{"id":26423,"date":"2019-09-11T03:30:48","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T10:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=26423"},"modified":"2019-09-06T12:32:05","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T19:32:05","slug":"september-11-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2019\/09\/11\/september-11-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"September 11, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cBut the serpent said to the woman, \u2018You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Genesis 3:4-5<\/p>\n

Just a Little Apple<\/strong><\/h2>\n

That snake certainly was crafty. It was just a little apple, after all. It\u2019s not like the snake was telling Eve to come serve and worship him instead of God, but yet, that one little apple distracted her and pulled her away from her obedience and her relationship to God. If the snake had been straightforward and said, \u201cFollow me! Worship me, not God!\u201d, she may have seen his deception and stood firm and said, \u201cNo! Get away from me!\u201d But he didn\u2019t do that\u2014he didn\u2019t HAVE TO do that. He simply used a little apple that was supposed to offer something back.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re not in the garden anymore, but that snake is still crafty. He\u2019s still deceiving God\u2019s children one apple at a time. Today, it may take the form of watching one more TV show to finally feel rested, or one quick glance on the phone to feel connected, or adding one more thing on our to-do list just to get life nice and tidy, or shopping for that one thing to make us feel happy.<\/p>\n

Whatever the \u201capple\u201d may be, it will always offer empty promises\u00a0<\/strong>and the enemy\u2019s goal with it is always to pull us away from God. We can\u2019t forget, Satan hates God, and he\u2019ll come at God by coming after His children. If he can distract us away from God for even a minute, he\u2019s pleased. He won\u2019t always come head on and attack, although he does that too, so we must see and examine the little things in our lives that may just be little apples distracting us from our obedience and relationship with God. Don\u2019t let the little apples in life that offer empty rewards distract you from the One who loves you. God will never be sneaky or crafty or deceive you or offer you empty promises; His love for you is real, complete and pure.<\/p>\n

\u201cLord, show us the apples that pull us away from You; bind our wandering hearts to You. Help us not be deceived by the enemy but overcome his craftiness with Your truth and Your wisdom. Thank You for loving us. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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