Excuses: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

This is Eve's response to the Lord asking her what she had done (Genesis 3:13).  So what exactly is Eve saying? She is saying “well,  yes I did it, but there were extenuating circumstances!” Last day we were talking about blame (not my fault), today we are dealing with blame's cousin,  “excuses!” In order to be forgiven by God we need to confess and turn from our wrong doing (1 John 1:9; Mark 1:15). The blame game is light years away from AA's 5th step “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”  Excuses are a little different, but not much. Excuses acknowledge that a wrong has been done, but as with blame, no responsibility is taken.   Eve's excuse was that she was deceived.  So is her excuse valid? Some excuses are, some are not! The full version of the verse I keep quoting is “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Probably true for females too! Yes she was deceived, the thing is though, she still suffered the consequences of her actions,  and so do we!

What I am saying, is that we cannot let life's circumstances or  unfairness derail us from taking responsibility for our lives.  Zuby, host of the “Real Talk with Zuby” podcasts says “We all confront our own struggles, pain, personal tragedies, and ultimately, death. So, while you’re here, I recommend making the most of the opportunity.”  And we can't do that without doing something about it our part in it all.

The genius of twelve-step programs leads us through what we need to do. Step 3 is: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Step 4 is: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. The God of my understanding is often called my “higher power.” Nobody has complete understanding of God,  or we would be God. But the greatest higher power is the One True God of the Bible (John 17:3).  I can do all things through Him,  not some cardboard replica of Him (Philippians 4:13).   And to tap into this promise, I also need to be growing in grace and in my knowledge of Him (2 Peter 3:18). Grace is the wherewithal, the practical help He gives.

In terms of the fearless moral inventory, we need with Eve to realize that our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). And the very first thing we need to do,  is to stop playing the blame game and making excuses.  Working the steps helps us to figure out what is our part and what is not. Again,  we call this taking care of our side of the street.  It involves asking for,  and giving forgiveness,  and making amends when and where appropriate (Step 8).  There is a lot of work to do before step 8.  We likely need over the long haul to show that we have changed before. Words are cheap, we need to bear fruit worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8), and producing fruit takes time.


Father, Your Word shows me the path to life in all its fullness, it shows me where I got off the path, how to get back on,  and how to stay on,  the path (John 10:10b; 2 Timothy 3:16). Thank You for the promise that if I continue in Your Word I will know the truth and it will be progressively set me free. In Jesus Name Amen

The blame Game: “The woman You gave

to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12). God had specifically asked Adam if He had eaten the forbidden fruit, and Adam immediately points to Eve.  Let's just think for a moment what he is saying. “I was helpless, I had no choice, what was I to do?”  Somebody offers you drugs, and you take them, or a friend  leaves a $100 bill in plain sight with nobody around, and you take it.  Do you blame the drug dealer for offering it, or your friend for leaving it there, declaring “it's not my fault?”  The popular speaker Jordon Peterson says that the room gets quiet when he suggests that people take responsibility for their actions.  What a novel idea!

It is strange to me, growing up in the 50's,  that this should come as such a huge revelation.  At that time society still largely embraced Judaeo-Christian values,  including responsibility. But from the 60's on,  the cry was for freedom from rules and regulations and such values. But is it really freedom to be unable to say no to drugs, or to temptation?  I'm not saying I always did that, and I an not saying “Do as I say, not as I do.” I am saying “Please don't do what I did it will cause you endless problems!” The verse I keep quoting says it well “we reap what we sow” (Galatians 6:7), bad choices have bad consequences.

You may have noticed that life is not fair, and I am the last one to say that we should not try and address injustices. From a personal point of view however, I need to ask myself if blaming everyone, or in fact anyone, for my situation is in my own best interest. I am not responsible for the bad things that happen to me, but I do have choices about how I respond the wrong done. And thinking of myself as a victim keeps me stuck in a very unhealthy place. I am not saying it's easy!

If the advice about not taking drugs is too late and you are addicted, you still have options. The first step of twelve-step programs is to admit our powerlessness over our addictions and compulsive behaviours. We are not completely powerless however, for we can choose, or not,  to be part of such a programme. And ultimately the steps are designed, step by step,  to bring us back to the place where we can take control of our lives. We call it taking care of our side of the street.  

