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PLANTING SEEDS: (Truth) Truth can only be found in God’s word. People can share their opinion on truth, which I am going to do with you in a moment, but I would encourage you to start getting into the word and studying scripture for yourself. It opens up a new perspective and new life for those that take the time to learn it for themselves.
Scripture Memorization : Genesis 4:6-7 (NIV)
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
COFFEE CUP COUNSELING: (My Personal Perspective)
This is just my personal experience with scripture. It is just one of the ways that it has impacted my life and gives us an opportunity to discuss with one another how it has changed our lives.
Have you ever had a situation take place in your life where you were not able to make things work as you wanted them too? Maybe it’s a health issue you’ve been praying about, maybe it’s a relationship that you are wanting to restore, maybe it is a death of someone you loved, maybe it was an abuse that occurred in your life, maybe it was a marriage that fell apart, maybe it was an addiction that took hold of your life, maybe it was a financial issue, or one of the many million of things that might cause us to become bitter.
I’ve had several. I am sure you have too. The bible says in Proverbs 13:12 that Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
So what happens when our heart starts to feel hopeless, or our perspective begins to get bitter, either at people or at God, because what we have been hoping for does not come to pass at least not as we want to see it?
It happened to Cain right away in the beginning of the Bible. Both children of Adam and Eve, began their lives knowing God. Like us. Not able to walk with him as their Mother and Father had, but hearing the wisdom of their parents talk about their knowledge of their time with God and the wisdom he shared with them. But both Cain and Abel had to live by personal faith without walking with God in the garden like their parents did. We know that they had an open dialog with God, like we can. Cain and Abel began to offered their fruits to God and we find that God was pleased with Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. By this, we can speculate based on the wording that it was because Abel offered the best of his animals which had the blood offering for the sacrifice, (fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock) and that Cain just offered some of his, not the best of his crop as a sacrifice. (some of the fruits of the soil) He didn’t give his best.
God called him on it.
God’s correction and Cain’s disappointment as well as his jealously towards Abel, began to make Cain bitter. Cain, speculating, perhaps felt like God was favoring Abel. Once that bitterness set in to Cain’s heart, he no longer had God thoughts, he spiraled out of control and killed his brother Abel. But we know that Abel’s blood still cried out to God, and that Abel, was still connected to God even after his murder…but what happened to Cain? He was eternally separated from God, and it was more than he could bare. So who’s attitude really killed who? I’d say, Cain lost out.
Cain really is no different than us when we get bitter. Some circumstance happens in our lives that makes us loose hope, get discouraged and perhaps makes us look at someone else’s lives and believe they have it better. Instead of trusting God as Abel did, we start to do what Cain did and think about all the ways it is unfair and how we want to take matters into our own hands to eliminate that disappointment. We all become like the ladies on Thelma and Louise when they’ve just put up with that disappointment too long and we start to spiral downwards making one bad decision after another until we finally see the cliff and instead of slamming on our brakes and humbling ourselves before God and admitting our own failures caused by our own bitterness, we hit the gas pedal instead and “dukes of hazard it” right off the cliff and straight down to our own destruction, just like Cain, not hitting the brakes, many times making that final choice to be eternally separated from God.
Instead, we should have the heart of Abel. Working hard, giving our first fruits of all we do to God, honoring him in all we do, and when the opportunity arises for us to be bitter in life, and it will, because there are multiple attempts and reasons we could, we should, like Abel, humble ourselves before God, tell him our heart and trust him to lead us into truth even when we don’t see the bigger picture, or his complete plan unfold.
So get into God’s word, speak truth and set the captives free.
MEDITATION & DISCUSSION:
Take time to journal your thoughts on this scripture. You are more than welcomed to share your insight, testimony, thoughts, questions with me below, or keep it for your own personal journal.
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SHARE WITH A FRIEND:
Studies indicate that if we share what we have learned with someone else within 24 hours of being taught, the chances of it remaining in our memory and heart is increased. If you have had a friend, relative, or anyone come to mind while reading this blog, please share this with them! You can text it, post it to Social Media, Discuss it at Bible Study, watch my YouTube Channel at Angela Serocki or print today’s study from my wisdomforinspiredliving.com blog, invite a friend to have coffee and discuss! It’s easy!
I’m going to share today’s blog with _____________________________________________________.
I thought of them because:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Now pray for them, that God would reveal his word in their lives and that his truth will grow in their lives.
Don’t forget to memorize and meditate on today’s Word! It’s absolute Truth!
Scripture Memorization : Genesis 4:6-7 (NIV)
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
I would love if you would subscribe to my YouTube channel at Angela Serocki once I have 100 subscribers I can go live with this bible studies and I think that would be fun! I would also love for you to share your thoughts with me about this scripture and how it’s impacted your life on my blog at www.wisdomforinspiredliving.com.
Thank you again for enjoying scripture with me! See you tomorrow!