Tag: Genesis 3:8

It’s Your Choice

On March 5, 2025

In Devotionals, Thoughts and Meditations

~Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

~Genesis 2:17 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.

~Genesis 3:22 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:

Man was created in the “likeness” of God. From the beginning, man had the choice between good and evil. However, since man was not God, or a god (as some religions teach), he was not able to say no to sin when given that choice.

God gave Adam and Eve the awesome privilege of living sin free as long as they obeyed one rule: not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At this point, Adam and Eve only knew “good.” They lived in a perfect place where God would walk with them in the Garden! You would think that they would understand how great their life was, and they wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that life. However, they were easily deceived by Satan. He cast a shadow of doubt on God’s words. In Genesis 3:1, Satan said, “hath God said”? It caused Eve to question what God had told them. It further caused her to add to God’s words with ” neither shall ye touch it”. God didn’t say not to touch the tree but merely not to eat of it.

So from the beginning of man, it has been man’s choice to disobey God. Initially, Hell was created for the devil and his angels, not man. Hell was there before Adam and Eve came along.

~Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

However, because man has chosen to sin, man has also chosen to go to Hell. God doesn’t choose to send people to Hell, man chooses it.

~Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

~Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

~Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God created man for fellowship, as we see in Genesis 3:8. God knew that man would choose sin over God. So from the beginning, God provided a way for man to go to Heaven, but again, it is man’s choice – as it always has been. We do have a loving God. Sending people to Hell isn’t what He wanted. He gave man a choice from the beginning. God’s choice is for man to live a wonderful, sin-free life, just as Adam and Eve had the opportunity to have!

Why would God create man if all He wanted were robots who always did what they were told, without a choice? It’s evident that God wants us to love Him by choice, not because we have to. God gives us every opportunity to be saved from the choices we make that will lead us to Hell. However, it is the hardened heart that refuses God’s love and His Heaven.

~Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

It is man’s natural instinct to blame someone else for his undoing. Adam blamed, Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. Today, man blames God for sending people to Hell rather than praise God for providing a way to Heaven through Jesus Christ! It’s man’s choice to sin that takes him to Hell, not God.

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Peace Through Troubled Times – Loneliness

By Kate Plourde

On November 17, 2023

In Devotionals, Peace Through Troubled Times

Psa 40:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

In this world filled with mind-boggling technology, people are lonelier than ever before. Science of People conducted a poll in 2019 which showed 58% of Americans found themselves lonely! How can this be? Social media is a platform to connect people, yet people find themselves lonelier!

I believe there are a couple of reasons for this:

Social media connects people online but does not connect people in person. I attend a Zoom Bible study and it’s wonderful. But it would be so much nicer to be with those people in person! People need actual people in their lives. No man is an island, so they say.
Secondly, people need the Lord. Everyone has a God-sized hole in their heart that can only be filled with a personal relationship with the Lord. I have seen people’s lives transformed once they were born-again and received the indwelling Holy Spirit residing with them every second of every day!

If you had a friend who was always there for you, right at your fingertips; a friend who would answer your plea and come running, you would not be lonely would you? Well, Reader, there IS someone who can be all these things. God wants to be your friend. He desires to have fellowship with you. When God created mankind, his initial intent was to have fellowship. We see this in Genesis when God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden.

However, when they willfully rebelled and disobeyed God’s warning, He broke that fellowship. (Genesis 3:3) But this account didn’t end there. God had a plan and that plan was to restore fellowship with mankind. God took the form of a man, Jesus Christ, come to earth, and die for the sins that separated God and man. One of the names for Jesus is Emmanuel, which is Hebrew for “God with us.” What a beautiful depiction of God! Christ rose from the dead and anyone who believes on the Son is freed from the bondage and punishment of sin. (John 3:16, John 3:3, John 3:7) That original fellowship was restored and now Christ dwells within us through His Holy Spirit. (John 14:17, John 15:26, John 16:13) Praise the Lord!

Anyone who is born again can have the joy of the Lord living inside him. This joy pushes loneliness away. If you’re not in the Word of God, you have no clear direction. But when you are in the Word, you can learn and glean from its blessings! No one could have been more lonely than David. He was chased by King Saul, and then by many more enemies! He found himself alone and discouraged.

