Gen 3-5 The Fall | Watermark Community Church

Gen 3-5 The Fall | Watermark Community Church

Was reminded tonight of just how far from Eden I have fallen in my own life. Thankful for grace, thankful for the good news, thankful for forgiveness...divine and human.

This message was as much for me as it was for the women in attendance at Bible Study.

My God would never do that...

I have often heard people attempting to defend the character of God by claiming God would never do something harmful or hurtful to humans.

"God didn't cause your car wreck, God doesn't cause car wrecks."
"God didn't cause your breakup, God is not a God of breakups."
"God didn't take your mom's life, the enemy did."

Those were all statements I heard uttered from godly, intelligent people who felt the need to protect God's character. While I can appreciate their efforts, I wonder if their poor theology led to greater hurt in the end when the God they attempted to defend turned out to be the kind of God who does in fact cause pain. Notice, I did not say "allows for pain," I straight up said, "causes pain."

At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Exodus 12.29

Who!? The Lord struck down children due to the pride, negligence and wickedness of their parents. Now you're uncomfortable. It's okay, I used to be, too.

A big part of my testimony includes a period of time when I struggled to believe that God was good. Like Jacob outside of the Jabbok, I wrestled with God. Crazily, it was not the stuff I saw in this broken world that made me question God's goodness; instead, I read His word and felt the twinge of antagonism. I will tell you how I got over that struggle in another post at another time. For now, we have to deal with a God who causes pain.

So what? Does a good God cause pain? Maybe. How you answer that question depends upon what you place your highest value. If comfort and health triumph over holiness, then yes, God must give an account for His behavior. However, if holiness, Christlikeness, and a relentless pursuit of God's glory constitute your first fruits, then a good God will use whatever means necessary to bring them about. Even pain and sometimes even death (reference Calvary if you don't believe me).

So, the next time you experience pain, before you shift blame away from God, maybe you should consider the reasons why God might be inviting you to suffer. He might just want to use it for your good and His glory.

God Sees and Knows

One independent study course stands between me and a Masters of Theology degree. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel forces me to consider what life could look like post graduation. What do people do with their free time? Does anyone actually use the words supralapsarianism and eschatology? How do "normal" people study the Bible? 

I still lack answers for the first two, but I answered the third question by googling "Bible reading plans" a few weeks ago and stumbled upon one that DTS created for their students. Apparently, my school knew we would need help reading the Bible. 

Tonight I read Exodus 1-3. In English. Without a commentary. Without the pretext of researching for an assignment. Just because. 

It was good.

Reading tonight reminded me of the promises of old I seem to have forgotten. 

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Heb 4.12

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. Jer 15:16

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Ps 19:7

And I could continue. 

So, what pierced my soul tonight, you ask? Exodus 2:24-25 "And God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God SAW the people of Israel--and God KNEW."

That's it. Nothing academic or esoteric. No need to look up the Hebrew grammar to exegete the text. The God of the Universe who sovereignly rules over everyone and everything saw the Israelites and knew of their affliction. I paused as I read that, looked up the heavens and simply asked, "do you see and know me, too?" 

He does.

And He sees and knows you, too. Be encouraged by this incredibly simple yet unfathomable truth. 

As I head "back to the basics," I am incredibly grateful that God in his mercy chose to reveal himself to humanity so that we too, in part, can see and know. While a ThM can help a person understand God's revelation, what we all desperately need is the faithfulness to get in the Word. 

Thank you, DTS, for the reading plan. Thank you even more, Father, for giving us all yourself to read.