One small step of obedience

Today's Reading: Genesis 12:1-9

This week begins our look at God building the nation of Israel. He starts in today's reading by calling out Abram:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

The next sentence is short and very interesting: "So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him."

Unlike others that we will read about in The Story, Abram didn't argue with God. According to scripture, he just got up and went. And took his family and servants and animals and possessions with him. I wonder where they thought they were going.

I always want to know all the details. Yep, I'm a schedule girl. I like spontaneity...and I can even do it sometimes. But I'm better if the spontaneity is scheduled. So if God had said that to me, I'm sure I would have asked at least one or two...or a hundred...questions.

Adam and Eve made a small decision that had generations of consequences, and we now see Abram take one small step of obedience that also had generations of consequences. And I guess the thing I want to learn from Abram is to just take that step. No need to ask a lot of questions. No need worry about what comes next. No need to look back at where I've been. Just do the thing that God has asked me to do today and let Him worry about the rest.

Just one small step...in the right direction can make all the world of difference in our lives. Where is God calling you to take that step?

- Holly Barrett

One Small Decision

Today's Reading: Genesis 3:14-24

This has been an interesting week in The Story as we have studied the fall of man in our Bible classes and LifeGroups. I don't know about your class or group, but interesting questions have popped up in both of mine. Things like whether or not Eve had experienced childbirth when God said He would increase her pains in childbearing, where was Adam when Eve was talking with the serpent, why did God have to drive them out of the Garden? It makes for lots of interesting discussion and speculation. And it probably adds to the list of questions that we all plan to ask God when we get to heaven!

What's interesting to me in today's reading is the outline of the discipline that God is taking with all three perpetrators. First He holds everyone responsible. Earlier in the chapter the serpent is described as crafty. But God didn't let him off just because he was doing what you would expect a crafty serpent to do. And Adam and Eve didn't get off the hook because they were deceived by the serpent. They had been given instructions from the mouth of God and were expected to obey them. No, there were still consequences to everyone's actions and God held them accountable.

And secondly, each sin had consequences that reached far beyond what any of them could have imagined. The serpent was destined to crawl on his belly for the rest of his life...and so were his descendants. Adam and Eve were introduced to death and suffering and the desire to sin for the rest of their lives...and we all see the consequences of that in our own lives. None of us sin in a vacuum. There are always consequences and they almost always will go much further than we ever dreamed.

Accountability and far-reaching consequences. That's a lot to have to learn from one small decision. And maybe that's the biggest lesson of all. When it comes to our Christian walk, there are no small decisions...especially in regards to sin. We will always be held accountable and someone will always get hurt. Isn't it just easier to be obedient from the start?

- Holly Barrett

The Blame Game

Today's Reading: Genesis 3:7-13

When I was a little girl, my mother came home one day and noticed something very funny about one of our cats. He had large patches of fur missing from one side and when she looked at his face, all the whiskers on one side were gone. Calling my brother and me in to look at the cat, she asked us if we knew what had happened to him. We promised her that we had no idea how it happened! When the truth finally came out, my brother blamed me for holding the cat still and I blamed him for wielding the scissors.

We both got in trouble.

That's my first recollection of playing the blame game. I'm sure I've played it at least several times since then. It's so easy to point the finger at someone else to save our own skin, isn't it?

That's where we find Adam and Eve in today's reading. When God finds out they have eaten from the tree they were commanded not to eat from, they immediately started pointing fingers.

Adam blamed it on Eve, "The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Actually, he kinda blames God at first...as if it was God's fault because He put the woman there with Adam.

The Eve followed up with, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Nobody wanted to take responsibility for their own actions. It didn't take them half a second to blame the other person in an effort to save themselves.

But they both get in trouble.

I often wonder, what would have happened if they had just owned up to from the start? Oh, there still would have been consequences for breaking God's commands. But I wonder if the sting of the discipline was that much sharper because they turned on the one they were supposed to love and denied each other to the God who loved them both?

