I’m so excited about the number of you who have committed to reading Thru the Word with me in 2013! I hope you’ve printed off your reading guide from www.becominghis.com – I’m looking forward to reading the same portion of scripture and then sharing what we’ve learned both here and at my Facebook page – www.facebook.com/becominghis.
Once a week, I’ll write a post or feature a guest blogger on the portion of scripture we’ve been reading that week. (If you are interested in writing a guest post, please email me at joannaweaver@hotmail.com). I’m excited about the things we will learn from each other.
Today’s reading in Genesis 3-5 and Psalm 2 really spoke to me. There’s so much to learn from the story of the Fall. In so many ways, our stories have been radically affected by Adam and Eve’s decision to rebel against God, for it is the root of all sins and the source of the temptation we all feel, that is, the tendency to take matters into our own hands.
“Did God really say?” the serpent asked the woman in Genesis 3:1. And doesn’t he use that same tactic on us? “Did God really say you shouldn’t ___________? Maybe you misunderstood what He meant, your situation is obviously different” he hisses in our ear as he dangles the forbidden fruit before us.
I’ve decided to use the New Living Translation Life Application Bible as I read this year, and I really liked the study notes on Genesis 3. Concerning the serpent and the temptation of man, the editors give an outline of “Satan’s Plan Against Us:”
Doubt . . . . . . . . . . . .Makes you question God’s Word and His goodness
Discouragement. . . . Makes you look at your problems rather than at God
Diversion . . . . . . . . .Makes the wrong things seem attractive so that you will
want them more than the right things
Defeat . . . . . . . . . . . Makes you feel like a failure so that you don’t even try
Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . Makes you put off doing something so that it never gets done
For me, when faced with difficult projects, I tend to get discouraged easily. I forget to factor God into my equations and falsely believe that everything is up to me. That’s pretty much what eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil gets you – a naked sense of inadequacy and a desperate need to hide just like Adam and Eve did.
Which one of these tactics does the enemy tend to use most against you?
I hope you’ll leave a comment here at the blog, but I also want you to join the conversation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/becominghis). I’m really looking forward to hearing what the Lord is speaking to you through your reading.