Prayers to the Creator Part 1

Gen 4 -- Cain -- He even listened to a murderer….
13 ¶ And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

I've started a study on prayer and I've decided I'm going to attempt to scan the Scriptures and find all instances of actual requests spoken *to* God. I found it very interesting that this was the first one I found -- the prayer of a murderer and a rebel. And just as interesting as the fact that God caused it to be recorded at all, is the fact that He answered him! and didn't just answer, but granted his request!!!!

So, I get two thoughts:
1. wow, if God will even grant the request of a murderer, surely He'll listen to me.
2. wow, God even granted the request of a murderer, why isn't He listening to me?

Two extremes, I know, and maybe that's where my attitude comes in? Is that not also the difference between Zachariah and Mary? When Zachariah speaks,

¹⁸ And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

he is then striken with the inability to speak until the child is born and he has affirmed his name. But when Mary speaks,

³⁴ Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

she is given an explanation. A quick look it seems like the same question, but I believe he's asking for a sign (typical Pharasee? :D) wherease she's just amazed and asking how, while still acknowledging that God is able to do anything.

hmm, not sure there really is a connection there.... ok, my attitude, Cain's prayer, Zacharias and Mary.... God spoke to all of them. God heard all of them, but He also heard their hearts. And He used all of them, in His way for His purposes. Bottom line, that's really what matters. Our prayers are not to be about *me* but about God. We are not put on this earth for our own satisfaction, but to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," to "submit to God and resist the devil," to "humble [ourselves], and pray and seek [His] face,"

Micah 6:8

⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

from Billy Graham's daily devotional (http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Knowing_God/daily_devotional/):

Day by Day

with Billy Graham

"Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall."

Proverbs 16:18 (TLB)

David, king of ancient Israel, found himself in the midst of a confused national situation. His kingdom was torn by internal strife. Slave hated master; master hated slave. People blamed the government, and government blamed the people. David looked about him and saw that every man thought himself perfect. Each individual placed blame upon other individuals. David knew that if sinful pride continued to increase, his nation would collapse spiritually. He knew that economic depression, moral disintegration, or military defeat inevitably follow spiritual decline. So David turned to God, and it was revealed to him by the Spirit of God that the spiritual tide of his nation could rise no higher than the spiritual level of his own heart. So he fell on his knees in utter humility and prayed, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23,24).

Today's Prayer
Lord, deliver me from the sin of pride, and fill me with continuing humility as I go about the tasks before me this day.


(emphasis mine) My first thought was, let's change the word "slave" to "employee" and "master" to "employer" and we have a perfect picture of today.... How important for us to heed the Scriptures to pray for those in authority over us.

1 ¶ I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
I Tim 2:1-8 KJV

The word for “help” is a common word in the Bible, first introduced as a description of the woman in the Garden. It means to do for someone what he or she cannot do for himself or herself.


WOW!!! That is from a textual note from Exodus 18:4 from the NET Bible (http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm). WOW!!! WOW!!! I am speechless.... that puts my whole ministry to my husband in a totally different light. That puts so much more in a totally different light:


--weaker vessel
--Eve was deceived not Adam
--your desire shall be fore your husband

ok, there's another textual note I will point out here:

Gen 3:16b You will want to control your husband,⁴⁸

but he will dominate⁴⁹ you.” (NET Bible)

48tn ...the word in Gen 4:7 ... refers to sin’s desire to control and dominate Cain. (Even in Song of Songs it carries the basic idea of “control,” for it describes the young man’s desire to “have his way sexually” with the young woman.) In Gen 3:16 the Lord announces a struggle, a conflict between the man and the woman. She will desire to control him, but he will dominate her instead. This interpretation also fits the tone of the passage, which is a judgment oracle....

49tn The Hebrew verb מָשַׁל (mashal) means “to rule over,” but in a way that emphasizes powerful control, domination, or mastery. This also is part of the baser human nature....

sn This passage is a judgment oracle. It announces that conflict between man and woman will become the norm in human society. It does not depict the NT ideal, where the husband sacrificially loves his wife, as Christ loved the church, and where the wife recognizes the husband’s loving leadership in the family and voluntarily submits to it. Sin produces a conflict or power struggle between the man and the woman, but in Christ man and woman call a truce and live harmoniously (Eph 5:18-32)

So, God made us to be helpers, "to do for our [husbands] what [they] cannot do for [themselves]" but the Fall turned that into a curse, a fight for dominance; but salvation turns it around, and we again learn to be submissive and they learn to love with grace. BUT we are still helpmeets, we are still here for a reason. We as wives need to be sensitive to what is domineering and bossy and what is truly submissively "doing what they cannot do for themselves".

