The Truth.

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Cain knew that he had killed his brother but he was not willing to admit that he had done wrong. God asked him a question and he avoided the question by asking another question. It isn’t good for us to avoid God’s questions by asking other questions. When we come to Him we should come and expose our hearts to His gaze; even though He knows every thought and attitude that we have even before we have them, we need to be willing to own our thoughts and attitudes before God and then we can take advantage of His grace.

If a person wants to continue a conversation, the sales experts tell us that we must always ask questions and ask questions that need more than just a one word answer. However, in our dealings with God it is better to listen than to speak. He has the wisdom that we need to live the best life that we can live. However, if we do have a question, we are angry or in despair then we should bring the question to God. The Psalms are the poems that teach us how to pray and the word “Why?” occurs 24 times in 15 verses. There is plenty of evidence in the Bible to encourage us to ask any of the questions, “Why?”, “Where?”, “How?”, “When?” and “Where?”. The best person to ask these questions is our God for He has all the answers and He is the source of all truth (see John 14: 6).

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The whirlwind.

“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”

Even though we choose what we think, when we choose to think we become hostage to our thoughts. Cain was bitter and angry because his younger brother was chosen ahead of him. After all, he was the special one, wasn’t he? God spoke to him but he chose to ignore God and follow his own pathway. In the end he killed his brother. This reminds us of Proverbs 14: 12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.” Every time we make a choice we choose the consequences that come from that choice even though we don’t realise it. We may well say that we didn’t choose the consequences but “God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal 6: 7)

Every time that we choose to follow the ways that we think are wise we are sowing disaster to ourselves and we will reap the whirlwind (Hos 8: 7)

This is not so much an issue of the size of our faith but the size of our God.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

It's your choice.

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

John Steinbeck, in his book “East of Eden” has a subplot running through the book. There is a discussion between the father and the cook about this section. The cook is puzzled at the difference between the way that this verse is expressed in the Authorised and the Revised versions and wonders what they mean. After much discussion and research they come to the conclusion that the Lord is telling Cain that, even though sin is lying at his door, he has the choice as to what he will do. He can overcome the desire to kill his brother that has come from his anger at God’s rejection of his offering or he can allow the anger to overcome him. Cain made his choice and he suffered the consequences. There are many experts today who define vast multitudes of mental diseases and they tell us that we are just victims of our circumstances and forced to act in certain ways. The Lord’s message is different: we choose what we think and the thought is father to the deed. In every case we can choose how we will react to our circumstances. We always choose our attitudes.

(However, there are some diseases that are organic and we must take care not to ignore sound medical advice and go off our medication because we may suffer the consequences of doing that.)

This is not so much an issue of the size of our faith but the size of our God.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Cain and Abel.

“And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”

These two children grew up to be adults and to choose their careers. Cain grew crops and Abel cared for stock. When Cain was first born, his mother said that she had acquired a man from the Lord, she assumed that this son would be the descendant who would bruise the serpent’s head and treated him as though he was extra special. On the other hand, Abel means vapour, his life was seen as fragile or temporary. As time went by the two young men came to the Lord and offered gifts from what they had produced. Cain brought some of his crops while Abel brought the best of his animals with their fat. Fat is the best part of the meat, it has the best taste and cost the most. We know that God is able to look inside a person’s heart (1 Sam 6:17) so God understood their motives. We can read from 1 John 3: 12 that Cain was of the wicked one and his works were evil while his brother’s works were righteous. God did not respect Cain, even though he had the better reputation on earth. There is an important lesson here for every Christian. Our attitude to God is far more important than our reputation or our ability to have the important positions. God has more respect for a humble and contrite heart than a person of great reputation (see Isaiah 57: 15). Cain expected to get all the praise for his offering but God didn’t respect Cain offering and he became murderously angry.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The Cycle of Life.

“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”

Once sin had come into the world, things began to way they were going to continue. Children were born so that the line could continue as God had promised Adam and Eve that they would die. The children were due to die as well so the cycle of life that began with sin will continue until the end of the world. However, God had also made a promise that, one day, Eve’s descendant would bruise the serpent’s head at great cost to himself. In order for this to happen Eve had to have descendants. God always delivers on His promises but sometimes we have to make the effort to see them come to pass. On the first Palm Sunday, the people praised the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord’s enemies asked Him to keep them quiet. He said that if they were quiet to stones would immediately cry out (Luke 19: 40). If we don’t want to be involved in God’s plan, He will honour our choice but His plan will happen anyway. God’s will always happens whether we like it or not.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Keep the way of the tree of life.

“Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

We live in a day of unlimited promises. Everyone promises to do things all the time but, very rarely do people actually intend to keep the promises. So often we have a promise and then, when the time arrives there is always a very good reason that the promise can’t be kept. Some people make promising things into an art form but they just use the promises as a form of manipulation so that they can get their own way.

This reminds us of the way that that the heathen try to manipulate their gods so that they can get what they want. They promise this and that but they really just want to get their own way and satisfy their own self indulgence.

With the true God of heaven this is not so. He promised Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate of the fruit. When they ate of the fruit, they died spiritually at that very moment as their relationship with God was broken. They experienced emotional death because they were cursed in their relationships and would never know real satisfaction of all their emotional needs as long as they lived on the earth. At that very moment they began the long, slow, painful process of physical death. God sent them out of the garden and made sure that they would never eat of the tree of life and live forever. Isn’t it better to trust the God, Who always keeps His promises, than the seek self indulgence and have a lifetime of unkept promises. Promises both that we make and are made to us.

God has said, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom 6: 23 This promise is sure but the second part will only be kept for those who accept the promise of John 3: 16 and believe in the Only Begotten Son.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Suffer forever?

