Prayer: Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, You take away the sins that we have committed in thought, word, and deed. Grant us Your peace. Amen.
Westminster Confession of Faith Shorter Catechism Question #15 “What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?”
Answer: “The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.”
Genesis 3
Estate. Today the word estate means an area or land. If you follow the BBC TV show “Top Gear”, the word estate means an Estate Car. A car that has a huge backseat and area for storing/transporting stuff. But this is not the meaning in the Shorter Catechism. The word “estate” here means condition or state of life. God created Adam and Eve to be whole people who knew God’s goodness and love. God told them to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for if they ate of it they would surely die. Through the Genesis 3 reading, we know that Adam and Eve did eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Once they did, they suddenly were aware of good and evil…. while God had created Adam and Eve to be whole, God had not created Adam and Eve to know all the negative things that cause us pain. Through eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve now knew of fear, evil, sin, darkness, and sadness. It certainly was not their best day!
We too know of good and evil but we are redeemed. God gave us His son as a sacrifice for all our sins. Through this sacrifice, we are forgiven. And of this sacrifice, we must always give God thanks.
While the Scripture focuses upon why there is evil and bad in the world, this Scripture also focusses upon making choices and making decisions. How do we make positive choices and positive decisions? By taking time to think the whole decision through. By taking time to think what impact this decision will have upon one’s life. And most importantly, by offering the decision up to God and waiting for a time of listening so that the decision may be a positive decision.
Over these past few weeks, I have been waiting at bus stops travelling between hospital, home, our home, Museum, grocery store, and banks. Waiting at a bus stop gives one lots of time for reflecting upon making a decision. This is a very good thing! Waiting at a bus stop gives one time to pray and ask God if the decision that is being made is wise and positive…. then at the next bus stop, there is lots of time to listen to God.
Today, write down three things that you are thankful for in your life. Lift these three items up to God in prayer. Write down three decisions that ended up being positive wise decisions that you made with God’s help. Lift these three decisions up to God in prayers of thanksgiving.
Prayer: Amazing God, we thank You for forgiving all our sins through the sacrifice of Your Son. We thank You today for three things in our lives; _______________ and ________________ and __________. Hear our petitions Lord. We thank You today for the three positive and wise decisions that we have made over our lifetime. Hear our prayer O Lord. May we live out this day in Your glory and Your love knowing that You are with us in our decisions and in our thanksgiving. Glory to You Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
