LEARNING DAILY

Genesis 3:8, And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

This is one of the sad verses in God’s Word, in my opinion. Adam and Eve had walked and talked with God for a long time. But they fell for one of the great deceptions the devil throws at us – unbelief. The devil preached to them a lie and they fell for the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life that Timothy writes about. Nothing has changed since that time as people still fall for these same schemes of the enemy. Even while walking on the narrow way (as Adam and Eve walked with God) Believers fall for these deceptions. When believers fall for these deceptions, they try to hide from God. By hiding, I mean they might stop praying or reading God’s Word because, like Adam and Eve, they are ashamed because of their failure.

Notice that God called out to Adam asking, “Where are you?” They could not hide from God, and neither can any of us when we sin. It was a question that a parent might ask their child when they already know the answer. It is a question that was asked to give Adam the opportunity to tell God where he was and to tell Him what he had done, to confess. It might also be pointed out God did not ask, “Where are you two?” Adam was ultimately responsible for the fall and being removed from the garden.

That brings the message to you and to me. I know this will challenge some, but none of us is perfect; God is still working on us. That’s probably why we are still walking on this earth and not with Him in His kingdom. We still have sinful thoughts, say sinful things, and do sinful things. Temptation and evil is all around us and sometimes we give in to it. What do you do when that happens. I know conviction of my wrongdoing does not let go no matter what I do to get away from it. You know what I mean, right?

 My brother, IRA Paine, wrote in his devotional, “Eternal Security?  Absolutely!  God is not going to change His mind about you, or me, or the human race.  What He has declared He will bring to pass.” When you have been saved by Jesus and set on the narrow way, God never changes His mind about you and your salvation. He does expect you to confess your wrongdoing, your sin, and thank Him for the forgiveness He gives you through Jesus Christ.

Why did Jesus Christ suffer and die? He died in our place in order that “whosoever would believe in Him would have eternal life”. That means to have fellowship with Him. When Adam sinned, he lost fellowship with God. Nothing has changed! Believers know when they have sinned. God desires to fellowship with Believers, that is why He created man; justification through His Son made fellowship with the Father possible again. It is encouraging to me that God has not given up on me when He could have done so; he has not given up on anyone reading this page of the blog. The devil would try to get you to hide from God when you sin. Do not do it. Instead, run to the Father. Tell him what you did and rejoice in His forgiveness. David Wilkerson wrote, “Jesus did not die to take you to paradise. He died so that every day you could live in beautiful, close relationship with the Father.”