11-13-2023

Good Morning All,

            Genesis 3:1; “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”

     “You talkin’ to me?”  If you are a movie buff, you know that line.  Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver” utters one of those lines that live far beyond and completely beyond the movie.  It gets used often; it is parodied often; it is one of the lines that gets quoted often.  I wonder, why Eve didn’t say this to the serpent?  Probably because the serpent was more crafty than any other beast. 

    The serpent was crafty, he was slick as could be.  He could slither his way up to Eve and begin a conversation with her that she didn’t want to have.  So, he asked, and she pondered.  He asked and she questioned.  He asked and she doubted God’s Word.  He asked and she sinned.  He asked and she lost her faith.  So, what happens when he asks you?

    The devil asks this same question of you every day.  “Did God actually say…?”  Did God actually say that you would have eternal life?  Did God actually say that ALL your sins are forgiven?  Did God actually promise to be with you?  “Did God actually say…?”  He slithers up to us when we are most vulnerable.  Maybe we are stressed about a doctor’s test or worse, when the doctor says, “I don’t know what is wrong.”  Did God actually say, my strength is made perfect in your weakness?”  Maybe you and your spouse had a fight, and you feel unwanted and unloved; “Did God actually say, I love you?”

    Maybe you fail to see what is ahead and all you see is pain and confusion, “Did God actually say, I know the plans I have for you?”  Maybe you feel all alone; did God really say, I won’t abandon you?  So, when the devil asks us this question, how do we answer?  It is always interesting to me that Eve went into a long description.  When we get asked these questions, our answers are easy, we say “yes.”  We say, Yes God said this, and more than that God promised.  So, we can see that faith tells us the answer is “yes.”  Faith is saying that “yes” God said these things and means them.  I trust God’s Word.  God said it was so.  “Did God actually say…?”  “Yes, he did.”  Pau writes in 2 Corinthians 1:20; “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”  Jesus is the reason for our “yes!”  We can shout it from the mountain top or we can quietly cling to it while waiting in the doctor’s office.  It is what will calm our fears when faced with the unknown.  God said “yes” so we can say “yes.”  Did God actually say, come into my kingdom?  Yes, he does!

Father in heaven, in you we find “yes.”  You give to us eternal life.  You give to us the answer to the devil’s question.  Give us the faith to respond with a resounding “yes!”  Be with those who are battling the slithers of the devil; those who doubt the answer to the devil’s challenge.  Help them to know the certainty of your “yes” so that they can find theirs.  In the precious name of Jesus, our Risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret