God is in Control! (Genesis 21)

"Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and shw went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink." - Gen 21:19

How awesome is the Lord! The Lord knows everything that goes on in our lives and is in control of it. We can't hide anything from the Lord and he controls our lives.

Let me rewind just a moment, but we will get back to this point. This passage starts out with God finally giving of a child to Abraham. Issac is born and the promise of the Lord is fulfilled. We can take comfort in this, because every promise of God does come true. He promises that He will return someday, and we can rest assured that this will happen. Just you wait and see.

It goes on to talk about how Ismael was mocking of Issac. This was hard for Sarah. It was Sarah's idea to have Abraham and Hagar to bare a child and now the child is mocking her ofspring. It is seen as a type of a punishment.

Sarah has the idea to have Hagar and Ismael send away. This idea was hard on Abraham, but the Lord told him to go through with it. Abraham then sends Hagar and Ishmael out on their own (v. 14).

The Lord is with Hagar and protected her. He has everything under control and sees all that goes on. When things go wrong for Hagar and her son, the Lord protects them and gives them water. We can learn from this, in that the Lord has our lives under control. We need not to worry.

Verse of the Day: "Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, [bless] His holy name." - Psalm 103:1

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 27-29 and 1 Peter 3
Daily Bread: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Act in Kindness (Genesis 20)

"God said to him in the dream, 'Yes I know that in the intgrity of your heart you have done this and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.' " - Gen 20:6

Abraham used the same trick of telling this king that Sarah was his sister, instead of his wife. This was a half truth. She was his half sister, on one hand you might think that this was a sign that he did not trust God. On the other hand Abraham may have thought that this was a way that God was going to protect them. He assumed that Abimelech and his people were non-believers.

God came to Abimelech, and Abimelech was suprised and humbled. We see the Lord working in Abimelech's life and he knows that God has great power. He asks the Lord to spare his nation, for he had done nothing wrong. We see that God did have mercy on Abimelech.

When he found that Sarah was Abraham's wife, he gave her back. Abimelech could have been very angry and punished Abraham, but like God acted in kindness to Abimelech, so he acted in kindness to Abraham. He gave of money and land to Abraham as a peace offering and it appears they has a good relationship.

We can learn two things. First, that everyone we come in contact with are nessarsarly non-believers. If Abimelech was a non-believer, God used the situation to bring him to God. The ther thing is that we should treat others with kindness, just as God treated us with love.

Verse of the Day: "But when the kindness of God our Savior and [His] love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to [the] hope of eternal life." - Titus 3:4-7

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 24-26 and 1 Peter 2
Daily Bread: Haggai 1:1-11

The Wicked will be Judged (Genesis 19)

"for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it." - Gen 19:13

We have been reading about Sodom and Gomorrah and how wicked they were. In chapter 18, God tells Abraham that He will destroy the cities. Abraham questions God about the righteous. God promises that if there were ten righteous men, that the city would not be destroyed.

We see that the wickedness of Sodom was their sexuality. Remember in chapter two when God made man and woman, he designed them to have sexual relations between each other. We see in this chapter that homosexuality is evil in the sight of the Lord. God punishes the men of Sodom for their evil acts.

The question I have is whether or not Lot was considered to be righteous? When asked to give over of the two angels, Lot responses by offering has own daughters. It seems wrong to offer your daughters, he should have just said no. Lot also was unwilling to leave the city when he was warned about the destruction. I feel that the wickedness of the city had rubbed off a little upon Lot. We need to be careful that the wickedness of this world does not rub off on us. Read your Bible and spend time in prayer each day to keep your way righteous.

Lot agrees to flee to Zoar, but was told not to look back. His wife did and turned into pillar of salt, we can see she was sad to be leaving. This left him with a wife, and his daughters without husbands. His daughters plotted to have sex with their father so that their family line could continue. We see that even his daughters have an evil side to them. All this shows me two things. First, that God punishes those who act wicked, with the people in Sodom, Lot's wife, Lot, and his daughters. And secondly, that wickedness can rub off on the righteous. We need to protect ourselves from the wickedness of the world.

