December 3rd - Consequences

Genesis 3

Today we found out what happened when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge. Our parenting and discipline avoids threats and punishment, relying more on the teaching that comes from the natural consequences of our actions. Anyone present at our wedding will know what I mean when I say, "Consequences!" but for those readers who didn't have that experience, suffice it to say my dad gave a very long speech, punctuated by his reminder that we have to live with consequences of our actions. This was big in our childhood and now all my friends know too! I was embarrassed at the time, but actually, his speech does make sense to me now, as a parent.

Reading the account of the Fall from the perspective of consequences rather than punishment has been helpful for me. When God said Adam and Eve would die if they ate from the tree of Knowledge, it wasn't meant to be a threat of punishment for disobedience, but a warning. God could not allow them to eat from the tree of Life and so live forever if they had allowed badness to enter their hearts. It wouldn't - couldn't - be a case of just eating the fruit and then never breaking another rule. One sin leads to another and another. Immediately, Adam and Eve hid from God and then began to lie. The rollercoaster was on the move. Paradise couldn't be allowed to filled with sin, and so Adam and Eve had to leave. Their actions broke Creation, allowing pain and toil and enmity in. The consequence of eating of the tree of Knowledge was removal from the Tree of Life, and therefore death would be inevitable.

Jesse Tree 2013 - 3rd December: The First Sin

Genesis 3

B can be very wilful and stubborn (I wonder where she gets those qualities from...) but she isn't yet at an age where she can be held accountable for her actions. We don't use punishments or rewards, but use a mixture of explanations and logical consequences in the hope that she will learn to choose right actions, rather than being "good" out of fear of punishment or simply because she will get a prize for doing so. As a result, today's theme is quite a difficult one. In a few years' time we will be able to discuss how we've upset or hurt someone and choosing to say sorry to people and to God, but for now I've chosen to concentrate on the fruit in the story of the first sin. 

Today we made some apple shaped tree decorations out of apple sauce and cinnamon. You can find the instructions here: http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/2012/12/easy-cinnamon-and-applesauce-dough.html

The key was stopping B from eating the dough, which smelled pretty tempting, but is inedible. And there, I suppose, is the teaching point! Some things look great, but aren't good for us, and God, like our mummies and daddies, wants only the best for us, even if that sometimes feels like we're being deprived and disappointed. A tough lesson for a 2 year old, but no easier for a 30 year old!

December 3rd - Fall of Man

Fall of Man

Forbidden Fruit

Whether we believe that Adam and Eve were real people, or representations of the whole human race, we cannot deny that somehow sin entered the world. The first people on earth disobeyed God, and everybody since has followed in their footsteps. From a very young age the forbidden is attractive. My fifteen month old daughter will approach the coffee table and look at me, shaking her head, before putting her hand on the mug that was supposed to be out of her reach. She knows she's not supposed to, but goes for it anyway.

Bible in a Year - Day 4

Genesis 9, 10 & 11; Matthew 4

How apt that I should read God's Covenant with Noah while outside it is grey and bleak and pouring down with rain. It was sunny yesterday, after what has felt like weeks of rain, but it's raining again today. Isn't it funny how just one day of rain can wash away all memory of the sunny days? There's something deep in that somewhere, isn't there. And perhaps it's just because I'm English, but when the sun comes, we make the absolute most of it because we fully expect rain to be just around the corner. Trouble will always come again.

Beware Jonah's Second Mistake - Indifference to Prayer

...Jonah could avoid being reminded of his disobedience by other people, though he knew that he couldn't escape from God. But he could run away from the will of God, which is also to run from the presence of God. (Part 1)

Disobedience distances us from God. When we decide not to align ourselves with the will of God, we, in effect, remove ourselves from His hand of protection.

Psalm 32 speaks of the effect of this:

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer,
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
(Psalm 32:3-5a)

It's not a case of God removing His protection from us, but of our refusing to abide in Him.

True, He cannot look at our sin, but his goodness and love will pursue us all the days of our lives (Psalm 23:6).

Despite this, disobedience distances us from God, like a door between us. God is there, but we close the door to experiencing the presence of God in our lives. To remove that self-made barrier, all we need to do is to enter God's presence to ask for God's forgiveness.

But we must be forgiven in order to enter His presence.

Our prayer lives are good indicators
of where we are with God.

The two are inseparable, but praise God, Jesus' death has allowed us to accomplish that.

So often we decide that we cannot face God. We leave the door shut, knowing we have done wrong; hiding from our heavenly Father; trying to fool ourselves with our excuses.

The longer that door remains closed, the easier it is to leave it shut; to bury our heads in the sand, just as Jonah did by going below deck and falling into a deep sleep, whilst the crew of the ship dealt with the storm he had brought with him.

Jonah is supposed to be a prophet of God - on that boat he is the only believer in the one true God, and yet he is the only one not praying!

Our prayer lives are good indicators of where we are with God. The quality of our prayer life determines the quality of our relationship with God.

Prayer is talking with God.

Prayer is listening to God.

Prayer is enjoying the presence of God.

The way to develop a relationship with someone is to spend time with them. If our prayer life consists only of petitions and intercession, it can lead to anger and frustration.

If prayer is not answered with the speed that we wish it to be answered, we can become bitter and resentful towards God.

However, if we grow to know God, a delayed answer to prayer will only be an opportunity to pray again.

Spending time with the Lord is one of the only methods to truly know His ways, and not just His acts. Knowing God leads to resting in the assurance of His ultimate goodness, despite the circumstances we see around us. You don't always have to be talking to Him. You can just enjoy being with Him.

But to spend no time at all with God leads to disaster.

My prayer life isn't perfect - nowhere near - but it's present.

I talk with God and I enjoy our time together, but when I disobey God, it's usually because I haven't been spending that time with Him.

When we're not doing what we ought to be doing, it's so much easier to fall into sin.

Remember how David ended up committing adultery with Bathsheba?

"In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army… But David remained in Jerusalem." (2 Samuel 11:1).

All the other kings were going off to war, but David stayed at home; he wasn't doing what he ought to be doing, which left him open to seeing things he shouldn't see and doing things he shouldn't do.

Not spending time with God, for whatever reason, is often the start of a slip into disobedience, because we lose touch with Him.

We forget what His voice sounds like.

We forget His words.

It doesn't take long before not being with God spirals downwards into not doing good.

The Light of the World
by William Holman Hunt (1853)

Jesus said, "Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation." (Matthew 26:41). Through lack of prayer, we are weak and the devil can gain the advantage in our lives.

The good news is that when we run, God will pursue us.

He stands at the door, knocking until we open up and talk to Him again.

He took the risk of giving us freedom so that we could choose to love Him as He loves us.

A risk, as that freedom also allows us to go the other way.

Only we can open the door to Him.

But God will be there, constantly trying to win us back to Himself:

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when finds it he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home." (Luke 15:4-6a)

How is your prayer life?

What tips can you share to help others to improve in theirs?