"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God has made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said,unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruits of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die..." - Genesis 3:1-4

"For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it [the commandment] killed me" - Romans 7:11 (ESV)

"Forbidden things have a secret charm" - Tacitus

(I was challenged by this devotion by M. Craig Barnes; thought I'd share it with you....just something to think about)

When we think of "forbidden fruit" what usually comes to mind are things that are bad for us - alcohol, adultery, the corruption of wealth and power. But forbidden fruit may also signify something we've yearned for that God has not chosen to give us: the success just beyond our grasp, a dream we've chased most of our lives, a relationship with a particular person.

It's easy to obsess about this thing we don't or cannot have -- this forbidden tree standing in the midst of everything else God has given us. In fact, what we "don't have" has a way of overshadowing all our other gifts. With this yearning comes sin: a choice to re-create our lives after our own image of goodness. Along the way, we may tell ourselves all kinds of lies, not the least of which is that we can be our own creators. Judging God's work in our lives to be too slow or too fast, too dull or too frightening, we reach for something more than we were ever created to have.

Significantly, when the serpent found Adam and Eve, they were standing by the forbidden tree. I wonder if, like us, they spent a lot of time staring at that tree. There are so many trees that we can freely enjoy, but we fixate on the one that is missing. Tragically, when we reach for that which is beyond our created limits, we lose the Garden of Eden -- often filled with a family, a job, and a lifestyle that really was good enough -- it was paradise! But we didn't realize that until we lost it.

It's not that we should never dream or try to improve our lives, but we can and should resist the temptation to be consumed by our yearning. In the end, the question we must always ask is: "Am I in the center of God's will for my life?"
What do you think?

Pastor Andrew Smith

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"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not look out merely for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" - Philippians 2:3-4 (NASB)

"...the most useful human characteristic is the horror and neglect of the obvious" - Screwtape (The Screwtape Letters, Chapter III)

"The only way you can truly be yourself is to let God tell you who you are" - Anonymous

If you ever get the chance, read C.S. Lewis' book: "The Screwtape Letters". It is an interesting and creative approach to exposing the activity of demons and devils. The main character in the book is an experienced demon named "Screwtape" and he is writing letters to his nephew, an apprentice demon named "Wormwood" who has been assigned to a newly converted Christian man known only as "The Patient" - Wormwood's job is to see that this man is ineffective for God. Even though it is fictional, there are some very powerful and timely ideas communicated in the book about human behaviour. In Chapter 3, Screwtape writes about the Patient and his relationship with his mother which is in a bad state. His first suggestion to Wormwood is to keep the man's mind on his inner life - to make him so focused on himself and his personal spirituality that he ignores his relationship with his mother. This is where I got the above quote from: "...the most useful human characteristic is the horror and neglect of the obvious". Screwtape goes on to tell Wormwood: "You must bring him (the Patient) to a condition where he can practice self-examination for an hour without discovering any of those facts about himself which are perfectly clear to anyone who has ever lived in the same house with him or worked in the same office". The point is: DESTROY HIS RELATIONSHIPS BY MAKING HIM FOCUS ONLY ON HIMSELF.

This was true in 1942 and it is true today. We live in an age which glorifies the individual - relationships are only as valuable as they make us feel as individuals. What we do not see is the devilish spirit behind that kind of individuality - it takes away the good of US and replaces it with the good of ME. There is no greater formula for disaster than a self-centered spirituality. True spirituality is about being like Jesus Christ - this is a far cry from what people are propagating today. Always remember the instruction of the Apostle Paul: "Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:5-8, ESV)

Pastor Andrew Smith

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2 Kings 6:15-16 says, "When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, Alas my master! What shall we do? He [the man of God] said, Do not be afraid! For those who are with us are more than those who are with them" [ESV]

"Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in it's defence" - Mark Overby

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" - Psalm 46:1 [KJV]

