Tree of Knowledge

There are many myths surrounding the creation of humans. One such myth is about the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. A common misconception is that the forbidden fruit given to Eve by the serpent was an apple. It is more likely that the fruit was from the family of the pomegranates. After Eve gave a piece of the fruit to Adam, she changed her mind and tried to stop him from eating it. A piece of the apple got stuck in his throat. The prominent ‘Adam’s apple’ on some men remains as a reminder to many of the story of how Eve prevented Adam from eating the forbidden fruit. This is not a biblical story by any accounts, and is certainly the figment of the imagination of one of our forefathers. There is a medieval Christian legend that says that the Tree of Knowledge was the source of wood for the True Cross 

According to the Bible in the story on creation, God gave clear instructions that Adam and Eve were not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. God’s intention was for them to live forever in the garden. Eating from the Tree of Life would have brought them immortality (Genesis 3:22). It is no surprise that all through history man has desired and searched for ways to be immortal. How many of us have wished Adam and Eve had not disobeyed God? This disastrous failure eventually resulted in God having to send us a Redeemer. What humankind lost in Adam did we not regain in Christ, the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45)? Does not Revelation promise that to those who are victorious in Christ will eat of the Tree of Life in Paradise (Revelation 2:7)? 

 God told Adam and Eve that if they ate of the Tree of Knowledge they would die (Genesis 2:16–17). Was that not clear enough for them? The Tree of Knowledge can also be expanded to mean Knowledge of good and evil. Why did God say that this Tree of Knowledge is forbidden for Adam and Eve to eat? Why didn’t God tell Adam and Eve that Satan would try to tempt them to eat the fruit and that they should resist? Yet Adam probably watched Eve as she was tempted to eat the fruit and then he himself ate it, hoping that he would gain the wisdom that God had (Genesis 3:6). Can we blame only Eve for succumbing to the temptation when Adam was by her side and also ate when it was offered to him? The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). Is it not ironic that Adam's first words to God expressed fear, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid...so I hid." Do you really think we can hide from God? 

 Why did Adam and Eve show no fear of God and eat the fruit? What made Adam blame Eve for eating the fruit, by saying to God, "The woman you put here in the garden with me was the one who gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.(Genesis 3:12)" Is it not our own selfish pride that makes us blame all our problems on one another? When God questioned Eve she said, "The serpent deceived me, and so I ate the fruit." Did God excuse them because of the serpent's deception? St. Paul says knowledge makes us puff up and feel important, but it is only love that will help build the community (1 Corinthians 8:1). 

Today, what distinguishes us from the rest of God’s creation? It is the collected knowledge that we have gained and stored from the beginning of time. Our knowledge of the good and evil that people are capable of has grown over the centuries and expanded. Further, it is our ability to link our lives with those of our ancestors for many, many, generations. Through the ancestral tree of our forebears, we see the expanding Tree of Life. We see the lives of ancestors and how they have responded to serve God or people as the case may be. The breath of God that brought life to Adam should spur us on to learn more about Him, His ways, and His plans for us each day. The wisdom of God is described as a Tree of Life to those who embrace and hold fast to her(Proverbs 3:18). 

 Why is it that in the abundance of the things to eat and enjoy in the garden, Adam and Eve were drawn to the one deed they were specifically told not to do? By eating the fruit of the Tree, Adam and Eve chose to replace their own knowledge of good and evil for God's. Do we have the freedom to do whatever we want? We all have physical and spiritual limitations. We face temptations in differing degrees. However, temptation becomes a trespass only when we commit to the evil deed. Doubt, obstacles, distractions, and loss are tools used by the devil to instigate us to succumb to temptations. We must always be vigilant of the devil’s attempts to lead us to shame and disgrace. We are all broken people, and have erred in so many ways and gone astray (Romans 3:23). Christ was victorious although He was tempted in the desert (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1). 

Adam and Eve led carefree and bountiful lives in the Garden of Eden, yet they were disobedient and fell to temptation. On the other hand, Christ was obedient even when He was tortured and hung to die on the cross (Philippians 2:8). Thus our immortality is in Christ alone and not within us. Adam gave mortal life to all his descendents, but in Christ we inherit eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Pride of Babel

We live in a time when many of us try to project our pride in our community in various forms. We have Euro pride, White pride, Black pride, Asian pride, and so on. The efforts of some of these organizations to promote the well being of the downtrodden should not be ignored. They work in creative ways that promote learning, give voice to others, and are empowering. They ensure that people can overcome or challenge existing power structures that shackle them to poverty and injustice. This is one of the redeeming aspects of the gospel message that Jesus spoke of; to set the captives free.

Proverbs says that pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18). What gives us self worth? Our achievements or God’s role in bringing us to where we are? It is much easier to recognize pride in another person than in ourselves. What are some of the ways pride is noticeable? Some clues are big headedness, conceit, condescension, disdain, over-confidence, egoism, haughtiness, pretension, self importance, self-love, snobbery, arrogance, boasting, and so on. The proper attitude we should have toward God and one another is humility. Proud people are rarely sorry for their mistakes and never ask for forgiveness. Timothy speaks of such people in 2 Tim 3:2-7. A proud person always boasts of what they can do. However, a child of God boasts of what God has done for them, and in Jesus Christ who has called us to be like Him.