The steps are genius level,  and are not just for those in addictions.  They are useful for every conceivable life issue,  including codependency. Many do not know that the founders of the original program (AA) were Christians,  and that the steps themselves are Biblically inspired.  They help us, for example, to deal with many  Biblical concepts such as unforgiveness, and bitterness and resentment. The steps are not the only route to an emotional healthy lifestyle, but one of their strengths is the support of others in recovery.

Father,  help me to come to terms with the fact that life is not fair.  It is so tempting to blame others, and it's not as if they don't deserve a lot of blame. But insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. So please help me to have reasonable expectations of myself and of life (1 Timothy 6:6). In Jesus Name Amen

Guilt: “Have you eaten from the tree

of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:11). Guilt is different from shame.  Shame says “there is something wrong with me.” Guilt says “I did something wrong.” Our culture tries to pretend there's no such thing as right and wrong.  But you know wrong when it done to you! And we all have this inbred sense of justice. When we see discrimination or abuse, we instinctively feel that something should be done about it. It's part of being created in the image of God,  for God is a God of justice (Isaiah 30:18).

I said last day, that Adam's thinking was messed up. Much of our own thinking is messed up too, especially when we want to do what we want to do. Psychology calls it rationalization, the Bible calls it suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). Our culture  does this in spades! The Bible puts it this way “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil.” In fact our culture calls evil good, and good evil.  And those who do evil encourage others to do evil too (Ecclesiastes  8:11; Isaiah 5:20; Romans 1:32).

God could have struck Adam and Eve down the moment they had sinned. And He would have been justified in doing so.  Many people think God is like that,  just waiting for us to mess up so He can condemn us. But He's not like that. In fact He is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

God took a great risk in giving us free will.  But the ability to choose makes no sense if there's no possibility of saying no! He does not want heaven to be inhabited by robots,  rather He wants those who choose to love Him.  Heaven would be hell for those who hate God. And in God's eyes love and obedience,  and hate and disobedience,  are closely linked (John 14:15).

God had a problems with our fallen human nature, inherited from Adam. We all seem to have this negative response to rules. We see “wet paint, do not touch,” and what do we want to do?   God has to be just, it is His nature. He has to punish sin. But He is also merciful and has provided the way through repentance and faith to be just,  and the justifier of those who put their faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). To be justified is to be put right with God,  and to be at peace with Him (Romans 5:1).  I don't know if any of us fully understands how this works, but some have called it the divine exchange, Jesus takes our sin, and in exchange gives us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Father, Your laws cannot be broken. If we try to break the law of gravity it will break us, likewise with the moral law. But  moral laws are more like agricultural laws than the immediacy of physical laws. We reap what we sow, bad choices have bad consequences (Galatians 6:7).  But the reaping only becomes obvious with time. Only after I was broken by my sin did I come to my senses, and turn to You in repentance (Luke 15:17). You could then be just to take away my guilt,  and to forgive my sin (1 John 1:9; 2:2). For this and many other things,  I give You thanks and praise in Jesus Name Amen

Negative self talk: Who told you, you were naked?

It's a good question. Likely Adam told himself, I mean nobody needs to tell us to feel shame! In asking this question (Genesis 3:11),  the Lord is inviting Adam to think about his thinking.  All creatures created on day six (1:24)  have some limited ability to think. But only we who are created in the image of God can think about our thinking (1:27). It's called metacognition, and it allows us, for example, to evaluate the way we learn, and to strategize. It also allows us to figure out what parts of our thinking are toxic. Adam's thinking was messed up, it was his disobedience, not his nakedness, that was the problem (2:25, 17; 3:6).  And I dare say that we all have toxic thoughts at some level. We have been looking at toxic shame where we tell ourselves “I am a mistake, I'm flawed,  I'm a looser” (I am naked Genesis 3:10).

Modern research has some interesting things to say about thinking.  Dr Carolyn Leaf tells that every though comes with an emotion attached, and that when we obsess on something,  it amplifies the emotion. Obsessing on an angry thought, for example, increases the  anger. In fact what we think about consistently affects our emotional and mental health. The bulk of the research seems to be on the negative side. In recovery circles we call negative self talk 'stinking thinking.' But certainly positive thinking, healthy emotions and positive health are interconnected.  Concerning the power of positive thinking however, there seems to be some exaggerated claims out there, including from the faith community.

