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He said to the woman, 'Yes, has God said, You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?' The woman said to the serpent, 'Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.' The serpent said to the woman, 'You won't surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' Genesis 3:1 WEB

Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden. It was a literal paradise on earth where it never rained. A mist went up from the earth and watered the plants (Genesis 2:6). There was plenty to eat, and life was very good. They lived a good clean life and never knew shame, guilt, suffering, or lack. Then a test came. They had one commandment to obey: 'Don't eat the fruit from this one tree in the middle of the garden.'

The serpent (satan) convinced Eve that the forbidden fruit, the one thing that she did not have, was so desirable. Her life would be so much better if she just had this. She was missing out. The more that she thought about it, the more that she wanted it. She drew closer to it, examined it, saw that it was 'a delight to the eyes' and soon enough, she ate it. Then she gave some to Adam, and he ate it as well. The serpent was fishing, and they took his bait, hook, line, and sinker.

It was a worthless trade. They traded heaven on earth for failure, disappointment, and shame. They lost everything and eventually died where they would have lived forever. They already had every good thing, but the serpent made them feel that God was holding something back, and they desperately needed it.

The enemy tricked them into thinking that the knowledge of evil was something to be desired. They already had the knowledge of good. Thanks to that trade, we now all know about evil as well. There are traps setup by the enemy for your life as well. Be careful of the things that you lust for. They are never as good as you think.

Temptation will always end in a worthless trade. It will look good, but turn out badly. We have a free will to make our own choices, and then we reap what we have sown. Do not fall for the enemy's worthless trade. Do not trade your integrity for a short term reward. In the end, you will feel ashamed for having fallen for it just like Adam and Eve.

Prayer: Heavenly Father I pray that you lead me away from temptation and deliver me from the evil one. Help me to be aware of the tricks of the enemy. Show me the traps that are in my path and help me to avoid them, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Note: Good morning! The Creation Photographers fun theme for the week is "Honor Your Father and Mother", based on Ephesians 6:1-3! As always, you are free to post anything else that inspires you, too! ALSO, the latest Bible Study covering chapter eight of Acts is now available! For links to these areas and more, please see the Announcements at the top of our home page here: Announcements

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