Verse of the day: " So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 22-23 and 1 Peter 1
Daily Bread: Psalm 42

Will the Righteous Not be Saved? (Genesis 18)

"Abraham came near and said, 'Will You indeed sweep away the righteous wit the wicked?' " - Gen 18:23

The Lord is a merciful God! I see His mercy is very evident in this passage. The Lord and two angels came to Abraham. The Lord again tells Abraham that Sarah will have a child and with all the times God had told Abraham, you would think Abraham would have believed by now? But in this passage we see the unbelief of Sarah, as she indeed laughs at the idea. It clearly shows hat they still did not believe, but yet the Lord did not punish her for laughing.

The Lord responses with a wonderful question, "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" (vs. 14). We need to ask this question of ourselves when we question God's Power. The answer is of course, nothing. In all things God will have His way in our lives. We need to put our trust in Him.

In the second part of this chapter we see God is clearly looking at Sodom and sees the wickedness of their city. Abraham also knew of their wickedness and knew what God is thinking. Abraham was of course worried about his nephew, Lot and family. Abraham then questions God about the idea of destroying a city with righteous men. In verses 24-32, Abraham is queationing God. What is interesting is that Abraham does not actually tell God to save Lot, but instead asks about the righteous. We can see Abraham is thinking about Lot, but does not want to say that Lot is righteous. We also see that God will have mercy on the righteous. It's wonderful to see that mercy of the Lord.

Verse of the day: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:2

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 20-21 and James 5
Daily Bread: Colossians 2:6-7; 3:12-17

Something New (Genesis 17)

"But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year." - Gen 17:21

God had a covenant with Abram and this is another passage that we see a little more revealed. After the Hagar situation, God reveals a little more. Abram will have a son with Sarai and his name will be Isaac (v. 21).

At this point God changes Abram and Sarai's names to Abraham and Sarah. This is a sign that there is a difference in their lives. Much like with us when we become Christians there is a difference in our lives. I'm not saying that we need to change our name when we become Christians, but there should be a difference in the way we live our lives. Look around, is your live like that of non-Christians around you? Abram and Sarai's name change is like that of Paul (Acts 13:9) when Paul became a Christian in Acts 10.

God calls for a sign to be given to the descendants of Abraham and that is of circumcision. This cutting off of the old flesh reveals something new. This is like when we put our trust in Christ we become a new person. Again, if you have put your trust in Christ, you should be a new person.

Circumcision was to set Abraham's descendants apart from others. Also God gives a promise to Abraham that Ishmael's descendants will be great in number as well (v. 25).

In this passage we see a huge difference in Abraham's family. We see the signs, that God gives Abraham's decedents. Even though Abraham doesn't see how he could be a father at the age of one hundred, God still does it. Even though we don't think God can do something we need to trust Him. Plus like with Abraham when we trust God, there should be an outward sign to the world that we are different.

Verse of the day: "Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration [of it.]" - Proverbs 23:4

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 18-19 and James 4
Daily Bread: Acts 9:36-43

Be Patient (Genesis 16)

"So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael." - Gen 16:15

In most cases, each of the Bible's main characters are shown in sin. This just shows how we are all sinners, and that Jesus Christ is the only one that is righteous. We saw it with Adam (Gen 3:6) and with Noah (Gen 9:21). Abram is no exception, and much like the sin of Adam and Eve this included the woman. Sarai says to him, that he should bare a child through her mistress.

Abram had a choice, he could have said no, and had faith that the Lord would follow through with His promise, but they both grew tired of waiting. This is a lesson for us, God will always follow through with His promises we have be patient. Abram was not.

This is also the first time we see adultery. I'm sure it was not the first time. In the days of Noah the men are described as wicked. I'm sure adultery was part of that. It was common practices in that day to have a husband take a maid and bare a child for his barren wife. But this was not God's plan. Back in Genesis 2 we see that God designed marriage between a man and a woman and God calls for them to remain loyal in one flesh (Gen 2:24). It is always a sin to have sex with someone outside of marriage.

God judges Abram, Sarai and Hagar. In verses 11-12, we see a promise to Hagar's descendents. They just like Abram's will be numerous. But they will be wild (or warring), they will be against everyone, and everyone will be against them (vs. 12). Also they will live to the east.

Hagar's descendants are the current day's Arabs. Of all the people in Genesis only two groups of people live to this day in the Middle East, the Israelites and the Arabs. The Arabs are for the most part to the east of Israel. They seem to be a wild people (or warring). It seems like they are a very violent people. They seem to be making enemies around the world, and seem to be against o much of the world. It fulfills what Genesis 16:11-12 describes.