Speaking of the faith community, the Bible provides us with empowering principles and promises.  Our battle (struggle) over negative self talk has spiritual roots (Ephesians 6:12). But the person of faith has tools, weapons as it were, to take authority over our thought life (Luke 10:19; 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5).  It's not just about shutting down our negative thoughts however.  We are, for example, to replace anxious thoughts with all kinds of prayer, and most importantly with thanksgiving. When we do this we are promised  the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. The same passage then admonishes to think about what is good and noble and profitable (Philippians 4:4-8).

I have found this to be a process, and when I find myself returning to old thought patterns,  I gently re-exert  the authority I am given over them. I do not beat myself up over my slips. One of the benefits of unconditional acceptance by God (Colossians 1:12) and others, is that I do not need to stress when I fail. A child learning to walk does not beat itself up when it falls, it simply tries again. We are called to be child-like in this way in all our growth.   

Some of the things that empower negative thinking, are the lies we believe about God, and about ourselves. It's particularly important to believe what God thinks about us. God does not show favouritism (Acts 10:34), and so He thinks about us the same way He thinks about His Son. We are His beloved children in whom He is well pleased (Mark 1:11).

Father I love the song by Godfrey Birtill, sung as You Yourself asking us  “Do you believe what I believe about you? You are beautiful, so precious too.” Like a loving Father with his child, You think we are amazing! We believe Lord, help our unbelief, in Jesus Name Amen

Shame's prison: I was naked, I was afraid, I hid

In their handbook “Restoring the Foundations,” Chester and Betsy Kylstra describe shame's prison as a vicious cycle as follows: Shame says “I am a mistake, I am flawed,  I am bad,  I am ashamed,  I am defective” (I am naked). Fear says “What if they find out? They will not like me! They will reject me!” (I was afraid). Control says “Therefore I will control everything,  so they won’t find out what I’m really like, and I won't get hurt or suffer pain” (I hide myself). Control then cycles back to shame.  Shame flourishes and grows in isolation, we are only as sick as our secrets, it's a prison of our own making.

Shame will not go away on it's own.  And someone trapped in this  vicious cycle is likely to seek out places where they don't ask too many questions. Shame based systems are formed. There are shame based families,  and even shame based churches. These vicious cycles can be broken, but not easily, and it takes great courage. It usually starts by an individual gradually coming out of hiding in a safe place. This can be a therapist, a counsellor or a friend. It seems to work best in the fellowship of those who are also coming out of hiding, in particular in twelve-step-programs. There is safety in the anonymity and confidentiality to be found there, and those with the same problem are unlikely to judge or reject you.

Twelve-step-program are genius level,  and in fact Biblically inspired.  They work best when my higher power, the god of my understanding (step 3),  is the God of the Bible.  When He is our higher power,  have available to us  all the principles and promises of the Word, and the power of the One who brought order out of chaos (the Holy Spirit - Genesis 1:2).

Step 5 is  we “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”  And whether we want to admit it or not, we all fail in many things. We don't even live up to our on standards, let alone God's (James 3:2; Romans 7:18). Adam  blamed Eve (3:12), showing he was not ready to even start this step.   He was not ready to admit his wrong either to God or to himself, and of course admitting,  saying sorry and asking for forgiveness can also be miles apart! But the restoration of any relationship start with  these things. Bringing the Kingdom to relationships, requires the same openness and vulnerability Adam and Eve had before the fall (Genesis 2:25).  It's what we need to aim for in the closet of all relationships,  namely marriage. It's a process. It won't happen over night, and not until we are willing to confess our faults one to another. This is the very opposite of blame, and it's the path to healing  (James 5:16).

Lord Jesus we can't enter into fullness of life without You.  But one of the reasons You came,  was to heal the broken hearted,  and to set prisoners free, especially from prisons of our own making (Luke 4:18). Thank you for Your promise that if we continue in Your Word,  obeying it, putting it into practise,  and  trusting You for the outcome,  then we will know the truth,  and the truth will progressively set us free (John 8:31, 32). Help us to find (or create) safe places Lord,  and then give us the courage to come out of hiding, in Your precious Name Amen

Shame: I was naked,

I was afraid,  I hid myself (Genesis 3:10).  Before the fall,  Adam and Eve were naked,  and they were not ashamed (2:25). But with the fall everything changed. If you've ever thought “if anyone ever found out, I would die,” you were likely feeling what Adam was feeling. It's called shame.  And with Adam, our likely reaction is to hide.  Though they are related, guilt and shame are not the same thing. A little simplistically guilt says 'I have done something wrong.'  If nakedness was not wrong before the fall,  it was not wrong afterwards. Adam of course was guilty of disobedience, but he points to his nakedness. Shame says 'there is something wrong with me. If people really knew what I was like, they would reject me!' Shame cares more about what other people think about us, than what God thinks about us. It undermines our our true identity as beloved children of the living God. The world calls this self worth. Most of us don't like ourselves very much, but God does.  These feeling are rooted in shame.

