BSF Genesis Week 3 – The Notes are Good

BSF Genesis: Week 3, Day 4

Questions:

10.
a.
The fruit that comes from and unites us with God, the divine. The fruit of the spirit and the tree of death (cross) conquered by Jesus to give us everlasting life.

b.
They were prevented from, not allowed to have the choice. To live forever without justice would be eternity apart from God.

c.
Yes, not only to eat of the fruit but believers have been “grafted to the vine”. John 15:5, and thus we also may bear fruit Gal 5:22, We also eat of the fruit of the divine through communion John 4:43

11.
Rom 6: 23: the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord; 1 Peter 2:24: He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed

My Daily Journal:

What does it mean to die? As anyone who has spent any time pondering the question has concluded, there are things far worse than physical death. We understand that the time we have on this earth is not even a dot on the timeline of eternity. We know that our existence in the physical world is a dead end street.

However, we learn that (1) we weren’t created to end and go away and (2) we don’t have to stay on that path. Yes, our cells and organs and flesh will cease to grow and will die, but we have been given the opportunity to eat and drink in the gift of salvation and to once again unite with our divine creator. Jesus became man and paid the price of just punishment to buy us back from the choice man originally made and all men since have repeated. And, he has offered to make us one with Him, for us to “remain in Him and for Him to remain in us (John 6:56). He offers for us to become the branches of His vine and to live in Him for eternity.

But eternity doesn’t start after we draw our last breath. In the same way someone turns off a dead end road as soon as they know it dead ends, so to are we given the opportunity to turn off the dead end road of mortal death and onto the path of eternal life. Why wait to begin living until death – we are called to live in Him now with a well of living water flowing from us daily.

BSF Genesis: Week 3, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

Questions

6.
Iraq, parts of Turkey

7.
Trees, pleasing to eye and good for food; work and care of the garden; free to eat from any tree but one

8.
Free to eat from any tree buy not the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will die

9.
a.
Companionship, comfort, beauty of the plants and trees and flowers, great food, rewarding work and ministries

b.
Prov 3:5-6: I fail to trust in the Lord, I lean on my own understanding and I fail to acknowledge him – no wonder my paths zig zag and are so full of hills and valleys.

My Daily Journal

Just a couple of points to think and pray about today:

1. Interesting that it is a tree of knowledge of good and evil since one of the items I struggle with is to try to take control away from God and rely on what makes logical sense to me. I struggle to try to figure things out on my own, using my knowledge and my judgment and then, too often, turn to God to bail me out. We don’t consider it ignorance or naivete for a child to trust that their loving parent knows better; we call it wisdom. Yet, even knowing that God is all knowing, I still convince myself that I should rely on my own limited knowledge first.

2. I don’t know if it is just how it translates into English, but I had not before caught the wording in Genesis 2:17, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” It doesn’t say “if you eat from it”, but simply “when you eat from it.” What amazing love God has for His creation that He would give us the ability to turn from Him even with His perfect knowledge. It was never a question of “if” only of “when”.

BSF Genesis: Week 3, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

Questions

3.
a.
1:26 Made by God in His image to rule, 27 male & female, 28 blessed, be fruitful, rule 29 given plants for food 2:7 formed from dust, God breathed life into man, 8 placed in garden, 15 to work and care for garden, 16-17 free choice, 18 not good alone 20 name animals, 21-22 woman formed from rib, 25 naked not ashamed, P8:5 lower than angels crowned with glory, 6 rulers

b.
That we are blessed: In life’s trials it is critical to remember that from the moment we were formed we were blessed and crowned with glory and honor, trials will pass, but life in God will last forever

4.
a.
First man, Ruler over all things (Gen 1: 28, 29; Ps 8:6-8, Heb 2:8)

b. Responsibility but not position. A failed leader. God did not revoke our responsibility, but we have failed to perform our job

c.
That while we failed as mankind, Jesus, in becoming a man and conquered death, has regained the position

5.
a.
v15 to work the Garden and care for it

b.
Work the harvest and care for the Kingdom on Earth. My services focuses a lot on the youngest sprouts in the garden.

My Daily Journal:

Work and care. Thinking about the fact that God gave Adam, and by extension all mankind, work and care to do from the very beginning of creation stirred me. We are often described as a culture of consumers. But we weren’t created to consume, we were created to work and care.

Too often our only thought is on WII-FM: What’s In It For Me? Even when it comes to church and bible study (i.e., getting to know God). We don’t recognize we are put here to work and care and when we do that we get to enjoy the fruits of the garden. I’m not saying that people don’t grow and there aren’t different churches that are better fits for families at different stages of life. But in the big C Church – the body of all believers, we are all to work and care.

I also love how, from even the very beginning, those two terms go together: work and care. It reminds me of James 2 and the discussion in the early church over the position of faith and works. In Genesis we see and even more basic command. As men, created by God in His likeness we are to do work AND care. Community service without caring for the spiritual being is a fool’s errand. Having a heart for the Lord without rolling up our sleeves is also foolish. We need to care for God as a child cares for a father; we need to care for God’s creation as a prince cares for his father’s kingdom; we need to care for other people as God cares for us – totally. From this caring and compassion we need to be compelled into action to save and care for God’s people.