The promise to Hagar was also a punishment to Abram. The Arabs have shown that they hate the people of Israel, and are like a thorn in their flesh. We see Abram's sin and the result, but just wait God will restore Abram and will give him a son.

Verse of the day: "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." - Romans 8:1-2

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 16-17 and James 3
Daily Bread: 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Trusting God (Genesis 15)

"Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." - Gen 15:6

This passage is another time in which God makes a promise to Abram. In this passage the word 'covenant' is used for the first time. This was not just a promise; this was a commitment (or covenant).

This time God promises Abram descents. Sarai is barren, so Abram doesn't see how this can happen. Under the rules of that day, his servant Eliezer of Damascus would receive his inheritance (v. 2). But God makes it clear that it's Abram's descendants, not others that will receive his inheritance. God doesn't tell Abram at this point he will have a son, but it's implied.

In verse 6, we see that Abram believed the Lord. We see the importance of this. This is very important because thought out the Bible we will see that belief in God is one of the most important things that can be done.

We see Abram's belief to be reaffirmed in Hebrews 11:8-10. Believe is putting your trust in God and this is what God wants from us. Do you believe in God? If so, do you put your trust in Him? Only with faith and believe in God can one be saved from sin (John 1:12).

Verse of the day: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 14-15 and James 2
Daily Bread: Psalm 36:5-10

Tithe of Respect (Genesis 14)

" 'And blessed be God Most high, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.' He gave him a tenth of all." - Gen 14:20

Thi is the first mention of a war in the Bible, and it was a big one. Their were two sides both alliended with some and against others. We can clearly see the kings of Sodom & Gomorah as being the bad side. This leads to the capture of Lot, who was living in Sodom. When Abram heard about this he send his own men in to get Lot. Until this point Abram was left out of the war.

After a successful retrieval of Lot, Abram is met by two kings, Melchizedek, king of Salem (later Jerusalem) and the king of Sodom. They both wanted to get Abram on their side. This is where we see something special.

In verses 18-20, we see Melchizedek, which we don't know much else about, came humbly to Abram. He brought Abram a gift of bread and wine (v. 18), and is called a priest of God Most High. Then he blessed Abram in the name of the Lord. And in verse 20, we have the first mention of a tither (or a tenth). It happens that Abram gave God a tenth. This should be a picture for us to give a tenth of out earnings. But in Hebrews 7:1-10, we see that Melchizedek was special, and without any background, we know is a worshiper of God. He is held n high regard.

Finally we have the king of Sodom, who comes to Abram and wants to buy him off (v. 21-24). We see two offerings to Abram, one of respect and one of payment. Don't let your tithe be one of paying dues, but let it be one of respect to the Lord.

Verse of the day: " 'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,' says the LORD of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.' " - Malachi 3:10

For yur reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 11-13 and James 1
Daily Bread: James 1:13-21

God's in Control (Genesis 13)

"I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, si that if anyone can number the dust if the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered." - Gen 13:16

When Abram returned to the land of Canaan, he had much wealth, and Lot also had much wealth. This means that they both had lots of herds and livestock. With the land of Canaan already populated hey were limited in where they could settle.

There seemed to be two areas to settle. Abram being unselfish gave the choice to Lot. Lot chose the land that was very fertile, but was filled with wicked people, this will come back to hurt Lot in the future. But the land that Abram got was part of God's promise. God knew which land Lot would choose, and it was part of His plan.

God has everything under His control. Today, we had family crisis. We were all wondering, and hoping things were okay. They turned out to be okay, but God was in control and did not alow any horrible things to happen, and we are greatful. A missionary from our church resently got in a horrible car accident. They are doing much better now, but for a while things were not looking good. The question we often ask is, "why?" But we don't have to know, because God knows, and He will work all things out according to His plan.

The next section of scripture is where God gives Abram a little more of His promise. We of course will see the full convient later. For know God tells us that akk the will be Abram's. North, south, east and west that land will be his (vs. 14-15). We also see that his descendents will be large in number, lie the dust of the earth (v. 16). After this promise Abram once again gives an altar to the Lord.

