Tag Archives: Adam and Eve

Love is a Choice: Bobby Schuller’s insightful devotional explores God’s gift of choice, the essence of love, and our daily freedom to express it

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Love is a Choice

“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’ ”

– Genesis 2:16,17

One of the most powerful things we learn from the account of Adam and Eve and their time in a world without sin is that the God of Creation treasures choice. It’s easy to wonder why He put that forbidden tree in the garden, isn’t it? Why not just design a place where people could live happily ever after without having to face temptation? Yet the truth is that the tree provided the basis for a genuine connection between the Lord and His people.

You see, optionality and freedom are essential components of love. Without them, we wouldn’t appreciate the gift of someone choosing to be in a relationship with us. Jesus chose to leave His Heavenly throne, endure suffering on the cross, and redeem us out of love. By allowing Adam and Eve the choice to obey or stray, He opened the door to relationship and bestowed upon humanity the greatest gift: the freedom to choose. This liberty means we are not mindless robots, but autonomous beings capable of truly experiencing love.

My friend, it’s important to remember that love is a choice, and each day you have the freedom to express it. No one in your life owes you their love, nor do you owe them yours. You can choose to give and receive this precious gift because God loved you first, and you want to share that love with the world. The Lord has given you the ability to choose relationships, both with Him and with others. Therefore, commit to inviting everyone you meet to experience His boundless and everlasting goodness.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for choosing to love me. I choose to love you in return and to give others the same opportunity.

Reflection

What’s significant about having the choice to love?

If you’re unable to attend your local church or need some additional weekly inspiration, be sure to tune into Hour of Power online at hourofpower.org/episode.   

Hour of Power

Positive Minute Daily Devotional: Love is a Choice

Bobby Schuller

hourofpower.org

From:

hourofpower@hourofpower.org

Thank You Jesus,

Salvation Prayers

If you don’t Know Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour and would like to accept him into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, Please say this prayer:

Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from You. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward You. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your Will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Support Our Ministry,

Good Morning Dear,

It cost a lot of money to maintain a website, Nonetheless a non-profit Christian website,

Please if you have been blessed by this ministry and you are led to support and bless this ministry in return,

Please make your donation to this account,

Chukwuemeka Obiorah Ogwo,

Account Number,0139438409,

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Nigeria,

To help us continue in the spreading of The GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST to every corner of this world,

Thank You Very Much For Your Support,

May GOD, we Serve Bless You A Million Times in return, Amen,

May God Bless Israel, May God Bless Nigeria, May God Bless America And Take Care Of Us; May God Make His Face Shine Upon Us, And Be Gracious To Us; May The Lord Lift Up His Countenance Upon Us, And Give Us Peace, In Jesus Christ Name, We Pray! Amen!

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

By Chukwuemeka Obiorah Ogwo,

James_1-12-1: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him
James_1-12-1: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him

Disobedience Leads To Sin and Death

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TEXT: Romans 5:19 and 1 Corinthians 15:22

INTRODUCTION

Last week, we continued with the series on OBEDIENCE by studying: Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice. Today, we shall focus on the fact that disobedience leads to sin and death. Obedience has been severally defined since we commenced the series as compliance with an order, request, or law especially in deference to a higher authority. We learnt about the rewards that follow complete obedience; while being reminded that partial obedience is no obedience.

May we receive that grace to be fully obedient in all things in Jesus’ name, Amen!

OUTLINE 1: DISOBEDIENCE LEADS TO SIN

Disobedience in this instance means partial obedience or complete turn away from God’s ways/directives. Some instances:

  • Impatience leads to disobedience.

King Saul in 1 Sam 13:10-12 offered burnt offering that was to be performed by Samuel. One of the virtues of the fruit of the spirit is longsuffering [patience]. Gal 5:22.

  • Disobedience can lead to loss of authority/position.

King Saul feared the people, was stubborn and disobeyed Gods’ directives. 1 Samuel 15:22-24 & 26. No amount of our sacrifice can atone for disobedience; as Jesus Christ had made the ultimate sacrifice for us, Hebrews 10:10. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

  • Disobedience triggers the wrath of God.

In Joshua 6:17-19; God gave instruction that in Jericho; only Rehab the harlot and her family should be spared. But in Joshua 7:1, Achan took the accursed thing. This led to defeat of Israel by Ai. Thirty-six [36] men were killed because of God’s wrath. Also, in our text: Romans 5:19, the disobedience of Adam & Eve triggered the entrance of sin.

  • You reap what you sowed.

Gal 6:7-8 is apt. Partaking in the holy communion unworthily is an act of disobedience. 1 Corinthians 11:27-30. Verse 30 harps on spiritual death.  