I believe that can only be accomplished when we pray and submit first of all to God and His will. He will then give us the grace to be submissive and to be the helpmeet we were called to be.

I believe if you pray no other prayer in your life than this one, it will be heard and God will honour it. But more than anything, I believe this prayer, prayed from the heart, in sincerity, will lead you to a deeper relationship with Jesus and a greater hunger for His will in your life. As you pray, you need to think about what the words mean, what He is really saying to you through it. And you need to be honest with Him, cuz He already knows what's in your heart before you say it, so there's no sense trying to pull the wool over His eyes. But He honours honesty and integrity. So don't ever let it become a rote memorization of empty words, but make sure every time you pray this prayer you are honestly talking to the One who created the universe, the One who gave you life, the One who cares about you more than you will ever understand this side of eternity; because He desires your fellowship, your friendship, your love, and He will bless you if you grant Him this gift of yourself.

The Lord's Prayer (for my son)

Our

First of all, note it is OUR -- we are not just praying for ourselves, but for all of those who trust God as their Father. And, if I really think about it, for the whole world, cuz He created us all, so in that respect, we are all His children; so our prayers are to be on behalf of all people, not just for ourselves.

Father

He is our Father. He created us. Therefore, He deserves all respect. Without Him we would not exist. Nothing would exist. This word in and of itself should cause us to bow our knees and our hearts in submission to His every desire. For there is no sense in even trying to continue on if we don't first acknowledge Him as Lord over all.

who is in heaven

Just to make sure we don't forget Who we are talking about here, it's the Father in heaven, the One who made us, the One who looks down upon us and sees our every move, hears our every thought before we even think it, and cares about every hair on our heads.

hallowed be Your Name

holy, ever holy. The four living creatures that surround the throne "do not rest day or night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" Rev 4:8b NKJV
That we would give Him the glory He deserves. That we would live with that kind of attitude ever in our hearts. That we would live knowing we are ambassadors for our God and King, that our lives would give Him glory. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my [Rock] and my Redeemer." Ps 19:14 NKJV Let me not be ashamed, but let me also not bring shame onto my God. And not just me, but all of those to profess Jesus as Lord. Remember, this prayer is for all of God's people.

Your Kingdom come

Jesus told the disciples to pray this, and I believe we are to still pray this, together with the next line:

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

We are His kingdom.... I don't have a Scripture for that, but we are definitely part of His kingdom, and we are part of bringing others into His kingdom, and part of His will being done. So this is a prayer for ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ, that we would "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matt 6:33 NKJV), thereby doing His will and bringing in His kingdom. This is a prayer of submission. Or at least it should be.

Give us this day our daily bread

And help us to be content with that. But also a prayer for others, that they, too, would have what they need to survive. And not only physically, but spiritually. We all need spiritual food every day, too. We need to take the initiative, by sitting down and spending time reading God's Word, every day, even if it's only for a few minutes (but that should be the exception, not the norm, we need all we can get); and we need to make sure that time is spent asking Him for wisdom (James 1:5-8 NKJV If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.), that He will reveal His truths to our hearts.

and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors

I believe this is a huge key, cuz even Jesus focusses on this one after He finishes the prayer: Matt 6:14 NKJV "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your tresspasses." And it has just dawned on me, that much of the sermon on the Mount is really all about forgiving.... I won't reprint the whole thing here, but you do need to read it for yourself and consider it in that light: Matt 5:1-7:29 Consider especially the following passage: Matt 5:44 NKJV "love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" I think that says it all. Jesus said in John 13:35 NKJV "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." This brings to mind Peter's question about how many time we have to forgive our brother, and His answer? always. I also believe this has been Christianity's biggest failing... If we could just get this, we truly would see His kingdom come, like never before. Maybe that's why during persecution is when the church increases so much more. We don't have time for petty squabbles, but we are focussed on helping each other and our need for each other and those who don't have Jesus see that and are drawn to it and see that He has truly made a difference in our lives.

and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

Give us strength to stay true to Him and to trust Him and to be the witnesses we need to be that others would have a reason to ask us about our hope (I Pet 3:15 NKJV "always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you"). Peter has just told us to "not [return] evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing]. Then he says, vs 13 "And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?" And we say, Yah, right... LOTS of people.... Then we continue reading: vs 14-18a "But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. 'And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.' [Is 8:12] But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as eveildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God..."