Verse of the day: "Every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God." - Hebrews 3:4

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 8-10 and Hebrews 13
Daily Bread: Philippians 3:13-21

Trusting God (Genesis 12)

"The Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'to your descendants I will give this land.' So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him." - Gen 12:7

This is the first story we have of Abram. In verses 1-3, we see the first time God has promised Abram a great nation. And in verse 4, God told Abram to leave his land which was Haran. This was an act of obedience on Abram's part. They would arrive in the land of Canaan, which God promised to Abram (vs. 7). Which Abram's response was to offer an altar to the Lord.

Two things sick out to me from this. First, this is really the first time that I see any specific area mentioned in the Bible, beside the Garden of Eden. Secondly, I think it awesome that Abram's response was an altar to the Lord. This is the third time we see an altar made. And remember that at this time a burnt offering to the Lord for sins was not yet required. Plus this was clearly a worshipful offering to the Lord. We see a similar offering with Cain and Abel (Gen 4:3-15), and also with Noah after the flood (Gen 8:20-22). In Noah's case it was a "soothing aroma" to the Lord. We need to make it a daily practice to worship God.

Due to a famine they went down to Egypt (vs. 10). We don't know if God forced Abram out or if Abram made the decision to go. I know that if it were me, I would not want to leave the land God promised me. But its clear the famine forced them out.

In verses 11-13, Abram makes a plot to have Sarai say that she was his sister which was a half truth. But I see that God may not have been pleased with this, because He caused the plagues on Pharaoh to reveal the truth. I think this is a sign that Abram didn't fully trust God. God can provide for our needs, and if you feel that the Lord calling you to something, trust Him. We see that Abram didn't fully trust God, but God used him anyway. This reminds me of the story of Jonah in that Jonah didn't trust God, but in Jonah's disbelieve God used him anyway. This should not be our excuse, because not trusting God is in part a sin. I'm sure Abram felt bad, and learned to trust God, but of course old habits die hard, and we will see his disbelief again later. Despite this we see God using Abram in great ways, stay tuned for more.

Verse of the day: " 'I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.' " - Galatians 2:20

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 5-7 and Hebrews 12
Daily Bread: Psalm 119:97-104

Third Judgment (Genesis 11)

"Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech." - Gen 11:7

This passage has three parts. 1) The story of Babel (vs. 1-9). 2) Genealogy of Shem to Abram (vs. 10-26). 3) Finally an introduction to Abram (vs. 27-32).

First, the story of Babel is one of significant because it's the reason people speak different languages. This chapter clearly teachers that before the tower of Babel everyone spoke the same language (vs. 1). Together the people wanted to build a tower to heaven and they found that together they could do much, but God said no. It was the third judgment of humans. The curse (Gen 3:14-19), the flood (Gen 6) and the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9). God confused their language, now is this when we first start seeing nations? I know that now days different nations are based on different languages. Before the tower of Babel it seems that everyone stayed in the same area with no real differences. After Babel we start seeing groups of people forming "nations". Anyway, this judgment of God is a lesson to us to not try to do too much on our own and that we should rely on God.

Second part, the genealogy we see (in a similar way to chapter 5) the connection between Noah and Abram. Some scholars say that there was at least 1,000 years between the two. We know that Abram is dated to about 2150 BC. You may also notice that people started living shorter and shorter. We will now see people no longer living over 200 years.

Finally we see the first glimpse into the family of Abram. We will see much of him later, but for now let’s note a few things. Abram was from Ur, and entered the land of Canaan (v. 31), which later would be the Promised Land for the Israelites. We see Sarai (Abram's wife) for the first time, and see that she is barren. God greatly used Abram and He can greatly use us.

Verse of the day: "No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." - 1 John 4:12

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 3-4 and Hebrews 11:20-40
Daily Bread: Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Decedents of this world (Genesis 10)

"These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood." - Gen 10:32

This passage doesn't have a whole lot of content. It’s a passage of genealogy and doesn't really comment on any individual person.