OUTLINE 2: DISOBEDIENCE LEADS TO DEATH

Death in this instance refers to spiritual and, in some cases, physical. Spiritual death is being alienated from the life of God [Romans 6:23]. Consider the following:

  • The case of Adam and Eve

Gen 2:16-17. God’s instructions to Adam were clear and straightforward. Both disobeyed and realized they were naked; a sign of spiritual deadness, Gen 3:6-7. As in Adam all die …. 1 Corinthians 15:22.

  • Is your spiritual garment in place?

Rev 16:15 enjoins us to watch [be vigilant/avoid disobedience]  and keep our garment, otherwise we walk naked and subjected to shame. A word of advice in Luke 21:36.

  • There is an escape route from spiritual death.

John 3:16 is an escape route from spiritual death. If we obey, there is the assurance of everlasting life. John 8:51 is a reassurance that if we obey, we can never see spiritual death.

OUTLINE 3: DISOBEDIENCE THAT LED TO SIN, SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL DEATH

  • 1 Kings 13:1-26. A classical case of what we learnt today. Disobedience leads to sin,

spiritual death, and even physical death.  

CONCLUSION

The consequences of disobedience are too grievous to be ignored. Let us watch and pray that we will not be led into temptation [Matthew 6:13]. May the Lord release unto us the grace to flee from all appearance of evil [1 Thess 5:22].

Thank You Jesus,

Salvation Prayers

If you don’t Know Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour and would like to accept him into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, Please say this prayer:

Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from You. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward You. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your Will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Support Our Ministry,

Good Morning Dear,

It cost a lot of money to maintain a website, Nonetheless a non-profit Christian website,

Please if you have been blessed by this ministry and you are led to support and bless this ministry in return,

Please make your donation to this account,

Chukwuemeka Obiorah Ogwo,

Account Number,0139438409,

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Nigeria,

To help us continue in the spreading of The GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST to every corner of this world,

Thank You Very Much For Your Support,

May GOD, we Serve Bless You A Million Times in return, Amen,

May God Bless Israel, May God Bless Nigeria, May God Bless America And Take Care Of Us; May God Make His Face Shine Upon Us, And Be Gracious To Us; May The Lord Lift Up His Countenance Upon Us, And Give Us Peace, In Jesus Christ Name, We Pray! Amen!

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

By Chukwuemeka Obiorah Ogwo,

Ephesians_6-1: Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right

Born To Win! Born To Rule! Reclaiming Your Spiritual Authority In Christ Jesus!

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Born To Win! Born To Rule! Reclaiming Your Spiritual Authority In Christ Jesus!   Many Of Us Simply Go Through Life Existing Day By Day. Some Call It Living, But Is It Really Life? Too Many Of Us Choose To … Continue reading →

The Destructiveness Of Sin

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The Destructiveness of Sin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:11, NKJV

The longing of God’s heart, if it can be expressed as such, is to be known, loved, glorified, and enjoyed by His creation. Although in His plural nature God has ultimate fellowship, love, and harmony within the Trinity, He also desired fellowship and friendship with Adam and Eve.

But early in their lives Adam and Eve made one choice that broke their relationship with God and cost them their happiness at the present and their destiny for the future, devastating their family for every generation to come. This devastation was inevitable because life is made up of relationships with God, with others, and with ourselves, and the choice to sin through disobedience destroyed all three relationships. Sin destroys our relationship with God through guiltiness. It destroys our relationship with others through lovelessness. It destroys our relationship with ourselves through meaninglessness. What sin is worth such destructive consequences?

Blessings

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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God Knows everything

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God knows everything

God knows the future

I can tell you what is going to happen even before it happen (Isaiah 46:10)

During the 1990’s, highly educated and experienced economists predicted doom for the American economy, yet we experienced quarter after quarter of improved profits and higher productivity. Stock market consultants forecasted a market decline and advised clients to switch into safer financial investments, yet the stock market continued to climb to extraordinary heights.

The reality is that no one really knows what the economy will do. As someone once remarked, “If you lined up all the economists in the world one after another, you wouldn’t have enough to reach a conclusion.”

Now consider the foreknowledge of God. At one time, nothing existed but God, yet at any point in time, He knew the past, present, and future. He knew when He would create the universe, that Adam and Eve would sin, and that He would send a Saviour.

To prove His ability to predict the future, God gave us hundreds of prophecies in the Bible. One that fascinates me is the prophecy that the Jewish people would be called together as a nation.

The temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70 and the Jewish people scattered from their homeland. What were the chances that a people without a country could survive as a nation? Every other nation since then has disappeared into oblivion. But in 1948, the Jewish people re-established their homeland in Israel. The odds are astronomical of that happening after nearly two millennia.

