Tag: Forbidden Fruit

Posted on

In the Beginning God

Daily Reading

Genesis 1-3

Daily Thought

God said of Adam, after he ate the forbidden fruit, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:22).

That seems oddly forbidden. What is wrong with knowing good and evil? My children know good and evil because I teach them good and evil (preferring good). Have I been feeding my children the forbidden fruit?

Why was eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil a bad thing?

The answer springs out of the first four words of the Bible, “In the beginning God.” This is the worldview into which Adam and Eve were created. It is where they belong. They did not perceive good and evil, they simply lived in God’s creation in the manner he designed it. They did so without thinking, without choosing. Now they have eaten the fruit and they get to think about it. They get to choose. They want to choose.

Their lust to choose was stronger than their love of living in God’s Eden.

We must teach our children the difference between good and evil because Adam and Eve brought this knowledge inside us, and we must teach our children how to choose. The best way to choose wisely is to follow God closely, the way it was in the beginning before the serpent.

When Jesus prayed, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), he declared our wonderful future hope that in God’s Kingdom come, evil will be abolished. We will live in a world, not without choice, but without an alternative. God is on the throne and righteousness reigns. We will return to “In the beginning God.”

Daily Prayer

Creator God, loving Father, what a world you created! Awesome and amazing. Thank You for life. It is purely wonderful, meaning it is wonderful when it is pure. I am so sorry for fouling things up, for going my own way, for not following You. Thank You for changing my heart, for pursuing me and teaching me to pursue You, for giving me life anew.

I look forward to Your Kingdom come. Today and everyday, may I live for, may I follow closely my King, my God, Jesus Christ, my Savior.

Amen

Daily Question

What can you do today to bring your desires into alignment with God’s?

Posted on

Two Genealogies

Daily Reading

1Chronicles 1-2

Daily Thought

The books of the Chronicles begin with the genealogy of humanity, which, of course, begins with Adam (1Chronicles 1:1), when “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). After Adam came “ Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech (1Chronicles 1:1-3), and Noah, and “the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:6). 

Ten generations, that’s all. From very good to very bad, one bite from a delightful piece of fruit turned loose a terrible flood and nothing has changed since. The Chronicles genealogy continues from Noah through Abraham and Jacob to David and the kings, establishing the bloodline of the nation of Judah. It is, regrettably, a genealogy filled with sin and sinners, and the devil has done his damage.

Thankfully, there is another genealogy, and it picks up where Chronicles leaves off, following David to Solomon, to others, and finally to “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ” (Matthew 1:16). Just in time–at just the right time! “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5). A new creation brings new life and it is very good again.

Daily Prayer

Oh God, the record of my life matches the record of all lives, I seek my own way. I look at the fruit as Eve did, that it is pleasing to the eye and delicious, and I bite into it, as well. I’m so glad You had a plan to deal with that, to save me without me even asking for a Savior. You are my Creator, the author of life, and the Source of all that is good. I say that is what I want from life, goodness and love, but I found the opposite on my own.

God, You are good and You are love. I want to know You more. I want to know the depths of Your wisdom, and the breadth of Your love. May I always seek You and follow You. Lead me in the way of righteousness and life. Lead me always to Jesus.

Amen

Daily Question

What is the forbidden fruit, why does it appear delicious, and why is it so deadly?

Posted on

Party On

Daily Reading

Isaiah 18-22

Daily Thought

Isaiah continues with chapter upon chapter of God’s judgment against nation upon nation; and so one may wonder why is God so judgmental? What have they done that is so bad?

Back in Genesis, the Garden, the beginning, God issued several commands to obey. They were God’s design for life on earth. First, he said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Mind you, he said this to a married couple, and he commanded them to have sex, and a lot of it. That does not sound like a mean God. Then he said, “I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:29). He told us to eat, and to eat a lot–not gluttony, but quite a feast. After that, he made a day holy, the seventh day (later, it would be called the Sabbath), to rest. Right off the bat he told us to take a break once a week. Again, not so bad. We can do a lot of just about everything. Finally, he said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). God lives large and his limitations are small. One tree, one piece of fruit. That is all.

We chose that tree. We keep choosing the forbidden tree. All sin is choosing the tree, and though it seems there are a lot of ways to sin, it is all the lone tree. We miss this feast for a piece of fruit. These nations are living small. They say, “There is joy and revelry,  slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! ‘Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die!'” (Isaiah 22:13). Turn out the lights, the party’s over. That is the fruit, party until you die. They allow what is unnatural and unlawful to become their norm, then wonder at the consequences.

On the other hand, for those who choose God:

God says, “On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine-
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
He will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces.” ~Isaiah 25:6, 8

Both the ungodly and the godly party. The difference is one party ends when the other is just getting started. And lasts forever.

Daily Prayer

My God in heaven, Your Name is Wonderful. I put all my trust, all my life in Your Name. I gladly exchange anything life has to offer me today for eternity with You. I have only just tasted Your glory here on earth. What will it be like when I am in Your presence. What a party!

To You, all glory and majesty, honor and praise.

Amen

Daily Question

If you were the Garden in place of Adam or Eve, would you have eaten the forbidden fruit? Why do you think you would or wouldn’t?

Posted on

Party On

Daily Reading

Isaiah 18-22

Daily Thought

Isaiah continues with chapter upon chapter of God’s judgment against nation upon nation; and so one may wonder why is God so judgmental? What have they done that is so bad?

Back in Genesis, the Garden, the beginning, God issued several commands to obey. They were God’s design for life on earth. First, he said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Mind you, he said this to a married couple, but he commanded them to have sex, and a lot of it. That does not sound like a mean God. Then he said, “I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:29). He told us to eat, and to eat a lot. Not gluttony, but quite a feast. After that, he made a day holy, the seventh day (later, it would be called the Sabbath), to rest. Right off the bat he told us to take a break once a week. Again, not so bad. Finally, he said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). We can do a lot of just about everything. God lives large and his limitations are small. One tree, one piece of fruit. That is all.

We chose that tree. We keep choosing the forbidden tree. All sin is choosing the tree, and though it seems there are a lot of ways to sin, it is all the lone tree. We miss this feast for a piece of fruit. These nations are living small. They say, “There is joy and revelry,  slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! ‘Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die!'” (Isaiah 22:13). Turn out the lights, the party’s over. That is the fruit, party until you die. They allow what is unnatural and unlawful to become their norm, then wonder at the consequences.

But God says, “On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine-
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
He will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces” (Isaiah 25:6, 8 NIV).

That is the feast. God is not mean; his judgment is his grace. If we listen, it will restore us to the life he designed for us. Both the ungodly and the godly party. The difference is one party ends when the other is just getting started. And lasts forever.

Daily Prayer

My God in heaven, Your Name is Wonderful. I put all my trust, all my life in Your Name. I gladly exchange anything life has to offer me today for eternity with You. I have only just tasted Your glory here on earth. What will it be like when I am in Your presence. What a party!

To You, all glory and majesty, honor and praise.

Amen