Good always seems like God, but it isn’t!
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:15-17 NASB2020
Now, the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he asked the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’
” The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings. Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:1-13 NASB2020
1. Wrong things for right needs always sound right, but God didn’t say that.
2. Wrong processes to cover pain…we can incur so much pain that we begin to shut our hearts off & adopt worldly or doubt-filled narratives, so watch out! God didn’t say that!
3. Consequences are to follow – God didn’t tell you there wouldn’t be consequences to our sin! The devil never comes through on his promises, but we act like he does. Fear doesn’t protect us. Lust doesn’t last. Unforgiveness punishes us, not them. And more…it only works to cause more pain and then the separation between us and God.
We only hurt ourselves – Romans 6:23 – the wages of sin is death. Isaiah 59:2, we have separated ourselves from God – My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children. Hosea 4:6 NASB2020
4. Change your heart – change the process and admit the sin. Acts 3:19 – Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. God doesn’t understand our hearts; He wants us to change them.
5. Change your surroundings – they are making wrong seem ok. Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. 1 Corinthians 15:33-34 NASB2020
God didn’t tell you to stay with people who disagreed with your faith. We are called to the family of God, not friends with worldly people. God didn’t tell you that you needed that… let’s get our strength from Him, and in DUE TIME, some friends may come, BUT STILL, we are family.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink, Who declare the wicked innocent for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!
Isaiah 5:20-23 NASB2020
They will go on pretending to be devoted to God, but they will refuse to let that “devotion” change the way they live. Stay away from these people! 2 Timothy 3:5 ERV
6. Draw near to God. I know how to get along with little and how to live in prosperity; in every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:12-13 NASB2020
Submit, therefore, to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:7-8 NASB2020
The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then, you will be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 ERV
Love you, Guys!
