Go Back Again

Have you ever felt tired, like you couldn't go on? Have you ever felt like you've done enough and there's nothing more to do? Even if you don't wave the red flag, have you mentally checked out? As a Christian, are you holding on to God's promises but wondering when you will see it play out in your life?

Holding on to a God who makes promises and keeps promises increases our faith.

After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, God spoke to Adam, Eve and the serpent (i.e. the devil).

Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live.And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3: 14, 15 [NLT]

While speaking to the serpent - God said Eve's offspring will strike Satan's head. In a literal sense, Eve may be wondering,  "What does this mean?" "How will it happen?" "And why did I listen to the serpent?" Because at this point, Eve is now beginning to understand the power of God.

Then He said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16 [NLT]

Subsequently, when she has Cain and Abel, she immediately understands what God is talking about because childbirth is not pain-free. But is she wondering how her offspring will rule over Satan's offspring? Perhaps. Raising children, and dealing with your husband can take up all of your time so this probably was not at the forefront of her mind. But then Cain kills Abel and he is cursed (Gen 4:15), and she may have wondered again. She only has one son left and his character is questionable; he is a murderer. Perhaps she remembers what God said of her as he spoke to the serpent.

Because... Adam had sexual relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth, for she said, “God has granted me another son in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.” When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. At that time, people first began to worship the Lord by name. Genesis 4:25,26 [NLT]

The promise of bruising the serpent's head would come through Seth. Eve could have lamented about her children's situation and stayed there, but she and Adam had Seth. Eve knew what God said about her offspring. Eve also knew that one of her sons was a murderer. Perhaps she held on to what she heard so long ago because when she had Seth she said God had granted her another son in place of Abel. The birth of Seth happened when Adam was 130 years old.(Genesis 5:3) One hundred and thirty years is a long time to wait for a promise to be fulfilled. The birth of Seth may have been unexpected - but God's words aren't idle. It doesn't matter how long it took, it matters that it was fulfilled.

God's timing runs the spectrum from immediacy to long term which was played out in Eve's life. Childbirth made Eve realize that what God said was true. Knowing this she may have wondered about the timing of everything else that was said. She would never doubt God again.

Don't doubt God. If He said it, He will do it. If He said it about you to someone else, it will happen. However you become aware of what God said about you, believe it. Look at Eve, she believed what God said about her offspring because in Luke we read as part of the genealogy of Jesus: Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was the son of God. Luke 3:38 [NLT]

Though Eve did not live to see it, it was through Seth that her offspring would bruise the serpent's head and would defeat Satan - Jesus came through the lineage of Seth. Don't doubt God and don't give up on God.


Are you holding on to a promise made by God? Keep holding on.


This post is inspired by a message I heard.

On Being a Wife

Wives in the Bible cover a broad spectrum, so that makes me hopeful. They weren't all perfect and some were downright wicked, can you say Jezebel?

First, there was Eve, the mother of civilization. Somehow, she took the devil's bait. Why did she do that? Look at where that got her.

Then there's Sarah - who was clearly beautiful and seemed to have a good relationship with Abraham. Twice she lied and said Abraham was her brother and both times Abraham instructed her to do so. She laughed when the angel said she would have a son, as did Abraham. But she had Isaac; at 90 that could not have been easy. I might have laughed also.

Other wives in the Bible:

Rebekah - Deceived her husband so that the son she loved would receive a blessing.

Zipporah - Despised by her in-laws because of her race; she was Ethiopian.

Lot's wife - She looked back and became a pillar of salt. (How's that for not listening to your husband?)

Job's wife - She told him to curse God and die. (Whatever became of her?)

Abigail - whose husband Nabal was noted as a fool; she had the good sense to do what was right and is noted as a woman of good understanding. She eventually became one of David's wives. I think many wives who have husbands who are not godly or not living as they think a Christian man should, use Abigail as their primary example as to how to deal with their husbands. Caution should be exercised before making this your default model.

Ruth -  Listened to her Mother In Law and found a good husband in Boaz.

Esther - Became queen while married to King Ahaseurus and saved her people.

Zeresh - Fed in to her husband's hatred for Mordecai; she instructed her husband, Haman, to build the gallows that he was eventually hung from. Hatred and bitterness never yield good results.

Priscilla - knowledgeable in the Scriptures and worked side by side with her husband, Aquilla.

Sapphira - dishonest with her husband Ananias; because of this they were both struck dead instantly.


Wives are called to be help meets. We are to help - do you know what helping entails? And why do men require so much help, and are not always willing to take it from the female species based on the way they're wired? The blue print for being a helpful wife can be pulled from some of the stories above, in addition to Proverbs, Ephesians, Colossians and Titus.

Being a wife is an honored role, yet not an easy role. It can be a tad complicated - if I do say so myself. Because God has clearly defined roles in marriage, we as wives are called to submit to our husbands. But submission is not demeaning nor does it take away your dignity. Submission is reflective of Christ's example - He was equal with God the Father, yet He chose to submit to the Father's will  (Colossians 1:19); we can see that submission is a voluntary choice - a good one I might add. But it is complicated because in marriage we are two fallen human beings who come together attempting to mirror Christ, and make something beautiful.

If you're like me some times you beat yourself up, because you may feel that you don't measure up. The examples above are to let you know that there is no situation that is too big for God. Regardless of our husbands, we are responsible for our actions - sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's not. No earthly relationship can ever function properly unless we have a correct relationship; a true relationship with the God of the Universe.

But be encouraged - being a wife is a token of the favor of God.

The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord. 

Proverbs 18:22 [NLT]

What kind of wife are you?
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Truth and Lies

This post is courtesy of what I was fed this Sunday at church, during service and Women's Sunday School.  I hope it blesses you as much as it blesses me.

The first woman Eve, had everything she needed: she had a man - Adam, she lived in a beautiful home - the Garden of Eden, she was provided for - fruit trees, she was loved - by God and Adam.

Yet when Satan approached Eve, she fell. Eve had everything she needed, but Satan caused her to focus on the one thing she did not need. The Bible says Satan was subtle. The definition for subtle is: Characterized by skill or ingenuity; clever; Crafty or sly; devious; Operating in a hidden, usually injurious way; insidious.(dictionary.com)

Eve had no idea who she was dealing with. She was the first women and probably had never dealt with subtlety or she underestimated his capabilities.

When Satan approached Eve:

• She listened - she engaged him in conversation.
• She dwelt on what he said
• She believed what he said
• She acted on the lie.

Once she acted, she sinned and she knew it then, because she was convicted.

The battle for truth over lies often takes place in our minds.Satan's goal is to deceive.

If you know the truth, it will change your thinking; and when you change your thinking you change your life.
Those that speak truth and walk righteously dwell in the Lord's tabernacle - Psalms 15:1, 2. When you have an intimacy with God, you are the recipient of truth.

Nothing else makes sense unless you know the truth - when you think on these things, the first thing that we are told to think on are things that are true - Phil 4:8

God protects our front and our back; he is our shield (protection in the front) and our buckler (protection in the back) Psalms 91:1-4. Therefore, we are protected from Satan's fiery darts of deception and lies.

The truth sets us free - John 8:32

If we know the truth, God's truth it's hard to fall prey to Satan's lies.

Do you know the truth? Do you fall prey to Satan's subtleties?