Hello Advent Family,

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

 

I’ll conclude with a few questions for all of our personal reflection.  In the midst of Adam and Eve’s sin and hiding from God, God still pursued them.  When have you felt God pursuing your heart? Sin b breaks relationships but God is in the business of restoring relationships when we turn to Him.  Have you experienced the forgiveness and love of God like is described in the parable of the prodigal son?  When have you experienced this? The main point of the message was that God makes a way when there is no way.  This is particularly true in the act of redemption through Jesus but He often does this in other ways in our lives as well.  Have you experienced God making a way when there is no way in your life?  Reflect on how He has been at work in your life today.  Tomorrow we will be back to walking through the book of John.