Category: Genesis

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 5 before reading the devotional below.

Some parts of the Bible make us want to hit the “Skip” button. Today’s chapter is one of those parts. While a small handful of people really love genealogy (my mother has binders full of family trees…), it’s hard to come to the Bible seeking inspiration and find a chapter with a bunch of names and ages. As usual, we are going to try to understand why God would include this in his message to us.

If you tune in rather than hitting skip, you’ll notice that people lived a lot longer back in the day. Through this historical account, we can also get a sense of how much time passed from Adam to Noah. This chapter also gives us a direct line from Adam to Noah, showing the way in which God works within human history. Some other religions have documents that contain false claims or do not align with the actual timeframes we know about through history. Here we see that the history of humanity is something God cares deeply about.

Here’s your freedom for today:

God sees you in context.

You are not separate from history. You come from somewhere, and ultimately that somewhere connects to the beginning of all humanity. God sees your family and he sees generations before you that you don’t even know about. He knows where you came from and where you are headed. He drew a line from Adam to Noah — from the entrance of sin into the world to a moment of starting over because sin had become so horrible. God’s drawing a line that connects your story with other stories, and because of this he knows your every strength and weakness. He knows where sin has hurt you and where sin has owned you. He’s making plans to rescue you and protect you from further harm.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 4 before reading the devotional below.

Well, things are going south pretty fast here in Genesis. Sin entered the world and within a generation brothers are murdering each other. It’s a grim but telling reality of just how destructive sin is. While we are hopefully not going around murdering people, we often engage in the root of the problem: comparison.

Cain becomes jealous of his brother Abel and ends up killing him. Why? Ultimately he felt that God loved Abel more. In verses 6 and 7, God warns Cain that “sin is crouching at the door…” What might have happened if Cain had taken the way out in that moment instead of allowing his anger to carry him into even deeper sin?

Here’s your freedom for today:

Doing what is right always brings you into freedom.

Cain was angry. He felt hurt when he compared himself to his brother. Yet his anger was misdirected. He had given God a half-hearted gift, but his brother had brought the best of what he had. The comparison was not in the size of the offering, but in the desire to give to God. Cain could not see that his heart was not in the right place. Instead, he projected blame onto God and Abel. Had he listened to God in that moment and taken an honest look at himself, he would have experienced freedom. He could have been closer to God. Instead, he makes things worse and becomes even more separated from God. Choose the path to freedom today — take an honest look at yourself and seek God instead of blaming others.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 3 before reading the devotional below.

Before we explore Genesis 3, we have to go back to Genesis 1:26, where God gives humans authority over “all the wild animals on the earth.” With that in mind, notice in Genesis 3:1 it says, “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made.” It’s a complicated backstory — and we only know bits and pieces of it from other parts of the Bible — but Satan (also known as the Devil or Lucifer) shows up here as a serpent. This is an important detail because of the authority God had given humans over the animals. It’s no accident that Satan showed up as a lesser creature.

Why does all this matter? Because Adam and Eve had freedom, and they also had authority. They could have thrown the serpent out of the Garden. They could have commanded him to shut his mouth and stop his lies. Humanity lost everything when we handed our authority over to the very thing we were supposed to rule over. What’s worse, we keep doing the same thing every single day.

Here’s your freedom for today:

You have been given great power.

Some may say it’s not fair that Adam and Eve ruined the world and we all have to suffer for it. Perhaps you think you could have done better. Ultimately, Adam and Eve represent the weakness of us all. And Jesus also chose to represent us all. Romans 5:12-19 explains this well. God’s original command gave humanity authority over creation. When we handed our authority over to Satan, he began to rule (2 Corinthians 4:4 calls him “the god of this world”). However, Jesus’ life on earth and resurrection from death turned the tables. In Jesus we now have power and authority restored to us. Too often, we give away our power just like Adam and Eve did. We believe lies (“Does God really love you? Did God really say that?”) and we repeat exactly what Adam and Eve did. In Jesus we have the authority to tell Satan to leave us alone — let’s make use of it.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 2 before reading the devotional below.

Do you ever feel like this world isn’t what it’s supposed to be? Do you feel like you were made for something more? Genesis 2 helps us see God’s original vision for our home: a perfect place filled with the richest of resources and a sense of purpose. This chapter in the Bible is perhaps more critical to the Gospel story than you might realize. Without it, we cannot understand how God intended us to be.

Verses 4-8 give us a sense that there was time passing during creation, as opposed to God’s creative work being over in a literal week. Plants weren’t growing yet, and there were no people to cultivate the land. If you are reading this as a science or history book, you’ll be confused by this point. Genesis 1 describes God’s creation of humans, and then Genesis 2 does it again. Let’s remember that this book paints a broader picture of why we are here and who God is.

Here’s your freedom for today:

God has more for you than what you can see right now.

God’s heart for people is evident from the start. He wanted us to have everything we needed, not just to survive but to thrive. He created the world with us in mind, and gave us a meaningful role in managing the rest of creation. He gave us each other for companionship and help. He gave us limits that would protect us from harm. He gave us freedom to act, which as we will see tomorrow was the riskiest gift of all.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 1 before reading the devotional below.

Some people new to the Bible think that they should start at the beginning, just as you would a regular book. If you choose to go that route, you’ll start right here at Genesis 1. It’s the story of God’s creation of the world. Humans have asked the question, “How did we get here?” for a pretty long time. And there are some striking similarities in the answers of various cultures.

It’s important to know that the Bible is not a science book. Rather, it is the word of God in which he reveals himself to mankind. If you’ve been reading these devotionals for a while, you’ll know that I’m always coming back to one thing: what does God want us to know about himself in this story?

Here’s your freedom for today:

God’s love is reflected in his creativity.

I don’t know if the world was created in seven literal days or if the story we read in Genesis 1 captures something more. Honestly, I don’t think it matters, and I’m not big on debates because I don’t think God and science are fighting. What I do believe is that the Bible presents us with a clear story of a loving and creative God who intentionally set a world in motion with a purpose and a plan. We’re not here by accident, and I personally think it takes a lot more faith to believe that life sparked from some kind of crazy scientific mishap. Truth is something that God creates and science discovers. So the real question is this: are you on a quest to discover the truth wherever it lies?