6 Minute Read + Scripture readings
Today’s Bible Reading:
Genesis 3
Matthew 3
Ezra 3
Acts 3
Today’s Bible Verse(s):
“The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.”
Genesis 3:21 (CSB)
Reflections on Today’s Bible Verse(s):
When we look around us, we see a messed up world. We see sickness, heartache, pain, and death. We see injustice, conflict, and so much more. When we then look at Genesis 3, we realize why this is the case.
This is the reason why I felt the need to write a devotional book filled with encouragement. Life can be hard and we need regular doses of the true and positive if we are to keep our heads above water.
In Genesis 3, we see how Adam and Eve sinned which brought God’s judgment and a curse upon all of creation. Adam and Eve were removed from the utopian Garden of Eden and from God’s presence.
But I want you to see something else, friend. God didn’t simply discard Adam and Eve. He did something very special for them. Genesis 3:21 says that He “made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.”
Skins are taken from an animal that has been killed. Essentially, God took the life of an innocent animal to clothe the first two guilty human beings. It was a foreshadowing of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. It ultimately pictured how Jesus, as the Lamb of God, would die on the cross to pay our sin debt and cover our guilt.
Friend, have you sinned in the past week? The past 24 hours? Sure you have. I have, too. The problem is that this makes you guilty before a holy God. But God’s desire is to remedy your problem. He would much rather forgive you than punish you.
If God didn’t love you, He would simply banish you permanently from His presence forever when you mess up. But, instead, He loves you and has made it possible for your guilt to be completely covered.
I suspect that you might be asking the question: “Well if God doesn’t delight to banish guilty people from His presence, why did He banish Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden?” Simply: the Tree of Life was there. God didn’t want Adam and Eve to eat of that tree and live forever in their sinful, messed up condition.
Friend, God has prepared a home for everyone who is covered by the blood of Christ. If you are trusting in Him and what He did for you on the cross to forgive and save you, you are headed for Heaven one day. You have been banished from the Garden of Eden but you are headed for Heaven! No matter what troubles you may face in this life, Heaven awaits you at the finish line.
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Lord God, thank You for loving me so much that You were willing to take the punishment for my guilt. Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the cross to pay the sin debt of every single person who will look to You in faith, trusting in what You did on their behalf. Because of what You have done for me, I want to live for You today. Amen.
Matt’s Musings 