Sin – Mind@Work

The Untold Consequences of Sin

As I was reading the book of Numbers chapter 22 awhile back, I came upon an instance that puzzled me. The verse in question is 28, where God causes a donkey to yell at his own rider, Balaam, after he had beaten his donkey three times.

The verse says that the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth. The key word for me here is “opened.” Before sin entered the world, I believe Adam, and eventually Eve, could talk to animals, which may be why a serpent talking didn’t surprise Eve when she was being tempted. When God opened the mouth of Balaam’s donkey, I believe He removed a barrier that allowed the donkey to speak.

I kept that instance in the back of my mind and have since found many more examples of animals speaking (or understanding words) to convince me that they once had the ability to talk. I also believe one more thing… When it says, “…every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11), it means animals too.

Here are some videos I’ve found that enhances this belief (and for your amusement too):

Cat talking

Cat understands “feisty”

Cat understands words

Cat understands “Why are you doing this?”

Cat understands “cat toys”

Cat understands a question

Dog understands barking quieter

Dog understands words from TV

Dog understands math

Why Did Man Fall [in the Garden of Eden]?

The inspiration for this post (and “Why Is A Man Saved?” to follow) comes from the Prophet Ken Peters, who gave these prophetic questions from the Lord Jesus in January 2019.

The story of the Fall of humanity in paradise described in Genesis 3 is one of the most widely known stories in human history. We often reference it when trying to explain to others how and why the world we live in has all the suffering, pain, death, evil, and shame in it. But unraveling the story and gaining an understanding of the craftiness of the Devil/Satan, aka the serpent (Genesis 3:1, Revelation 20:2), and how he would distort the character and words of God, is a bit more complex.

The command the Lord gave Adam was, “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.'” (Genesis 2:16-17, NIV)

The serpent’s deviousness comes in chapter 3 verse 1, when it twists God’s command and makes it a question. Compare the command: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden…” to the question: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman does remember God’s commands in verses 2 and 3, but the serpent first lies in verse 4, and then “assault[s]… God’s generosity and His integrity”, as Sinclair B. Ferguson writes in “The Whole Christ” (page 68). The serpent was then saying God was “restrictive” (also page 68), implying that “being like God, knowing good and evil” was a good thing for her.

This deception also created a kind of tunnel vision where she focused on the fruit of the tree instead of God’s commands and the rest of the trees in the garden. She forgot she didn’t need to be like God, only with God. Jesus demonstrated this during His Earthly life because He was Emmanuel (“God with [man]”) and “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,…”.

Another critical point I believe can be missed is that God’s Word means what it says. We cannot interpret it to fit our own understanding or desires, and we certainly cannot dismiss it as if it’ll never happen. God will do what He says, including save those who believe He came to die for all of their sins, and rose again from the grave to bring them back into life with Him. I hope you’ll believe that truth and come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Why President Trump Will Never Make America Great Again

It’s been a while since I’ve made a blog post (but I have more in the works…). Whether or not Donald Trump is removed from office by the Senate after recently being impeached by the House of Representatives and whatever he does in the present, future, or legacy with the highest title in the free world, President Trump will never “Make America Great Again.” I say this with one thing in mind that most people don’t look too hard into as a reason… his character. At this point in his presidency, most have come to expect that Donald Trump is going to say or tweet something so abhorrent that it makes us Americans wonder how he made it to the final vote in 2016.

Back when he was initially elected, I tried to make another blog post titled “Morals over Money.” However, I never published it simply because his lack of morals, integrity, character, etc. is so screwed up that I felt I couldn’t do any type of justice with mere words in any post I wrote. (Even “screwed up” falls vastly short.) That being said, if I can’t address his morals specifically or in detail, I can try to write about his most well-known slogan on his red hat… “Make America Great Again.” Whether he wins or loses in the 2020 presidential election, one thing I’m sure of—he can never make this country great again.

Some of his supporters might say, “Look at the economy or the strengthening of the military” while others might simply ask, “What are you talking about?” I’m talking about something different… righteousness. I believe America is tearing apart at the seams because of a lack of God, and no policy, politician, or law can fix it. The problem lies in our very hearts, hearts only the Lord Jesus Christ Himself can mend by the blood of His forgiveness, essence of His unconditional love, and power only He possesses (2 Chronicles 7:14).

If President Trump spoke any form of truth or righteousness, people would take notice. But as it is, he only brings forth evil (Matthew 12:35) and every fruit contrary to that in Galatians 5:22-23. The last Scripture I want to give is why America, or any nation, is not immune from God’s wrath… “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”-Proverbs 14:34 NIV

For a deeper look at the gross immorality of President Trump, and why his immorality is incompatible with Christian principles, please see the much-discussed lead editorial by Mark Galli of Christianity Today titled, “Trump Should Be Removed from Office.“