So, I believe we are to pray that we are kept from evil, kept from temptation, but we also need to pray for the strength to bear should that ever come, because how can we have the kind of hope that others will see without His help. And the ability to forgive and be forgiven, so that when we do fall into temptation, we like Peter, will "return to [Him], and strengthen [our] brethren." Luke 22:32 NKJV

From Strongs:

4717 staurow stauroo stow-ro’-o

from 4716; TDNT-7:581,1071; v

AV-crucify 46; 46

1) to stake, drive down stakes
2) to fortify with driven stakes, to palisade
3) to crucify
3a) to crucify one
3b) metaph. to crucify the flesh, destroy its power utterly (the nature of the figure implying that the destruction is attended with intense pain)

Note well the last:

metaph. to crucify the flesh, destroying its power utterly (the nature of the figure implying that the destruction is attended with intense pain) [emphasis mine]

wow.... something to meditate on and study more....

initial thoughts:
1. yes, He says, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" but He also says we are to "take up the cross" ....

Matthew 27:9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced,

I just found out this morning, the words in this verse translated "value" and "priced" are from the same root word in Greek: τοτε επληρωθη το ρηθεν δια ιερεμιου του προφητου λεγοντος και ελαβον τα τριακοντα αργυρια την τιμην του τετιμημενου ον ετιμησαντο απο υιων ισραηλ

Like many words in English, this word has two senses to it, depending on the context. Just like the word "sense" in the previous sentence. "Sense" can mean one of the five senses: taste, touch, smell, hear, see. Or it can mean: the meaning of a word or expression; the way in which a word or expression or situation can be interpreted; "the dictionary gave several senses for the word"; "in the best sense charity is really a duty" (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=sense). Now, in one sense, those things seem pretty different, but if we think about it for a bit, it makes sense... :D They are both related to how we perceive things.

Ok, so back to value and priced in our text. The Greek word can mean:

1) a valuing by which the price is fixed
1a) of the price itself
1b) of the price paid or received for a person or thing bought or sold

OR, and this is the key here:

2) honour which belongs or is shown to one
2a) of the honour which one has by reason of rank and state of office which he holds
2b) deference, reverence

(http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5092&t=KJV)

So, if we replace the word "value" with the word "price": the price of him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced

then read it again with "honour": the honour of him who was honoured, whom they of the children of Israel honoured

I see sarcasm. A slap in the face of all of us, who put a price on our God, instead of giving Him honour. We decide how much of our life to give Him instead of giving Him honour. We think about how much our salvation is worth, instead of considering the honour.

another study in process...

hmm, so Matt 24:45-47 tells me that if I'm faithful in the job I have been given, I will be REWARDED with a harder job.... hmmm.... that kind of gives one pause to think. A few things -- the first one was, why would I WANT a harder job? Then came, hmm, obviously there is something wrong with ME, if this is a promise of God and I don't want it.... Then I looked at my messy house and bagan to study the dust on my stereo, and thought about being faithful in the little things, and just being the proper keeper of my home as I should be, instead of, what? studying??? ok, facebook.... :((( granted, if I gave my facebook time to housekeeping, we'd see a big difference here. So, in keeping with the idea that I am learning to trust God to guide my paths, because I am acknowledging Him in all my ways, I have to consider here two things: 1. He's brought this to my attention. 2. He will do it in my life -- give me the desire, the energy, the self-control. Yes, I believe I need to step out in faith, and do what needs to be done. But I also believe that He will guide my steps and He will give me the desires of my heart. Meaning, He will put within me the proper desires, those that are in line with His will; but also that, since my greatest desire is to please Him, He will even give me the DESIRE to clean my house. It will be a joy! And I'm sensing that already.

BUT I also have to remember, I am learning to live by faith, NOT emotions. It is not how I feel, but it is obedience, no matter what. I am to obey, I am to do what He asks me to do, even if it goes against how I "feel". The desire will follow, or not, and that doesn't matter, either way, cuz no matter what happens on this earth, this is not paradise, this is not where we get to cease from our tears and sorrows, that doesn't happen until heaven, after we die or Jesus comes to take us away.

