Saturday
November 11, 2022

Scripture's Story for the Week

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Man and Woman:
The First Marriage
Genesis 2:4-25

Where else should one go for a story of marriage than the first couple, Adam and Eve? In their honor, and for sacredness of vows in marriage, here is a joke for you, a first in IMMERSION history: 

When Adam stayed out late for a few nights, Eve became upset. "You're running around with other women," she told her mate. "Eve, honey, you´re being unreasonable," Adam responded. "You know you're the only woman on earth." The quarrel continued until Adam fell asleep, only to be awakened by a strange pain in his side. It was Eve poking him about the torso. "What do you think you´re doing?" Adam demanded. "Counting your ribs," said Eve.

Now, enjoy and learn from this story from God’s word.

Genesis 2:4-25

Adam and Eve

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 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.”

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

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Prayer for the Day

[Insert your own prayer about the marriage devotions this week.]


My Gratitude Journal

The Christmas Thief
(staying oneself amid disgust)

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What is the 
Gratitude Journal?
Click here to learn
about this new
feature.

The Hope church family had spent the early weeks of December gathering toys for under-privileged children. None of the gifts were particularly expensive, but that didn’t stop thieves from breaking in and tearing through 50-100 wrapped gifts to find whatever they wanted.

I arrived at work to find a huge mess of wrapping paper strewn about – some gifts gone, some left behind, some callously broken. Heart-breaking! Maddening! I was sickened by such ugly behavior.

Somehow, a local TV station heard and came to interview me over these “grinches” as the thieves were described. Part of my role was to not lash out but put all things into God’s hands, including the offenders. God and goodness were elevated. Once the spot aired, we ended up receiving generous donations to replenish the gifts for the children. A sense of disgust over a few offenders was overcome by the kindness of others. Joy won the day – AND, ever since then we have had a security system.






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