But in verses 21-24 it lists the decedents of Shem which of course is the son of Noah that God used to bring out the line of David and Jesus Christ. (Luke 3:31-36) In verse 21, it says that Shem the father of all the children of Eber, which has its ties to the Hebrew people. In verses 22, it lists Arpachshad which translated is Arphaxad. (Luke 3:36)

I find it comforting that God shows us each step of the way to His Son. Unlike the decedents od Adam we get a lot more detail about the decedents of Noah, and we can even figure out where these decedents settled. If you do more research you can even figure out connections to Europe, Africa, and Asia. These names were very important to the Israelites as they could know where they came from. Many of these names and locations were also a result of the tower of Babel. (Genesis 11)

Finally I enjoyed verse 32, in that it provides me a lot of comfort in knowing that all the nations of the world came from Noah. God worked everything out, and has everything within His control.

Verse of the day: "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; [and] that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:16-19

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 1-2 and Hebrews 11:1-19
Daily Bread: John 21:14-17

God's Promise - Part 2 (Genesis 9)

"I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth." - Gen 9:13

This passage is packed, I'm focusing on three main points. The first one will be the focus for today. That would be the promise of the Lord after the flood. This is a continuation from yesterday. The promise that God made was that He will never again flood the earth. (Gen 8:21, 9:13-15)

God gives us a sign of this promise, the rainbow. Many will write this off, and say that the rainbow is scientific and will tell you how the rainbow is formed. Even though science can tell us how the rainbow if formed, it's still a sign from God of the promise that He will never again flood the world.

This promise does not come without a warning. In verses 3-5, God makes three provisions for man. First people were allowed to eat meat (v.3), but were not allowed to consume its life, aka blood (v.4) and finally not to take the life of other men (v.5). Does this mean that men were not warned about killing others? Most certainly not! We can clearly see that God warns about the sin of killing others in Gen 4:7, and we see that there were consequences for killing (Gen 4:11-12). In verse 6, God tells Noah that the punishment for killing another human is death. Does this justify capitol punishment? I see this as being the big difference between Cain's sin and the killing after the flood. Because in chapter 4 we see that the punishment to Cain was not death, but death was to be the punishment after the flood.

The promise to Noah is very similar to the promise with Adam in that God told Adam not to eat of the tree, or he would die (Gen 2:17). Just as God told Noah not to take another man's life or he would die (Gen 9:6). But Christ is the answer to this punishment (Col 1:13-14). When Christ died on the cross, He made payment for the sins of man, including the taking of life.

The second point in this chapter is the blessing of Noah and his family. But Noah sinned. Noah is a picture of Christ, but unlike Christ, Noah had a sinful nature like every other man. In verses 20-21, we see Noah getting drunk and naked, this was viewed a shameless. Do you view getting drunk as shameless? It's sad to see how our society is okay with drunkenness, when the Bible clearly teaches against it. (Pro 26:9, Isa 19:14, Luke 21:34, Rom 13:13, Gal 5:21, Eph 5:18) We can learn many things from this, but for now let’s leave it at this.

The final thing I'm taking from this passage is that of Ham. In verses 22-23, we see that Ham was the first to see his father nakedness, and some say that in verse 23 it’s Ham that made fun of his father. In verse 25, Noah puts a curse on Ham and his descendents. Shem and Japheth were both very respective of their father. Noah's curse on Ham's descendents is fulfilled when the Israelites would conquer them upon entering the Promised Land.

Verse of the day: "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." - Romans 12:3-5

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Lamentations 3-5 and Hebrews 10:19-39
Daily Bread: Hebrews 10:19-23

God's Promise - Part 1 (Genesis 8)

"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, 'I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.'" - Gen 8:20-21

The flood killed everything that was not on the ark, thousands if not millions of people, plus thousands if not millions of animals. What happened to all these dead bodies? Did God dispose of them or were they left on the earth when Noah got out of the ark? We don't really know.

That was just a simple thought. This is not the main thought of the day. Today's lesson is part one of two. What would you do after you got out of the ark? All indications show that the first thing Noah did was that he built an altar to the Lord in which he made a sacrifice. This is very similar to the sacrifice of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:3-5).

The flood lasted a little over a year. The rains started in the 600th year of Noah on the 17th day of the 2nd month (Gen 7:11) and the water return to its place in the 601st year of Noah on the 27th day of the second month (Gen 8:14). This means that the flood lasted 1 year and 10 days. It rained for 40 days and nights, but the flood was much longer.

