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Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
Having been reading of how our loving compassionate concerned and powerful God - the Father of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ - created this universe, we move onto Chapter 4 of Genesis.
He created our world and everything in it.
He creates man and places him in that perfect environment.
Adam was filled with the life of God - and Adam was given a perfect companion - and God gave man authority over the whole of Creation.
We saw how man was given the gift of work - meaningful purposeful work - to give him a sense of fulfilment. We read of how everything went so terribly wrong in Chapter 3 - as God's Word was questioned and twisted and distorted, until it was deliberately disobeyed.
Then Adam and Even tried to hide from God - the ground is cursed - and pain and suffering and disease and death enter in - and God never intended things to turn out that way. Haven't we found this? We seek to serve Jesus Christ - and work and minister - but because of the power of sin in the world - things have not worked out the way we thought they would.
And yet, Jesus in His mercy and love calls us time and time again, to come to Him and be forgiven and washed and renewed and empowered afresh.
We have seen how Genesis is the Book of "beginnings" - and that continues in Chapter 4, where we have the first birth - the first murder and death - the shedding of man's blood for the first time.
We read of Adam lying with his wife - and she conceives and gives birth to a son called Cain. Cain means 'gotten'. I have brought forth, or acquired, or ‘gotten’, a man from the Lord. Did Eve think that this was the seed, which would bruise the serpent's head? Was this the Saviour? No.
Later - Abel is born - his name means 'breath' - a slight thing.
Abel was a keeper of the sheep - and Cain worked the ground.
They were from the same parents - but so very different.
One had faith - one didn't.
This is what divides people. We see this from the very beginning - those who believe in God and who seek to do things God's way – and those who do not.
This first family had a place of worship - a place to which they could come with their offerings.
It is right and good and proper to come and worship and present your offerings - but it is necessary to come to God in the right way.
Worship has almost become a forgotten element in the nature of man. What are we going to do about it? What can you do about it?
“Our loving Father, give us that desire and longing to worship You, in a more intimate and deeper dimension. Enable us to bow before You, and worship in spirit and in truth – so help us, Lord Jesus.” Amen
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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