Monday, February 16, 2026

Bible in a Year: Psalms 36-38 | Acts 15

When you choose to separate yourself from the One who created you, you invite chaos and suffering into your life. We see this clearly in the story of Adam and Eve and their encounter with the serpent.

Genesis 3:1
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

God had placed Adam and Eve in a beautiful garden and told them they could eat from any tree, but one. One rule, in all that was freely given, and they chose to disobey.

Genesis 3:4-6
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

The woman was convinced.

Isn’t that how it is with us, too? We crave what we've been told we need and feel like we’ve been unfairly treated when we don’t get it. Our desires may be more sophisticated than a child's, but we act like children throwing tantrums over things we don’t have. We listen to the voices that repeat over and over that we must have this new thing, car, house, spouse, shoes, slim body (anyone?) etc. to be all that we can be.

The truth is, God has already given us everything we need to be who he created us to be. Yet often, we choose not to accept these gifts and we give into the real spiritual enemy.

We also blame others for the choices we make, and the consequences that follow when we are the ones who have replaced God worship with idol worship. We feel our shame, and try to cover ourselves with our stuff! (Genesis 3:6-19)

But God…(my favorite two words in the Bible) didn’t leave us in our mess. Genesis 3:15 reminds us he sent Jesus, the one who would crush the head of the serpent (Satan). Jesus came and lived the sinless life that neither Adam and Eve, nor we could, and he became the perfect sacrifice in our place.

If you have trusted in that sacrifice, God now sees you sinless, through the righteousness of Christ. You are indeed the Imago Dei, image of God.

Questions:
What or who are the voices you listen to, that tell you who you are and what you need?

Next Steps:
Join a Group with people who are pursuing the truth of who God says they are, and who are trying to live out that truth. Go to GrowthTrack and learn about how God created you with a purpose and how you can fulfill that purpose now.

Prayer:
Father God, thank you for not giving up on me when I chose so many other things besides you for so many years! Help me now to bear your image in a way that brings honor and glory to you. Give me wisdom to say no to the things that draw me away from you. Give me a desire to know you more as I love and serve the people you put in my life. Thank you for Jesus, who makes all this possible. In his name I pray, amen

Series Theme Verse:

Colossians 3:10
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

This post was written by Lauri White, an Oregon attendee, and a regular contributor to the Daily LivingItOut.