God's creative ability is incredible. Describe one natural wonder or personal experience from God that has profoundly influenced your belief in Him.
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How do you think the Serpent was able to tempt Eve to sin if she was created perfect?
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What affect has the Fall of Adam and Eve had on you?
I truly believe that God can and will use anything to speak to us. I was 17 years old when I began to question God. I had discussed with my mother about questioning God. She had shown me through out scripture of different people who questioned him and now the questions began to develop in my head.i was on my way home from school on a city bus in downtown Milwaukee. I sat and thought "God, if you are real, show me something that would be unmistakably be a sign that you are real and hearing me". I raced through my thoughts and the hardest thing I could think of was a fire truck in the middle of down town. Something I knew wouldn't happen. Sure enough the largest firetruck on the force drives past my bus for no reason at all blowing its horns. I knew that this was God, but still laughed in disbelief. There was a second firetruck that had passed through the heart of the city about two minutes later. There was no emergency just a normal day. By this time I was laughing out loud with tears of joy because God did prove he was listening. And because He is bigger than life and knows me, He sent a Third huge fire truck before my bus had left the city. all I could do was laugh.
ReplyDeleteThe God of the universe had answered me! I knew clear as day I was a child of God.
I think that the serpent was able to trick Eve because he is the devil/ demon and isn't it said that he has many faces, so maybe he came to her as something else and used his charm to persuade her to eat from the tree.
ReplyDeleteAmy
My personal experience that brought me closer to God was started in freshman year of high school, I was diagnosed with Chiari 1 Malformation. Its where the brain dips down further into the base of the skull than anyone else's. It caused a headache that lasted all day everyday for 2 years straight. We, my many doctors, family, and I, searched for those 2 years for every possible way to cure this problem without having surgery. When nothing helped I thought maybe i should be looking for more of God's guidance and I found that by focusing more on faith that coping with this headache was a little bit less stressful. By April of my sophomore year of high school i was preping for my surgery down in madison and praying that God would guide me through whatever he had planned for me. Since that surgery i have found that God is here for me and is with me all the time, believing in his presence has shaped the couple years of my life and I wouldnt ask for it any other way
ReplyDeleteMy personal experience that led me closer to God was when my grandpa got sick. Like most other people I looked toward God in a difficult situation. My grandpa wasn't doing well and not too long after we found out his life was at risk he passed away. I was very young at the time so I needed this broken down to a simpler form. At his funeral my aunt told me that God has a special elevator for our loved ones after they pass away. When we are missing that person they can travel down the elevator and be here with us. After we had our time with them they could go back to heaven. Thinking back that was the first time I realized God was always there with his creative ways to connect us with our loved ones. Since then I have learned to be thankful in the good situations as well.
ReplyDeleteI have had one occasion in which I am certain that God was watching out for me and protecting me. Last winter I was driving home from an event at school during a blizzard. There were near white-out conditions and there was snow drifting across the roads. I had turned onto the road leading to my house and was coming up a rise in the road. On either side was open fields, and the unobstructed wind blowing across them was whipping the snow past my field of vision and causing my car to drift into the other lane. Suddenly, as I was approaching the crest of the hill, the wind stopped completely for about a second. All of the drifting snow settled and I was able to see that I was almost in the wrong lane and the glow from the headlights of an oncoming car in the other lane. I was able to correct my course and avoid the accident. The wind then resumed, and I drove the rest of the way home. There is no way to relate the extreme calm which passed over the hill at that moment. I'm not usually one to account every little phenomenon to a miracle, and in fact I sometimes am extremely skeptical of such stories, but I know that God must have stilled the wind for that second before I would've hit the other car. The reassurance that I felt then and still feel that God has everything under his control was tremendous.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in response to the second question, I believe that Satan was able to tempt Eve due to the necessity and maybe even the nature of free will. I believe that perhaps human intelligence left something slightly to be desired before we ate from the tree, and maybe that naivete was what allowed Eve to be tempted. Perhaps the temptation in her thoughts was not so much evil as overly trusting. Maybe the knowledge gained from the fruit would have allowed her to recognize a lie, since she would have had no concept of deception before being sinful. This knowledge of these things is a painful burden, and so perhaps it is why God initially kept it from us, as well as the fact that accepting not being "Like God, knowing Good and Evil" and not eating the fruit was an act of willing submission and even trust, knowing that whatever the knowledge was of, God would take care of it for our best interests.