God’s prophecies are 100 percent accurate because He not only knows the future, He also controls the future.

Your View of God Really Matters …

What are your two or three top concerns about the future? Knowing that God controls the future, and that He loves you, give your concerns to Him and receive His peace.

What More Does God Say?

Isaiah 42:8-9; Deuteronomy 30:3-5; Zephaniah 3:20

Because God knows everything, I will go to Him with all my questions and concerns!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Thank You Jesus

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Thank You Jesus

All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is
delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou
therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
Luke 4:6, 7

Jesus didn’t challenge satan’s claim to earthly authority when the
tempter took Him to a high place and showed Him all of the kingdoms of
the earth in a moment of time. He didn’t rebuke satan and call him a
liar on this specific occasion, because the devil really did have a
claim to those kingdoms-Adam gave his planet-ruling authority to satan
through his sin.

Sin instantly separated Adam and Eve from their unbroken fellowship
with God, and mankind took on the nature of death. Satan thought
everybody in the planet was his servant after that day. The nature of
death is in the father, and it passes through the bloodstream to the
child.

What Jesus dealt with was the sinful motive behind the tempter’s claims. Satan really did possess those earthly powers at that time, but
he had no authority to ask anyone to worship him. Jesus instantly
replied with the Word: “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”
(Luke 4:8).

Prayer for Today

Father,
Thank you for discernment and for power to overcome all temptations
that satan may place in my way. Thank you for your example of knowing
and doing the Word to live in victory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Think on These Things

* John 8:44
* Revelation 22:8

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

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The Wages of Sin. Death!

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1980s (mid) - Eve - tree - pigtails - 0033

1980s (mid) - Eve - tree - pigtails - 0033 (Photo credit: Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos (ClintJCL))

The Wages of Sin

by Bishop Keith A. Butler

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto

the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and

unto dust shalt thou return.

Genesis 3:19

This verse records the actual death sentence that doomed Adam and

Eve-and you and me-to physical death one day. Death, sickness, disease

and lack were never included as parts of God‘s perfect plan for man.

These are the sad by-products of sin, of Adam’s fatal choice to seek

knowledge and identity outside of and separate from God’s plan.

God never intended for a single human being’s body to be put into the

ground. He created us to live eternally-every our physical bodies. As I

understand it, the cells of the human body appear to be designed to

live forever. Scientists have long been puzzled as to why they

gradually run out of energy and die. The answer is in God’s Word in the

Book of Genesis.

It even appears that the animals in Eden never died-or they didn’t

until God had to kill two animals and use their skins to cover the

nakedness of Adam and Eve after they sinned. Those innocent animals

died to provide a covering for Adam and Eve’s shame and nakedness. This

incident marks the first appearance of the blood sacrifice of innocents

as atonement for the guilty, and it drives home the horror of the wages

of sin.

Prayer for Today

Father,

You are the all-powerful, all-wonderful, almighty Savior of the world.

Thank you for redeeming me from the power of sin and death and for

giving me life eternal through your Son. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Think on These Things

* Daniel 12:2

* Ecclesiastes 3:20

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Paradise Lost! But Thank You Jesus

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Paradise Lost! But Thank You Jesus

“The man . . . must not . . . take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:22-23, NIV

Adam and Eve were driven from their garden home, driven from security and safety and serenity and success and satisfaction, separated from God! The loneliness and desperate agony of loss must have been overwhelming. As they looked back, they could see at the entrance to what had been their home a powerful angel standing guard with a sword swirling like a mad dervish, preventing any thought of return. The finality of their separation from all they had been created for must have been devastating.

Since there was only one entrance into the Garden and it was guarded carefully and constantly, it was not just hard to get back into God’s presence-it was impossible! God Himself prevented it. Neither Adam nor Eve, nor you nor I, nor anyone ever born into the human race could ever get back into God’s Presence. The Garden of Eden, God’s heavenly home, can never be regained through human effort. Paradise was lost! But Thank God For His Son Jesus Christ ! We are now put right with our Heavenly Father. We can now boldly come before His presence!

Cain and Abel

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CAIN AND
ABEL

Why did Cain
kill his brother?

When we read
the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4), we see the effects of sin in the world.

The first
sin was when Adam and Eve disobeyed God.

In this
story, we see the sins of jealousy and hatred leading to anger and murder.

Both Cain
and Abel presented gifts to God, but Abel’s gifts pleased God more than Cain’s.
So Cain was jealous of God’s favour. Eventually, Cain’s jealousy and anger led
him to kill his own brother.

Jealousy and
anger can cause people to do terrible things; even to the people they love.

Watch out
for those feelings and deal with them before they hurt you, too!

 

May Our God The Almighty prosper
Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name,
Amen!

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