Christ Church Daily Devotion June 18 2024

The Daily Devotion for June 18th, 2024 discusses the story of Adam and Eve from the book of Genesis. It emphasizes two main lessons: sin separates us from God, but God seeks to restore the relationship through Jesus Christ, and we often try to blame others for our actions, but we need to take responsibility for ourselves. The devotion encourages personal reflection and gratitude for God's teachings and provisions. Welcome to Christchurch's Daily Devotion for June 18th, 2024. Today we will be reading from Genesis, chapter 3, verses 8 through 13. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God, as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord called to the man, Where are you? He answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you to not eat from? The man said, The woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. It is so easy to let the Bible be a window rather than a mirror. We look into the story of Adam and Eve and talk about what they did or didn't do, rather than allow the story to reflect who we are. There are some powerful life-guiding lessons for us in these verses. Let's focus on two of them today. First, sin separates. Adam and Eve had a close, intimate relationship with the God who created them. But when they chose to disobey God's guidance, they immediately felt a sense of separation from God, so they hid. Scholars say that the word naked means much more than just being without clothes. It means to be vulnerable. Their relationship with God now felt different, and they didn't know what to do with that. But notice that God came looking for them. Remember that any time you feel that you are separated from God, God is looking for you. God wants to restore the relationship and provide the path for that reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Secondly, we are notorious buck passers. Adam blames Eve for what happened, and Eve blames the snake. We all have our moments at times when we want to blame something or someone else for the circumstances in which we find ourselves or something we have done. Sure, there are those people or situations in our past that contributed to who we are in negative ways, but at some point, it becomes our responsibility to decide whether we will continue to be that way. Be reminded today that God is always seeking an intimate relationship with you and is willing to forgive you and restore you. Take ownership of who you are and let God guide you to life at its fullest and its best. Your personal worship option today. Thank you, Almighty God, for the lessons you teach us, even in the story of creation. Thank you for providing all that we need to sustain our lives, and thank you for the gift of the Sabbath. Help us to keep it holy, separate from other days, and a time for being refreshed in you. Amen.