God, Adam, Eve, and Satan
In the beginning God created Adam. And from Adam’s rib, He created Eve. They were perfect for each other, but still fell into sin. When people are looking for the perfect mate, they look on the outer appearance and make excuses for everything else. That approach leads to divorce. What we should do is to look at the heart of the person.
When we search the heart of the person through their faith, actions, and their character, and find out that person is good for us, it is still not good enough. The reason why Adam and Eve fell is because they failed to put God first in their relationship. When Eve chose the devil’s words over her husband’s, it distorted, not only her view of God, but it influenced her husband to do the same. They fell into the devil’s trap and were kicked out of God’s presence.
Another example of this is Abraham and Sarah. Abraham received the promise that God would bless them with a child. However, through a lack of faith in God’s word, Sarah told Abraham to sleep with her maid Hagar. Abraham did so. When this happened, it caused conflict within that family that can be felt today in the middle east.
When we don’t put God first in our relationships, the devil has a victory. When we put God first, we become a force for the kingdom of God. Matthew 18:19-20 states: “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
When we put Jesus in the center of our relationships, follow his will, and pray in his name, we become dangerous to Satan and his plans and become agents of change for the kingdom of God. Not because of us, but because Jesus is all powerful. By his name demons are cast out, the sick are made well, people rise from the dead, storms clear, mountains crumble and fall, souls are made new. At the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father. Will you put Jesus first in your relationships today?
Scripture References
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was [a]pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” Genesis 3:1-7 NKJV
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall [a]obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her [eyes.” Genesis 16:1-4 NKJV
19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19-20 NKJV
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12 NKJV
“5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV
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The Breath of New Life: Having A Second Chance At Life
Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash
Sometimes, we forget who truly matters to us unless we catch a breath of new life.
Not everyone is lucky to have a second chance at life. Most of us only think about what we have to do – all our requirements and the things that suck us into the never ending realities of life.
Whether we read a book about Hezekiah’s mission to save Sodom or miraculous stories of how people have come back to life after a coma, having a second chance at life is very intriguing. It makes us wonder what could make somebody worthy of that. Most of the time, when we think about a second chance in life, it is not just a rebirth of ourselves, but we become more at one with what truly matters to us in this world, and why we must drive to continue on.
What does it mean to catch a breath of new life?
Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
Most of us think that catching a breath of new life necessarily means that we have to flatline like those in the movies and then become instantly resurrected. We think that this concept of being resurrected from the dead would somehow give people the ability to be more aware of what is happening around them and what they truly want to accomplish in this world. However, this is not entirely the case when you want to have a second chance at life.
Catching a breath of new life does not necessarily mean that you have to die or experience something life-threatening, but it is a personal choice of changing your life into one that is filled with your advocacies and what you believe in. Examples of these are how some people have hit rock bottom, achieved some level of bankruptcy, and decided that they wanted to turn their life around into a new one. Stories like these remind us that we do not have to experience something immediately life-threatening for us to make a difference in our lives.
When we decide to catch a breath of new life, it means that this is a personal choice, and we have the power to will our own abilities and passions into the life we want to live.
How do we turn our life around and get a second chance at life?
Reflect on yourself right now.
What are you doing right now? Is this something that you are happy about, something that drives you, or something that is so morally good that it can uplift the lives of others? This means you must evaluate your intentions and what you want to achieve in your own life. After doing this, you have to compare it to the life that you have now. Are you actively doing something towards it, or have you strayed from that past because you got distracted over things that do not matter?
Some of the best ways to discern and reflect are through prayer. Prayer is a powerful tool for helping us know what is truly in our hearts and whether it adheres to God’s Will. It also helps us overcome the temptation to just let it be or continue living the unhappy or unfulfilling life we are currently living.
Understand how to incorporate your passions into your life.
After reflecting on your current life, you must know your passions. Is it helping others, building a family, or starting a sustainable, eco-friendly business? What your passion is depends from person to person on what they find more important and what their interests are. Knowing what works for you is crucial because your passion allows you to discover your breath of new life, changes your perspective on things, and makes experiences like going through different struggles when opening up a new business more worthwhile, meaning less like work and more like play.
Now, some people struggle to find time for their passions because their jobs often don’t match their passions in life. However, it is also very unrealistic to say that we must give up our jobs in order to pursue something we are passionate about because we need a stable source of income to buy food and meet our basic needs.
The way to remedy this is to find a specific time of the week to incorporate your passions. Now, you might think that this is something unrealistic because not everyone has the time. This is true; however, instead of asking yourself if you have the time, decide that you will make the time because it is something that is important to you. We all have a limited amount of time to do everything we need to do in a day, but when we actively choose to prioritize something that seems essential to us, we can free ourselves of this mindset.
Cherish what you have.
Sometimes, we are so focused on the things that we do not have that we forget about the things that we have that we should be grateful for. Cherishing what we have by using them adequately and being grateful to the people or experiences around us plays a big role in creating a better perspective on catching a breath of new life.
Moreover, when we read books and stories depicting how people have a second chance of life, to fight the battles that they were unable to do before, and see the bigger picture of what life truly is, we come to realize that it is important to ground ourselves in what we find important and to be grateful of the things that we currently have. Want to read a fictional book about someone who took his second chance at life to fight the darker forces of evil in our world? Read The Sword of the Spirit: City on the Brink now!