Daily Devotionals
Friday, April 12, 2024 (Ashley)
For those of you involved in our Monday night Bible Study, I hope you have been enjoying this week's homework as much as I have! We are currently going through “Good Boundaries and Goodbyes” by Lisa Terkeurst and per Lisa’s teaching, I have been digging into Genesis about the fall of man. Revisiting this account in history, Lisa ties together that Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, really was the first broken boundary on earth!
God had clearly stated the boundary, Adam and Eve broke the boundary, and because of that, there were consequences. For potentially the first time, this got me thinking about what life would have been like if Adam and Eve hadn’t broken that boundary. My brain has always equated sin with the fall but I hadn’t spent much time pictureing the perfection life would have been without it. The very next morning after completing that day of homework and contemplating those thoughts, my daughter's Bible reading brought us to Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4 – Jesus Tested In the Desert.
Here Satan had another attempt to flip the script, just as he did in the Garden of Eden, but this time he was facing the Son of God, Jesus himself. “Turn these stones into bread… you can do anything. Surly you are hungry.” Satan tempted Jesus. Jesus responded by stating scripture and did not give into Satan’s temptation. “Throw yourself off, surely the angels with catch you.” Satan tried again. But as before, Jesus stated scripture and told Satan that God is never to be tested. Lastly, Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world to worship him, and still, Jesus stated scripture by telling Satan he would worship God and serve Him alone!
Again, you may be familiar with this account in scripture but have you ever thought of what life would have looked like if the story was opposite? What if, like Adam and Eve, Jesus would have given into temptation? Just as we can imagine how much better life would have been without the fall, can you imagine how much worse life could have been without Jesus?
“Then, the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” -Revelation 20:10
Well, guess what? The fight has already been won!
The truth is, for the believer, Heaven will be better than anything we can even imagine. But the flip side is also true, for the unbeliever, Hell will be worse than anything we can imagine too.
If you haven’t put your faith in Jesus Christ – Today is the day! Don’t wait! God sent Jesus to live and die for you and me so that we can live in eternity with him! And that’s not good news, it’s the best news ever!!!
Ashley
God had clearly stated the boundary, Adam and Eve broke the boundary, and because of that, there were consequences. For potentially the first time, this got me thinking about what life would have been like if Adam and Eve hadn’t broken that boundary. My brain has always equated sin with the fall but I hadn’t spent much time pictureing the perfection life would have been without it. The very next morning after completing that day of homework and contemplating those thoughts, my daughter's Bible reading brought us to Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4 – Jesus Tested In the Desert.
Here Satan had another attempt to flip the script, just as he did in the Garden of Eden, but this time he was facing the Son of God, Jesus himself. “Turn these stones into bread… you can do anything. Surly you are hungry.” Satan tempted Jesus. Jesus responded by stating scripture and did not give into Satan’s temptation. “Throw yourself off, surely the angels with catch you.” Satan tried again. But as before, Jesus stated scripture and told Satan that God is never to be tested. Lastly, Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world to worship him, and still, Jesus stated scripture by telling Satan he would worship God and serve Him alone!
Again, you may be familiar with this account in scripture but have you ever thought of what life would have looked like if the story was opposite? What if, like Adam and Eve, Jesus would have given into temptation? Just as we can imagine how much better life would have been without the fall, can you imagine how much worse life could have been without Jesus?
“Then, the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” -Revelation 20:10
Well, guess what? The fight has already been won!
The truth is, for the believer, Heaven will be better than anything we can even imagine. But the flip side is also true, for the unbeliever, Hell will be worse than anything we can imagine too.
If you haven’t put your faith in Jesus Christ – Today is the day! Don’t wait! God sent Jesus to live and die for you and me so that we can live in eternity with him! And that’s not good news, it’s the best news ever!!!
Ashley
