CONFIDENCE WALK AND POSTURE IN CHRIST - PART 1

WEEK FIVE: 

CHAPTER FIVE:  THE ‘FIRST LADY’ BEFORE ALL

FIRST of Three Parts On…

“CONFIDENCE WALK and POSTURE IN CHRIST!”

Series ONE… “THE BEAUTY & FALL of Ms. EVIE”

OUR FOCUS TEXT…Genesis 3:20 (NIV) Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all living.

We are not skipping over Verses 1-19 in Chapter 3; we will come back to them. This week and the next two weeks we are turning our focus on something I haven’t read in any reference books, commentaries, or any other materials written about Eve. We are going to travel down a road into our own personal lives, so stay with me! 

KEEP IN MIND, what we’ll be exploring in these three weeks is in reference before SIN came into the world!

EVE… Hebrew meaning… ‘life’  

FACTS: For someone who was created to begin generations upon generations of humanity, Eve is only mentioned twice in the OT (Gen 3:20; 4:1) and twice in the NT (2 Cor 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:13)

    This Week’s POINTS to MAKE…

POINT ONE…. Where Do You Go When There’s No Where To Go??

  Although Eve is the mother of all, we know very little about the ‘First Lady,’ but we have to say Eve had it all. She possessed every pleasure, every beauty imaginable, and freedom. She had the freedom… with the exception on one thing. And what was that? We will be reflecting in depth on that famous 'act in time' in about four more weeks, and things are going to get verrrrrty (a CJ word - a combination of  – very and pretty) interesting to say the least!!!

  Meanwhile… Let’s visit Eve in the days just following her creation. Do you realize that Eve was the ‘first’ of everything?!  She was the first Woman to experience…

• A relationship with God
• Love
• Marriage
• Being a Wife
• Walking on the earth and seeing all the beauty God had just created
• Living in a perfect world without sin or curse (can’t imagine that, can you?)
• Receiving the first commandment
• Sin-Failing God’s commandment
• Designing a line of clothing – (‘Eve from Eden’ Clothing line-LOL)
• Being a Mother
• Experiencing loss, heartbreak and grief
• But she also the first woman to experience the first lesson in faith!

   Eve was the “First Lady” of all the ‘beginning of everything!’ She was definitely a woman whose life was one new experience after another. 

   Have you ever thought of this? Eve was never a...Child, Daughter or a Granddaughter, so who did she turn to and how did she learn all that she needed to learn??   As the ‘first lady’ to ever live, and since she had no mother or grandmother, aunts or even girlfriends to call on for advice, what did she do? There were no books she could read or websites to go to in order to learn how to be a good wife, give birth or to be a good mother. She didn’t have a Paula Dean or a Rachael Ray to learn from on how to cook (think about it, she didn’t even have cookbooks for recipes or Pinterest! OMGosh!!)

   She had no resources to learn how to be a housekeeper, how to clean a wound or even how to keep herself clean. There were no books or CD’s or seminars to attend on how to know her ‘inner beauty’ or know how to handle her feelings. She had no Dr. Phil to tell her when to listen to her heart. But yet she survived and managed it all as the ‘First Lady of Beauty’ because she totally relied on God to teach her all she needed to know! She turned to God for everything and He was there! Yes, she had Adam, but let’s not forget the fact that he too was having to rely totally on God for learning everything new alongside his wife.

Take a few minutes and let’s reflect on this scenario. If all the companionship you had on this earth was a man-your husband and God, and you lived in a beautiful garden (without children yet) and never having anything to worry about…

• What would you do? Go crazing or enjoy your life?
• How do you think you’d feel? Blessed or lonesome?
• Where and how would you spend your time? Love exploring the Gardens or sitting around sulking?
• Do you think you’d become aware of who you were created to be? Or could care less?
• Could you possibly identify with Eve? Or cannot even fathom what she was experiencing?
• Eve depended on God for all she needed to know, all she needed to survive, and all she needed to live for? How would that feel if we did that very thing???  Something to think about about???

POINT TWO…. Vision of BEAUTY FROM WITHIN

   Let’s take a moment and think about this question…

“What do you think Eve must have looked like? What were her best features? What color was her hair; was it curly or straight? Were her teeth straight? Did she have a perfect nose? What color were her eyes? Just how beautiful do you think Eve really was???”

   I like to envision Eve as a very beautiful and elegant woman, after all, she skipped childhood, so therefore no scars on her knees from falling down while running too fast. No chickenpox scares on her cheek and chin. No acne blemishes left over from teenage years. Since she never had parents, she most likely didn’t have a double chin or flabby upper arms inherited from her mother’s side of the family or funny looking toes from her dad’s side of the tree. LOL

   Her teeth were perfect I imagine, and no spilt ends on her long gorgeous hair that I’m sure must have shinned like gold in the sunlight. Everything was in perfect proportion over her body. I can see her walking with perfect posture that gave her a poise of gracefulness. Let’s keep in mind…she was personally fashioned by God’s own hands, so consequently, she had to be beautiful!