I would have been sick and tired of being in the ark. I would have questioned God, "Why did you stick me in this stinking ark?" But Noah's first response to the Lord was a worshipful sacrifice. We don't know if Noah was ever frustrated in the ark, but upon leaving the ark, he praised God. In our own lives, do we praise God in all times of our lives? We can see that even early in the Bible worshipping God was important.

This sacrifice pleased the Lord and He made a convent (or promise) with Noah. I will talk more about this tomorrow, but for now in this chapter we see the promise in verse 21. The promise is that God will never again curse the ground this way again. Note that He doesn't say He will never judge man, but won't flood the world again. There are still consequences for our sin. This promise was not because God felt bad for what He had done, because He was justified. God's saving of Noah was His mercy on humans; don't forget that we deserve death.

God knew of man's sinful heart, and He knew that a Savior would be needed. We can take courage in that we will never be flooded out. But someday God will judge the entire world again, and this will be during the End Times in the final judgment. You will not have to be judged again if except the promise of salvation. Christ died for your sins and if you accept His free gift, you will be forgiven of your sins and will not be judged during the end times or when you die.

Verse of the day: "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for [those of] the whole world." - 1 John 2:1-2

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Lamentations 1-2 and Hebrews 10:1-18
Daily Bread: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Mercy of God (Genesis 7)

"Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things ... only Noah was left together with those that were with him in the ark." - Gen 7:23

God gave humans a second chance! After the fall of man things spiraled down and man became very wicked, so God gave man a second chance. You may be thinking that flooding the world and destroying all living creatures may be harsh, but the reality is that God could have started over. God could have decided to destroy the earth and start fresh and new, but He didn't. This shows the mercy that God had for man.

In all the wickedness of man he made a way to start things over. This reminds me of Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Noah is a picture of Jesus Christ. God showed His love and mercy to us by allowing Noah to start things over. Mercy is defined in one of two ways, 1) getting what we don't deserve, or 2) not getting what we do deserve.

The pre-flood population did not deserve a second chance, but God gave it to them. Just as we as sinners don't deserve a second chance at salvation, but God gave it to us. So the question is, have you taken the gift of salvation?

In this second chance humans were already sinful. The idea of giving us a second chance is wonderful, but it would not have been the same as the first chance, in that we would have a sinful nature and would not have been restored to perfect form. IN this God would have known and knows that He would have to save us again that is where Christ comes in. Nobody really knows how long it was from creation to the flood or from the flood to the cross, but in each case it was more than likely thousands of years.

The thing I'm taking from today's reading is that God is all knowing, merciful and powerful. He knows that despite a second chance, we would need a third chance (the cross), and finally a fourth chance (the end times). In this passage you get a lot of the detail of the flood, which is wonderful! Don't let anyone tell you the flood never took place.

Verse of the day: " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.' " - Revelation 1:8

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 51-52 and Hebrews 9
Daily Bread: Matthew 7:15-27

Faithfully Obeying God (Genesis 6)

"The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart ... But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." - Genesis 6:6, 8

Genesis 6 is the clearest picture of what the world had become before the flood. Twice in this chapter, God describes them as "filled with violence". The reason it is important to look at the world before the flood is that in Matthew 24:36-41, Jesus is describing the end times and the second coming of Christ. He describes it as "like the days of Noah". In Genesis we see violence described (v. 11, 13), continually wickedness (v. 5), and in Matthew 24:38, described is "eating, drinking, marry and giving in marriage", these acts described in Matthew are not wicked in themselves, but without Christ they can be.

In a side note, I look around at our society and our world today, and I see these things. The violence in movies and video games is just one example. Alcohol has become such a problem in our society; marriage has been perverted in how God designed it originally, and finally how over eating has become such a problem in our world today. But however bad these things are now, they will be even worse in the last days, and were even worse in the days of Noah. All of the evilness makes God sorry that He had ever made man.

But God made a way to save His creation. I can't help, but think it’s a picture of Christ. God sent Jesus to save humans from their sin, much like He used Noah to have the human race. I'm so glad that God used Noah and the flood to destroy the wickedness of the world, because it would have only gotten worse. How bad would it be today, and what would have been the end result. God knows all, and knew that the world needed to be cleansed.

Noah was described in verse 8 as having favor in the eyes of the Lord. This is similar to what we saw yesterday in how Enoch was described as having walked with the Lord. In Hebrews 11:7, Noah is described as "by faith" obeying God and being warned about things "not yet seen". Some say that rain had never come upon the earth until the flood, so despite the fact that it was unknown to man, Noah obeyed God.

