Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

TUESDAY JUNE 23



SHIPPING WITH LIAM

READ:
Genesis 3:15
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He shall bruise
your head, and
you shall bruise
His heel.
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My son Liam loves to pick dandelions for his mother. To date, she hasn't wearied of receiving them. One man's weed is a little boy's flower.

One day I took Liam shopping with me. As we hurried past the floral section, he pointed excitedly to an arrangement of yellow tulips. "Daddy," he exclaimed, "you should get those dandelions for Mommy!" His advice made me laugh. It made a pretty good Facebook post on his mother's page too. (By the way, I bought the tulips).

Some see in weeds a reminder of Adam's sin. By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve brought on themselves the curse of a fallen world__relentless work, agonizing birth, and eventual death (GEN. 3:16-19).

But Liam's youthful eyes remind me of something else. There is beauty even in weeds. The anguish of childbirth holds hope for us all. Death is ultimately defeated. The "Seed" God spoke of in Genesis 3:15 would wage war with the serpent's offspring. That Seed is Jesus Himself, who rescued us from the curse of death (GAL. 3:16).

The world may be broken, but wonder awaits us at every turn. Even weeds remind us of the promise of redemption and a Creator who loves us.

** Help us, Father, to find You even in the midst of all life's
pain and aggravations. Forgive us for so often overlooking
the beauty You have planted everywhere.
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Creation reminds us of the promise of redemption.

*****************************Today's Bible Reading __ Genesis 3:14-19*****************************
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, you are cursed more
than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field;
on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the
days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the
woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise
your head, and you shall bruise His heel."

16 To the woman He said:
"I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for
your husband, and he shall rule over you."

17 Then to Adam He aid, "Because you have heeded the
voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I
commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it':

"Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of
it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall
bring fort for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In
the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the
ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to
dust you shall return."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
After the fall, Adam and Eve were barred from
the Garden of Eden by cherubim (angels). God then established
a form of worship to teach the necessity of a Savior to regain
access to His presence. Of the tabernacle and then the temple,
God said, "I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from
between the two cherubim," which were fashioned out of gold
and stretched their wings over the mercy seat (EX. 25:17-22). The
reminder of God's holiness and the need for sacrifice and mercy
were central to Old Testament worship.