But, then I consider the sense of gaining responsibility. How often have I felt I wasn't being used to the fullest of my potential? I know I have abilities that are not being used, and there is the desire to use those abilities. Just because I don't want the job of taking care of an entire household as an overseer, as in the passage mentioned above, doesn't mean I wouldn't love to be teaching a class on Genesis or "Learning how to Trust", or singing solos or playing my flute on a worship team, or helping with a youth group, or taking care of the computer system, etc... So, I will continue to trust, to be content, to be faithful in the little things, in the responsibilities I have been given at this time, and do them to the best of my abilities, and I will look forward to, and consider myself blessed, when Jesus allows me to move forward to the next level of responsibility.

Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

Mt 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

Mt 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Eph 2:4 ¶ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Jer 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

So, the idea of being an intercessor, I couldn't figure out if that was man-made or from Scripture. Today the phrase "stand in the gap" came to mind and I checked it out:

Ezekiel 22:30 (New King James Version)

³⁰ So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

then I checked out all the commentaries on www.ewordtoday.com and was reminded of Abraham praying for Sodom and Gomorrah, Moses praying for Israel when he found them worshipping the golden calf, Phineas the son of Aaron killing the man and thereby staying the hand of God (Num 25:6-15), Jeremiah being told NOT to pray for the people.

So, obviously, there is a time for intercession, God does listen when His people come before Him on behalf of others; BUT do I see it in the New Testament? Many things have changed, the covenant is slightly different, we are now free to come boldly before the throne ourselves, as individuals -- is it that He is now dealing with us singly whereas before it was as a group??? Hmmm... and I also see that now Jesus "ever liveth to make intercession for us" .... is that the other part? We don't have the call to intercede because that is Jesus' ministry?

I know Paul prayed for people, but I can't think of a time in the NT where someone prayed on behalf of someone in the sense of intercession, standing in the gap.... unless I think of Simon (the one who wanted to buy the ability to give the Holy Spirit to people) asking the apostles to pray for him....

Glen asked yesterday, "Are you the cause of the recession" (or something like that, not an exact quote...). Then in his last paragraph he wondered if we would learn from our greed. But is that not the whole point of salvation? We CAN'T go beyond our greed without Jesus. We have become, by nature, greedy and selfish, because of Adam's sin. As instinct is passed on, so is this tendency to sin: we would have done exactly what Adam did if we had been there. As a matter of fact, just as I said in a couple posts back, we choose the "knowledge of good and evil" over the "tree of Life" all the time, every day. Even as Christians we fail, every day, because "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". That is why we must die to ourselves daily, we must remember and live out the fact that we "have been crucified with Christ", that "it is no longer [we] who live, but Christ lives in [us] and the life that [we] now live in the flesh [we must] live by faith in the Son of God who loves [us] and gave His life for [us]". There is no other way.

And this also leads to his posting regarding radical Christians. What is a radical Christian? Well, first and foremost, what is the dictionary definition of radical?

Etymology

< French radical < Late Latin radicalis (“‘of or pertaining to the root, having roots, radical’”) < Latin radix (“‘root’”); see radix.

1. (botany, not comparable) Of or pertaining to a root (of a plant).
2. Of or pertaining to the intrinsic nature of something.
3. Thoroughgoing.

   The spread of the cancer required radical surgery, and the entire organ was removed.

4. Favouring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.

   His beliefs are radical.

5. (linguistics, not comparable) Of or pertaining to the root of a word.
6. (chemistry, not comparable) Involving free radicals
7. (slang) Excellent.

   That was a radical jump!

ok, so at first I couldn't figure out how "root" had anything to do with being "radical", since my thoughts on radical differ slightly. I thought it meant out of the ordinary, beyond the norm -- that doesn't sound like "root" or "base" or anything of the sort. Then as I read more, #4 showed me the sense of it: fundamental, or root, CHANGE. CHANGE that affects the root or FOUNDATION of the matter. Ah, now I understand. So, as it pertains to Christianity, it would mean, one who favours changing the foundations of Christianity.... I don't even like the sound of that.... So, I think I must consider it in light of our present understanding of Christianity, and then say it is a RETURNING to a PROPER FOUNDATION of Christianity, which, in our present society, as a matter of fact in most of the ages of the world, IS a radical idea. Few of us have truly lived God's Word the way we should have, in any age.