- Holly Barrett

The Blessing of Marriage

Today's Reading: Genesis 2:18-25

It's hard to write on this passage of scripture which really institutes the first marriage when you are no longer married! Especially if your marriage didn't go well, which mine didn't. At the same time though, it is a passage that gives me hope that one day I might have the blessing of a godly spouse.

After not finding a helper suitable for Adam, God decides to create one. He makes Adam fall into a deep sleep, takes one of his ribs, and forms Eve. He then presents her to Adam as a gift. And Adam says, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman' for she was taken out of man" (verse 23).

Of all the gifts Adam had already received, there was none like Eve. She was like him in that she was another human. She was presented to Adam by his Maker. She was part of him. You can just tell by his words that he is going to cherish her.

To view your marriage as something to be treasured is a tremendous gift you can give your spouse. Imagine how special you would feel if you knew that your spouse viewed you as a gift from God to protect and cherish.

Now imagine how your spouse would feel if you viewed them as that same gift.

I know not all marriages are the same. And there are good days and bad days in all marriages. But let me encourage you to look for the good in your spouse and in your marriage. Hold on to those things. Encourage one another to walk in that goodness. Cherish your spouse and their place in your life. Thank them for the positive things they add to your relationship. And thank God each day for the blessing of being married.

- Holly Barrett

Changing Our Focus

Today's Reading: Genesis 2:8-17

I got to visit with my daughter and her family last week in CO and loved having those days to spend with my nearly-two-year-old grandson. My daughter has been trying to get him to give up his pacifier, or "bi-bi" as he calls it, but hasn't had much luck. She has told him he can have it for naptime and for nighttime but he often wants it during the day. It's interesting to watch because this child does not lack for anything to play with! He's got plenty of toys, two dogs, and lots of videos to watch. He goes to daycare and has friends to play with. He loves to play outside with his basketball hoop and his big wheel.

But for some reason, he just has to have that pacifier. And if you tell him no, you are liable to have a fight on your hands unless you have something else to distract him with. It seems that the very idea that he can't have it makes it all the more attractive to him!

At this point in our story, God has planted a garden and placed man in it to work and take care of it. In verses 16 and 17, God gives the man one command, "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."

Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Eat of any tree in the garden, except this one. I don't know how many trees there were in the garden but we can probably assume there were plenty of choices. So the man shouldn't have had any reason to go anywhere near the tree. If you are new to Bible study, you don't know the rest of the story yet. And if you've read it before, just pretend you don't know what will happen in a few short verses. Because what I want to focus on here is our tendency to get stuck on the idea of the things we can't have.

It's why God's ways seem so restrictive to some people. Rather than seeing God's limitations as protection for us, some people choose to see them as punishment for a crime we haven't committed yet. Rather than focusing on the bounty that God has blessed us with, some of us choose to pout over the one thing He asks us to leave alone.

Let me encourage you today to change your focus. Look at the blessings God has given you and be grateful. When we focus on these things, we won't have time to notice the things we think we are doing without. Then maybe that "bi-bi" won't be so attractive to us after all.

- Holly Barrett

The Breath of Life

Today's Reading: Genesis 2:1-7

I had looked forward to this past week for a couple of months. The summer was long and very busy around the church office. You would have thought we had some big event coming up at the end of the summer or something! So this past week was a chance to get away and rest a little. Of course, heading to CO to see my grandson made the week exciting too!

Finally, our creation story comes to a conclusion. God has formed the earth and all that will inhabit it. And on the 7th day he rested. Thus setting up for us a cycle of life that we would do well to adopt. Six days of work and one day of rest.

Chapter 2 then goes into a more detailed explanation of the creation of Adam...how God formed him from the dust of the ground and then breathed life into him. That is the phrase that gets me every time.

The God of the universe breathed the very life into Adam, and mankind was born.

He does that for us today too. Certainly the pattern of working and taking a day of rest will breathe new life into us. A day of rest sets us up to meet the challenges of the week ahead. A day of rest allows our minds to regenerate and our bodies to refresh. Find some time in your week to take a day of rest. It doesn't have to be Sunday. I work on Sundays so there's not much rest there. But Saturdays are a different story. That's the day I try my hardest to be at home with nothing planned!

