Tag: Sin

Morning Musing: James 1:14

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“But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

One of the lessons we have been trying to drive into the hearts and minds of our boys is that our choices matter. They matter and they are powerful. The things we want, over time, define us. Some things are beyond our control and some choices are made for us, but there is much that we do choose. Our desires play a big role in the shape and direction of our lives. And according to James here, our desires are a chief feature of our experience with temptation. 

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Digging in Deeper: Genesis 3:2-3

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“The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, “You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.”’”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

How do you resist temptation? What are your strategies? Are there any routines that help you do it? Do you have certain things you say, perhaps a mantra of some kind? The fact is, you do face it. We all face it. We’ve all faced it since Eve here took the initial shot to the heart. Succumbing to it obviously isn’t the best plan, but if we don’t have another one better, that’s usually what’s going to happen. What do we do? 

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Morning Musing: Genesis 3:21

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“The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

This is one of my favorite verses in this whole story. This verse seems like almost an afterthought when you first read it, but I think a good argument can be made that it reveals more important information about God’s character than anything else in this section. Let’s talk about why. 

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Digging in Deeper: Genesis 3:1b

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“He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You can’t eat from any tree in the garden”?’”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

When was the last time you were tempted to do something you shouldn’t have wanted to do? Unless you happen to be reading this just after waking up, I suspect it wasn’t all that long ago. Temptation is everywhere. “Being tempted” is part of our cultural lingo. We talk about being tempted to do this or that freely and easily. Not with things we really think are bad, mind you, but the language is common all the same. It’s like temptation is just a joke. If it is, though, it isn’t a good joke. 

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Digging in Deeper: Genesis 2:16-17

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“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.’”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

This morning we wrestled a bit with the question of why God would have put a tree in the garden of Eden and then immediately told us not to eat from it. I let you in then on a secret about that question: The most honest answer is, “I don’t know.” But, I don’t know isn’t very satisfying and I did promise you two answers.

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