"Eating Desert Sand" January 2 Readings: Genesis 3-5, Matthew 2, Psalm 2:1-6, Proverbs 1:5-6

  

Reading the Bible in 2025

Each day this year we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. 

NOTE: If you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings: Genesis 3-5, Matthew 2, Psalm 2:1-6, Proverbs 1:5-6

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional: Eating Desert Sand

Genesis 3 deserves a month of devotionals all on its own. In this chapter, we see the path of temptation that Satan sets before us; we see the ease with which we are duped by his lies; we see the terrible effects of sin and the curse it brings on our lives; and most gloriously, we see the intent of God to redeem (3:16) as he promises to send one who will crush the Serpent's head.  

I was struck by the first line in the chapter, “The serpent was more crafty than any other…” Of course, we know from the rest of Scripture that this serpent was the rebel Satan. He has the ability to deceive human beings into making bad choices that cost us God's blessings and bring judgment on us.

Consider the irony of the situation. God gave Adam and Eve a paradise – a place beyond our wildest imaginations. Beauty. Joy. Sustenance. Companionship. Pleasure. What more could they ask for? All God required was that they would honor his Lordship by refusing to eat of one tree. One tree out of a thousand? A million? That one tree belonged to God and they were to treat it as holy in obedience to the Father.

Could God have been any better to Adam and Eve?

And yet, Satan was able to convince this first human pair that God was against them, that he was robbing them of the joy of life, that he was holding them back. Look at his question. 

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 

With these crafty words, Satan turned the goodness of God into meanness - how could he withhold that wonderful tree from them? Was he that cruel and oppressive?  He made the gift of God seem like a burden. 

Then, Satan made an assertion about God's warning that disobedience would bring death. Not so, he said.

“You will not surely die!” 

The Liar of Liars calls the God of Truth a liar – and Adam and Eve bought it. Satan has been calling the truth of God's words into question ever since. The Bible isn't accurate. You can't trust what it says. Its teachings are outdated and have been replaced by the wisdom of today's experts. You can ignore God's word and cast it aside without concern or consequence. You will not surely die. 

Finally, he said, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

God is trying to hold you down and keep you back. If you want to reach your potential and get the most out of life, you must cast off the shackles of God's control and do as you please. Obeying God will ruin your life, or limit its potential at the least. No one should be Lord over you! You will only be "all you can be" if you "do your own thing."

It was nothing but a lie, a mirage in the desert. All Satan offered was a single piece of fruit. It would cost them paradise, the blessing of God, intimacy with God, and the life that God had created for them. They gave it all up for one bite of fruit. Satan convinced them that one bite of one piece of fruit was better than all that God would give them. 

Adam and Eve fell to the lies of Satan and brought death and destruction into this world. Still today we listen to Satan's lies. We too often fall prey to the belief that God's commands are oppressive, that we can get away with disobedience, and that our lives will be better if we walk our own paths instead of God's. And as we listen to those lies we find again that all Satan offers is a mirage. Time and again we drink desert sand instead of the water of life that comes from God when we give our lives to him. 

It is the word, this word that we have committed ourselves to read, that exposes those lies so that we may walk in the truth. This is the year we drink the water of life instead of Satan's desert sand! 

Lord, you are Truth. May we listen to your truth and to God’s Word rather than to the lies of the Enemy. Let this year be the year that we expose the works of darkness with the light of truth. May we stop settling for Satan's desert sand and drink deeply from your living water. 

Consider God's Word:

Which of these four passages spoke most clearly to you today? 

Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 

Is there something in your life that needs to change?

Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

Are you drinking the desert sand of deception or building your life on the truth of God's word?