   Poet John Milton deemed Eve as the “fairest of creation.” Eve reflected God’s divine perfection in her womanhood. One to look upon and behold all her beauty like no one has since portrayed.

   Can you imagine what Adam must have thought the first time he laid eyes on her? Remember, God woke him up from a deep sleep (Gen. 2:21) to present Eve to him. I think God probably washed away the film of sleepiness from Adam’s eyes so that he could see clearly what the God of all creation had created from Adam’s own rib!

LOL>>>From the Funny Side of My Comic Brain:                                                    In Genesis 2:23 Adam says… “…she shall be called ‘woman’…”   Why the name ‘woman’, you ask?  Well, when Adam saw Eve and gazed upon her beauty he said… “WO-MAN!! You did good, God! What a heavenly creation!!!!”  LOL

OK, RETURNING TO SERIOUS: 

   Eve was flawless and beautiful in every way. Can you see her as a woman of beauty, grace, charm, innocence and strength – all uncorrupted by sin?

What positive qualities up to this point, do you see in Eve that reflects you?

   Ladies, natural beauty actually comes from deep within us! All of us come in many different shapes and sizes, coloring of skin, hair and eyes, and a verity of different personalities. Does that matter to God? No, because He’s the Creator of us all and He loves and welcomes us all into His Kingdom upon accepting Him as our personal Savior.

Take a mirror and look at your face and body. What do you see? Are there parts about you that you love or maybe dislike and wish you were different in some ways??

   Even though you may not like or enjoy everything you see in that mirror, you cannot deny the fact that it’s you. To accept the things you cannot change is to respect yourself and the Creator, for He loves and accepts us all no matter what we or others think we look like.

A CJisum:  A mind and heart that honors the mirrored sight honors them self and the mighty Creator!
Whatever I think my defects or imperfections are, I accept them totally. For I was created in the image of God’s likeness, so therefore, I am beautiful! Instead of focusing on my imperfections, I will stay focused on the One who will and does give me significance, conformation, love and affection in this life on earth. He also shows me that my self-concept, self-respect, self-love, self-esteem, self-motivation, all that makes up my entire self-worth are that of a much higher level when I focus on Him. Why? Because my total self-worth comes from within and not from the image I see reflecting from a mirror or what others may say about me. Within is where my strength and inner glory is grounded. From within is the power of the Holy Spirit and through Him I can do anything no matter what I look like!!!”  AMEN? AMEN!!!

   Now, Ladies (and Men), allow yourself to experience fully the meaning of what you’ve just read! Read it again and again until you begin to believe it in your heart, mind and soul.

   We seem to forget that our bodies are miracles of beauty just the way they are, no matter what our shape, size or what we see as imperfections. We are a beautiful and wonderful piece of God’s artwork!

****Ps. 139:14 (KJV) David says… “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

   Ladies, OH Ladies!! How much would our lives be different if we would just engrave that verse upon our hearts and believe the words and live it as the truth??? OMGoodness!!! And I say ‘our lives’ because I’m including myself!!  

   However, God has given us the responsibility to take care of our temples in which we live in. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20… “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you are bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”

   God wants us to appreciate and honor all His creations, and this includes our bodies. If we don’t take care of our bodies, who will???

   And also, He doesn’t want us to focus on what He has given someone else that we may so desire to look like, but instead, His desire for us is to focus on the good that He created within us and not worry about the things we cannot change! After all, we were fashioned by God’s own hands in our mother’s womb, and He does not create junk! (Ps. 139:13)

 INCLUDING YOU!!!

 

   AND THE MESSAGE IS???

The Message Is…

• We have not and never will experience all the ‘firsts’ that Eve experienced, but we have so much to learn from each and every one of her experiences!
• Turn to God for everything for He is there!  Eve sure did!
• If all we had was a husband and God, how would we handle life? Would our self-image be different?
• Our bodies are miracles of beauty! However…
• We are responsible for taking care of the beautiful temple of which we live within.
• Our natural beauty actually comes from deep within us!
• To accept the things you cannot change is to respect yourself and the Creator, for He loves and accepts us all no matter what we or others think we look like.
• We were fashioned by God’s own hands!

1^st MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… My desire is to turn to God for everything!

2^nd MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… A mind and heart that honors the mirrored sight honors themself and the mighty Creator! 

3^rd MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… Whatever my defects or imperfections are, I accept them totally. For I was created in the image of God’s likeness, so therefore, I am beautiful!

4^th MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… My total self-worth comes from within and not from the image I see reflecting from a mirror or what others may say about me. Within is where my strength and inner glory is grounded. From within is the power of the Holy Spirit and through Him I can do anything no matter what I look like!!!” 

MEMORY VERSE FOR THE WEEK… “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Ps. 139:14 (KJV)  I will engrave this verse upon my heart and believe the words and live the verse as the truth!
 

   My prayer for you this week is… you will discover and believe without doubt that you are a creation from God’s Master Piece of Fine Art Collection!!

c j