The Fall of Man; Cain and Abel

It's always God that seeks out sinners; it's never that sinners first reach out to God.

When Adam first sins, Adam tries to hide from God instead of beseeching His mercy and forgiveness. God is the one who comes to Adam and humbly asks "Where are you?"

When Cain kills Abel, God similarly asks "Where is your brother Abel?" Being confronted with his own sin, Cain has the audacity (and really, stupidity) to lie to the all-knowing God.

We are all so wretched and foolish that we do not seek the only person who can save us from our sin. Sin has clouded our logic, for if we were truly 'logical' or as 'rational' as we assume that we are, the first person we would run to is God... but something in our flawed logic makes us want to run away from God when we are confronted by sin.

May I let go of my flawed logic that I am SO unworthy that I should not run to God. It's true that I am so unworthy... but that's EXACTLY why I need to run to Him.

Thank the Lord for His mercy. After so humbly asking Adam where he is and confronting him with his sin, He clothes Adam and Eve. After so humbly giving Cain an opportunity to confess his sin and dealing out the consequences of his sin, He assures Cain that he will not be killed. He provides provisions for unworthy sinners. And it's only a foretaste of the ultimate provision that was given through His own Son, Jesus Christ.

We Become What We Worship

Just some thoughts: I think it's tempting to think that every time I read the bible, I will understand the depths of everything I read, and will receive a life-changing epiphany. While, of course, the Bible is God-breathed and useful for so many things (2 Timothy 3:16)... I don't know if that is the healthiest view.

For one thing, if God is TRULY who He says He is and His Word is truly His word, surely, we cannot understand everything so quickly and easily! Of course God will speak to us through His word, but will I be able to understand every passage by glazing over it a couple of times? Probably not. I realize more and more that reading the Bible is tough work, and it really requires Christians who are willing to put in the time and effort. There's history to understand, context, original meanings, etc. And even if we do somehow understand all of that, there's still a dullness of our human minds that makes understanding the Bible impossible without the Holy Spirit's work. Reading the Bible is not easy because God is truly greater than we can imagine.

Also, I think that expectations of life-changing epiphany every single time we read the Bible leads people to read too far into the text at times. Maybe this is why so many people have such a skewed perception of God. We overemphasize a couple of verses (because they're the verses we may have read that day), and a result, see God in light of those few verses. Context goes out the door, and God has been reduced to the few things we read that day, instead of seeking out a whole picture of God that comes through an extensive reading of His complete Word.
On that note, a lot of people read the Bible 1 or 2 chapters at a time and so expect a cool 'lesson' or something via those couple of chapters, but sometimes I feel like God has lessons that over-arch many chapters, whole books, and even a whole testament! When I expect God to speak through the couple of verses and chapters I read that day, not only do I sometimes misinterpret His Word by trying to go way too deep into the text... but maybe I'm also limiting Him? Because I'm so fixed on today's blessing, I can't see the richer blessings that come with a fuller understanding of His Word.

Just some thoughts. Even as I write all of this though, I am reminded that God IS fully capable of speaking to us through His Word on a daily basis. But I guess prior experience has simply made me more wary of taking an "experiential" route to reading the Bible. I believe understanding The Lord through His Word really does take discipline, patience, and requires that people become good readers to some extent.

Pray that I have an open heart and a disciplined mind as I finish up Hosea :)

We Become What We Worship

Just some thoughts: I think it's tempting to think that every time I read the bible, I will understand the depths of everything I read, and will receive a life-changing epiphany. While, of course, the Bible is God-breathed and useful for so many things (2 Timothy 3:16)... I don't know if that is the healthiest view.

For one thing, if God is TRULY who He says He is and His Word is truly His word, surely, we cannot understand everything so quickly and easily! Of course God will speak to us through His word, but will I be able to understand every passage by glazing over it a couple of times? Probably not. I realize more and more that reading the Bible is tough work, and it really requires Christians who are willing to put in the time and effort. There's history to understand, context, original meanings, etc. And even if we do somehow understand all of that, there's still a dullness of our human minds that makes understanding the Bible impossible without the Holy Spirit's work. Reading the Bible is not easy because God is truly greater than we can imagine.

