Things related to faith

beware the growth of sin… harboring it leads to worse consequences for us and others. Cain’s initial sin is left ambiguous but his response to his sin being called out by the Lord shows the trajectory of his life

Marvel at God’s patience. Cain could’ve heeded the Lord’s warnings, it would’ve been right.

The Fall is worthy of grieving. The story in the Bible explains the state of humanity, and I think we can grieve humanity’s state just via observation today. But the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that with grieving and mourning there is hope and redemption

On the Fall # The consequences of the fall were immediate and great: shame (humans recognize their nakedness and cover up) separation (humans are banished from Paradise/Eden) When I have nothing to hide, and I’m completing my work both at home and my job to a degree that I’m satisfied with results, then shame and anxiety seem so small. God gives grace to people, and he offered grace in the beginning as one of his responses to sin. I can’t help but recognize the wrestle with the reality of the Fall, and I don’t mean the state of human today - I think we’re clearly fallen. But I mean the record in Genesis 3… I think Genesis 1-11 tells a story to explain human history but doesn’t necessarily give us a play-by-play transcription of that history. So I need to personally be careful in how much analysis I do of the physical reality of Genesis 3 and be sure to filter my perception of it through the lens of the rest of the Bible. Jesus is the snake-crusher promised in 3:9, and he offers grace e…

link to sermon Psalm 82 1 God stands in the divine assembly; he administers judgment in the midst of the gods. 2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show favoritism to the wicked? Selah 3 Judge on behalf of the helpless and the orphan; provide justice to the afflicted and the poor. 4 Rescue the helpless and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 5 They do not know or consider. They go about in the darkness, so that all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I have said, “You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you. 7 However, you will die like men, and you will fall like one of the princes.” 8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, because you shall inherit all the nations. Ephesians 1:15-22 15 Because of this I also, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelat…

Resist Temptation # Eve was tempted by sin by litening to the great deceiver. But it wasn’t just that she heard the serpent, she participated in the conversation, she entertained the snake, and she meditated/directed her thoughts and eyes towards the objects of desire and the serpent rather than her God. The woman saw that the tree was good for food and it was a delight to the eyes 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 3 For although we are living in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but powerful to God for the tearing down of fortresses, tearing down arguments 5 and all pride that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. The woman did not resist, she gave in. She entertained the thought of the fruit, gazed at it with her eyes, and decided to listen to the serpent and ultimately herself, rather than God Sin is a matter of the heart, of looking inward into our own exp…

Theological Implicationf of Creation # “Let there be…” God’s Word is the agency of creation Jesus commanded Lazarus to come out of the grave John 11:41–44 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes above and said, “Father, I give thanks to you that you hear me. 42 And I know that you always hear me, but for the sake of the crowd standing around I said it, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 And when he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The one who had died came out, his feet and his hands bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped with a facecloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” Jesus calmed the storm Mark 4:35–40 35 And on that day, when it was evening, he said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him along, as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great storm of wind developed, and the waves were breaking into the boat,…