 Attending Wolmer's Boys School (the best high school in Jamaica...no debate...lol) was quite an experience for me. There were times when being a Wolmerian brought some negative attention - particularly when there were unresolved disputes between guys at our school and individuals from other boys’ schools. We were always encouraged not to wear our school colours when taking the bus home - that would make us clear targets for anyone from a rival school seeking revenge. As ignorant and crazy as it seems, this was the reality that we faced at the time. One day, as I stood by myself  at the bus stop in my maroon and gold, a group of about 4 KC guys jumped out of a vehicle about 70 yards away from where I was standing. They were coming toward me with blood in their eyes and weapons in their hands. I thought to myself: "How could I be so stupid to forget to take off my school colours ?! The odds were piled against me and I pretty much made up my mind to go down swinging. Then...I heard the two most precious words I could hear at that time - "YO SMITTY!" Around the corner came a car full of friends from school who saw what was happening and sped over to my rescue. The KC guys saw them, hopped back in their vehicle and took off. I was safe! Whew :)

 There's nothing like the feeling of knowing that someone has your back in a tight situation. Just seeing my schoolmates changed my perspective dramatically. The man of God - Elisha - faced grave danger in 2 Kings 6. The Syrian army was sent to kill him and they encircled the town of Dothan where he was. When his servant saw the Syrian army, he panicked....but Elisha remained calm. Elisha was able in the midst of this desperate situation to see what no one else could see. In verse 17 the Bible says, "Then Elisha prayed and said, O LORD, please open his (the servant's) eyes that he may see. So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha". The story continues: the Syrian army is struck with blindness and Elisha himself leads them away from Dothan straight to Samaria were the King of Israel and his army were waiting. WHAT A MIRACLE!

The question today is: "Am I seeing right?" Can I only see the danger, the concern, the difficulty, the problem? If so, many of us are not seeing the full picture. God is there, in the midst of your situation, making a way where there seems to be no way. Overby's quote above is so pertinent: LOVE PROTECTS! God loves you my friend - if you are a child of God, let this reality change your perspective and give you hope. Allow the words of Psalm 20:7-9 to sink in: "Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; He will answer from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses but we trust the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright".

What do you think?

Pastor Andrew Smith

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"Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute. Gilead's wife also had several sons and when these half-brothers grew up, they chased Jephthah off the land. "You will not get any of our father's inheritance", they said, "for you are the son of a prostitute. So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Soon he had a band of worthless rebels following him" - Judges 11:1-3 (NLT)

 "Without forgiveness, there is no future" - Bishop Desmond Tutu (South African social rights activist)

 "Anyone who cannot come to terms with his life while he is alive needs one hand to ward off a little his despair over his fate... but with his other hand he can note down what he sees among the ruins" - Franz Kafka (German author)

Our past tragic experiences have a way of negatively impacting our future - this is not just a psychological observation, this is a biblical truth. The story of Jephthah in Judges 11 is an example of this timeless truth. As the scripture above tells us, he was an 'outside' child rejected by his family. As a consequence, he left home; he began to hang out with "worthless" men.....in Jamaican parlance we would say, "him tun wutliss!”. One can imagine that in Jephthah's mind, all he is looking for is someone to love and accept him because his family rejected him: he ends up finding it in friends that are not good for him. The "great warrior" is now the leader of "a band of worthless men" - a gross underachievement and a bad example.

Stories like this happen every day across the length and breadth of our nation: men and women with great potential and ability are marred because of things that have happened in their past - family issues, humble upbringings, missed opportunities, failed relationships, traumatic experiences, and the list goes on and on. Many times, people end up living their lives in an attempt to fix things that have gone wrong in their past. This is a good thought, but sadly, sometimes things end up getting worse because of FEAR and DESPERATION.

The truth is: ONLY GOD CAN HEAL YOUR PAST. Within every tragic experience of life, there is grace offered from God to be able to fulfill His destiny for our lives. The past can actually stay in the past, and we can move on with our lives to great achievement and great example. The wonderful thing about Jephthah's story is that (after sorting himself out) he goes on to become a great leader of the nation of Israel. He didn't stay "wutliss" - he got over it and moved on.

 You can get past your past; you can walk away from painful memories,

Past your past, you don't have to be alone;

You can stand upon the Word of God; your yesterdays can be gone,

Let Jesus bring you past your past, then you can go on. - Kirk Talley, Past Your Past

 What do you think?

