"Where are you?"

We are now in the middle of October at the height of fall weather.  The peak of autumn colors have passed in much of the state, but there are still brilliant displays as you drive around.  Maine is truly a beautiful state and this is the time that it is the best for living here.  Cold crisp morning, sunshine during the day, the air is fresh and you can smell wood smoke.   Its a time for walks, rides, hunting, hiking and just about any excuse you can think of for being outdoors.  It is a friendly environment with neighbors, family and the community around us.  We have been celebrating various birthday celebration the past couple of weekends.

With all these good things we can easily believe that we can be content to live our lives in harmony with nature and each other.  But there is a cold hard reality of the presence of evil.  That which would discourage, frighten, make us angry, make us arrogant, make us sad and selfish. 

Even in our own community this night someone lost their home to fire.  There are reports that violent crime has increased this year in Portland, just 45 minutes from home.  We know of families that are broken apart, kids abandoned, family members lost through tragedy and despair over the economy.

Before we look at the next passage in Luke chapter 4 where Jesus was in the dessert and tempted by the devil, I want to flip to the very beginning of the Bible to Genesis 3 and he temptation of Adam and Eve.

 Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 


As Adam and Eve face temptation we find them in the following condition:

1. Living in a Garden created by God.
2. They are healthy
3. They do not need to labor for anything
4. They have all that they need to eat
5. They have each other
6. A relationship with God

Its hard to imagine with all that they have, that they could be tempted.  But they were and they gave in to the temptation. Just as we will see from the temptation of Jesus, Satan will twist the words of God to bring doubt and deceit.

Even for us thier are times when the blessing we have are beyond belief.   We can think its a beautiful fall day, that we have food on the table and a roof over our head.  And then we are faced with Satan bringing his doubts and discouragement.  We have a nature like Adam and Eve that no matter what we have we want more.  We are not satisfied with God's blessings.   Like Adam and Eve we want to be like God and direct our own destiny.

When seeking our own we turn away from God and His Word.  We then begin to resent God's intrusion into our lives, but deep down inside we know He is still there calling us.  Can you hear Him calling you?  "Where are you?"  "Why are you hiding?"