Turning Point

(Serpent)

Genesis 3:1-13

 

Turning points, and the decisions that lead up to them, come in all sizes and shapes; some barely noticeable while others are life changing.

 

For instance, between my sophomore and junior year of college I had two summer opportunities to choose from. The most exciting was to go to California as a summer intern for Campus Crusade for Christ. The second was to go to East Lansing, Michigan, find a job and participate in a local church sponsored discipleship training program. I chose the latter.

 

As a result, I changed colleges, degrees and careers; met my wife, started our family and bought our first house. The impact of that small, barely noticeable decision to go to East Lansing for the summer, literally changed my life.

 

James wrote how decisions that starts small and seemingly insignificant, can have an adverse life changing effect. ^15 “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” This is the pattern of Adam and Eve. Unfortunately, it is our pattern too. It all started in the Garden of Eden.

 

The serpent was the craftiest of all the creatures the Lord God had made. So the serpent came to the woman. “Really?” he asked. “None of the fruit in the garden? God says you mustn’t eat any of it?”

^2-3 “Of course we may eat it,” the woman told him. “It’s only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not to eat. God says we mustn’t eat it or even touch it, or we will die.”

⁴ “That’s a lie!” the serpent hissed. “You’ll not die! ⁵ God knows very well that the instant you eat it you will become like him, for your eyes will be opened—you will be able to distinguish good from evil!”     TLB

 

This conversation in the Garden was absolutely a turning point, not just for Adam and Eve, but also for you and me. As a result of their decision, our lives would never be perfect; our relationships would always have pain and suffering; our faith in God would always include failure...

 

Every day is another turning point in your life. What decisions will you make today? Will you choose life, or will you choose death?

 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%203%3A1-13&version=NIV;TLB
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Gen.3.1-Gen.3.13

 

 

 

Life is Good

Genesis 3:14-15

 

 

Adam & Eve had it good in the Garden of Eden. For them, “Life is Good” was more than kitchen appliances; it was more than a catchy saying; it was more than clever merchandise. It was paradise. There was no sickness, no growing old and no death. It was perfect unity between each other and with God. Life couldn’t get any better.

 

But with one small decision, that all came crashing down. Their decision brought guilt, shame and death into their world. And not only their world, but it continues today. Like a stone hitting a pond, their self-destructive decision continues to ripple over the millennia into our lives.

 

Instead of looking at how good they had it, they looked at what they thought they were missing. They believed that they could decide what was best for themselves. They wanted full control of their own lives. They believed that they knew better than God. They rationalized what they wanted to do, and did it. Sound familiar?

 

What was the result? Satan was cursed. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden; from Paradise. Hope, purpose and peace were all taken away from them as a consequence of their actions. But not all hope was taken; not forever.

 

“You will strike his heel, but he will crush your head”.

Genesis 3:15 The Living Bible

 

This promise given to Adam and Eve brings hope for the future to come through the Savior. Indeed, God did have a plan for the good of mankind. And He has a plan for you and for me. All good gifts come from God. We need only to have faith and patience; and then trust in His goodness; in His faithfulness; in His love.

 

Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

 

This is the hope that we live for; the hope that God is faithful and good; that we can

trust Him no matter what happens. Jesus has won the final victory. Life IS good.

 

 

 

 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%203%3A14-15&version=NIV;TLB
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Gen.3.14-Gen.3.15