The word for today is - Tree!

Good morning,

The word for today is - Tree !

Let's look at the first tree in the Bible, in Genesis 2:7-9, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Now, read Genesis 2:15, And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Adam was told not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but he could eat freely of the fruit of any of the other trees. Adam had free choice to eat whatever other fruit he wanted and when he wanted to eat it. Adam had many other free choices as well. Adam was created to make free choices under God’s sovereign rule. Free choice does not mean that God allows us to do whatever we freely choose without him intervening nor does it mean that God allows us to do whatever we choose without consequences. God allows human beings free choice in many areas. Since he is in eternity and knows all things, he sees everything that we are going to freely choose. Now, let's look at what took place in the garden, there was an serpent in the garden. Read Genesis 3:1-14, Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had 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 fruit 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: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: The first thing we must realize is that God gave Adam both a free will and the free choice to choose to live within the boundaries that God had set or not to. God did not control Adam’s will. Adam was to free to choose to eat of any of the other trees, but not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God would not prevent Adam from exercising his freedom to freely follow God or not to follow him. Under God’s sovereign rule and within his sovereign will, he allows man to make free choices. Learning the wisdom of the Bible helps us discern good from evil and good teachings from evil teachings. Even when evil teachings are disguised as good, and argued shrewdly, we will not be easily fooled. There is no better application for the wisdom of the Bible than to be able to distinguish good from evil, and to practice good in our own lives. Read Proverbs 2:1-11,My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:The wisdom and knowledge of the Bible is a solid foundation on which we can base our attitudes and actions on. It is the key to making the best choices throughout our lives. Thank you Lord for your word. Amen !