Pastor Andrew Smith

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_ "As she (Hannah) kept on praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah was praying in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. Eli said to her, "How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself?" And Hannah replied, "Oh no, my lord! I am a very unhappy woman. I have drunk no wine or other strong drink, but I have been pouring out my heart to the LORD" - 1 Samuel 1:12-15 [Tanahk]

"Outward acts of piety which do not flow from the new and God-given affections of the heart, which delight to depend on God and seek his glory are only legalism and have no value in honoring God" - John Piper (The Supremacy of God in Preaching - pg. 83)

"A Pharisee is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself" - A.W. Tozer

In Jamaica we have a saying, "Who feels it, knows it" - we use it to express the uniqueness of personal experience and also as a warning that people should not make unfair judgments. Hannah was bearing a problem that many women face today - for one reason or another, she could not bear children. It had caused her to be scorned by other women (cf. 1 Sam. 1:6), and to feel depressed and inferior (vs. 8). In the midst of this, she held fast to her integrity and faith in God: she believed that God could work a miracle for her granting her a son. That being said, she was desperate --- she was fervent: emotions that we can all identify with when we are in great need. She goes to the temple and instead of following the usual form of sacrifice and public proclamation to God through the priest, she prays in the anguish of her soul to God silently. The interesting thing is that the priest, instead of empathizing and encouraging her, made a judgment call that she was drunk - seemingly because she was 'mumbling under her breath'.

Two important lessons:

1. The responsibility of the Christian is to be TRUE TO GOD - God already knows the heart (Ps. 139:1-4).........God already tests the motives (Ps. 26:2). It is never unspiritual to be HONEST. For some of us, it may mean dropping the 'over-dramatics' and being humble and contrite before God. For some of us, it may mean dropping the 'extra-piety' and being real and expressive before God. We must be committed (as Hannah was) to sincere, heart-felt, spirit-led worship of God.

2. Another responsibility of the Christian is to BE CAREFUL NOT TO JUDGE only based on one's own point of reference. Eli made an assumption and because of that he (initially) missed out on an opportunity to bless and encourage Hannah. We do the same thing when we dismiss the work of God in people's lives because it isn't what WE WOULD DO. Whether something is traditional of contemporary......old or new......personal or corporate....we must ask one question: DOES IT MANIFEST THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD? (Gal. 5:22-23) If it passes the "fruit test", then it must be from God. 

What do you think?

Pastor Andrew Smith
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(This is Part One of a Three-Part exposition series on the Sabbath)

Hebrews 4:9 - "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his work as God did from His"

 "...our heart is unquiet until it rests in You..." - St. Augustine, Confessions
When we think of "Sabbath", the first thing that tends to come to our minds is, "Should I be worshiping on Saturday or Sunday?" How interesting - when did something so instructive become such a divisive issue? We use this teaching as a means of judging and isolating people who don't do what we do and act the way we act. I want to take some time to do some exposition on the Sabbath in hopes that we can redeem its original intent - to point us to true rest.

What does it mean to be at rest? Oxford dictionary defines it as "…ceasing work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength…" In Gen 2:2-3, we find the first reference to the Sabbath in scripture: it states that God "rested" and that he "blessed" the day and "made it holy". QUESTION #1: Does God need to rest? NO....he is God. He is not resting because he's tired - He's pointing us to something that will be revealed later on. This is the foundation for the command in Ex. 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath (Heb. word sa'bat meaning "seven") to keep it holy". The command is to NOT WORK; not you, not your family, not anything you own, not even your house guests. QUESTION #2: Can man rest in the same way that God rests - no labour of any kind - physical or mental? NO...even scientifically it is proven that in sleep (the ultimate form of rest for man) the mind is still active and at work [see http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm].

I read a poem recently by Dezeri Smith that I thought was timely. It says:

I aspire to a peace of mind,
but in this wicked world will I ever find?
Peace that I need so I can be free
and go content among the living.
An uninvited rage within
when will it end?

