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Thursday, April 21, 2016

He delivers, He commands, ... but we?

Based on Psalm 116 

What do you give to the Lord?
He delivers your soul from death
He hears your voice
You find trouble and sorrow
You cry out to the Lord, "I beg You, deliver my soul!"
The Lord - He is gracious and righteous and merciful
He has delivered your soul from death,
your eyes from tears
your feet from falling
You say, "I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living."
You say, "I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving."
You say, "I will pay my vows to the Lord." 


But do you walk (live) with the Lord?
Are you thankful for the Lord's blessings?
Have you obeyed the Lord's commandments?


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Based on Genesis 2-4

In the beginning
God made man
and from him, woman
and they joined together,
united as one


In the midst of the Garden of Eden -
a place of continuous delight,
fellowship with God
and human companionship -
sin called


Sin gave rise to the thought
that if something was desirable and pleasant,
what was wrong with possessing it? 


The ways of the serpent,
who represents Satan / Sin,
are cunning.
Did God really say no?
Will you really die?


That which you don't have
you see as good and pleasant and desirable
and you must have it


So what is not yours to have, you take.

God has said, "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat it you shall surely die." (Gen. 2:17)

And so you disobey. You die - spiritually. You no longer have fellowship with the one who created you. You are separated from Him. He who gave you life, love, fellowship, companionship, wasn't enough. You wanted what He said was forbidden. 

You want more and more, all of everything. Your mindset is not on the good, you are not satisfied with what you have. You are focused on what you don't have ... you give in to temptation. You see only what is wrong with life and life situations. You are outside the boundaries laid by God.  You care only about yourself. 

Just as Cain, son of Adam and Eve, said to the Lord about his brother, Abel (whom he had killed), "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9b)

You are filled with shame and guilt. You want to hide - yourself and what you have done. But in your sin responsibility for it rolls off your back and onto another. All that is wrong is of no consequence. You will do what you want and blame your faults on another.

You live in a darkened world not of God's making.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend." (John 1:5)

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G O D ' S  W I L L 

G God is for us
O Obedience His desire
D Daily coming into His presence
S Salvation His eternal gift


W Walking (living) in faith with the Lord
I Iniquity brings pain
L Longsuffering (patience) perseveres
L Love overcomes


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6