Mother Teresa has an interesting saying, “nakedness is not just for a piece of cloth.” We feel shame in a variety of situations including embarrassing exposure, rejection, abuse or being bullied, defeat, failure,  being different or left out.  In ancient times being barren (childless) was a source of shame. Feelings are complex and likely shame is a part of other emotions, such as feeing inferior, inadequate, and not up for the job.

There's a wrong way to deal with shame, it's called shamelessness, and there are basically two types. There is brazen shamelessness, that's marked by impudent boldness, and or a blatant disregard for the rules or morality. The Lord complained about rebellious Israel  saying “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush” (Jeremiah 6:15).

The other kind of shamelessness is self righteousness,  a holier than thou attitude. “I have no shame because I am perfect.” Such people  understand neither the depth of our universal sinful nature, nor that this attitude it is smoke in the Lord's nostrils (Isaiah 65:6). Self righteousness is accompanied by a lukewarm self satisfaction. The Lord warns about those who say “I am rich, I have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.”  They do not know that they are wretched, miserable, poor and blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17).

Jesus was crucified naked on the cross, no tastefully place loincloth for Him! In this way He bore both our sin and our shame, so that we do not need to bear it ourselves (Matthew 27:35; 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 54:4).  It is one of the benefits of salvation, of being put right with God.  He offers this poetically in Revelation 3:18  saying “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed.” There is much more to say!

Lord Jesus salvation is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8, 9), but it is more costly than gold. It cost You everything. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for Your friends (John 15:13).  Thank You Lord that You have clothed us with the garments of salvation,  covered us with a robe of righteousness (Isa. 61:10).  Thank You Lord that I no longer need to live in shame in Your precious Name Amen

I was afraid

because I was naked. In fear, Adam hide from God (Genesis 3:9). There is a healthy kind of fear, fear that leads us to be cautious in the face of danger.  It is this same kind of fear that helps us to choose the good, we won't get in trouble. In speaking about governing authorities Paul suggests that rulers are not a terror to those who do good, but to those who do evil. It's not absolute, because we should obey God rather than man (Romans 13:3; Acts 14:9). It became clear,  soon after I decided to follow the Lord,  that most of my good behaviour was about not getting into trouble,  not because I was basically good (Galatians 6:7).  

It's the healthy kind of fear that's meant in Psalms 111:10 and 33:18.  They read  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy.” Part of what is being said here, is that His commandments are there for our provision and our protection. He is good  (Luke 18:19), and His plan for us is that we live in the fullness of life.  And a little too late, the fear that Adam was feeling,  was part of the death that was automatically set in motion when he obeyed the serpent rather than God (John 10:10; Romans 8:13).  But there is another kind of fear, a fear that debilitates us.  Now both Hebrew and Greek have but a single word for both types.  But  which it is,  is clear from the context, i.e.  fear of the Lord vs.  fear of man.

When we live our lives in the protective armour of God,  we don't need to fear. That does not mean we won't struggle with it (Ephesians 6:10-18). Over and over we are commanded not to fear in this second sense. We don't need to fear, because the Lord is with us, and the angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them (i.e. Isaiah 41:10; Psalm 34:7).  

In fact it is the first kind of fear that in meant in these next couple of verses.  “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment. But he who fears  (punishment) has not been made perfect in love”  (1 John 4:17, 18). The fear spoken in this verses then, is Adam's fear,  the fear of punishment. When Jesus' love has been fully perfected in us, we are indeed like Him, even while we are still in the world. The point is that His practical and tangible love has the power to transform us into His likeness. We are also being transformed by the renewing of our minds. And part of this is our experience of the security of His love when we embrace the fact that there is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 12:2; 8:1). It is, of course a process!

Father, this is awesome Lord. To fear You is the beginning of wisdom.  But the more we embrace Your love and Your truth, the more we become like You. Fear diminishes,  confidence for Judgement day increases,  and we walk more and more in fullness of life.  You are good Lord,  You are love, and Your Mercy endures forever! We praise You in Jesus Name Amen

Where are you Adam?