God's word also breathes life into us as well. It transforms us as our minds are renewed. It instructs us in God's will. It convicts us of change we need to make. It empowers us to follow him. It breathes life...the very life we need. Find time each day to be in God's word.

Wonder what our lives would be like if we allowed God to breathe into us through the renewal that comes with rest and is found in his word? I know...let's try it out and see what happens!

- Holly Barrett

It was very good...

Today's Reading: Genesis 1:26-31

The creation story continues in these few short verses, as "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

God blessed them, gave them dominion over everything else on the earth and encouraged them to multiply and populate the earth. Man and woman are God's crowning achievement in creation. The pinnacle of all his work. And so he sits back, surveys all that he has created and declares that it is very good. 

On the days that life just heaps all kinds of ugly burdens on us and we aren't feeling all that great about who we are, can I just say that we should come back here and read the account of creation? Because God made us in his own image and then he declared us very good. 

For just one day, let's not look in the mirror and pick out all our flaws. Let's not over analyze every word that comes out of our mouths and kick ourselves for self-perceived imperfections. And certainly let's not be critical of one another. God made us all. And regardless of the flaws we all have, we are made in his image.

And it was very good.

- Holly Barrett

The Beauty That Surrounds Us

Today's Reading: Genesis 1:14-25

Have you ever made something and just couldn't wait for someone else to see it? Or taste it? Or use it?

Maybe your kids have made an art project or finished a craft that they just couldn't wait for you to see.

Here in our Story, days 1 through 3 have come and gone. As I think of God in the most human of terms, I'm sure he must have had a sense of accomplishment over the beauty of his creation. But at this point, he has created this wonderful backdrop and there is no one there to enjoy it.

And so we come to days 4 through 6. In the expanse of the sky, he created stars and sun and moon. In the water, in the air, and on the land he created the fish and birds and every living creature. And once again, he called his creation good.

Where do you see our Creator in nature? I'm not much of an outdoor girl. The sun can be a bit much for this light-skinned, red-haired, blue-eyed gal. Not to mention the allergies. But I do love the view of nature. One of my favorite places to sit is at my kitchen table facing the window where I can see out into my front yard. Another favorite place is anywhere in the western part of our state where I can sit in a rocking chair on a porch and look out at the grandeur of the mountains. Of course, I can sit for hours looking at and listening to the roar of the waves at the coast too.

Let me encourage you today to find a place that you love that is out there somewhere. Go there and sit for a while and just soak in the beauty that God created. I am a firm believer that when we take the time to notice the beauty around us, we can feel the presence of God deeper. And we can hear him calling us back into his story.

- Holly Barrett

And it was good...

Today's Reading: Genesis 1:1-13

Today we start The Story. It is God's Story. It is our story. It is my story. And it is your story. It is the story of a God who created a perfect world for his perfect creation to live in. It is the story of God's ever-present desire to live in harmony with us. It is the story of the great lengths he will go to make that happen.

"In the beginning..."

Can you imagine what it must have been like? On the first three days, he created heaven and earth, separated light from darkness, separated the waters, caused dry ground to appear, and then added all kinds of vegetation to populate the land.

And it was good.

Can you imagine the care he must have taken to create something worthy of his calling it good? How much thought and love he must have poured into it. How he must have imagined the finished product as he carefully crafted each component of the perfect world.

Allow yourself to bask in this opening scene as The Story begins. Let your heart be tendered towards the father of all creation as he begins this journey. Picture in your mind's eye how beautiful it all must have been.

And it was good.

- Holly Barrett

Holding On for Dear Life

Today's Reading: Acts 20:7-12

This week has been an exciting week for my family. My son-in-law, Daniel, a US Army Sergeant returned from deployment in Afghanistan. His unit came in on Wednesday morning and my daughter, Rachel, and grandson, Cohen, attended a wonderful homecoming celebration.