After the flood, the children of Noah slowly spread out all over the earth. They all spoke one language. They began to have an excessive belief in their own abilities. They sought to build a city whose tower would reach up into the heavens. They wanted to make a name for themselves. Could they they have achieved immortality through the Tower of Babel they left behind? They were no longer happy to be children of God; they wanted to be self-sufficient and set apart. God saw their selfish pride and wanted to rectify it. Do we goad one another toward good works or to the downward spiral of self-indulgence and deceit? Are there not times when we keep busy with or piling up material things at the cost of the needs of our community at large?

God spoke and said that the Tower of Babel was a sign that the entire race of people wanted to become equal with God. Pride, vanity, and arrogance have been seen as the source for many other sins to arise from. Hence God scattered the people over the entire face of the earth by confusing their language. God set them up against each other. If they could not understand one another they would never be able to work together. Are there not times in our own lives when we cannot seem to understand what our family members are trying to communicate to us? When do we find ourselves in this vulnerable position? Are these times when we are close to God as a family or away from God? When do we see Nations going into chaos? God created order from chaos, yet here we see the world returning to chaos. It is strange to think that a God of law and order would set the world back into a state of chaos. Yet chaos is a state of freedom with no restrictions that has in itself the ability to be creative or destructive.

Even as the story ends with chaos we see the lineage of Abraham being listed. God is a God of mercy and grace. He preserves those who are faithful to Him from generation to generation. In the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, Jesus says that the Pharisee was proud of who he was and considered himself to be a saint in relation to the Publican who was a sinner. The Publican on the other hand was so conscious of his misdeeds that he groaned and shed tears of repentance. Jesus said, “the Publican was justified because he was humble, for the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.” (Luke 18:9-14) Jesus warns us that pride is one of the evils that comes from within us and defiles us (Mark 7: 20-23). Paul urges us to be humble, thinking of others as better than ourselves (Philippians. 2: 1-4).

Praise the Lord, My Soul

Praise the Lord my Soul 

I love taking photographs of landscapes. One day I went out with a group of friends from church, who were taking photographs of a lake in the neighborhood. We watched a glorious sunrise. After that we went to different spots and were taking photos of cloud formations. I was praying that God would show me something amazing. I took many photos of the clouds and went home. When I loaded them on my computer, I slowly realized that the clouds were somehow speaking to me from this formation. Please do look at the attached photo with a verse from Psalm 104.

When I came across the first few verses of Psalm 104, again I felt the Spirit speak to me about the vision of the clouds I saw that beautiful morning. It was an amazing vision of a heavenly being robed in honor and majesty. Of how God makes the clouds his chariot, rides on the wings of the wind and flames of fire are his servants. I gaze at this photograph framed in my living room as a visual reminder of my faith in God our Father, Jesus our Savior and the Holy Spirit our Guide.

Psalm of Praise to God who made the whole World

1.   My whole being , praises the Lord
       Lord my God, you are very great;

2.     You wear light like a robe.
         You stretch out the skies like a tent.

3.      You build your room above the clouds,
          You make the clouds your chariot,
            And you ride on the wings of the wind.

“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭104:33‬ ‭

Psalms are chanted by Jews and Christians, as a congregation and individually. They are sung as the need arises to praise, worship, and give thanks to God. They are also sung or said in times of crisis and need, as a form of supplication, as a source of comfort and even as a way to express regret for trespasses. Psalm 104 is a Psalm that expresses praise and thanks to the God who is our creator, preserver and provider. The Psalm is a beautiful meditation on God’s glorious creation and the glory that bursts forth from all the earth and endures forever.

The author of this Psalm is unknown.  Writing psalms and songs of praise is an art. Many songwriters find it easy to modify the words of a popular song so that people can learn to appreciate them better. Lyrics of many popular songs have been modeled on the lyrics of songs sung at barrooms and by popular music bands. This Psalm 104 written hundreds of years later for the Bible has a vague resemblance to the Egyptian hymn to Aten - a hymn sung in monotheistic worship to the Sun God 1350 BC. The famous Hymn, “Oh Worship the King” was written based on Psalm 104 by a brilliant Scottish man, Robert Grant. His hymn was influenced by the writings of William Kethe’s paraphrase of Psalm 104 in the Anglo-Geneva’s Psalter (1561). A most recent recent recreation is by Chris Tomlin who wrote a song of praise on this hymn too.

 

Psalms have been a very essential part of the spiritual formation of Christians from the time of the Apostles. Paul and Silas praised God in the prison at midnight when their feet were fastened in chains, and sang Psalms so loudly that the prisoners heard them (Acts 16:23-26). The apostles exhorted the Christians at Ephesus and Colossae to teach and caution one another with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19).

