April 13, 2016
Not once did Cain admit doing anything wrong. Not once did he confess. Not once did he honor God and do the right thing. He only thought of himself – and that’s what sin does. It hardens your heart against God. And yet, look at the beauty of God’s love in his interaction with Cain. God gave him chance after chance to confess and repent. God showed incredible patience and kindness, and even though Cain had murdered Abel, God gave Cain mercy, not judgment.
April 12, 2016
We live today with the consequences of the Fall. But God’s story is not over. This is what God would have us see today: That God reversed the consequences of our sin with Jesus! When Adam and Eve sinned paradise was lost, but with the sacrifice of Jesus God’s presence can be found. That’s the hope that remains for a world without peace, where life is hard and paradise is lost.
April 12, 2016
Because Eve didn’t have a clear understanding of God’s Word, the serpent knew he could deceive her. So he contradicts God’s Word so as to cast doubt about God’s character: “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 He twists God’s word to make God appear harsh and restrictive. Sound familiar? He sows seeds of mistrust. “Maybe God is not as good as He appears to be.” “Maybe He’s holding back something good from you.” And really, that’s still how the devil works today. He wants you to think that God doesn’t have your best interests at heart. He wants you to doubt God’s goodness.
April 12, 2016
The removal of a piece of the man in order to create the woman implies that from now on neither is complete without the other. The man needs the woman for his wholeness, and the woman needs the man for hers. Each is equal in need in relation to the other. God took a handful from Adam’s side so she’d be the perfect fit for him and so he’d be the perfect fit for her. Here then is the mystery of marriage. This was God’s design: we were truly made for each other.
April 12, 2016
When God created us, His desire was that we would be fully alive. He put in us appetites for food, sex, adventure and joy. He put in us this desire to seize the day, grab life by the throat and drink it dry. There’s a reason your heartbeat quickens when you fall in love. There’s a reason why we have drives for success, why we want to surround ourselves with good things, why we work hard for the good life: God put His life in us so we would be fully alive.
April 12, 2016
Our place in God’s story begins here: God loves every person created in His image. And if God loves the broken, the lost, the lonely, the abused, the messed up and wacked out discards of this planet – then they too should matter to us. Part of our purpose as people created in the image of God is to begin seeing every person through God’s eyes… as someone made to know and love Him too.
April 12, 2016
God creates something out of nothing and forms it for life and fills it with life and puts His stamp of approval on it all. It is all good. And that tells me quite a bit about our God. What it tells me is that this story we are apart of has a good God who created everything. He left nothing out.
April 11, 2016
God created every person to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him in his presence: To walk closely with Him, to know Him and to enjoy the blessings of this relationship and of His creation. So He designed life to be lived in harmony with His loving rule and to enjoy all the blessings of life He created. We are to live as His people, in His place, under His rule so that we might enjoy His blessings.
February 2, 2016
Joy is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to all the goals, dreams and plans we make. There is nothing better than being full of joy. We want to drink deep at the well of satisfaction and delight. And yet, here it is, Jesus has told us where to find joy. Joy is found in God’s love for us. Joy is found in Jesus.
February 2, 2016
God put us together in His body so that every one of us is necessary. You need my gift and I need yours. No one has all the gifts. There is no such thing as a super-Christian. God in His wisdom has created a new kind of community where the least serves the strongest, and the strongest serves the least. So the point is this: To discover your gift, you just need to start serving God’s people.