We had all been a little concerned about how Cohen would respond. He was only 16 months old when Daniel left in March, so Rachel was worried that Cohen might not remember or might react out of shyness or fear because of the length of time since he had seen his daddy. Rachel diligently spent the last six months showing Cohen pictures of Daniel, talking about Daddy and when he would come home, and on occasion, they even got to Skype so Cohen could see Daniel.

Still, with an almost-two-year-old, you never really know what you are gonna get.

We shouldn't have been worried at all...

As soon as Cohen got to Daniel, he grabbed his daddy around the neck and held on for dear life! It was a two-year-old's death grip!

Today's reading takes us to Acts 20 where Paul is known for preaching a sermon that droned...er, went on...for hours! It was so long in fact that Eutychus went to sleep, fell out of the third story window he was sitting in and died. Verse 10 says, "Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!”

I loved the writer's description of Paul throwing himself on the young man and putting his arms around him. Kinda reminded me of my sweet grandson and his precious daddy!

Paul was so concerned for this young man that he bodily threw himself at Eutychus, wrapped his arms around him, and saved him. Isn't that what we need to do for each other? Whether it is someone we've met who doesn't know Jesus...or one of our own brothers and sisters who have walked off the path into sin, shouldn't we run after them? Shouldn't we tackle them if necessary? Shouldn't we do the Cohen-death-grip around their neck? Shouldn't we help them come back to LIFE?

How wonderful to be able to say, "Don't be alarmed! He's alive!"

- Holly Barrett

Shift Change

Today's Reading: Acts 19:1-10

There have been times in my life when I was suffering under the mistaken notion that something was a particular way and then found out I was completely wrong. You've probably had a similar experience, haven't you? We are just moving along in out own little worlds when we find out some news that turns everything on its head!

During Paul's travels he met up with some believers who were in that same situation. They believed what they had been taught by John the Baptist. They'd even been baptized into repentance. But they had not been baptized into Jesus or received the Holy Spirit. And so Paul taught them about Jesus, placed his hands on them, and they were baptized, receiving the Holy Spirit. Don't you imagine that was quite a shift in their way of thinking?

Sometimes we need a shift in our thinking too. We may need to look at our lives or our walk with Jesus in a different way to move through a stronghold or to receive instruction. Conviction often brings a shift in our way of thinking as well. It may be hard to do...painful even...but the good news is that we aren't left alone to make that shift by ourselves. In Acts 19, there were 12 men who experienced this change in their lives. And in our church family, we have lots of folks that we can lean on when a shift needs to take place for us.

Let me encourage you today to look for the areas where you need to adjust your attitude, thinking or behavior. Ask for help from a brother or sister if you need it. And welcome the change. Who knows how God will use that in your life going forward?

- Holly Barrett

Prison Bars and Deliverance

Today's Reading: Acts 16:16-34

This passage is an account of Paul and Silas in prison. The had cast an evil spirit out of a young girl and the slave owners who were making money off of the girl hauled Paul and Silas into the marketplace where they were "tried" and then flogged and thrown into prison. They were shackled and put into an inner cell as an extra safeguard against escape.

As they were singing and praying around midnight, an earthquake shook the ground, the prison doors flew open and all the prisoners' chains fell off. The jailer was so distraught that he was going to kill himself on the spot until Paul stopped him because none of the prisoners had escaped.

Scripture doesn't record what Paul said to the jailer about his deliverance. It was probably a testimony about how they were singing and praying and God intervened to set them free. Through that testimony, this man and his whole household came to know Jesus and were baptized because of this incident.

I've never been in a jail cell. Not a physical one anyway. I have been in a stronghold of sin that seemed as unbreakable as the most solid prison cell I can imagine. And although there wasn't a physical earthquake the day I received deliverance, the ground underneath my feet did seem to have shifted as my eyes cleared and my heart sang for the first time in months.

You may well know someone who is in bondage...maybe in a physical jail cell. Maybe just locked in a whole heap of stuff that seems like it will never let go. But just as Jesus delivered the young girl from her demon and the jailer from his distress through Paul and Silas, He can deliver anyone who turns to Him. All we have to do is tell them the story of our own deliverance. Jesus will do the rest.

- Holly Barrett