Live or Die!

Genesis 2 (Amplified Bible)

1. THUS THE heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

3. And God blessed (spoke good of) the seventh day, set it apart as His own, and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all His work which He had created and done.

7. Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being.

8. And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden [delight]; and there He put the man whom He had formed (framed, constituted).

9. And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight or to be desired--good (suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life also in the center of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of [the difference between] good and evil and blessing and calamity.

15. And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it.

16. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;

17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

18. Now the Lord God said, It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him.

21. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs or a part of his side and closed up the [place with] flesh.

22. And the rib or part of his side which the Lord God had taken from the man He built up and made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

23. Then Adam said, This [creature] is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of a man.

24. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.(E)

25. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other's presence.

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Wow! The above text said it all. When a man is left to himself (outside of God) it’s very difficult to do the right thing. When we disobey God we die… sometimes it’s a physical death, but mostly it’s a spiritual death, meaning separation from God.
God commanded Adam that he could eat from all the trees in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Notice that Adam didn’t die physically, but he did die spiritually. Let’s take a look at how Satan (The serpent) convinced Eve to partake of the fruit.
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Genesis 3 (Amplified Bible)

1. NOW THE serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?(A)

2. And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden,

3. Except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

4. But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die,

5. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity.

6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate.

7. Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apronlike girdles.

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God gave a command to the man (Adam), but his wife (Eve) allowed Satan (The devil) to convince her to disobey not only her husband, but the creator (God). We may engage in bad behavior and think because things are going fairly well for the moment, think again!
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According to Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We should learn from others mistakes and prevent ourselves from suffering any more than is designed. God is looking for obedience in the earth; when are we going to get it? Following God isn’t difficult, it requires FAITH!

Blessing to all!
CJ

Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-8 (NIV)

1. Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

2. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

3. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.

4. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

5. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

6. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,

8. but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

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The Word of God said it all… Who can tame the tongue? We need to exercise control; most of us find ourselves deep in trouble all because of our tongue.

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*******Listening and Doing*******

James 1:19-27 (NIV)

19. My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

20. for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

21. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

22. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

23. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror

24. and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

25. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.

26. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

27. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

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When we commit wholeheartedly to God the Holy Spirit will teach us when and how to speak in any situation. So let us develop a closer walk with our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ – He can and will be the difference in our lives.

May each of us think before we speak because once something is spoken it can be very harmful. May the God of all peace be with each of us daily teaching all to be kind and loving?

Blessing to all!
CJ

The Wisdom of God

1 Corinthians 1 (NLT)

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.”

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Wow!!! What a Word from our God.

When I read the Word of God it’s amazing to see what He does; He is the ONLY leader I have ever encountered that will place His plan for all to read but no one can stop it. “What a mighty God we serve.”

The Word of God speaks to the knowledge of man… its funny to see at times when people will give credit to everyone but God for all of their accomplishments. Yet it is God who gives the breath of life. Sadly, people wait until they are down for the count before they will even recognize God.

I view many news stations on occasion; all I see is a station, party or politically correct answer.

God is tossed in the conversation from some parties when it comes to “abortion,” but sadly just to gain the approval of the people. Ask me how I know? I am so glad you asked. Going forward see how many times God is mention in any one conversation. In addition, let’s see what the Word of God say to believers…

Matthews 6:19-24 (NIV)

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

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Our country would be better served if we commit to the God we speak of. God doesn’t require much of us, but obedience must be top priority. My message to all who use God as a side conversation is… everyone can see through you. One of my sayings is…

“What’s in a person abundantly will come out eventually.”

As the Word has said “No one can serve two masters.” I am waiting for someone in the position of power (earthly) to take a chance on God and not be concerned about what people may think. Stop talking about what you are and be who you should be according to the Word of God.

In closing, many people are sitting on the side lines speaking their portion, but rarely do you see any positive actions from them. It’s easy to say what should happen when you’re NOT in the game, but it’s a bit more involved when you must perform. So look in the mirror and see the glass house you reside before throwing the stone. Get off the television, radio and anywhere else you may be talking about what someone should do if you haven’t done anything yourself. I say this in love because I was guilty of the same mess before the responsibility arrived for me to perform. We need to come together, pray and seek God first because He said…

1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV)
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Be blessed all!
CJ