Which brings me back to the original section, can we learn? I think our society has considered ourselves Christian for such a long time we forget that that has been the reason we have lived in such relative peace (ie lack of persecution, mostly law-abiding citizens) compared to some other countries of the world: our laws and the accepted practices of society followed Biblical principles -- until now. Now we are seeing the result of a society that no longer thinks the Bible is relevant, no longer believes the Bible is true. Even if not everyone actually PRACTICED Christianity "properly", at least the general "peer pressure" tended toward morality, because previous generations had been careful to pass on and uphold a basic faith in the fact that there were absolutes.

So, in answer to both posts, my prayer, daily, for my brothers and sisters around the world, is that we might "humble [ourselves] and pray and seek [His] face and turn from [our] wicked ways", that we might "trust in the Lord with all [our] heart[s], lean not on [our] own understanding, [but] in all [our] ways acknowledge Him," so that He would "guide our paths in righteousness for His Name's sake," and "that the world would know we are Christians by our love", and that "[we] would be one, as [Jesus] and the Father are one".

In matt 23, the scribes and pharisees are accused of murdering Abel, who was murdered by Cain, who did not even have any descendents that lived past the flood.... how great must have been their sin that God would even bring the retribution on them of this sin from the beginning of time....

and compare God's curse pronounced on Cain with what happened to the Jews after the destruction of the temple (emphasis mine):

Gen 4:10-15 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”
And Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”
And the LORD said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

and if it was a flying one, bright and shining in the air, now it should lose all its glory, and grovel in the dust, and with pain, or at least with difficulty, creep along on its breast and belly; and this, as it respects the punishment of the devil, may signify, that he being cast down from the realms of bliss and glory, shall never be able to rise more, and regain his former place and dignity:

from John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Gen 3:14

Is this when Satan was cast down from heaven, too?

Gill: And dust shall thou eat all the days of thy life; meaning not that particular serpent, and as long as that should live, but all of the same kind, as long as there were any in the world, even to the end of it: it is probable, that when the serpent moved in a more erect posture, it lived on herbs and plants as other creatures; but when it was obliged to go upon its belly or breast, it licked up the dust of the earth, and which it could not well avoid in eating whatsoever food it did; and some serpents are said to live upon it. This is applicable to Satan, designs the mean and abject condition in which he is, and the sordid food he lives upon; no more on angels' food and joys of heaven, but on the base, mean, earthly, and impure lusts of men; and this will be his case, condition, and circumstances, for ever.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,....

and is also true of Satan and the church of God in all ages, between whom there is an implacable and an irreconcilable hatred, and a perpetual war:

and a generation of vipers on the one hand, and the people of God on the other, the seed of the church; the latter of which are hated and persecuted by the former, and so it has been ever since this affair happened:

and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, ... of her being solely at the will and pleasure of her husband; that whatever she desired should be referred to him, whether she should have her desire or not, or the thing she desired; it should be liable to be controlled by his will, which must determine it, and to which she must be subject, as follows;

and he shall rule over thee, with less kindness and gentleness, with more rigour and strictness: it looks as if before the transgression there was a greater equality between the man and the woman, or man did not exercise the authority over the woman he afterwards did, or the subjection of her to him was more pleasant and agreeable than now it would be; and this was her chastisement, because she did not ask advice of her husband about eating the fruit, but did it of herself, without his will and consent, and tempted him to do the same.

Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

We, as women, also wait for the deliverance from the bondage:

Rom 8:18-23 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

but in the end, after all the curses, Adam calls her name Eve -- mother of all living -- which means even then they knew God's mercy: they would not die right away, but live to populate the earth still -- maybe a blessing, maybe a curse... why not destroy it all and start over???? hmmm.... more to think upon.

Have you ever wondered what it meant to "seek the face" of God? Especially II Chr 7:14: if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

What does that mean? To "seek His face"? The kings of old were human, just like the rest of us, and they were afraid of competition, just like the rest of us. If you wanted an audience with him, you had to be accepted, liked, wanted -- you didn't just knock on the door and get let in, you had to "seek his favour". Now, THIS -- favour -- I can understand. So, to seek God's face is to do things to get on His good side so you can have an audience with Him.

