Genesis 3:1-13

Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.

Bible Reading

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'”

You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

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.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

The man said, “The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

– Genesis 3:1-13

Devotion

At the heart of our faith is our ability to stop and surrender to God, to trust Him and obey Him. The serpent first deceived Eve, then Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the tree he told them not to eat from. Willful disobedience is the very heart of sin in our lives.

When God asked Adam about his sin, Adam blamed Eve. Then Eve blamed the serpent. How easy it is to excuse our sins by blaming someone else for our circumstances. However, God knows the truth and he will hold each of us responsible for what we do and how we act (see Genesis 3:14-19).

Sin, or disobedience to God is something we are born with and it passes down from generation to generation, from Adam to us. How we respond to sin is important when it comes to our fellowship with God. Unconfessed sin in our lives can hinder our relationship with God and other people.

The Big Question

Satan always tries to tempt us to doubt God’s truth and God’s love for us. Is he attempting to do this in your life right now in some particular area? Do you tend to blame someone else or your circumstances when you do something wrong in your life? Confess any unconfessed sin in your life that might be hindering your relationship with God and the people in your life.

Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on what you’ve learned.