My journaling notes:
Genesis 3:
- Satan makes us question God.
- Satan contradicts God.
- Satan tempts us.
- Sin appeals to our senses. It can appear beautiful/appealing to our eyes, delicious/delectable to taste, and dangles what we think we desire in front of us.
- When we give into sin, we aren’t only affecting ourselves yet others around us.
- Sin causes us to play the blame-game.
- Sin makes us vulnerable.
- We may think we can hide from God, but He truly sees all and knows all. When He questions us, it is for our benefit…so that we are more aware of what we did or are doing.
- When we sin, there is a price to pay…and this consequence is like the action of our sin…it not only affects us.
- Although Satan can strike at us and entice us to play his game (strike our heel), Christ defeats the devil (strikes the evil one’s head). Seriously, God wins…stick with Him.
- Life will be hard. We must work to survive. Life is a cycle where we live and die.
- We know good and evil. We will have choices to make (daily, moment-by-moment). Sometimes we will succeed in choosing wisely, and there will be times we fail and give in to Satan’s enticements.
- I pray that we will be mindful of the temptations set before us, the choices we make, and the consequences that will occur. May we be wise and discerning to God’s plan and not choose the path Satan presents. May we not be selfish, yet think of how our decisions will affect others as well. Choose God, not the devil.
Genesis 4:
- I read verse one, actually only the first sentence of the verse, and had to stop. Knowing what God says about sex, this was a reminder that when we have sex, a consequence can occur…pregnancy. Then, when I continue reading verse one, I am in awe in knowing how magnificent the consequence of conceiving a child is. You may be married or not, just remember that there is a consequence. God’s plan is for sex to be within marriage. Intimacy is a beautiful thing, and can produce a beautiful blessing. Wow…with God’s help, we produce humans! Let that sink in. (I’ve gotta stop or I’ll stay on this subject all day.)
- Are we going to be like Cain and bring God “some of” our rewards that He provided in the first place for us, or are we going to be like Abel and give “the best portions” to God?
- Do the right thing!
- Sin is always eager to control you. Don’t let it master you. Conquer/suppress it. Be an overcomer.
- Cain allowed sin to control him and the first murder in the bible occurred.
- Not only did Cain murder his brother, he flat out lied to God…the all seeing all knowing One.
- Ugh, sin can keep you from being in God’s presence. That stinks! I so desire to be in His company…every day.
Matthew 2:13-3:6
- Again, Joseph obeyed God’s guidance. Prophecy was fulfilled.
Psalm 2:1-12
- When I read verse 4, I had to chuckle at the vision of God laughing. This was a laughter of “haha…laughing with someone”, but “haha…laughing at someone”.
- We aren’t truly free when we try to live a life free from God. No way! Only He can truly set up free. Free WITH Him.
- I’m reminded of how I was raised in the church, and taught to revere/respect my Heavenly Daddy. I am fearful, in a respectful way, of God’s punishment when I do wrong. It’s like a little note kept in my back pocket as a reminder that God is always with me…strive to please Him not self and/or man…strive for His blessings…there are consequences to my actions. (Hence, see notes from Gen 3.)
Proverbs 1:7-9
- Wait…what?! What I just typed above goes perfectly with verse 7!! Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Oh how I long to fear, be in awe of, the LORD!!
- Verse 8-9…can our children please read these daily? Tim and I desire for our children to seek God and love him with all their hearts. We strive to give them godly advice. Only if they would listen. Oh, I’m sure they listen, but will they take the advice…we sure hope so.
Whew! These journaling notes may be a bit more than you were anticipating, but this is what rattles through my brain while reading.
You may have one sentence catch your attention when reading, you may crave to dig deeper, you may want to speed it along and hurry about with your day, whatever rattles in your brain or speaks to you while reading God’s truth, I pray that you will carve out time in the 24 hours He gives you to be reflective of his instructions and guidance for your life.
Blessings to you and yours,
Stephanie
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