Jesus said I am the Light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness. (John 8:12) The characteristics that the psalmist ascribes to God in the first couple of verses are honor, glory, majesty, and light. Jack Hayford served as the faculty of L.I.F.E. Bible College, and went on to become dean of students and its president. He also served as pastor at 'Church of the Way', starting in 1969; this church grew to over 7,000 members. He wrote the contemporary worship and praise song Majesty based on Psalm 104.

The psalmist goes on to say that God uses the wind and flaming fire (lightning) as His messengers and servants. The most powerful forces of nature that cause great disasters are under God’s powers. When the disciples were with Jesus one day, they were caught in the midst of a furious storm. The waves broke over the boat and they were nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, scolded the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (Mark 4:35-41)

The Psalmist says that it was God who set the earth on its foundations (Psalm 104:5-9). The laws and principles of the Life Sciences we learn and understand today are based on the foundations that God set when he created this world. Do you see the hand of the creator setting the rhythms to life on earth? Do we live in a world of chaos or are there boundaries which are there? Have these boundaries been broken by us?

The psalmist says that God provides for the wild animals and birds from springs in the valley and the streams in the deserts. Will not God provide for humans? Every need of a person is met, with food from the earth, bread and wine to strengthen and gladden the heart, and oil to make the face shine. Does not a human being enjoy far more of the earthly and spiritual blessings than any wild animal or bird? God is our refuge and strength is a beautiful hymn that shares the same music as "America the Beautiful".

The Psalm concludes by saying, “May my meditation be pleasing to the Lord, for I rejoice in the LORD.” Let us rejoice in the Lord with Psalms and singing in God who is our refuge and strength.

Lord when we consider our way in this world
Often its dark, winding and full of potholes
Time and again what we see ahead is the cross and the grave
Let your light shine into our souls Oh Lord
May we see you clothed in splendor and majesty
Endlessly sing of your faithfulness and love
We worship you as our glorious King
We surrender our hope and wishes at thy feet
May your flames of fire show the way for our lives today
Amen

Creator

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1

The other day as my son was listening to the TV he heard one of the current evangelists say that Jerusalem is in the middle of the earth. His nine-year-old mind told him that in science he had read that since the earth's shape is a geoid (earth-like) whereever we may stand if we take a measurement we will be standing approximately at the middle of the earth. How far should science and faith be seen as one? Does Jerusalem being the center of earth still have any spiritual significance to our faith in Christ? Christ should be the center of all our lives. Jesus says in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

The speed at which the earth is rotating around its axis is around 1000 miles per hour. The speed at which it is moving on the 940 million kilometer orbit around the sun is around 67000 miles per hour. The earth has many unique qualities, as it is the only planet with water on it which maintains temperature and atmospheric pressure. The atmosphere of the earth is unique because it has oxygen in it which is the environment for life and growth. It is mind boggling to think that God could get every detail of creation into order for the humongous task of creating the heavens and the earth. Can we ever determine His infinite understanding, authority, wisdom, and power?

Can we even try to understand the importance of a God who created heaven and earth? Do we realize, that beyond the earth, even today, we do not know for sure if any form of life exists? God had a plan, He was going to create a new world, where human beings and heavenly beings could dwell. He not only determined the speed at which the earth would rotate around its axis but also the environment that would sustain life. Some of the finest scientific minds in science such as Isaac Newton, Charles Babbage, Louis Pasteur, Blaise Pascal, Robert Boyle and so on have affirmed that God must have created the heavens and the earth. Can there ever be a real debate on creation versus science? Did the world just come into existence with a great big bang?

The Bible makes us all pause to be in awe of this God who made all of the world and humankind? Only a mystical power could possibly have been responsible for the creation of matter, energy, space, and time. In the world we live in, there is matter and energy that can be perceived with our natural senses, spirits through spiritual senses, and a large and infinite part which goes unknown. We as humans know our limitations, and know for sure that principalities and powers that are superior to us are at work. But we always want to perceive the natural reality we live in and do not want to stretch our imagination beyond to that which is impenetrable, to no purpose in the real or unknown world.

Today scientists look into their Hubble Space Telescope to explore the formation of galaxies during the first 900 million years after the Big Bang. Science is a constantly changing, and what is known today can easily be disproved tomorrow. Take for example the nine planets in the solar system. I grew up learning that there are nine planets, but today it is breaking news in the scientific world that there are only eight planets.

Our Creator is an unchanging God. His word is truth and understanding to those who are willing to believe. Is the story of creation an oral tale or the truth? It is for us to pray and reflect over these issues and come to an understanding. Moses was very clear when he said that, “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” (Ex. 31:17) Our lives should have a contemplative approach to Christian living. They should be based upon a commitment to a balance between work and rest. Jesus led a life with times for rest, solitude, and silence (Matthew 14:22:23). We are also called to lead lives committed to serving those in need. It is in so doing that we find strength and purpose in our fast changing cyber society. When we honor the Sabbath, we are enabled to be more in tune with our hearts and souls, more conscious of the Spirit of God, and more open to building communities of love.