling apart outside, You're faithful to protect me. Help me to listen to your voice and not worry about the little things. As long as I'm faithful to do the things that you ask of me, I know that you'll be faithful to take care of the small details. - 

Day 2: Gen 4:1 - 6:22

For most people, the obvious point to make about the story of Cain and Abel would either be something about jealousy or something about murder, but I would like to look at another key point to this passage - Redemption. Oftentimes, the only people we really focus on here are Cain and Abel, but what about Adam and Eve? How terrible would it be to have one of your own sons murdered. And take into account the fact that he was murdered by his own brother and that's just adding insult to injury. Who knows what kind of awesome things God had in mind for Abel? How would history be different if Cain hadn't killed him? There are so many "what if's" throughout the Bible that it can be really easy to get lost in theories and conjectures. The fact is that Adam and Eve lost one of their sons. To me, though, the best part about this whole story is found in verse 25: "Adam slept with his wife again. She had a son whom she named Seth. She said, 'God has given me another child in place of Abel whom Cain killed.'." How many times has the devil stolen something from us? How many times has someone close to us hurt us in such a way that we wondered if things would ever be the same again? What we need to remember is that God is a God of Redemption and if we will put our faith in him, He'll give us back what the devil stole. And not only did God give them just another son, but in Gen 5:3, it says, "When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was just like him, his very spirit and image, and named him Seth." And we can see that through this son's bloodline, God's one and only Son was born. Sweet Redemption!

The Second point I would briefly like to mention is in the very last verse of this passage: Gen 6:22 says, "Noah did everything God commanded him to do." Now, I believe with all of my heart that the words in the Bible are true, and I have to say, there aren't a whole lot of people in this world that can say that they've done everything that God has commanded them to do. Noah faced all sorts of challenges when God charged him to build that Ark, and yet the Bible doesn't say that Noah complained or asked God for a logical reason, he just ". . .did everything God commanded him to do."

- Lord, thank you for being a God of Redemption. There have been lots of things that the devil has taken from me, but I know that if I will listen to Your voice and keep my eyes on You, that You will be faithful to not only repay what the devil has stolen, but that You will give it back to an even greater extent than before. Give me the strength to listen to you and to do everything that you command me to do. When the flood waters come, I want to be remembered as the obedient one, because in the end, he was the only one that even mattered. -

Day 1: Gen 1:1 - 3:24

Today I read the beginning of the Bible as I have many times before. But I am determined to get farther than the first few books of the Bible, or even the first few chapters of Genesis. I am determined to finish reading the entire Bible by this time next year! While I'm reading through the Bible over the next year, I've decided to do something a little different - I'm going to post my Daily Bible Journal at http://ryansbiblejournal.blogspot.com and on my facebook page. If other people end up reading it and if it helps change one small part of anyone's life over the next year, then I've accomplished something. But even if I'm the only one who ever sees it, I'm mainly doing this because I've been asking God for an opportunity for me to get closer to Him and for a way that I can be a little more accountable for spending time with Him. I would ask that if you do begin reading this blog, that you continue to come back and see if God is speaking to you in any way, shape, or form, and if it's been a day or two and I haven't posted anything, shoot me an email or send me a comment reminding me about it. And to take it one step further, if you haven't been in the Word lately, take note of the Scripture references in the title and begin your own Bible regimen so we can get into the Word together. Thank you so much for reading this and I know that God will show you something if you'll just be willing to open your heart.

It’s interesting how the devil will often times insert a tiny bit of truth into any lie that he sends our way: “(4)The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. (5)God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.” In fact, in this case, he was absolutely right – if they ate from the Tree of Life, that wouldn’t ever die, and if they ate from the Tree-of-the-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil, then they would be able to see all things ranging from good to evil – much like God does. The trick was in his presentation; “Smoke this and it’ll totally make you loose control,” Dude, we should just go and get so drunk that we can’t help but puke all over ourselves tomorrow!” “Come on, let’s go to that club, I hear the girls will practically take their clothes off for free!” These are all examples of things that should repulse a believer, but, even as bad and tasteless as they sound, can end up being a stumbling block if the believer is in the wrong place at the wrong time spending time with the wrong people.

I would also like to quickly acknowledge something I’ve heard and known for years, but it’s still definitely worth re-visiting: by an act of disobedience of one man, we were all given a curse, yet by an act of obedience of another man, we have received salvation from that curse. Adam sinned and pretty much screwed it all up for the rest of us, but it’s amazing to see that even as God was issuing the curse to the first man and woman, the wheels were already turning and He was already thinking about how he would reverse what had been done. It’s even a little poetic to think about how it happened: Adam ate something, an act that essentially keeps one alive, and man was sentenced to death. Jesus was hung on a cross and beaten to an unrecognizable hunk of meat, an act that would undoubtedly end ones life, and man was given the opportunity to live a life free from the curse and live in eternity with our Lord and Savior.

-Dear God, thank you so much for sending Your Son to die for our sins and restore what man had so recklessly broken. Thank you for seeing through what had happened to what will happen if we will stay faithful to you. Help me to stay in the right places and be near the right people so that I don’t fall for the tricks that the devil will try to throw at me, and help me to keep your Word, and not my opinions, on my tongue at all times.-

This concludes my first entry. Most of them will probably not be nearly this long. I don’t work today and I really don’t have much to do, so I’ve had plenty of time to type this out.