We started off with the three examples of things that you wouldn't normally use to do the jobs that you needed done.
1. A shovel to eat cereal
2. A tweezers to vacuum the floor
3. A leaf blower to dust
I hope that these examples made sense to you! We wouldn't use these things to do the jobs that we needed to do (well maybe the leaf blower, cause it's cool). But what I was trying to portray is how Satan will bend things so far and cover over the end result that we sometimes get tricked into either doing things we wouldn't or becoming ineffective in what we are really trying to do.
My main example was going to be using a banana split to play slip and slide soccer on (as we had planned to do). Not exactly the intended purpose! Satan will try and influence us to do things in a manner that God did not intend!!!
I thought that it was really well put in the two cigarette ads. We spent a lot of time looking at why the first ad was so harmful (happy - catchy music, rebellion, adultery). We then saw in the second ad how people who listen to Satan can be left holding the bag, so to speak. Here are the two ads:
How do these two commercials represent how we can be tricked by Satan? Please add your comment below on this one!
We then spent the rest of our time together talking about the first ever bait and switch - Adam and Eve in the Garden.
Here were the passages that we looked at: Genesis 2:4-25, and 3:1-24. I would like you to re-read them and really look at what happened there. For today I will look at a couple of the verses, and then we will build off of this for tomorrow.
We looked specifically how God made us, not just spoke us into existence. His commands in chapter 1 were, "Let there be light", "Let dry ground appear", etc. Those are awesome to think about! That God has that much power that He just SPOKE and these things appeared!!!
But just as awesome, or even perhaps a bit more awesome (or awesomer) is the fact that in 2:7 we see how much time and care God took when creating Adam. He could have spoke him into existence as well, but he chose not to! He took the time and molded him out of the dust. Not only that, but then he bent down and breathed the breath of life into Adam! What a cool picture of how much God loves and cares for us. Even in Genesis chapter 2 we see how much God wants a relationship with us!!!
Just stop and think about that for a minute. We all have earthly fathers who have messed up and scarred us in different ways. Sometimes we view our Heavenly Father in the same light as our earthly father. Realize that God is the PERFECT Father and that He created you! He knit you together in your mother's womb. He knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows the exact number of your days. GOD LOVES YOU! GOD CARES ABOUT YOU!!!
Why dwell on this so much here? Because if you have in the back of your mind these thoughts, you won't question His leading! You will want to run to God instead of away from Him! You will see sin for what it is - SIN. You will also be able to understand who it is coming from - Satan.
I'm going to stop here and pick up again tomorrow. I would like you to watch this video and listen to the lyrics.
How He Loves Us!!!! What a beautiful thought, what a beautiful realization. Close today's recap off by reading 1 John 4:7-21 and dwell on God's love. What that means for us, and what He calls us to do with that love.
Then close with a prayer that echos this one: "Dear God, thank you for your love for me. Help me to understand even slightly HOW MUCH you love me. Help me to never - ever forget this as I live my life. And help me to obey your command to love others as I have been loved. Help me to stay close to You for the rest of my earthly life! - Amen!"
Love you guys! Please comment and let me know what this means to you. Talk to you tomorrow!
In Christ,
Chris
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