If, Then Series

IF, THEN

by

Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid

(December 14, 2019)

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof ‘thou’ shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2: 16-17, King James Version [KJV]).

Greetings In the Holy Name of Jesus Yahshuah,

My sisters and brothers, the times are one and the same, in relationships for the power struggles for favor, from GOD YAHWEH, remain between us, foreshadowing the future of our love for GOD and the future of our love for one another. God’s love is both a commanding and a demanding love that requires attention to commitment for all times. As much as we like to think it is right to sin now, for that was then and now is now. It is not right. Sinning against the Word of God is wrong, for all times. Yet the God we serve is a forgiving God, even moreso, many times than man is with woman and woman is with man.

The conditions began to set forth from the Word of God in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [Gen. 2: 17, KJV]. Since God sent them out of the Garden of Eden [3: 23-24, KJV], we find, God talking to one of the sons of Adam and Eve, Cain, for his countenance had fallen.“ Now, my memory takes me back to a mother and son relationship wherein she so desired that her son become a Federal Bureau Of Investigations Officer [FBI for the United States of America (USA)]. This was more than a notion, it was a life - long dream for her son that led her to sternly question his girlfriend about her conduct and desires in the relationship she had with her son, particularly desires for drugs and drug use. The mother did not accept the girlfriend.

Now, God received Cain and Abel offerings but God had respect for Abel’s offering of the firstlings of his flock but God did not have respect for Cain’s offering of the fruit of the ground [4: 3-5, KJV]. God told Cain:

“And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” [4: 7, KJV].

Most importantly, as we journey through faith, Eve’s faith in the Word of God, broke underestimating the influence of the serpent and her son, Cain’s faith broke under God’s non-acceptance of his offering. He did not understand what God told him, obviously that sin is at the root of why his offering was not accepted for he carried his brother’s desire and wanted to rule over him. There are times when no matter what you do, you only want what your brother or sister wants even what your mother and/or father wants and you want only to pressed them down under your need to rule over them. For many children of God, it plays out as sibling rivalry, others call it domination, moreover, many call it power and authority over others and for some, it is a rebellious need to be head. Let us say God read Cain’s heart just as Jesus read the woman of Samaria’s heart (the woman at the well).

Cain went out from the presence of God to the east of Eden to a land called Nod, for God did not let him stay since he killed his brother [4: 16, KJV]. The problem is the Word of God is constant but the faith of mankind is not constant. We hear the folks say hold on to God’s unchanging hand. How many of you remember what a love one told you, not to do yet as time went by and you finally found yourself in the space of time where what they said made sense, you either forgot what they said, once you arrived in the prophesy or you did not see how what they said should have been said. You wonder why they harshly judged you and why they did not tell you what God revealed to them so you could have a say-so in the revelation.

Yet, when all is said and done you wish you had the faith needed to do just as they told you, the strength to hold on to God’s unchanging hand, for truth be told God did not reveal your future to you. The hardest heart breaks and the cold-bloodiest heart breaks but the will of God sees beyond the walls of contentions that are strongholds on your faith binding you as a captive to momentary pleasure and foolhardy folly, for the flesh is weak. Do you dust yourself off, after the fall of grace; and get back up? By all means necessary, yes, you must, you have no other choice other than to suffer and die, without grace.