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Daily devotional

December 2 – Permission & prohibition

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”– Genesis 2:16-17  Scripture reading: Genesis 2:16-25 Picture-perfect. That's how the world really was when God first created it. And Adam and Eve could have lived in this perfect state forever if they obeyed God's command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Was God being miserly and restrictive by prohibiting this one tree? No! God gave Adam and Eve permission to eat from any and all of the multitude of trees in the garden. They had a buffet-sized selection of food to sustain and satisfy them. Only one was off-limits. This tells us something about God. He is not miserly nor stingy. Not at all! He is generous. He delights to bless His children with an abundance of good gifts. Consider how He lavishly provided Adam and Eve with a Paradise full of pleasures to enjoy: food, drink, fellowship, friendship, and the pleasures of sight, smell, sound, taste and touch, too! Would they delight in the abundance God had provided for them? Would they willingly obey His command? If so, they would continue to enjoy this state of peace, tranquility and harmony with God and with each other. Paradise would be theirs. Theirs forever! But if they disobeyed, Paradise would be lost. And they would surely die. God continues to bestow many blessings upon us each day. His mercies are new every morning. Will we accept the blessings He gives and find pleasure in them? Or will we look for pleasure in that which is forbidden? Suggestions for prayer Every good thing you have is ultimately a generous gift given to you by God (James 1:17). Name some of these gifts, thank God for them, and pray that you would delight in them. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Brian Zegers has been serving the Lord by working with Word of Life Ministry as home missionary to the Muslim community in Toronto, Ontario since 2015....

Daily devotional

December 1 – “Looking forward to the coming of Christ” series

Looking Forward: My guess is that as you turned the page on your calendar from November to December, your first thought might have been, “Wow! Christmas is almost upon us again!” For children and adults alike, Christmas day is often the first thing that comes to mind as we transition into the last month of the year. Understandably so because the celebration of Christ's birth is something that we look forward to with a sense of excitement and eager anticipation. Christmas lights come out. Christmas trees are put up. Christmas music is turned on. Jesus' birth is certainly an event worth remembering. While our thinking turns to Jesus' birth once again, we do well to remind ourselves that God began thinking about Christ's coming into the world long before the world even began. And did you know that the first promise about Christ's coming was given by God in the Garden of Eden over six thousand years ago? Jump in with us this month to journey through the Bible with the theme “Looking forward to the coming of Christ” as our tour guide. Since the first few chapters of Genesis are so foundational we will spend the first few days camping in the Garden of Eden. Our pace will then pick up as we travel into Egypt (Exodus), through the wilderness (Numbers), into the Promised Land (Joshua), then to a foreign land, and back to the Promised Land again where the long-promised Saviour is born. We will end our journey by looking forward to Christ's second Advent. Let's begin our journey. Picture perfect paradise “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” – Genesis 1:1, 31a Scripture reading: Genesis 1:1, 31; 2:1-15 When God created the universe, everything was perfect. Pristinely perfect! Adam and Eve lived in God's beautiful garden and pleasures abounded. Flowers to see and smell, birds to hear, playful animals to watch, satisfying sensations from the sense of touch, tasty food to savor, refreshing water to drink, cascading waterfalls, lush valleys and magnificent mountain vistas to view. And to top it all off – the closest of companionship with God and with a spouse in which to enjoy all these blessings. What a joy! Adam and Eve also worked the garden, but it was pure pleasure to work in God's service. It's been said, “Get a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life.” That's the way it was for Adam and Eve in Paradise. In this state of supreme happiness and contentment, they did not have to look forward to a better state. They were living in a picture-perfect world. But it wasn't just a picture. It was real! Sadly, our experience of life falls so very far short of this perfect Paradise. It is hard for us to even imagine what life was like for Adam and Eve. But take heart! God will restore this world to its pristine and perfect state when Jesus returns. “Behold,” He promises in Isaiah 65:17, “I will create new heavens and a new earth.” You will be among those who enjoy life in this renewed creation if you trust in Jesus as your Saviour and the Lord of all creation. Suggestions for prayer As you worship today on this first Sunday of Advent, thank God for the promise of Jesus' second coming and the new creation He promises to usher in when He comes again. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Brian Zegers has been serving the Lord by working with Word of Life Ministry as home missionary to the Muslim community in Toronto, Ontario since 2015....

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