GIVE THE LORD GOD YOUR VERY BEST

Proclamation:

“In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to The Lord.  And Abel also brought an offering, fat portions from some of the first born of his flock.  The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor.  So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.”  Genesis 4:3-5 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this fourth chapter of Genesis, Moses presents the sons of Adam and Eve.  Cain grew up to be a worker of the soil and Abel grew up to be a keeper of the flocks. (Genesis 4:1-2)  In the course of time, Cain brought of some fruits as an offering to The Lord.  Abel, however, brought the best from the first born of his flock as an offering to The Lord.  Abel and his offering were looked upon with favor by The Lord, but He did not look upon Cain and his offering with favor. (Hebrews 11:4)  Cain did not give The Lord God his best and The Lord God told him that if he had done that which was right, he and his offering would have been accepted. (Genesis 4:6-7)

Application:

When we give to The Lord God, we should give Him the very best of what we have to offer.  We are to give to Him from the first fruits of all of our increases. (Proverbs 3:9)  He deserves the first portion of the very best that we have, and not some small part of that which is left over after we give to ourselves and to others. We need to put God first in everything, including our giving. (Matthew 6:33)

MAN'S PUNISHMENT FOR THE ORIGINAL SIN

Proclamation:

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; dust you are and to dust you will return.”  Genesis 3:19 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The third chapter of Genesis describes the first sin of man, his fall from grace, and the punishment that he received for it.  Eve was tempted by Satan, in the form of a serpent, and she did eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17) which The Lord God had commanded them not to eat. (Genesis 3:1-6)  She offered some of this fruit to Adam and he also ate it. (Genesis 3:6)  After eating the fruit they immediately became aware of their situation and tried to hide from God. (Genesis 3:7-10)  When God questioned Adam about his action, he blamed Eve, and she blamed the serpent. (Genesis 3:9-13)  For their part in this, the original sin, God cursed the serpent, Eve, and Adam. (Genesis 3:14-20)  Even though He punished them, God still provided for Adam and Eve, and He protected them. (Genesis 3:21-24)

Application:

Even though he was blessed with the abundance of God’s provisions, man still sinned and disobeyed God.  When we sin today, it is not out of necessity for our survival; it is because of our selfish desire for personal gain, greed, or lustful pleasure.  There is a price to be paid for our sins. (Romans 6:23)  Jesus, The Christ, paid the price for our sins on Calvary and offered us the way to salvation and eternal life.  However, we must all give an account of our behavior and stewardship, (Luke 16:2 and Revelation 20:12) and every word that we speak. (Matthew 12:36)   Man had it made in the Garden of Eden with all of God’s provisions, now after the sinful fall from God’s grace we have to work and sweat to eat and survive.  Even though we are punished for our sinful choices, The Lord God still blesses us.  Our physical death will be the separation of our spiritual soul from our physical body.  Our body will return to the dust of the earth.  However, where our soul will spend eternity depends upon our acceptance or rejection of Jesus, The Christ. (Ephesians 12:7 and Revelation 20:15)

A MAN AND WIFE ARE TO BE AS ONE FLESH

Proclamation:

“And The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which The Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.’”  Genesis 2:21-23 (KJV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This second chapter provides the information regarding how some of the things that were presented in the first chapter were created. (Genesis 2:7 and 21-23)  The Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone …” (Genesis 2:18) and He made man a suitable helper.

Application:

Woman was formed from one of man’s ribs.  She was taken from his side.  She was created to be a help mate for man. (Genesis 2:20)  She was not created to be his slave, or his servant, or his punching bag.  She should be at his side, not behind him or in front of him.  The two of them are to be a team, working together as a unit, so close together that they are to be as one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)  The husband is to love his wife as he loves his own body (Ephesians 5:28) and as he loves himself. (Ephesians 5:33)  The wife is to submit to the husband. (Ephesians 5:22-23)  If both the man and the woman would do as The Bible says, this world would be a better place.

GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS THE EARTH AND MAN

Proclamation:

“And God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’  So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.”  Genesis 1:26-27 (KJV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This is the first Book of The Bible and this first chapter is all about the beginnings of everything, including the creation of the heavens and the earth, and everything therein. (Genesis 1:1-31)  When God said, “Let Us … in Our …”, He was referring to The Holy Trinity, God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit, and collectively these three are one God. (John 1:1 and 1 John 5:7)  God created something, the earth and man, and everything in the universe, out of nothing.  Everything was created in six days, but a day to God is like one thousand years to man. (2 Peter 3:8)   

Application:

God created the earth out of nothing.  He spoke and it came into existence.  Man was created in the very image and likeness of God.  As different as we all look today, who is to say which one of us looks more like God, our heavenly Father.  We should be very careful when we make references about someone’s physical appearance.  We are all made from the same chemicals that are in the dust of the earth, just arranged differently.  Our souls are completely different, special, and from the breath of God (Genesis 2:7) and are eternal.  Our bodies, however, are from the dust of the earth and to dust they shall return. (Job 34:15, Psalm 104:29, Ecclesiastes 3:20, and Ecclesiastes 12:7)  Jesus taught us to pray to our heavenly Father, (Matthew 6:9) but He also said, “I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30)  God is omnipotent, all powerful. (Matthew 28:18)  He alone can make something out of nothing.  With God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27)

HE IS RISEN DO YOU BELIEVE IT

Proclamation:

“As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.  ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said.  ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.  He has risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.’”  Mark 16:5-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Mark as he received it from the apostle Peter.  Mark begins this sixteenth and final chapter describing the events which occurred after the resurrection of Jesus, The Christ.  The women who went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus were afraid and alarmed at what the saw. (Mark 16:1-8)  After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene who did not recognize Him at first, (Mark 16:9-11 and John 20:11-18) but when she did, she went and told the disciples who did not believe her.  Jesus later appeared the disciples while they were eating and He rebuked them for their lack of faith and disbelief. (Mark 16:14)  Jesus told Thomas, who said that he would not believe it unless he saw for himself and touched the nail prints in His hands, (John 20:25) because you have seen you have believed, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Application:

The basis of our Christian faith is the belief in the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, The Christ.  He predicted His death and resurrection and told His disciples several times beforehand. (Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 9:31, Mark 10:33, and Luke 24:7)  They did not believe until He appeared to them after His resurrection and they saw Him for themselves.  Jesus said blessed are those of us who believe in Him and His resurrection without having seen Him. (John 20:29)  He rose from the dead on the third day just as He said that He would do. (Matthew 12:40)  The question is: “Do you believe?”

ALL BELIEVERS HAVE A CROSS TO BEAR

Proclamation:

“A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.  They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means ‘the place of the skull’).”  Mark 15:21-22 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Mark as he received it from the apostle Peter.  Mark begins this chapter with the “trial” of Jesus before the Sanhedrin council and then before Pilate. (Mark 15:1-15)  After Jesus was flogged and scourged, beaten and bleeding, the soldiers mocked Jesus before they led him out to be crucified. (Mark 15:15-20)  As Jesus struggled to carry the cross to Golgotha, the soldiers picked a man out of the crowd and made him carry the cross.  Jesus was weakened from the scourging that He had received earlier and perhaps Simon was picked because he looked strong.

Application:

The Bible does not record why Simon was chosen to carry the cross.  The fact is that he literally carried the cross for Christ.  Earlier, Jesus had said to His disciples, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24 and Luke 9:23)  Let a man deny his sinful, ungodly, worldly, lustful self and be prepared to endure rejection, persecution, and suffering if he wants to be a disciple of Christ.  The song writer said, “Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free; No, there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me.”  (Words from the song, “Must Jesus Bear The Cross Alone” written by Thomas Shepherd)  As believers and followers of Christ, each of us must quietly submit and carry his own cross.  In order to walk the Christian walk, we must put Christ before self.  Our faith, our belief, and our resolve will be tested. (James 1:2)  However, we should not worry about any of the things that we must suffer through (Revelation 2:10) for there is a reward for all those who endure to the end. (Matthew 10:22 and James 1:12)

PRAY THAT THE WILL OF GOD WILL BE DONE IN OUR LIVES

Proclamation:

“Abba, Father,’ He said, ‘everything is possible for You.  Take this cup from Me.  Yet not what I will, but what You will.’”  Mark 14:36 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Mark as he received it from the apostle Peter.  Mark begins this chapter with the anointing of Jesus, (Mark 14:3-9) and the preparation for the Feast of the Passover. (Mark 14:12-16)  During the Passover meal, as they were eating, Jesus foretold of His betrayal. (Mark 14:18-21)  Then Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crows twice. (Mark 14:27-31)  After they ate, they went to a place called Gethsemane where Jesus wanted to pray. (Mark 14:32-36)  As He prayed, Jesus said to His heavenly Father, not My will, but Thy will be done. (Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, and Luke 22:42)

Application:

All too often, the things that we want and pray for are not within the will of God.  We need to remember that Jesus taught us, in the model prayer, that when we pray to our heavenly Father, we should say, “Thy will be done.” (Matthew 6:10 and Luke 11:2)  It doesn’t matter what it is, our will is insignificant and unimportant, and His will is paramount.  We should want the will of God to be done in our lives.  Don’t be so selfish that you cannot pray this prayer.