The Real Story of Eve – Bloodshed

On June 2, 2024July 25, 2024 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 blamed both Eve and God for him eating the fruit, Eve then blamed the serpent. In Genesis 3:14 – 15 , we read “Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

In these verses, God details the consequences for the sins committed. The serpent will crawl on its belly and be hated by Eve’s offspring. The offspring will strike the devil’s head and he will strike the heels of the offspring. It is important to note that there is a big difference between an injury to your heel which can hurt and cause you to limp, versus an injury to the head which can kill you.

Eve’s ‘offspring’ is humanity, the human race. When Jesus walked the earth, He was fully human and fully God. Through His death on the cross as a human, Jesus shed His blood. The death of Jesus on the cross served to end the reign of the devil, leaving every human with a choice. We can choose to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and shed His blood for our sins or we can deny Him. If we deny Jesus, then we live under the reign and power of the devil, a puppet of his pain and suffering.

But if we choose to believe in Jesus as the Son of God, the power that the devil has over you is gone. The verse says that the devil will strike the heels of humanity, that is true even after you believe in Jesus. The devil can still nip at your heels and try to hurt you, but the only ability that the devil has to hurt you is the power you give him. The blood of Jesus protects all those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God. In this life, there will be hurt and pain, but as believers in Jesus, we know that this is temporary, “. . .therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 – 18

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, Thank you for the blood shed by Jesus, Your Son. Thank you that the power of the devil is broken, all we need to do is believe in You. Father, even though we are pressed on every side, we are not crushed; we may be confused about what is happening in this world, but we are not in despair; we may be persecuted, but we are never abandoned by You; we may be struck down, but we will never be destroyed because we belong to You, our Lord, our Savior, Our Jesus. It is in His precious name we pray, amen.

The Real Story of Eve – Blame

On May 26, 2024July 25, 2024 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.

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 – For Mom’s Day

On May 12, 2024May 4, 2024 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.

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 May 5, 2024May 3, 2024 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.

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.

Secrets to Life – Part Four

On April 28, 2024April 22, 2024 By JCIn Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

Forgiveness. When you forgive someone, it does not mean that you agree with what they did or that you deserve whatever they did to you. Instead, forgiving them means that you are taking back the control that you gave them.

When someone hurts us and we carry around a grudge, they have the control over our emotions. We hand them our freedom and they do not deserve it. They do not deserve to have any power over you. When you forgive them, you are removing the grip they have on you – your peace, your joy, your love. . .your emotions.

Sometimes it is hard to forgive. Pray for the strength to be able to forgive and ask God to heal you like only He can. Forgiveness is about you and your journey, not the person who hurt you. While forgiving someone may not be easy, you deserve it.

Let’s pray.

Father, we thank You that You love us more than we can ever understand. You see every scar and every hurt or grudge that we carry. Please give us the strength to forgive. Please heal us and make us stronger than we have ever been. In Your Word, You tell us to leave vengeance to You. Help us to believe You in cases where an injustice has occurred. Help us to focus on Your promise to right the wrongs. Thank You for Your love, grace, mercy and peace. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Secrets to Life – Part Three

On April 21, 2024April 16, 2024 By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

Serve others. Even when you do not want to or you do not feel like serving others. ‘Others’ can be those you live with or they can be complete strangers. ‘Serving’ can be a compliment to a loved one on how helpful or kind they are to you. ‘Serving’ a stranger can be paying for the order of the car behind you in the drive-thru. There are many different ways to serve others.

Why is this a secret to life? It moves the focus from you to another. It reminds us that we are all a part of the same human race on the same planet, all moving toward our individual day to die. Serving others is infectious, you share a compliment, then that person may share a compliment with another and so on. Or in the drive-thru, the person who received the free meal from you may pass that forward and buy the next car’s meal and so on. Serving others results in kindness and the more kindness that exists, the more peace, love and joy there will be for all of us.

Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, thank you for the opportunity to serve others. There are so many ways that I can be a blessing to someone – whether that is a kind word, a smile, sending a card, buying someone’s coffee or many other ways. Please show me today how to serve someone. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Secrets to Life – Part Two

On April 14, 2024April 7, 2024 By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

Knowing that we have a finite amount of time to live, it makes sense that people would want to know if there are any secrets to life. Last week, the first secret was shared. Today, the second secret to life.

Money and time are two things that most people would say they can never have enough of. Each of these are precious resources that every person can use in a productive way or in a wasteful way. The second secret to life is to give back to God at least 10% of your time and money. James 1:17 says every good and perfect gift comes from above. God gave it all to us to borrow, it is not ours. This includes any money we may receive and each day that we wake up is another gift of time.

Investing into the work of God through the giving of money and/or time guarantees that you will have what you need here on earth and you are storing up treasure in heaven. Matthew 6:19 to 21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This means that as you invest into heavenly work, your heart will be focused on the things of God. As this world swirls into chaos and breaks down more each day, your heart will be anchored directly to God, His peace and His love.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, please help us to invest into your work through time and/or money. Help us to store up treasures in heaven so our hearts will be there and not buried under all the weight of this world. Thank you Lord that we have this promise to grab onto. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.