3-11-21

Have you ever went grocery shopping and just gotten overwhelmed by all the choices? I sure do sometimes. I walk into the store to grab a loaf of bread, only to find a mountain of different breads in my face. Oh goodness, do I get the whole wheat or the whole grain? Should I buy this brand or that one, thin sliced or Texas toast? Check this out, did you know that there are 26 different name brand companies that sell bread in the United States? I didn’t either! This doesn’t count the store brands or the other “non-main stream” brands which, believe it or not, is where most of the sales come from (see the link below to Statista’s 2020 statistics on U.S. bread). So, just for giggles, suppose that there are a total of 50 companies in all, (I’m seriously low balling that number). And, lets say, each of those 50 companies have 2 different varieties of bread they make, (again I am low balling here because Nature’s Own itself has 8 selections). This would mean that all together there are 100 different kinds of loaves of bread to choose from. But wait, that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Now I have to squeeze each loaf to see which one is the softest, then check the dates to see if they are still good. Lord forbid I find the perfect fluffy loaf only to realize I have 2 days to eat 13 sandwiches! (Yeah I looked that up, there are 28 slices in the average loaf of bread and I’m not eating those heels!) Ugh, so many choices and I’m only talking about the bread aisle! Sometimes I just say, “forget it, I’m gonna be carb free for the week,” and not even deal with it.

You might have read all that and thought, “Wow, this lady is off her rocker, so dramatic!” Don’t get me wrong, I love a little variety, but sometimes it just works best for me to have less decisions to make. The more options I have, the more opportunities I have to make the wrong decisions. You know who else is a terrible decision maker, Eve. Historically, she has got to be the worst decision maker on the planet! Let me just show you what I am talking about here.

Most of you know the story of Eve and the forbidden fruit from the Bible, but for those who don’t I’m going to give a very rough refresher. (Warning, terrible paraphrasing coming up, so be sure to read the passages for yourself!) Bare with me til the end, it’ll be worth it.

This story starts at the very beginning, Genesis 1. In this chapter, the Almighty sends His Spirit and He speaks into creation the heavens and the earth, and all creatures that inhabit it. Man is among these creatures, and we see in verses 26 through 28 that He creates both male and female. Chapter 2 opens up to the Father resting from His good work, and then goes into detail about some of what He had made. Genesis 2:8-9 says, 8 “YHWH planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground YHWH caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Then, in verses 16 and 17, we see the Father give a command to the man (who we find a few lines later is called Adam). He tells him he has free reign to eat of any of the trees in the garden, except to refrain from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because, “for in that day you eat from it you will surely die.” Shortly after this, woman comes on the scene. She is named Eve (Gen. 3:20). This all brings us to the goody of what I am trying to show you. In chapter 3 we get introduced to the serpent. The Bible says that the serpent is more crafty than any beast of the field, then at the end of verse 1 he speaks to Eve saying, “Indeed, has Elohim (God) said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?” Eve replies to him that she can eat from any of the trees of the garden but that one in the middle (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), we aren’t even supposed to touch that one or we will die. Now listen to what the serpent has to say next, verses 4-5, “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For Elohim knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.” After this, Eve sees the tree is good for food and she eats it then gives some to Adam to eat too. By doing so, Adam and Eve bring curse on themselves and the Father removes them from the garden to keep them from making things worse by eating from the tree of life as well (Gen. 3:22). Go and keep on reading, you will find that the ground is cursed, women are cursed in labor, a whole array of terrible things happen because of this chain of events.

I have heard all sorts of preachers and teachers talk about this account. I heard things like, “Eve was tempted by the snake!”, or “That evil serpent tricked Eve into eating the fruit.” But, is this so? Lets take a closer look. Up until the time the serpent joins the party, Adam and Eve are living it up. They are walking in the garden with the Father. They are “living their best life”, (a little jab at a well known prosperity spewer.) What changed then? Choices! Eve was given another choice. She and Adam had obeyed the Father up until this point. As far as they knew, they only had one option, to Shema (listen, heed, and do) what the Creator said. The serpent only gave Eve another choice, her flesh did the rest.

I know we are talking about Eve here, but this concept still stands today. If we are given a different choice than to heed the words of the Father, chaos ensues! We can go around yelling, “Not today Satan!” all day long, but we are giving credit where credit is not due! The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” He’s talking about man’s heart. We are the ones making the choices around here, not HaSatan!

Listen friends, look around you at the state of the body of Messiah. We are distracted, enticed, and bombarded by other choices! Some preachers are telling their congregations that the Bible is not the Word of God. Some are saying we need to “unhitch” from the Old Testament. There are also others who say that there are more ways to the Father than through His Son. Go back and read the words of the serpent in Genesis 3:4-5, “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For Elohim knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.” Can’t you hear the same cunning tone being presented to the assembly today? “You don’t really need to listen to that old Book”, or “Now does the Bible really say there is only one way to the Father?” How about this one, “Is the definition of sin really the transgression of the Father’s instructions (law)?” Oh that all of our eyes would be open to this deceit!

Isn’t it the greatest deception to let the body believe that they have a different option than to follow the Word of Yah? Don’t you think it’s a cunning ploy to make the Father’s sheep assume they have another choice than to obey Him and walk in the Way His Son Yeshua (Jesus) walked? Listen to what the Messiah says in John 7:16, “So Yeshua answered them and said, “My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me.” If the Word of the Father is good enough instruction for the Messiah to walk out, wouldn’t it be for us? For heavens sake, Yeshua was the Word made flesh (John 1:14)! How man is so ignorant to think he is wiser than Yah and he has a better choice!

If we want to live, there is only one choice! Deuteronomy 30:19-20, 19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, so that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” Heaven and earth still remain, they are still witness against us! The option the Father wants for us is blessing and not curse!

Oh dear friends, if someone is offering you a different choice, reject it! Ground yourself in the Word so you will not be overwhelmed with all those other deadly options. Bypass that mountain of stale loaves and choose the bread of life!

Thank you for taking the time to read the words on my heart, and I hope that I have given the glory to the Father in every word I typed. Be sure to enter your email and click subscribe below so you don’t miss any new posts. Thank you again and may the Father bless you as you seek His Ways!

(I know it is writing 101 to source your information, but I refuse to spread the false teachings of these so called leaders to the unexpected person, and possibly lead them astray. If you are firmly planted in Truth, you can look up these heresies for yourself, they aren’t hidden.)

Here is the site with the bread info. https://www.statista.com/statistics/279983/us-households-brands-of-bread-consumed/