Now the NT tells me that I am to come boldly before His throne:

^{Heb 5:14-16} Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We are not to be afraid that we will not find His favour, because we have the blood of Jesus covering us and therefore we are completely forgiven and completely loved and to be granted an audience is part of the inheritance we have received by being "in the beloved".

Eph 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

So, we can come boldly, we don't have to "seek" His face/favour.... does that mean we can just do whatever and be whatever and God will still listen to us. Well, yes, and no. There are many conditions to His hearing our prayers:

I Pet 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

James 1:5-8 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

I John 3:22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

I Pet 3:8-10 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For

“ He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” (Ps 34:12-16)

But, really only one thing that matters is:

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Because that sums it all up:

honour your wife
ask in faith with no doubting
believe that you receive
abide in Him and be sure His words abide in you
keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight
faith
righteousness

His commandments? --

Matt 22:35-40 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Mark 12:28-34 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
But after that no one dared question Him.

So simple, no? BUT:

"the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" so I must "die to self". How? "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me."

which brings us back to believing, trusting, just knowing the work has been done and He is doing what needs to be done and we are doing what He wants us to do. As long as we are spending time in His prescense (reading His word -- "the washing of the water of the word" -- praying -- because how else can you get to know someone except by spending time with Him), He will do it, and that is all there is to it!

And so we begin

I have so much on my heart to share, and it's getting forgotten before I have a chance. So, this is for myself and my family, so that when I try to remember I have a place to go and say, "this is what God has been showing me."

I have been reading Genesis. And I read a commentary that suggested the Tree of Life is Jesus. I often think myself (I know being totally in error) and have heard others say (who shall remain unnamed.... you know who you are... :D :D) that they would have not fallen into the same temptation as Adam and Eve if they had been there. But in thinking about Jesus as being the Tree of Life, do we not choose the knowledge of good and evil over Him many times in a day? Many times in our lives? Do we not choose to learn about good and evil through man's "wisdom" instead of God's Word? Do we not go to man for understanding instead of God many times?

This morning I am reminded again that Eve was deceived, but Adam made a choice to stick with Eve instead of God -- Adam is the one who disobeyed, who willfully rebelled. But I am also struck with the idea that if Adam had chosen God, He would have provided another -- like Abraham.... Abraham was given the same choice: sacrafice your son, your only son... I see a similarity there; only this time Abraham made the right choice and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Even as Isaac wasn't killed once Abraham made the right choice, maybe Eve would have been forgiven, somehow, redeemed.... ??? not that it matters to my salvation, but it is another reminder of how we are to always put God first, no matter what. That is the ultimate test of faith in Him, that we will obey even if we have to do it alone. Even if it means we will lose what we love most. Even if it means we will lose what God Himself has given to us for our benefit (it is not good that man should be alone -- HE made the woman for Adam's benefit) -- we are to always choose God -- even if He asks us to do what seems against HIS character (the sacrafice of Isaac) We need to trust that He has given us the wisdom we have asked for. We need to know His word so well that we don't have to wonder if it's His will, we will know His will because we know His Word. We need to spend the kind of time with Him that we do with those we love, so we know Him as well as, no, even better than, those we love. And, we need to allow those who love us, to love God more than they love us.... to encourage them in their walk with Jesus, to encourage them to give more time to Jesus than they do to us....

The other thing I read is that the tree was only the first in a set of tests that were designed to bring them to maturity. And it is our first test in being born again: choosing God's Word over man's, choosing to believe God when He says there is only one way to heaven -- choosing to obey, in other words. An interesting idea that deserves more thought.

"...and more than this he tacitly reflects upon God, that he had given him a woman, who, instead of being an help meet to him, had helped to ruin him; and that if he had not given him this woman, he had never done what he had: but at this rate a man may find fault with God for the greatest blessings and mercies of life bestowed on him, which are abused by him, and so aggravate his condemnation." John Gill commentary on Genesis

How often do we do that? Put the blame on something that was given us for benefit? Even now, I wonder if Adam had immediately gone to his knees and begged God for forgiveness instead of waiting until he was asked to explain himself, instead of passing the blame along, would there have been an easier redemption? oh, how we have fallen, how we have grieved our Creator.... how it must have broken His heart, as our own children often break our hearts and as we have broken the hearts of our earthly parents many times over....

My time is up...