“DID GOD ACTUALLY SAY?”

Genesis 3:1-4                        (ESV)

“1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD GOD had made. He said to the woman, “"DID GOD ACTUALLY SAY”, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 

2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

3 but GOD said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.”

While perusing videos of people (some are even ministers appointed by “this world”!) giving their thoughts on “the things of GOD” recently, I found them all to be lacking!  The enemy was first made known to mankind in an act of deception in Genesis 3:1, and he continues to deceive today using even “false prophets” for his efforts.  As a matter of fact, JESUS, speaking to the class of people who were thought to be the “rulers of the Jews”, says in John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. WHEN HE LIES, HE SPEAKS OUT OF HIS OWN CHARACTER, FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES.”  

The TRUTH can only be located from ONE Source.  There is no substitute for THE ANSWER given by our CREATOR in HIS WORD!  Former President Ronald Reagan has been quoted many times by untold numbers of people.  However, the thing he said that I most frequently share is “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.”  Yet we spend a tremendous amount of time on the “things of this world” and relatively a very small amount of time downloading HIS Word and HIS Principles into our lives!  And we wonder why catastrophic events are occurring in our world today???  

When the serpent asked Eve if GOD had really said ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?", he misquoted the CREATOR.  BUT, being the deceiver he is, he immediately didn’t want to focus on TRUTH, he focused on his lie!  “You will not surely die.” was his response to TRUTH.  He contradicted what GOD said with half-truths, which is a full lie!  When we want something so badly (Genesis 3:6 “So when the WOMAN SAW that the tree was good for food, and that it was a DELIGHT TO THE EYES, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”), the lies of the enemy become easier to accept,  I think because, like Eve, we DESIRE the fruit!?!  

Becoming so familiar with the WORD OF GOD that we cannot be swayed by the great deceiver should be our goal, but I’m not there yet!  The enemy will try and make us question “DID GOD ACTUALLY SAY” this or that, but just as Eve knew what GOD has said, most of us know what GOD has instructed us to do, or NOT do.  Where I get in trouble is “....not do what I want, but I do the very thing hate.” (Romans 7:15b).  By not focusing on the enemy and his lies, we won’t be caught in the web of “DID GOD ACTUALLY SAY” that!  KNOWING and loving what GOD has really said will cause the devil to flee, because he can’t abide TRUTH!