Also, I think that expectations of life-changing epiphany every single time we read the Bible leads people to read too far into the text at times. Maybe this is why so many people have such a skewed perception of God. We overemphasize a couple of verses (because they're the verses we may have read that day), and a result, see God in light of those few verses. Context goes out the door, and God has been reduced to the few things we read that day, instead of seeking out a whole picture of God that comes through an extensive reading of His complete Word.
On that note, a lot of people read the Bible 1 or 2 chapters at a time and so expect a cool 'lesson' or something via those couple of chapters, but sometimes I feel like God has lessons that over-arch many chapters, whole books, and even a whole testament! When I expect God to speak through the couple of verses and chapters I read that day, not only do I sometimes misinterpret His Word by trying to go way too deep into the text... but maybe I'm also limiting Him? Because I'm so fixed on today's blessing, I can't see the richer blessings that come with a fuller understanding of His Word.

Just some thoughts. Even as I write all of this though, I am reminded that God IS fully capable of speaking to us through His Word on a daily basis. But I guess prior experience has simply made me more wary of taking an "experiential" route to reading the Bible. I believe understanding The Lord through His Word really does take discipline, patience, and requires that people become good readers to some extent.

Currently still reading through Hosea :)

Hosea 2:16

I'm trying to read the Bible as regularly as possible. I'm going to try and write down my thoughts so that I have a little bit of accountability :)

" 'In that day,' declares the Lord, 'you will call me "my husband"; you will no longer call me "my master." "

Hosea 2:16

According to the NIV Study Bible, the term 'master' in this verse is "identical with the name of the god Baal." The next verse indicates that interpreting 'master' as 'Baal' is perfectly acceptable. Verse 17 reveals that God no longer desires Israel to call upon one of their biggest idols, Baal, anymore. He no longer wants to be categorized as one of the many gods in our lives; instead, he wants to be the one God in our lives. He wants to no longer be part of our lives, but truly consume our lives. Jesus epitomizes this principle when He proclaims that it's only by losing our lives that we truly find it (Matthew 16:25). May God be my one priority, the only one that I strive to honor, adore, and cherish in this lifetime.

According to John Piper though, the term 'master' can also really be accounted as meaning 'master.' And this makes a lot of sense to me. So often, I recommit my life to SERVE the Lord with all of my life. But when is the last time that I recommitted to LOVE the Lord with all of my life? More often than not, I know the Lord as master, but not as husband. I am so often a dutiful slave, rather than a wife who is madly in love with Him. I think a part of it may be that I kind of live like this, in general. Although I would say I'm pretty friendly, I wouldn't say I'm a touchy-feely sort of person. I'm almost the polar opposite of romantic, and to be honest, I'm not even really sentimental. I often excuse this as a 'personality' thing... but I know God wants to sort of balance me out in this regard. Haha. Marriage is supposed to mean more than a mere commitment, and I think this verse shows that. Lord, may You help me to love You with a loving passion; and may this love grip me so deeply that it positively affects my relationships with my girlfriend and friends. John Piper put it well when he exhorted His church:

"Please take special notice of this, especially you who tend to keep God at arm's distance from your emotions. According to Hosea 2:16, God does not want you to return to him and say, "Yes, Sir" and set about your duties. He wants you to come into the wilderness, to listen to him speak tenderly and to respond to him, "My husband." God wants your heart, not just your hands, because if he has your heart he has everything."

Amen. Let it be so in my life, Lord!

Prayer

Please pray for me. I hate work. And as of now, I do not particularly enjoy teaching children all day. Haha. Could just be Monday morning woes, or could be a possible career change. Holy! Not sure which one it is, just yet. But pray for me please.