“And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:”

This passage shows us more of God’s grace. Since man’s earliest records there is evidence of the human desire to live forever. This is a great desire and is evident today as many health and lifestyle experts tell us that in the next number of years we will be able to live for many more years than we are able to live today. However, old age is very rarely something to be enjoyed but to be suffered. As time goes by, our bodies start to decay, as a product of sin, and we begin to experience pain. Even issues like joint or organ replacement will only put aside the issue of pain for a time. Eventually everyone who lives forever will be confined to one place and experience on going pain. Slowly but surely they will be less and less able to perform their own vital functions and have to be a burden on the rest of society. Imagine what life would be like if there were millions of old people who were unable to do anything for themselves waiting to be served. What a drain this would cause on the earth’s resources; not to mention the fact that these people would be frozen in pain without any hope of relief. God is gracious to allow people to die and escape the pain.

As well as this, we all know that there is a limited time to do something about our state of spiritual death and be reconciled to God. With the clock ticking everybody is faced to make a decision about what they need to do concerning their relationship with God. This shows that God is genuinely gracious in allowing us to leave this “Vale of Tears” and have the opportunity to live with Him forever. On the other hand, we can continue to suffer the pain for eternity.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Coats of skins

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

In Heb 9: 22 we read, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission.” We also read that the life is in the blood (Gen 9: 4). The Lord God made coats of skins because Adam and Eve knew that they were naked; they hid themselves because they were ashamed of being naked. This is the first time that there is clothing in the Bible and it was a consequence of sin. However, it is impossible to take the skins from animals without first killing them. It may be possible to skin an animal alive but the animal would soon die and God is not cruel to to that. When Adam and Eve sinned the Lord performed a sacrifice on that day so that the skins could be taken from the animal and used for clothing. This looks forward to a future sacrifice that was already promised at that time when the seed of the woman would bruise the serpents head but be bruised on His heel.

This is also the first instance of substitution, for even though Adam and Eve both began the long slow process of physical death on that day, the Lord actually accepted this death as a substitute for their immediate death on the day that they sinned. If Adam and Eve had died on that day then there would not have been any seed and there would not have been any redemption.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The mother of all living

“And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”

A person has two kinds of DNA, one comes from the mother and the other comes from both the mother and the father. The DNA that comes from the mother is called mitochondrial DNA while the other kind is called nuclear DNA. It is interesting to note that scientists talk about a mitochondrial Eve, that is, there is a matrilineal ancestor from whom all humans are descended.

Mitochondrial DNA was discovered in the 1960s but God knew all about it at the beginning. Adam understood the same issue as he called his wife Eve because she was the mother of all living.

As science and history develop we are continually amazed that new evidence supports the information the Bible, even though many people refuse to recognise this fact. When the Lord Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, His enemies asked Him to stop the people from crying out but He said that if He stopped them then the stones would cry out (Luke 19: 40).

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Consequences

“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

I once attended an academic conference with a theological scholar and we were talking about gardening. He wondered, aloud, why there were so many weeds to deal with. When I suggested that it was a consequence of the Fall, he was utterly surprised that people still believe in the concept of original sin.

This section brings us back to the fundamental rule of creation: actions always have consequences. That is, we get what we choose. God had complete integrity and will give us what we choose. He always exercises in grace and gives us opportunities to change our choice but in the end: “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”( Prov 29: 1) We can go our own way for a long time but in the end we have to pay the price.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Mars or Venus?

“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

If we want to find out how and why women and men are different we don’t have to go the Mars or Venus, or visit the old Roman gods, all we have to do is read Gen 1 and 2. This verse needs very little comment but should be read and understood by both men and women

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Abounding grace.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

This is the first genuine example of Romans 5: 20 “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:” in the Bible. How remarkable that it should come on the same day that sin entered into the world. This gives us a remarkable understanding of God’s grace; it was ready and prepared for the day that sin entered into the world. We must take pains to affirm that God is no way responsible for or complicit in sin. He is completely consistent and in grace has offered the ability to choose to enjoy His love, however, He always gives us what we choose, even though He may give us the fruit of our choice slowly so that we have the chance to change our minds.

All this is completely just as God has also dealt with all the legal aspects relating to sin by paying the full penalty Himself. All we have to do is take advantage of His grace and enjoy His goodness. It is high time we all stopped eating from the self indulgence tree and begin enjoying the full fruit of the self denial tree. The main question that we should all ask is, “How big is my God?” Is He big enough to do everything or is He so small that I need to help Him? if your God is that small get rid of him and follow the true God Who doesn’t need any help from us at all.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Eating dust.

“And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”

No one was willing to admit that they had done anything wrong but everyone who had done wrong had to live with the consequences ofd their own actions. In this case the serpent was cursed buy the Lord God because he seduced Adam and Eve with lies. To this day the serpent still goes on its belly. Even though some serpents live in trees they still have to go up and down the branches on their bellies and other serpents live in the water but they have no legs or fins to swim with, they have to go on their belly through the water. It is interesting to note that modern research has shown that land snakes actually put dust from the earth into their mouths so that they can assess their environments. If this had been written in about 400 BC or so, as some people suggest today, they would still not have known this fact. However, it was written by Adam, who lived through the experience and God, who gave the curse, knew what He was talking about.

It is much better to follow the rules of evidence and accept the words of an eye witness than to listen to the words of a person who looks at the evidence thousands of years later and says that this could not have happened. They only reason they don’t think that these things happened, as they eye witness wrote, is that they want to be like God themselves. People who want to be like God and define what is right and what is wrong will end up spending eternity with serpent, burning in the same flames as he is and eating the same dust that he is eating.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)