Mankind is restless and unholy by nature, and we prove this in both our actions and our thoughts every moment of every day. Just look at your life and use it as a point of reference - is it not true of you? The most logical question, if this is true, would be: "Why would God give us a commandment that we could not keep"? The answer to this question is that the purpose of the Sabbath commandment (just like every other commandment given to man by God), is to teach us that in and of ourselves we CANNOT DO WHAT GOD WANTS. This is at the heart of the Old Testament narratives - it is a case study of man's inability (by himself) to do what God commands. It is seen in individual lives (e.g.: Moses, Abraham, David, even the wise man Solomon), and it is seen in the history of Israel - God's chosen people. The point of it all is that left up to us, we will fail and do fail to please GOD. But there's a good lesson in this - when we realize that we can't do it on our own, then we are open to receiving help: that, my friend, is why Jesus Christ came - to give us success where we fail to please GOD.

The Bible says in Gal. 3:24, "So then, the law was our guardian (schoolmaster) until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith". So this is where we must begin - Jesus Christ is the key to understanding and keeping the Sabbath day holy. Think on these things - if you have thoughts or questions, let me know. Look out for Part Two.

Pastor Andrew Smith

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Ps. 46:8-11 - "Come...behold the works of the LORD: what desolations He hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder - He burneth the chariot in the fire. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD: I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE HEATHEN, I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH. The Lord of hosts is with us...the God of Jacob is our refuge". Selah (pause and reflect).

There is a difficult, but direct connection between trouble, the sovereignty of God, the glory of God, and the peace of God's people. Could it be that in the design of God, trouble and distress are just instruments that He uses for His ultimate glory? In our minds, that seems contradictory - a GOOD God using BAD things. It is at this point of apparent contradiction that we realize we have a choice to make....can I believe and trust in a God who works all things to the "praise of his glory" EVEN if those things sometimes hurt and confuse us? If you answer "no"...you will forever be restless and confused. If you answer "yes"...you have access to the last part of the verse: this same God "will be with you, the God of Jacob will be your refuge".

A Christian is someone who by faith makes the choice to accept God on His terms....not our own. Can I as an individual....accept the sovereignty of God and exalt Him in the face of trouble? Put Him above all else? That's the challenge. The immediate blessing is that if you believe and trust in God today, you have access to a supernatural peace that passes all understanding; let this guard your heart and mind today [Phil. 4:6-7] no matter what you face.

"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to" - Elisabeth Elliot

Pastor Andrew Smith
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"I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me" - Amos 4:9

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world" - C.S. Lewis

In Psalm 22, we see a shout of deep anguish:

"I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my bosom.
...I can count all my bones -
they stare and gloat after me" - Psalm 22:14 & 17

Before we see these descriptions as only prophetic insights into the suffering of Jesus the Messiah on the cross (as many people do), maybe we should look a little closer home. For many of us, this describes the way that we feel deep inside as we maneuver through our difficulties........isn't it? The pain is sometimes so severe that we often have a hard time even putting it into words. Have you ever been so broken that you didn't even know how to pray about it? I have been there. Thank God for the intercession of the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:26-27) on our behalf when we don't know how to pray. In the midst of what we are going through, we must be conscious of the fact that there is a PURPOSE in our PAIN. Let's look at a few of these:

If it is self-inflicted (i.e. our choices/actions are the cause), pain is given as a means to retrace our steps and to make things right - in other words, it's a means to REPENTANCE. This is what God sought to make clear in the above verse in Amos 4:9: He brought suffering to prompt Israel to open their eyes and turn back to Him. Sometimes the pain won’t stop until things are made right. God intends it this way to keep us from really hurting ourselves.

If it is inflicted by someone else unintentionally, pain is given as a reminder that we are sinful, imperfect people living in a sinful, imperfect world - in other words, it's a means of REVELATION. When the apostle Paul declares in Romans 3:10-11, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understands; there is none that seeks after God",he is affirming the only truth that can lead men to having a personal relationship with God. Every day we are taught about our need for God through our own imperfections and the imperfections of others. God intends it this way to teach us humility.

If it is inflicted by someone else maliciously, pain is given as a test of our faith and dependence upon God - in other words, it's a means of SANCTIFICATION. The apostle Peter said it: "Beloved, don't be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice, insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you might also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed" - 1 Peter 4:12-13. God intends it this way to keep us ever looking to Him and not trusting in our own strength and resources. 

Whatever your challenge is today, ask God: "What are you saying to me through this?"

Pastor Andrew Smith

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