We should have the same obedience to God. Even if we think it can't happen we need to obey. It reminds me of Jonah in how he did not believe God or understand God in sending him to Nineveh, but God used him anyway. We need to step out in faith and do the things that we think are impossible. In looking at my own live, I have struggled in obeying God. I look at my own life, and how God has commanded us to go and share the gospel with the world, and how afraid I am of telling others. I need to be praying that God will give me the faith to obey. What ever your struggle is, ask God to give you faith. He will give you the strength.

One last note about this passage, it says that Noah was commanded to gather two of every animal (one male, and one female). It also describes the size of the ark. The ark is huge in size, but to hold two of every animal it just doesn't seem big enough. I wonder if the animals were young or at least small in size. A full grown elephant or giraffe would take up to much space. Its something we just will never know.

Until tomorrow, have a Great Day!

Verse of the day: "I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." - Isaiah 61:10

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 50 and Hebrews 8
Daily Bread: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34

Pleasing God (Genesis 5)

"Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." - Gen 5:24

Adam lived 930 years, Seth lived 912 years ... This passage is a passage of the genealogy, not really a story, but there a few things to take note of.

There are nine generations between Adam and Noah (Noah being the 10th). While these names don't mean a lot, the average life of these nine men was about 900 years. Methuselah lived the longest of these men and considered by many to be the oldest person to ever live (he lived 969 years). After the flood things dropped off as people's lives started getting shorter. We know after the flood, Noah and his sons would repopulate the world, so with their lives being shorter, there must have been a huge population before the flood.

Enoch is commented on in a very special way. In verses 21-24, Enoch is talked about. Don't mistake Enoch for Enosh, which was Seth's son. Enoch was the son of Jared, the 7th person in the genealogy. We first are told of Enoch's son, Methuselah (noted above), but then in verse 22 it says that he "walked with God" for 300 years after his son was born. In contrast to the other names mentioned in his passage, where it says the lived x years. Here it says he walked with God 300 years. In verse 24, it again mentions he walked with God, but then it says God took him. In Hebrews, Enoch is talked about again (in the "hall of faith").

Hebrews 11:5, says "By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God." Following is an awesome verse about faith, in verse 6. "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Faith is so very important, read Hebrews 11, because without faith we can't please God and that should be our heart's desire. In short faith is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb 11:1)

Enoch was one of only to humans to have never seen death. (Enoch & Elijah) He walked with God, how great would it be if after my death people say that I walked with God? It should be our heart's desire. It reminds me of the way that Adam & Eve must have walked with God before the fall of man, and also the way that Noah walked with God (and was faithful to God). In short, Enoch pleased God. Do I? Do you? It's important to look at our lives and make sure that our lives are pleasing to God in every way. If you are a Christian then it's about spending time daily in His Word and praying to Him daily. If you aren't a Christian it's about acknowledging that you are a sinner and expecting His free gift of eternal life. (Romans 6:23)

The final note about this chapter is in the final few verses. We come to Noah, in which the father of Noah makes some special comments about him in verse 29. We will see why Noah is so special and why Noah's name is so important in human history.

Verse of the day: "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such [a word] as is good for edification according to the need [of the moment,] so that it will give grace to those who hear." - Ephesians 4:29

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 48-49 and Hebrews 7
Daily Bread: Romans 13:1-7

Overcoming Sin (Genesis 4)

"If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." - Gen 4:7

Cain and Abel both offered a sacrifice to the Lord, each of his own product. Cain offered fruit and Abel offered livestock. Many believe that Cain offering fruit was what was wrong. But it wasn't until later that God commanded a sacrifice of animals for sin. This has been described as a sacrifice of worship. I see this as the first idea of giving to the Lord, like a tithe.

So where did the sin come from (or why did Cain sin)? How did Cain's sacrifice lead him to kill his brother? In verse 5, it says that Cain became angry. Why? Is it because Abel's sacrifice was better? Could be. In verse 4, Abel's offering was the best of his flock, where Cain's may have been just a token offering. God asks us to sacrifice our time and life for him. Are we giving God the best of our lives and the most of our time? Are we just giving him the scraps? It convicts me; I need to learn to give the most of my life for Him.

