Marietta Taylor
May 7, 2022
Rest your soul through reflective journaling,
praying Scripture,
and worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!
As a parent, I am quite used to the blame game. “She did it. No, she did it!” Or the variations complete with excuses like, she made me mad, it was an accident, or I don’t know why, I just did it.
On Monday, Lori walked us through all the excuses and blame-shifting used in the Garden of Eden, all without once admitting to their sin! This is not what I ever wanted as a parent and neither did God. What He wanted, and still wants, is for us to own our sin and confess it, like David did in Psalm 51. Why? Because this is the pathway to forgiveness and a restored relationship with God.
Thankfully, Jesus has given us an opportunity, by His sacrifice, for a perfect relationship with God in heaven. Write out a prayer of confession modeled after Psalm 51.
Read Eden’s Sacrifice and then write out a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for the redemption Jesus purchased.
Sometimes when we study the Bible, it’s just as important to consider what it doesn’t say. Being curious about what isn’t written can sharpen our understanding of what God does say in His Word!
This is true about Adam and Eve, the Garden scene, and the two trees set before them by God. Both the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life were beautiful and luscious, but Adam and Eve were drawn to more knowledge instead of more life. Because of Satan’s temptation, they believed God was holding out on them; they believed He was stingy.
While they could have sought life, they lusted after more of everything else when they already had rich abundance with the Lord. In similar fashion, the Lord told His people, Israel, “See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. For I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways…”. (Deuteronomy 30:15-16)
We choose life by choosing a relationship with God, Adam and Eve already were literally walking with God in the Garden, but they were lured away, chose sin, then sin marred everything else from then on.
Pray for the Lord to give you eyes to see where He is inviting you to walk with Him. Hint: it’s all the time! When we do, peace is abundant and delight is full!
Prayer is central to our ministry as believers in Jesus as we carry eachother’s burdens and intercede for one another. Our team is honored to share the work of praying alongside you!