DeleteMy relationship with God has been a difficult one throughout my life. Almost nine years ago, my grandpa was diagnosed with leukemia. I had always believed there was a God, until this happened. He died in December, leaving my grandma by herself. I never understood why this sort of thing would have happened to him or to my grandma, seeing as they were two of the kindest people in the world. I struggled to see the good in God until my grandma died in 2008. After she passed, I went into a terrible spiral causing me to become depressed and unable to express my true emotions. My mom saw that I was struggling and one day, she brought me the book entitled "Conversations with God." This book really opened my eyes to see that what God does is for the better. He knows what is needed and I cannot control that--no matter how much I want to. About a year after her passing, I met my current boyfriend in high school. I know my grandparents would've accepted him as their own grandson and loved him, and I know that God gave me him in place of my grandparents. They were constantly a source of happiness in my life, and now Noah takes their place. I could not be more grateful for the events that have lead me to see the grace God gives to everyone willing to accept His love.
ReplyDeleteEver since I was a little girl I remember thinking the sky was so beautiful. I would sneak out of my room in the middle of the night just to sleep outside under the stars. I could stay up for hours looking up at the stars. I can feel Gods presence every time without fail when I look up to the stars. I think that is why I love camping and outdoors so much. I feel at peace and surrounded by such beauty that I am awe and God and his mysteries. It wasn't until this summer though that I truly believed in God and had faith. I grew up in a Christian home with a Christian background. So I got the stories the do and don'ts drilled into my head since I was born, but I never truly knew Jesus I only knew of him. I cant explain it but god gave me faith by turning an ordinary summer into an extraordinary one by showing me what I needed to do who I needed to become and how to trust in him. Praise be God now I love him with all my heart!
ReplyDeleteThe serpent was able to tempt Eve in eating the fruit because she was looking at the beautiful tree instead of looking at all the great things that God had already created. When you take your mind off God, some things that are wrong seem right. -Jessica Johnson
ReplyDeleteI had a personal experience a few years back that definitely affected my faith in God. I was talking with a friend whom I hadn't really spoken to for a while, and he said that since he'd met me, he'd started praying again - every night. I was stunned that I could influence someone who wasn't really involved in their faith, someone who might go to church at Christmas time, if he could remember what his church was called. I had influenced him with my faith to become closer to God, when I didn't even pray every night. I thought that I was a good Christian because I went to church every Sunday and had an okay grasp on theology. But this boy who wasn't an avid Christian had a more personal relationship with God than I did. I know now that God used me to bring stronger faith to him, so that he could turn around and do the exact same for me. I now pray every night.
ReplyDeleteThe affect that the fall of Adam and Eve has had on me is that it gave me some insight on who people really are and how they choose to live. God created Adam and Eve but God did not have control over them. He allowed them to do whatever they wanted and be whoever they wanted with only a few exceptions. But of course being stubborn humans, they chose to do wrong when they new it wasn't right and because of that they had consequences for their actions. That right there just proves that know won in this world is perfect and everyone is going to make mistakes. People are going to do whatever they want and whatever they feel is right. When they are told not to do something, some may listen while others may do the exact opposite. Adam and Eve kind of showed me/made me understand the person I want to be when referring to basic morals and deciding whether something is right or wrong before I do it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the serpent was able to tempt Eve into eating the fruit because she focused on her own personal benefit rather than her relationship with God. God created man and woman in His own image, but he gave them the choice of good or evil through the tree. Instead of choosing God's way, Eve decided to make her own way, just as many humans tend to twist stories and rules to suit their own benefit. The serpent starts his tempting by adding doubt saying "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" The serpent later says "You will not surely die." These negative reassurances give Eve the ability to create her own selfish view of the situation, completely disregarding God's commands. The same often happens to the rest of us too, we twist God's rules with our own perspectives, and we eventually fall to temptation.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the serpent was able to tempt Eve into eating the fruit because she focused on her own personal benefit rather than her relationship with God. God created man and woman in His own image, but he gave them the choice of good or evil through the tree. Instead of choosing God's way, Eve decided to make her own way, just as many humans tend to twist stories and rules to suit their own benefit. The serpent starts his tempting by adding doubt saying "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" The serpent later says "You will not surely die." These negative reassurances give Eve the ability to create her own selfish view of the situation, completely disregarding God's commands. The same often happens to the rest of us too, we twist God's rules with our own perspectives, and we eventually fall to temptation.
ReplyDeleteOne recent personal experience that added to influence my belief in God was one that occurred this summer. it was one in which I was given a grant from the University that I was attending to pay off the balance that I still had after all other payments and aid. I prayed to God that he would make a way for me to be able to pay off the balance and a few days later I received an email notification from the University granting me the reward. --Bianca S
ReplyDeleteOne of the most significant experiences I've had with God happened about a year ago, during the stressful college application process. I had no idea where I wanted to go, or what I wanted to do, and so I got my Bible and closed my eyes and asked Him what I should do. Then I opened my Bible to a random page. That random page had all of the advice I was looking for, as it contained verses relating to the struggles that I was going through during that time.
ReplyDelete-Katie A
I believe the serpent was able to tempt Eve due to God creating Adam and Eve with the option of having free will and free choice. Without that, they would not be able to experience true love. The devil, knowing that they were given the option to choose what they want to do, was able to tempt Eve.
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