Month: May 2024

The Real Story of Eve – Blame

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

Recently, we have been unfolding the real story of Eve by taking a different view of familiar Scriptures. After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they heard God walking in the garden. We read in Genesis 3:8, “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. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

 “Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

Hold on there a minute Adam. Are you saying that you had no choice but to take the fruit from Eve, and then you also had no choice but to eat it? As soon as Eve’s teeth pierced the fruit, she became a sinner. Maybe Eve threatened to leave Adam if he did not take the fruit. Maybe she told Adam she would not have relations with him unless he ate the fruit. Maybe she lied and tricked Adam. Or perhaps it was not Eve’s lies or threats, maybe Adam wanted the knowledge that his wife had gained by eating the fruit, not realizing it would be his death. Maybe Adam was driven by greed.

Every human’s ability to hurt one another arrived in that moment. Every lie ever told, every hurt ever inflicted was birthed right there in that beautiful garden.

Credit: JC

Adam wanted to blame Eve and God for what he had done. How often do we blame others for the actions we take or the words we say? “The man replied, ‘It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ ” Adam was blaming God because He gave Eve to Adam so that he would not be alone in this world. How often do we blame God for consequences in our lives that we cause?

As we continue to read in verse 13, we see the blaming was not over quite yet. “Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” “

After Eve watched her husband place blame on her and God, it was her turn to blame. She chose to point the finger at the serpent, the devil, the enemy of all humanity. How often do we blame the enemy for the actions we take or the words we say? ‘The devil made me do it’ is a phrase you may have heard. The fact is that we each will own our actions before God. We will each be held accountable for every word we say, (Matthew 12:36 & 37). We are the ones who will have to answer the same question God posed to Eve, “What have you done?” Not our spouse, not our friends and not the enemy, there is no one left to blame as we stand before God.

Let’s pray.

Lord, please help us to speak words of light and love. Help us to take actions that bring You glory. Help us to be peacemakers and honest and kind to others. Help us to recognize the enemy and reject his lies. Help us to not blame others or You for the sins we commit, instead please give us repentant hearts. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

The Real Story of Eve – Walking With God

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

Last week, we began to unfold the real story of Eve by taking a different view of familiar Scriptures. This week, we are continuing with Genesis 3:7. This verse is right after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit., “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.”

Credit: JC

How can it be that Adam and Eve walked with the Lord? In Exodus 33:20, God says to Moses, “But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.”  We know that God only speaks truth. We know that the Scriptures say He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, so how did they walk with Him and live? Did they just not look at God while they walked with Him, maybe. But I think a closer answer is who and what Adam and Eve were when God walked with them.

During their time in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were without sin. God created them and certainly did not place sin or evil hearts in them. So at that time, Adam and Eve were sinless and they were able to be in God’s presence, they were able to walk with Him and look Him in the face. Then they committed sin and had to be removed from God’s presence, sin cannot be in the presence of a perfect God. Exodus 33:20 happened well after Adam and Eve had sinned and were banished from the garden. Their sin separated them from God. This is exactly why God sent Jesus, so we could look upon His face again, walk with Him again and trust in His sacrifice on the cross resulting in us living forever with God, just as He created us to do.

Let’s pray.

Lord, please forgive us when we sin. Please give us hearts that are broken when we break yours with the things we do. My our broken hearts drive us to repent, to turn from sin and toward your loving embrace that is always right there waiting for us. Thank you for Jesus, it is in His precious name we pray, amen.

The Real Story of Eve – For Mom’s Day

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

Many of us have heard about Eve, she was Adam’s wife who ate the fruit that resulted in the downfall of humanity. The Scriptures are clear about what happened. Genesis 3:1 – says, “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied, “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 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.”

Those last few words are critical . . . Eve’s husband was with her. Didn’t Adam hear the serpent lying to his wife, Eve? Didn’t Adam recall the instructions that God gave to him? Why didn’t Adam speak up and tell the serpent to leave his wife alone? Why didn’t Adam tell Eve that they were going to obey God? Why didn’t Adam refuse the fruit that his wife offered him? God had already given man dominion over all animals, why didn’t Adam exercise his authority over the serpent? So many questions about why Adam seemingly just stood by. But, I want to focus on Eve.

Credit: JC

In that moment, as Eve held out that piece of fruit to her husband, Eve’s desire was to control her husband. Eve “. . .saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her.” Sometimes when we as women want something, we pursue it relentlessly. After all, women are created to endure pain and suffering each month, during pregnancy and in childbirth. We are not easily dissuaded when we want something. That is why, later, in verse 3:16 God says to Eve, “And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” That declaration was part of the consequences of sin that every wife since then has to bear. Sure, sometimes wives understand something better or can do something better – but this is about control. We need to ask ourselves if our behaviors, actions and words are attempts to control our husbands or attempts to help them.

On this Mother’s Day, as women are honored by loved ones, we should ask ourselves how are we honoring our husbands? Are we trying to control them or are we helping them in their role as spiritual leader of the family? Are we acting like Eve and leading our husbands down paths that are not ordained for them because we want something different for our lives, some forbidden fruit perhaps? Maybe without even realizing it, we are influencing our husbands out of God’s will. If Eve had obeyed God and helped her husband versus trying to control him, she would not have let her desire for something swallow up her identity as a daughter of the Almighty God. Stand firm in who you are, a Daughter of the King created to help her husband.

Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, as we honor the women in our lives and as our lives as Moms are honored by others, let us reflect on how we live. Do we live in a way that attempts to control our husbands or to help them? Lord, may the cry of our hearts be to help our husbands become the men You created them to be. Help us to pray daily for them and show them honor and respect as You command us to. Help us to focus on honoring You by doing what You have said we need to do. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

Secrets to Life – Part Five

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

It seems that everyone is looking for the secrets to life to increase happiness, joy, peace, love or to attain some other positive state of mind. Each week, a secret to life has been revealed that is intended to lead you to a more peaceful, love-filled and joyous state of being. This week, the fifth secret to life is revealed.

Credit: JC

Purpose. You are still here on this earth for a reason. God has not finished with your life; your purpose still lies ahead or you would no longer be here. Discovering that purpose is a secret to life – bringing peace, satisfaction, joy, and love.

How can one find their purpose? Begin with asking a few questions . . .what makes you excited, what do you love doing, what do you feel inspired by or passionate about? Also ask a few friends or family members these questions and see how they would answer about you. Once you have gathered this information, choose the top one or two answers that occur most often.

From there, you can begin to invest more intentionally into those one or two areas. Start with prayer and create a plan on how you can spend more time in your passions and less time in other things. Focusing your prayers, time, energy and/or money into areas that bring you joy and peace is a step on the path that results in you living out your purpose. You can also prayerfully consider what things you spend time or money on that do not support your purpose and determine if you should continue. If you choose to continue investing into things that are not in your passions, identify why and make peace with that decision.

Let’s pray.

Father, thank You for placing in each of us a specific purpose that only we can fulfill. Help all of us to find that purpose: the reason why we were created the way we are with the specific story and experiences that we have. We know there is only one person like us in all of history and that we have been given the opportunity to fulfill that purpose for You. Thank You for loving us and giving us each an important assignment. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.