The First Conflict

Genesis 2: 8 - 9, 15 - 18 (NIV): Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ... The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

It is interesting that the first time God said something was not good, he was referring to the aloneness of man, before sin entered the picture. He placed Adam in the garden and set fruit trees around him to enjoy. But Adam was alone and that was not good.
Seven times during the account of creation, God said “it is good,” but here, for the first time, he knew something wasn't right. He knew Adam needed a suitable helper, a partner. Someone to love. Someone to encourage him and to help him. Someone to keep him from being lonely.
God knew we needed that. After all, he created us and knows what we need. He knew he had hard-wired us to connect to others. He knew we needed physical touch. We need hugs and pats on the back and human contact. God didn't create us to be lonesome creatures or to be creatures who only need fellowship with him. He created us to connect with others.
God's plan is for a woman to partner with a man. I think it's a great plan! Eve didn't come from Adam's feet to be trampled by him, or from his head to lord over him, but from his rib to stand by his side. What a beautiful picture. God instituted the family early in the Bible and he hasn't changed his mind.
God knows he can encourage us through the Word and by his Spirit, but he knows we need physical contact and audible encouragement, and he must use others to provide this. Jesus told us to love each other as he loved us. When we do, we get a taste of paradise. When we do, we will say it is good what God has done.

The Great Commission

Matthew 28: 16 – 20 (NIV): Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This mountainside may have been the same one where he preached the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 and where he fed the five thousand people with the five loaves and two fish. It happened after Jesus fed them breakfast on the beach, but before his ascension forty days after his resurrection. Matthew tells us the eleven remaining disciples were there, but there may have been as many as five hundred other people present as well. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that five hundred people saw Jesus at some point after his resurrection. This easily could have been that occasion. The townspeople saw the disciples going to the hillside and, as word spread, everyone joined them to see what was going on.
Another hint to this is that Matthew said “some doubted.” There is no reason to believe he meant any of the eleven disciples, although we cannot be sure.
Jesus gave the crowd their marching orders: to spread the good news and teach believers to obey his word. He earned the right to give this commission when he rose from the dead. Think about it, if the early believers hadn't spread the news, we wouldn't know about Jesus today. But they did. They told and they taught and the church is thriving today because of it, two thousand years later and all over the planet.
Jesus told them to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a clear indication of the Trinity. And he told them to teach people to become disciples – learners – after they hear about him. The more we learn, the more we can spread the correct Gospel.
Finally, Jesus encouraged them that they wouldn't have to do this alone. He would be with them and all who believed because of their testimony. He would provide the power needed to build his church. He would provide the courage to follow and obey him. This Great Commission still stands today as our instructions from the Master. Now, it's our turn to obey it.

Breakfast on the Beach

John 21: 7 – 17 (NIV): When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."

The disciples had seen Jesus twice since he rose again, but they must have been just beginning to understand what it all meant. Peter undoubtedly felt like a failure. He had denied knowing Jesus when Jesus needed him the most. He simply went home to Galilee and went back to work. He took his buddies and went back to his old job, fishing. It wasn't going well, though – they had fished all night and hadn't caught anything.
Then, at daylight, Jesus appeared again. He was standing on the shore. He told them to cast one more time, and when they did they caught 153 large fish. Next he prepared breakfast for them on the shoreline.
Jesus had told Peter he was going to build the church on him in Matthew 16:18 and he hadn't changed his mind. But he knew Peter needed to be reinstated. Peter denied Jesus three times, so Jesus asked him three times if he loved him. Jesus was letting Peter know that all was forgiven and he still had a job for him to do. In a few days, at Pentecost, Peter would preach a sermon that would kick-start the church and usher in the church age.
Know that when you feel like you have let God down, he can still use you. He will finish the work he began in you even if there are setbacks and roadblocks. He will forgive you when you deny him, and he will reinstate you after you make mistakes and bad choices. Be honest with him and let him forgive you.

Our God Reigns!

Psalm 97 (NIV): The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols – worship him, all you gods! Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, O Lord. For you, O Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.

Let the whole earth, all of its people and all of creation, rejoice that our God is full of mercy and righteousness. God is so powerful and so holy we cannot fully grasp or understand him. He is shrouded in mystery because of his greatness.
God is so mighty we cannot look at him any more than we can stare at the sun. All of creation trembles before him. The Egyptians died in the Red Sea when they mocked God and pursued his people. One day, all of the enemies of God will be defeated and only righteousness will remain. We can know this and have hope. We can know this and rejoice.
Creation gives us a hint of his greatness. The fine-tuning of the cosmos for life to exist on a razor's edge here on planet earth. The incredible diversity of life on this planet. The complexities of the human body. The fact that humans and only humans can reason and create and communicate and imagine and at the level we can. From the expanse of the universe, which is too large for our minds to comprehend, to the tiniest sub-atomic particles, which are too small for us to grasp, God spoke it all into existence.
Because we live in a fallen world, we have still not seen his full glory. We have not seen all he has in store. Why does everyone not see this? Why do some resist God? Why do some refuse to believe he exists? God is veiled in mystery so that the proud will not see him, but he has revealed himself to the humble. Turn from evil and humbly pursue righteousness and you will see God as clear as creation.