Highlights In Today's Reading:
You will be thrilled as you read these three inspiring chapters today, discovering: God said. . . . God saw. . . . God made, clearly describing creation.
In the Garden of Eden, God provided everything that would sustain Adam and Eve and enable them to fulfill His perfect will and achieve a happy and worthwhile life. The Bible states: In the beginning God created. . . . man in His own image. . . . And God saw every thing that He had made and, behold, it was very good (1:1,27,31).
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree. . . . And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (2:9,16-17). Eve failed the simple test to believe God. In contrast, the woman saw that the tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh), and that it was pleasant to the eyes (the lust of the eyes), and a tree to be desired to make one wise (the pride of life) (3:6; I John 2:16).
Creation, as recorded in Genesis, is not a human theory; it is the testimony of our Creator. In contrast, the theory of evolution is a human theory similar to the statement that Satan used to deceive Eve: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Gen. 3:1). Since the Bible records that God created man in His own image, the evolution theory questions the integrity of God. Consequently, those who rebel against obedience to God must believe the evolution theory. The Apostle Paul was led to write: By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth . . . all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist (Col. 1:16-17).
The forbidden fruit was desirable to the taste, attractive to the eye, and appealing to Eve's intellectual pride. These three basic lusts led Adam and Eve to rebel against the authority of God and destroyed their relationship with their Creator. They are the same three evils against submission to God which confront everyone today — the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (I John 2:15-16).
The steps to sin and its immediate consequences of eternal spiritual death (Rom. 6:23) and eventual physical death are still the same: Every man (everyone) is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth (eternal) death (James 1:14-15).
Thought for Today:
Through His Word, God still provides for us just as he did for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Obeying His Word always brings an abundant life.
Christ Revealed:
As Creator (Gen. 1:1; compare John 1:1-4; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 11:3). As the Seed (Descendant) of Woman (Gen. 3:15; Is. 7:14; 9:6-7). God sent forth His Son, made of a woman (Gal. 4:4).
Word Studies:
1:2 face =urface; 1:6 firmament =he open expanse of the heavens; 1:29 meat =ood; 2:3 sanctified =ade holy for God's use; 2:10 heads =ivers; 2:11 compasseth =urrounds; 2:14 Hiddekel =he Tigris; 2:15 dress =ake care of; 2:24 cleave =e joined; 3:1 subtiile =unning; 3:13 beguiled =eceived; 3:17 hearkened =ielded to suggestion to disobey God; sorrow =oil, labor; 3:24 keep =uard.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for our Military worldwide • Arabic International Shortwave Radio Broadcasts for the month of January sponsored by Mary Hoffmeyer • Staff: Barbara Jean Loyd • Government Official/s [listed on their birthday/s] and the state/s represented (statistics from The Original U.S. Congress Handbook): Gov. Jon Corzine (NJ), Sen. Robert Menendez (NJ), and Rep. John Sullivan (OK) • Country (Religious statistics from Operation World and Religious Freedom in the World): St. Lucia (154,000) in the eastern Caribbean • Major languages: English and French patois • Religious freedom • 83% Roman Catholic; 13% Protestant; 2% spirit worship • Prayer Suggestion: Prayer with an upright spirit and heart is a delight to God (Prov. 15:8).
Optional Reading: Matthew 1
NOTE: Bible Pathway covers the Old Testament with devotional and commentary insights over a nine-month period, January through September. Each day during these months, an optional reading of one chapter a day from the New Testament will also be listed. The October, November, and December issues will provide a daily commentary on the New Testament readings. Thus, the reader goes through the New Testament twice each year using the Bible Pathway plan.
Memory Verse for the Week: Romans 8:28
