Weekday Devotionals
At The Movies - Week 2 - Sleeping Beauty - Devo written by Pastor Aaron
Verse: "He (Adam) answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." And He (God) said, "Who told you that you were naked...?" Genesis 3:10-11 (NIV)
Thought: The story of Adam and Eve and the fall of humanity is perhaps the most well-known Bible story presented to kids. In fact, I can picture so many Old Testament stories in cartoon-like form being told through children's books or film. It's because these are considered children's stories that we can often gloss over them as if we have read them a million times, and miss so much. So much is going so wrong, so quickly, in this story. In the creation story, just one chapter before the fall, it says, "The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food." (Gen. 2:9) This same phrase about the tree is used in Genesis 3 just before Eve takes the forbidden fruit; except a word is added... "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom..." (Gen. 3:6)
Desire is introduced in the story. It is desire that led to our original shortcoming, and it is desire that leads us to so many shortcomings today. Desire, in and of itself, is not wrong, but when desire trumps the Word of God in our life, it leads to sin, disaster, and death. Our soul longs to return to Eden. How many of us reading this, have thought, 'what I wouldn't give to walk with God in the coolness of the day in Eden.' Adam and Eve experienced this on a regular basis, but they started to let other voices, even the voice of a talking snake (which is weird, and should have been a warning) become more influential in their life. Walking with God in the coolness of the day now became a terrifying event. Something that had been a refreshment for the soul had now become something they were trying to avoid. So many lies were said to them in such a conniving sincerity... 'Did God really say...' 'He knows if you eat it, you will be like Him...' we were already like Him, being made in His image. We were naked and unashamed. As I presented on Sunday, the question by God here invokes a thought worth pondering; "Who told you that you were naked?" As in, 'What other voices have you been letting yourself be influenced by besides mine?'
Today, that sneaky snake in the Garden has disguised it's voice with Instagram posts and re-tweets. We start to believe that God may have been holding back something when He made us. We start to doubt whether our life will ever look as 'good' as someone else's post on social media, and just as odd as a talking snake influenced our first parents to isolate themselves from their Heavenly Father, so too are we allowing ourselves to be influenced by shiny apps on our phone, and animated emoji reactions. We are no longer asking God in the coolness of the day what His thoughts about us are, but we are seeking the affirmation from subscribers and invisible 'followers'. It was the words of God that brought the snake down to 'crawl on it's belly and eat dust the rest of it's days' and it is the truth found in the Word of God that will bring us back to Eden again. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.[c] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV)
Application: Questions to ponder: What lies have I believed about myself? Who told you these lies? How do they compare to what God says about you? Challenge: Ask God what His thoughts are towards you throughout this week and write down how He responds.
- Pastor Aaron
Verse: "He (Adam) answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." And He (God) said, "Who told you that you were naked...?" Genesis 3:10-11 (NIV)
Thought: The story of Adam and Eve and the fall of humanity is perhaps the most well-known Bible story presented to kids. In fact, I can picture so many Old Testament stories in cartoon-like form being told through children's books or film. It's because these are considered children's stories that we can often gloss over them as if we have read them a million times, and miss so much. So much is going so wrong, so quickly, in this story. In the creation story, just one chapter before the fall, it says, "The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food." (Gen. 2:9) This same phrase about the tree is used in Genesis 3 just before Eve takes the forbidden fruit; except a word is added... "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom..." (Gen. 3:6)
Desire is introduced in the story. It is desire that led to our original shortcoming, and it is desire that leads us to so many shortcomings today. Desire, in and of itself, is not wrong, but when desire trumps the Word of God in our life, it leads to sin, disaster, and death. Our soul longs to return to Eden. How many of us reading this, have thought, 'what I wouldn't give to walk with God in the coolness of the day in Eden.' Adam and Eve experienced this on a regular basis, but they started to let other voices, even the voice of a talking snake (which is weird, and should have been a warning) become more influential in their life. Walking with God in the coolness of the day now became a terrifying event. Something that had been a refreshment for the soul had now become something they were trying to avoid. So many lies were said to them in such a conniving sincerity... 'Did God really say...' 'He knows if you eat it, you will be like Him...' we were already like Him, being made in His image. We were naked and unashamed. As I presented on Sunday, the question by God here invokes a thought worth pondering; "Who told you that you were naked?" As in, 'What other voices have you been letting yourself be influenced by besides mine?'
Today, that sneaky snake in the Garden has disguised it's voice with Instagram posts and re-tweets. We start to believe that God may have been holding back something when He made us. We start to doubt whether our life will ever look as 'good' as someone else's post on social media, and just as odd as a talking snake influenced our first parents to isolate themselves from their Heavenly Father, so too are we allowing ourselves to be influenced by shiny apps on our phone, and animated emoji reactions. We are no longer asking God in the coolness of the day what His thoughts about us are, but we are seeking the affirmation from subscribers and invisible 'followers'. It was the words of God that brought the snake down to 'crawl on it's belly and eat dust the rest of it's days' and it is the truth found in the Word of God that will bring us back to Eden again. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.[c] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV)
Application: Questions to ponder: What lies have I believed about myself? Who told you these lies? How do they compare to what God says about you? Challenge: Ask God what His thoughts are towards you throughout this week and write down how He responds.
- Pastor Aaron
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