Reading:    Genesis 3:1 – 24

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.  Genesis 3:6 – 7

A few months ago, my car broke down and needed to be towed.  When the repairman called, he informed me that all I needed was a new battery.  “Great,” I thought, “I’m going to get off pretty cheap.”  Well, when the final bill came, I was a bit shocked.  It seems like batteries are more than I figured.  Not that the battery cost was that much, but I also had to have a cable replaced, and the battery tray replaced, and labor and…you get the idea.  When I said “yes” to a new battery, I definitely got more that I wanted!

Adam and Eve, and through them all of humanity, really got more than we wanted from the fruit of the tree of knowledge.  Eve was promised by the serpent that she would, “be like God, knowing good and evil.”  And Eve ate it, because that sounded good to her.  She, like all of us, wanted to be like God.  The problem is that she bought the lie that the way to be God-like was to know good and evil.  To this point she had only known good; knowing evil wasn’t going to help her (or us) on her quest.

It is a desire built into all of us to be like God.  We were created in His image and our lives are designed to long to be like Him.  But our sinful nature twists that longing from a desire to imitate or reflect God to a desire to become God ourselves.  Instead of wanting to think and act like God, we want to be God ourselves.  But only God can be God.

Our lives are meant to reflect the glory of God.  This is what we were created to do.  And as much as we may want to just bite an apple and become like God, the process is much slower.  As we grow in faith, so too do we grow more into the likeness of God.  Only then will we become like God in the way that God intends.

Challenge:  What “shortcuts” are you trying to take in becoming more Christ-like?  Take time to examine your spiritual life and how you seek to grow into God’s image.

Prayer Request:  Pray that the Holy Spirit will work in peoples’ lives this Easter to help them to grow in His image.

Reading:    Genesis 2:5 – 2:25

Now, although Adam and his wife were both naked, neither of them felt any shame.  Genesis 2:25

We have full length mirrored doors in our bathroom closet.  When we first looked at the house, I thought they were nice.  They make a small space seem bigger.  But now that I live in the house, I don’t like those mirrored doors.  Why?  Because you can’t escape them.  When you wake up in the morning and your hair looks like a bad 3rd grade science fair project the mirrors are there to greet you.  When you just finish a good workout and feel well on your way to a fitter you, the mirrors are there to tell you just how far you have to go.  I don’t like the mirrored doors.  They remind me of the things about me that I want to change or that have changed.  When I’m looking good they are great, but the rest of the time those mirrors show me the me that needs to improve but seems to be failing to do so.

Wouldn’t it be great to honestly say that you were not ashamed?  Just imagine what life would be like if you didn’t have anything that you felt shameful about.  Forget just those shameful thoughts from the extra pounds you see in the mirror.  Think deeper.  Think about the shame that you carry from betraying friends or knowingly hurting another or giving in to greed and lust.  Deep in the darkest parts of each of us are the things that we tell no one else, the things which will forever haunt us with shame.  We may know we are forgiven and accept God’s grace, but we still hold the shame of sins past.

Think about this for a moment:  When God created humanity, He created us without shame.  He created us without the burden of shameful acts in our lives, acts which separate us from His love.  This is what He wanted for us and what He offers us in eternity.  We may struggle with the lingering effects of sin, even sin that is forgiven, but God does not struggle with it.  God promises to wipe away the shame, and indeed He already has on the cross.

Some day, God will restore the world to His perfect order and we will once again be without shame.  That’s the way God wants it, and that’s the way it will be for all eternity.

Challenge:  Are there sins for which you hold deep shame, yet you haven’t confessed them to God?  Take time today to release yourself from the bondage to those sins.  Trust in God that He wants you to live unashamed and will work to restore you.

Prayer Request:  Pray that God will use our Easter weekend services to draw people to repentance and to a personal, saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Reading:    Genesis 1:1 – 2:4

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface. Genesis 1:1-2

All artists start with a blank canvas.  Well, maybe not a canvas.  It could be a blank page or a large block of marble or a clean music score or a lump of clay or a “formless mass cloaked in darkness.”  That’s what God started with when He created the world and every thing in it.  Just imagine the nothing-ness!  God didn’t start with grass and trees and rocks and water.  He started with nothing.  There wasn’t even light.  And with no light, there wasn’t even color!  In the beginning there was only a formless mass cloaked in darkness, and God even created that!  It was from this dark formless mass that God brought forth light and color and land and water and earth and wind and sky and everything in the entire world, even us.  It is truly the greatest work of art ever created.

If you ever begin to question God the artist, just look around you.  Have you ever tried to mix yellow and red to make the perfect color of orange to paint the sunset?  With God’s voice the sky bursts forth with color.  Have you taken pencil to paper to sketch a delicate flower?  God’s words make the fields flutter with more flowers than you can count.  We may come to understand more and more about how God’s world works, but we will never be able to recreate the beauty of God’s creation.

Isn’t it amazing that God loves us enough that He created a beautiful world for us to live in?  Life could be easily sustained in a much less beautiful world.  But God gives us a world of immense beauty in which to celebrate His majesty.  What a great gift God gives us!

Challenge:  Express your own artistic side!  Take time today to write a poem, draw a picture, sing a song, or use your own God-given creative talents to praise God for His great creation.

Prayer Request:  Pray for beautiful weather for Good Friday – Easter so we can celebrate the joy of the resurrection in the majesty of God’s creation.

Lent 2006

Dear Friend,

Grace and peace!

If I had to pick a favorite season of the Christian year, I would probably pick Lent.  I know, it sounds crazy.  Lent, as we have typically practiced it as Christians, isn’t a pleasant thought.  We see Lent as a gray and dreary time – a time to sacrifice and practice repentance or even penance for our sins.  There are no joyous songs.  The dark purples and grays that decorate Lent don’t bring cheer like the bright lights and colors of Advent and Christmas.  Our focus is on the cold interior of our hearts and our need for salvation.  Just in writing this I’ve almost convinced myself that I’m crazy to love Lent, but I still do.  Why?  Because of the challenge.  Lent, to me, is about challenging myself in my faith.  I use Lent as a time to try and live a more disciplined life, knowing the reward is a stronger faith.  If I fulfill the challenges that I set for myself in Lent, I know that I will be closer to Christ.  So the challenge of Lent makes the excitement of Easter even more real.

This Lent, among the challenges I have set for myself is to write daily devotions to show the big picture of God’s work.  I will work quickly from Genesis to Jesus’ resurrection to paint with broad strokes the steps God has taken toward us to show us He loves us.  I invite you to come along with me on this journey.  The format will be similar to our Advent devotionals, but will feature a daily reading as well as a scripture from which I will take my devotional.  There will also be a question or challenge for us each day, as well as a prayer concern focused on our Easter weekend outreach events at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.  As we look at the fullness of God’s love, He will prepare us for a great time together on Easter morning.  I’m praying for it, and I know you will be as well.

Lent is a great time to challenge ourselves to grow in Christ.  I hope you will join me as we look at the big picture of God’s love and revive in our hearts a deep, abiding love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

May God strengthen you for your Lenten journey.

In Christ,

Howard Huhn