Psa 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

We see in the next verse that the results were astonishing! Loneliness and despair were replaced by singing and praise!

Psa 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

The born-again believer has the power to overcome loneliness if only that believer will spend time in God’s Word and allow it’s healing balm to take root in his heart! David was given a new song to sing! Our praises and songs, in the midst of trials and fears, will lead others to see, fear and trust in the Lord! Wow! Our testimony as believers is what speaks volumes to the unsaved world. Our testimony is a light that points the lost to Christ. (Matthew 5:14) We show others how God comforts us in the midst of turbulent times.

But the unbeliever doesn’t have God to comfort him. It doesn’t have to be that way. One can be born-again if one chooses it. Salvation is a choice. If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Comfort During the End Times – Day 28

By Kate Plourde

On May 3, 2023

In Comfort During the End Times, Devotionals

Psa 91:14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

Good morning, Reader! Today’s verse truly bless my heart because they reveal to me a very personal God. God is not a God who sits in Heaven and doesn’t pay attention to what happens to His creation. God loves His creation so much that He created Him to live forever in a beautiful garden. He did not create robots but created male and female to fellowship with Him. Genesis 3:8 said that the Lord walked in the garden and spoke with Adam and Eve. We know this was Jesus because John 1:3 says Jesus made all things. John 1:1 calls Jesus the Word of God. Remember the hymn, “In the Garden”?

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

God desires fellowship with His creation and gave us His Word until we can see Him face-to-face. Friend, you are not walking this earth at this moment in time all by yourself. The same God from the Garden of Eden is here with you. The same Creator, Jesus Christ, died for your sins – He took yours and my sins to the cross and nailed them there. (Colossians 2:14) There is no sin that has not been nailed to that cross. Those that are born again (John 3:3, 3:7) are no longer under condemnation. (Romans 8:1) Jesus said that those who don’t believe are condemned already. (John 3:18) We are born with sin and therefore are already condemned. It is not until we believe on the name of the Lord Jesus and get saved that we can claim Romans 8:1. He knows you by your name! This alone should bring every believer great comfort!

We are able to take comfort knowing that the same God who created us desires to take our burdens and leave them with Him. There are days when life will seem unbearable to you. In those days, the devil loves nothing more than to make our worries and anxieties into yokes. You can see clearly here in this picture that the yoke has two holes, one for the Lord and one for you. Normally the farmer puts one strong animal in one side and the weaker on the other. This way, the burden is not so great on the weaker one and the stronger one can lead. The devil wants us in his yoke, which is always geared to place the burden on us! He wants to weigh us down so we can take our eyes off the Lord. He wants us to submit to him so we are no earthly good for the cause of Christ. But Matthew 11:28-30 tells us that Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. He also tells us that we shall find rest in His yoke.

Friend, during these end times, we believers must take God’s Word literally and apply His Word to our lives. Without it, we will fail. But when we use the salve of God’s Word and apply it to our lives, Jesus will give us blessed rest during troubled times. We absolutely need that rest so we can show a lost and dying world what it is like to be in the midst of chaos yet be at perfect peace and rest in Jesus. We know this rest first because of His shed blood for our sins and that we are forgiven. But secondly, we know this rest because He has promised to come take His Bride before the wrath of God is set upon this God-forsaken world! (1 Thess. 1:10, 2:19, 4:16-18, 5:1-11)

There is truth to be found, reader! The truth and the future of our world is carefully written in the Bible so we could see what was to come. Friend, if you’re not sure where you will spend eternity, please settle the matter. Christian, if you’re not living your life for the Lord, there’s not much time left. We need to give the lost hope as we have hope! Friend, don’t be willfully ignorant of the end times. (2 Peter 3:5) If you are not born-again, confess your sins and repent of them. The time is coming when it will be too late for you to repent. You will remember each opportunity you were given by God to be saved; you will remember each time you laughed it off and ignored it. Please Reader, repent and accept Christ into your life. (Act 16:31, Rom 10:9) I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!