I keep saying that God the Father often gets a bad rap, and part of this is that we too often identify Him with our less than perfect earthly fathers. I know I did. But if we want to know what Father God is like,  we just need to look at Jesus (John 14:9). And He came to seek and to save that which is lost (you and me without Him – Luke 19:10). And what the Father is doing here in Genesis 3:9 is seeking Adam. Adam was afraid because he was naked, and had hidden from God, he was lost! God wasn't asking because He didn't know where Adam was, I mean He's God, He knows everything! He was in fact calling Adam home back to Himself. He calls us home too.  But we likely won't hear proactively, until we know we are lost,   how would even know we need to saved (rescued)?

For most of us,  coming to the  place where we can acknowledge that without Him we are lost, is a journey. Some never arrive! In recovery circles we call it coming to the end of ourselves, to our bottom.  In my own case I needed a series of ever deeper bottoms before I was willing to admit that I even needed to change. I had sown wind, and had reaped the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). But I was still not willing to admit I was lost, and I set out to improve myself. Through trying, I discovered with Paul, that I couldn't do the good things I wanted to do, and I couldn't stop doing the things I knew were wrong, the things that had got me into trouble in the first place (Romans 7:19).  So it was some time from knowing I needed to change,  until I came to the place where could admit I was lost and needed help.  It was very painful. It's called pride! In the words of  twelve-step-programs, I needed a higher power.  A higher power is someone or something greater than myself.  Some higher powers are more helpful than others. For some their hight power is their mother,  or their friends,  or even a cup of coffee. For me I chose the creator of the universe as my higher power, the One who spoke and stars were flung into space. There is no higher power!  I have been accused as using God as a crutch.  But I find Him more like a brand new pair of legs, and I don't see anyone who without Him who is not limping!

One of the things I struggled with was my emotions, in particular with what I was wanting or not wanting to do. The saying seems to be true that we don't do addictions to get high, we do addictions to mediate the pain. My higher power promises to change our wrong desires as well as give us the wherewithal to do His will. But in order to tap into this,  we need to give it our all (Philippians 2:12, 13). Half measures availed us nothing!

Father the message of the cross is foolishness to those can't admit they are lost. But to we who are being rescued,  it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).  Even as believer I don't fully understand it, but I do know that I am ransomed,  healed,  restored and forgiven. And for these and many other things I give you thanks and praise in Jesus Name Amen

But can't you make the Bible say anything you want?

Well yes,  and using the same rules of interpretation you can make the dictionary say the very same thing. So I've stopped using the dictionary! Thank the Lord for spellcheck. My tongue in cheek reply points to the need for hermeneutics, the study of interpretation. A related subject is textual criticism, it studies which of the handed down texts are closest to the original. Figuring these things out is part of loving Him with all our mind (Mark 12:30). A good place to start, for these and related issues, is with the alpha series videos, available on Youtube.

Making the Bible say what we want it to say is called twisting Scripture.  And Peter warns that it leads to the destruction of those doing it (2 Peter 3:16). But we are all biased at some level,  and in order, as much as possible to eliminate this, we need to listen across time and geography to those with a very high view of Scripture.  I find the statements of faith of para-church organizations useful here. Since they seek to minister across denominational lines,  their  statements of faith have been forged and refined in the furnace of interdenominational dialogue. I can recommend those of International Fellowship of international students (IFES) and Operation Mobilization. I believe their statement have identified well,  the non-negotiable essentials, that is teachings that we all need to hold firmly as true. On other things we can agree to disagree for the sake of unity. The physical bodily resurrection of Christ is an agreed non-negotiable essential. We can disagree on whether parts of Genesis are history or allegory. On the other hand many of the things taught through the Genesis stories belong to the collection of non-negotiable essentials  (c.f. Hebrews 6:1, 2).

Repeated themes are important, salvation (how we are put right with God) for example. John writes “to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). It's repeated in John 3:16 and Hebrews 6:1, 2.  Ephesians 2:8, 9 tells us salvation is a gift,  not something we can earn, so no one can boast. The resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of Christianity.  If it's not true Christianity falls apart, our faith is vain,  we are still be in our sins and excluded from paradise (1 Corinthians 15: ).

The world tries to tell us that truth is unknowable. But if you wonder if murder wrong (Exodus 20:13), you'll know it is, the moment  somebody tries to kill you. Jesus makes an extraordinary promise that “If you continue in My Word you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31,32). It is testable! Continuing here is about being a disciple, an apprentice to Jesus, consistently following Him in ongoing obedience to His leading and teaching. (John 17:7). He promises that we will be free indeed when we do this (John 8:34).

