Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 4, Day 2

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If you have not purchased your own copy of this devotional, Lord, Is It Warfare?, I want to encourage you to do so (Used books on Amazon start @ 0.42).  Not only is there an opportunity to interact in a personal journal with your own notes but the guide is designed in such a way as to encourage you to mark up your Bible.  Today’s entry is a little shorter than usual simply by the nature of the assignment that was given.  Following are my own reflections.

-This world was not always in the condition that it is in now.  It once was a perfect paradise that hosted God and His creation of Adam and Eve and the host of things that filled the world.  In a single moment, the unity of God and His creation was shattered by the wily snares of the serpent.  He tempted Eve and she fell to an unimaginable state. 

-The Genesis 2-3 account covers the fall of man.  God gave some instructions to Adam:
  • You can eat freely from any tree except one.
  • You cannot eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  If you do you will die. 

-These instructions are very basic and very simple to follow.  However, for all of God’s instructions, the serpent had some tactics that he used to destroy Adam and Eve.  His tactics were shrewd!  Notice what takes place with them: 
  • There was a craftiness about the approach of the serpent.
  • The serpent said, “You can’t eat from any tree in the Garden.”  By making this statement, he made the whole Garden with its trees to be off-limits to Eve.  He added to what God had required.  That is the story of religion at some point in all of our lives.  The devil will seek to add something to what God has desired to do. 
  • The nature of putting doubt in Eve’s mind caused her to doubt.  She began to relent and waffle on what God had told her.  This is the way that questions work!  We can know what God has said but when we are questioned by the devil, we can waver because we lose our confidence in God’s commandments. 
  • The serpent removed the penalty for sin when he told her that she would not die.
  • The serpent made a promise that he could not keep when he said that if she ate the fruit, she would be like God. 
  • The serpent’s temptations caused her to look at the tree in a way that she had never seen it before.  It became good for food, instead of poison to kill.  It was a delight to the eyes instead of a closed gate of entry.  It became something that could create a sense of wisdom when she did not realize it would destroy the innocence of mind that she had known before the Fall.

-The same trick is true now that was used then. The work of the tempter is to get us to doubt what God has said.  If he can do anything to get us to doubt what the Scriptures have to say, then much of his battle is completed. 

-The following references allow us to see that the Bible is the Word of God.  Psalm 19 and Psalm 119 are chapters that make powerful statements about the Word of God.  When you cross-reference this with Proverbs 30:5-6 we can see that this Book is set apart from any and all the other books in the world.  
  • Scripture alone is sufficient for man’s needs (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Isa. 55:11; 2 Peter 1:3-4).
  • Scripture is inerrant (Psalm 12:6; 119:140; Prov. 30:5a; Jn. 10:35).  Be careful that you do not allow some “enlightened” mind to come along and cause you to doubt the veracity and the integrity of Scripture. 
  • Scripture is infallible (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  This means that it is a perfect guide for a Christian to place his confidence in.  All Christians ought to read it and they should demand that their pastors preach the Word clearly!  The Word of God is true and trustworthy.
  • Scripture is inspired (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21).  It is to be preached (Deut. 18:18; Matt. 1:21; 2 Tim. 4:1-5).

-Lastly, I am passing linking some old Barnabas Blog entries that deal with Scripture and its importance and why it should be preached in churches. 

Resources for reading the Bible and MP3 downloads of theBible.
Resources for reading the Bible—Different Translations.
Resources for reading the Bible—Scripture Memorization.

Thanks for reading. . .


More tomorrow. . . 

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