Daily D – Genesis 3:6

by | Jan 1, 2023 | Daily D | 0 comments

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Howdy! And Happy New Year! 

The Bible reading plan I am using this year is the YouVersion plan Bible Project: The Bible. I invite you to join me. You can learn more about the Bible Project here: https://bibleproject.com/

The Bible translation I will use this year is the New Living Translation. I will use the New International Version, the English Standard Version, the Christian Standard Bible, and The Message for comparison. 

Who do you know who would benefit from these short devotionals? Send a sample using the sharing links in the banner at the top of this page. Add an invitation to join us on the journey. Let’s get to know God better and experience him daily. As you know, there are no financial solicitations, and there is nothing to buy. 

If you would like for me and others to pray for you about anything at any time, feel free to email me: david@davidgbowman.com

Genesis 3:6  The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. (NLT)

Luke 4:1, 2  Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. (NLT)

Everyone struggles with something. Appetite, ambition, and approval have been with us since the Garden of Eden. That’s the bad news. The good news is that what tripped up Adam and Eve in the garden was overcome by Jesus in the wilderness. 

Which of these – appetite, ambition, approval – is the biggest struggle for you?

Which of these is the secondary issue you struggle with most?

The consequences of following the leading of appetite, ambition, and approval are dire. See Genesis 3 and following for the rest of the story. It is possible to turn these drives into fitting servants under God’s authority as Jesus did. 

When appetite, ambition, and approval are directed toward promoting us, they become destructive. When they are directed toward serving others, they become beneficial. 
Every day, and in every moment of every day, we have to choose whether we will serve ourselves toward our own downfall or serve others to our mutual benefit. 

This brings us to Psalm 1. It is six verses long. Verse 1 describes the joy in life of keeping appetite, ambition, and approval as servants. Verse 2 is about knowing God’s Word and God’s will like Jesus did so that we can keep appetite, ambition, and approval in their proper, God-honoring roles.

When we master appetite, ambition, and approval and refuse to be mastered by them, we become like verse 3:

They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

When we allow appetite, ambition, and approval to master us, we become like verses 4 and 5:

But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Sinners will have no place among the godly.

When we require guidance for discerning our proper attitude and actions, we can ask God who will always lead us in the right direction. See verse 6:

For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

We do not have to repeat Adam and Eve’s sin and its consequences. We can repeat Jesus’ response to these temptations. We can live the kind of life where we seek and follow God’s direction and live the kinds of lives he blesses with all of his good gifts.

I will seek God’s direction morning by morning and moment by moment.

Our Father, surround me with people who choose your truth, wisdom, and direction. Deliver me from and through temptation that puffs me up and pushes me down. Direct my steps and my decisions by your words of truth and life and by your Spirit’s clear direction. Amen. 

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Daily D – Isaiah 65:1-2

Isaiah 65:1, 2
The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’
to a nation that did not call on my name.
All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.
But they follow their own evil paths
and their own crooked schemes.”

Daily D – Psalm 131

Psalm 131
Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
now and always.

Daily D – Isaiah 55:8-13

Isaiah 55:8-13
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
You will live in joy and peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into song,
and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.
Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.
These events will bring great honor to the LORD’s name;
they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

Daily D – Isaiah 50:4-5

Isaiah 50:4, 5 “The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom,
so that I know how to comfort the weary.
Morning by morning he wakens me
and opens my understanding to his will.
The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me,
and I have listened.
I have not rebelled or turned away.”

Daily D – Isaiah 48:17-18

Isaiah 48:17, 18 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is good for you
and leads you along the paths you should follow.
Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.”