Lord Jesus,  You have told us that anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether Your teaching comes from God or whether You  speak on Your own (John 17:7). In other words truth is established through obedience! On the other hand disobedience suppresses the truth (Romans 1:20). Thank You Lord that when we fully surrender to You, You give us the grace (help) to obey. You even change our wrong desires (Philippians 2:12,12). For these an many other things we give You thanks and praise in Your precious Name Amen

Three alienations: Then their eyes were opened ...

..  they knew that they were naked,  and they sewed fig leaves together for  coverings. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:7, 8). They had eaten the forbidden fruit, and were now experiencing the spiritual death God had warned them about ( Ephesians 2:1; Genesis 2:17).  Part of that death was of the loss of intimacy of their previously open,  loving,  mutually accepting relationship. Vulnerability is no longer safe in a world where you are likely to get the blame for what goes  wrong (verse 12)!  The fig leaves were there as walls of protection from each other. Lack of openness, transparency and an unwillingness to be vulnerable, is likely the first step in the breakdown of any intimate relationship. This is the first alienation.

Of course,  this side of the fall it only makes sense to be careful who,  and what,  we let in. Many of us discovered, even in childhood, that to show difference or weakness invites others to bully and/or judge us.  At all costs we must not appear weak. Image is everything! We use denial,  and other defence mechanisms,  to protect ourselves.  We wear masks, Adam and Eve wore fig leaves! Conforming to the superficial values of the world, beauty, success, intelligence, strength etc., we project an image that we so often start to believe ourselves. In the process we develop a false self we don't even like. Our personalities becomes fragmented, and there is war within. This is the second alienation.  

Like Adam and Eve many of us fear God (verse 10).  We think that He is just out to get us, just waiting for us to mess up so He can condemn us. And so in a multitude of ways we too hide from Him, even denying His existence. This is the third alienation.  But God, and it's a huge 'but,' but God has provided a way to gracious to us, so that He can be both just and merciful in reconciling us to Himself (Isaiah 30:18). God offers reconciliation with Himself as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8). We do however, need to turn from our sin (repent) and receive and believe this good news (Mark 1:15; John 1:12).  

God's unconditional acceptance and none-condemnation takes the pressure off, and gives us the freedom to change (Romans 8:1). The genius behind twelves step programs reflects this, and gives us a safe place where, again without condemnation, there is freedom to change at our own pace. Working the steps is a way of proactively facilitating the reconciliation of the three alienations. It's about bringing the Kingdom to earth in relationships.  Our part in these three reconciliations has a lot to do with taking responsibility for our part in what went wrong,  saying sorry and forgiving others (James 5:16; Ephesians 4:32).  It's also about coming out of hiding, allowing God to remove our fig leaves, extending acceptance to others, and neither expecting them to be perfect,  nor trying to fix or change them. It's about  realizing I am the only one I can change.  And that I can only do that well with God's help.

Father,  You had a plan from the beginning for reconciliation in all three areas. In fact You were in Christ reconciling the world to Yourself, not counting our sins against us.  And You have committed to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19). We ask for Help to do this,  Lord in Jesus Name Amen

Paradise lost, Kingdom come on earth

One of the things that puzzled me for a long time,  was a report that came out of the 90's revival in Pond Inlet, a community in Northern Canada (search Youtube). Following the revival, both the berries and the caribou, which had been absent,  returned to the land. But one of the many things that intercessors have been claiming in these days, is the promise that if  God's people humble themselves, pray and we turn from our wicked ways, He will heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). So the healing of the land is literal, and it's part (but only part) of our prayer “Kingdom of God come on earth” (Matthew 6: ).  

In Genesis 1:31 we saw that everything God had made, was very good.  But there are certainly things  that are not very good,  paradise is lost! There are wars and rumours of wars, there is something wrong in relationships. There are violent storms, earthquakes, famines, diseases etc.,  something is wrong with creation. In terms of relationships, we live in an age that is reluctant to call anything wrong. But, at least in the movies,  we still like to talk about the good guys and the bad guys! The Bible labels what the bad guys do as sin. It's not a popular word today. For the moment,  let's think of sin as wrong doing. The Bible put is this way “all have sinned and fallen short of God glory” (Romans 3:23). I mean nobody's perfect right?  Not even me!

