Eve Ran the STOP Sign.

I keep a laminated colored STOP sign in my office as a visual when counseling young people. It’s about a foot wide, big enough to hold in front of my face. It seems to do the trick, at least for a while, in helping students to learn to just “STOP” before reacting.  Of course you and I as adults know that the Holy Spirit can be called on as our STOP sign but the young crowd sometimes need a visual to get to the truth.  It can be a long process for some, while others do OK with it.

Eve, the first woman, never stopped long enough at the STOP sign.  She slowed down and almost made it, but because of her slow motion reaction to Satan she fell prey to the slam dunk of the evil one which changed everything for her AND her husband. We don’t know if she had been playing around at this STOP sign before because the Bible only gives us this record, BUT the fact remains, God had already given her the breaks to STOP…..but she didn’t.

Ge 3:1-6 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.   

Eve could have TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF GOD’S WORD AS THE ONLY TRUTH THAT SHE NEEDED, BUT SHE DIDN’T! Why? I don’t know! A thousand times I have asked this and yet, I do the same! Do you? Taking ADVANTAGE of the truth of God’s Word KEEPS US in His Word, but NOT taking advantage of His Word takes us right outside of His truth. 

There we are standing in the middle of oncoming traffic..... or in the river wailing our arms fighting the waves.....or at the mountain top tilted downward ready to end our own lives.....or slumped over in the valley, the muck ready to cover us up with stink……..There we are WITH the most powerful Words ever written, heard and said. They are ours for the speaking. They are ours to believe! They are ours TO LIVE and keep on living in TRUTH!!!!  

We are guilty….more guilty….than Eve, folks.  We have MORE Words, written Words, than Eve had. I know, I know, you have said it as I have said more than once, “Well, if I had Jesus or God literally walking beside me every day, I wouldn’t question anything! I would just obey. It was easier for Eve because she had God walking with her in the garden.”  

Really? Let's just be honest.

Just recently I was sharing some school information and asked the man, “So, you worship Buddha?”

“Yes, I do. My family worships Buddha, too.”

“Sir, you do understand that your son will hear every day that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father? You realize that he could be convicted of believing a lie, in a false god, such as Buddha and then will have the opportunity to repent of that sin and become a Christian?”

“Yes, I do. It is ok. Jesus was a good man.”

“No sir, Jesus is God and came in the form of a man to this earth for you, your son and for the rest of the world.”

“Yes, I do believe, but Buddha……..” And then, off he went into a false hope, a lie, and has kept partaking of the rotten fruit of a dead tree destined for Hell!

I was not getting to where I wanted to go, but the Holy Spirit stopped me. I knew it, but in my last attempt, I sat there and just stared at this man as he stared back and I felt as if the serpent himself had slivered into the garden and once again presented a lie. 

Frustrated, I wanted to hold up my STOP sign to this man, his wife, and his precious son but it was time to move over and allow the Holy Spirit to continue the job ahead. I looked at the precious little boy and knew he would hear the truth very soon not only by his teacher, but through missionaries who speak in our school, through our cafeteria supervisor who takes a personal interest in ALL children, through our Main Office as they smile and slip the Words of Jesus to the children, through our Pastor as He walks the halls of our school encouraging the children, through music class as they sing songs of Christ, through their Library time listening to puppets acting as Biblical characters, through Physical Education class while exercising and quoting scripture, through art class as they paint, draw pictures of God’s earth,  and through me who at ANY time of ANY day can call the little ones to my office, offer a piece of candy or cookie and ask, “Well, how is your day?”

Whatever your temptation, STOP and consider the following:

Lord, I don’t want to stop but know that I should.

Lord, I’m calling on you to strengthen me to do what is right and NOT what I want to do.

Lord, I now accept your strength to do the right thing.

Lord, thank you for STOPPING ME!

It's not just another counseling session, folks, it is all about God in you who gives you the power of His Word to walk away from the lying spirit of our enemy!!!

Until next time, Lord willing.

Sharon