God saw Cain's heart, and gave Cain some advice. The Lord told Cain that sin was knocking at his door, and that he could (or needs to) master it. This is a foreshadowing of the sin that Cain would kill his brother. Cain did not master the sin that was knocking. Cain killed his brother and apparently hid his body.

What can we take from this story? We have all struggled with sin in our lives, but we can overcome and master this sin in our lives. Satan's influence in our lives is great, but with Christ in our lives we can overcome, whatever Satan throws our way.

God gave Cain some advice; He gave Cain a chance to overcome the sin to follow. God gives us a chance as well. We all know the difference between right and wrong. Choice what is right. God puts people in our lives to help us, listen to them. I think of my parents, as a teenage I felt like they were just trying to tell me what to do, but as I look back, I can see that they were looking out for my best interests. I think of people in my life, like pastors, who teach me from the Word, as I listen to them speak, am I really taking to heart what they say? Don't be like Cain and sin despite knowing what is right.

I find it interesting that even in the early days of human history the idea of overcoming evil was known to man. So much so that today if you are struggling with sin and it seems to be controlling your life. Give it over to God and rely on His strength. "With people [it] is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26)

Verse of the day: "Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, But any fool will quarrel." - Proverbs 20:3

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 46-47 and Hebrews 6
Daily Bread: Mark 4:35-41

Fall of Man (Genesis 3)

"They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3:8)

The fall of man was one of the biggest events in human history. It completely changed the course of history. We can only imagine what this world would have been like without the sin of Adam and Eve. I find it interesting that despite the fact that God knew man would sin, He still gave humans a choice (or free will).

After Adam and Eve sinned this is when they realized that they were naked. When trying to cover themselves, God asked them who told them they were naked. God then tells of the result of this sin.

In verse 16, God tells Eve that, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth". Before Adam and Eve sinned, what was God's plan? Did he intend on having humans reproduce? If you think about it, wasn't death the result of the fall? If so, then the Garden of Eden would have been paradise (or Heaven). This also means that Adam and Eve would have lived forever. But the question still remains, 'would they have had children?' I don't know. But I do know that if death was the result of the fall, then reproduction would be necessary in order to keep the human race going on earth.

Verse of the day: "If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name," says the LORD of hosts, "then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them [already,] because you are not taking [it] to heart." - Malachi 2:2

For your reading:
The Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 43-45 and Hebrews 5
Daily Bread: 2 Timothy 2:1-10

The Institution of Marriage (Genesis 2)

"For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." - Genesis 2:24

In this passage it's all about humans. God created man and made the Garden of Edon for man, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which he was not to eat from. At this time God had made rules for man, and gave man a job of naming all the creation. This makes it clear and jobs and rules were not part of the fall, but was something that God made from the beginning.

God said that it was not good for him to be alone, so God created woman out of man. This clearly id the design of marriage. I feel that those who look at homosexuality is okay, just don't understand. God created man and woman to be together, not man and man or woman and woman. There is only one way that humans can reproduce. Also in verse 24, it clearly states the institution of marriage, and anyone who wants to make marriage between same sex couples, doesn't understand that marriage was always designed to be between a man and a woman. It's very important that as Christians we stand for what God has made, and not except the sin of homosexuality.

Creation (Gensis 1)

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen 1:1)

Despite what other people may say it is very clear that God created the earth. And I feel He did it in 7 days. When you look at creations you have to know that there is a creator. Just like if you look at a painting you know that there was a painter. I take the Bible at it's word, if it says God created everything in 7 days, then I believe He did. It's awesome to see the power of God, all He had to do was speak and it was done. It must have been a sight to see.

Day 1 - light & dark (Gen 1:3-5)
Day 2 - sky (heavens) and waters (Gen 1:6-8)
Day 3 - land & plants (Gen 1:9-13)
Day 4 - Sun & stars (Gen 1:14-19)
Day 5 - birds, fish (all animals) (Gen 1:20-23)
Day 6 - humans (Gen 1:24-31)
Day 7 - rested (Gen 2:1-3)

In verse 3, it says "Then God said, 'Let there be light'". My question is this "what language did He speak?" He had not yet created humans, and after He did create humans what language did they speak? It's a question I will have to ask God in heaven someday.

Read: Gensis 1

Verse of the day: "And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9