It was created good, but is no longer good, so what happened? The Biblical answer, is that something about human nature, something about creation itself itself died the day Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 2:17). The Bible calls it the curse, meaning that sin changed the very fabric of reality (Genesis 3:17-19).  Creation itself is said to be groaning under the curse,  awaiting the appearing of the sons of God (Romans 8:22, 19), when creation will be made new (2 Peter 3:13).

Kingdom come on earth then is about reversing the curse. When Jesus came the first thing He said was that the Kingdom of God (paradise regained) is at hand, ready to break through. With His advent, the Kingdom, God's rule on earth has begun. He healed the sick and stilled storms.  When the Kingdom comes in its fullness,  death and the curse will be swallowed up through His victory over death (Isaiah 25:8; Romans 1:4).  On the cross He literally became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 3:18).

As in 2 Chronicles 7:14 we have an essential part to play in bringing in the Kingdom.  It starts by receiving  and putting our faith in Him This establishes us as God's children (teknon), as babes in Christ (John 1:12; 1 Corinthians 3:1). Creation however, is waiting for the appearance of the children (sons- huios) of God (Romans 8:19). The huios are mature sons (and daughters),  and soldiers for King Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3, 4). They are those who are of full age, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:14).  There is much to say.

Father, behind the phrase “constant use” is the principle that unrighteousness suppress truth, but obedience establishes it (Romans 1:20; John 8:31, 32).  In accordance with 2 Chronicles please forgive us Lord for our  lukewarmness. Give us grace to be living sacrifices, no longer living for ourselves but for You. In this way we put feet to our prayer “Kingdom come on earth,”  in Jesus Name Amen

Male and female created He them: Gender identity

A popular song from my youth went like this “I'm strictly a female female. And my future I hope will be,  in the home of a brave and free male, who'll enjoy being a guy, having a girl like me.” I reflects not only traditional values,  but the view that until recently was held by everyone that there are two and only two sexes,  and only two genders.

Fifty years ago likely 99%+ of the population had never even heard of the term gender dysphoria which, until 2013 was officially regarded as a disorder.  It is currently defined as the distress a person feels due to a mismatch between their gender identity—their personal sense of their own gender—and their sex assigned at birth.   We need to have compassion on anyone suffering gender dysphoria distress. Those with compassion will also want to condemn the violence and discrimination that has so often been perpetrated on entire LGBTQ+ community.  But we do need to think carefully about how to address these issues.

Treatments for this “non-disorder” gender dysphoria are radical,  and essentially irreversible. They include sex change surgery and hormone treatment.  One statistic puts transgender regret at 8% or higher. But these statistics do not reflect the effect of the current propaganda targeting ever younger children,  and making it cool to want to transition. What is particularly disturbing are moves by Governments to forcibly remove children from parents not willing to actively affirm a different gender identity. Research shows that many grow out of these feelings by adolescence. On top of this, the process of growing up includes the slow process of learning who we are, and there is strong tendency to identify with our problems. I have struggled with alcohol, but my struggle is not who I am. I am a loved and valued child of the living God (1 John 3:1).

Other issues are raised by an article on sexual experiences in transgender people. It's full of understatements such as “Being able to enjoy sex is, to many people, an important aspect of their general well-being,” and  treatment is “likely to influence the sexual experiences of transgender persons.”  

Underlying the difficulties of conducting clinical trails on this type of populations, the article was careful to stresses that the research was non-clinical. What is also difficult to objectively ascertain from a research point of view,  is the influence political correctness, and the pressure it exerts to suppress transgender and other forms of regret.  It's pretty clear that organizations such as the American Psychological Society have removed things previously diagnosed as disorders due to political and social pressure, rather than from objective research. In addition. feelings, including “a  personal sense of my own gender,” are unreliable.  Bias is everywhere, so I look to the biology, and biology and the Bible agree. In particular male and female created He them  (Genesis 1:27). Having said that we are all image bearers of God and need to be treated with dignity and respect.

Father, You are certainly touched with our feelings of infirmity (ref ),  including those of gender dysphoria. But I'm not at all sure it is compassionate to encourage someone to rush to transition,  when they may well seriously regret it later. This is particularly true for children. Only in my sixties was I finally able to fully embrace my true identity as Your child. Give us courage to speak up about these things Lord, and the wisdom and grace to do it with sensitivity.  Why should I fear man who will die (Isaiah 51:12)?  In Jesus Name Amen