Tag Archives: Devotion

Genesis 4-7

Genesis 4 begins with the account of Cain and Abel. I can only speculate as to why God wouldn’t respect Cain’s offering. My speculation, though, is that Cain worked hard to till the ground, everything was by his own hands. While Abel, just tending to the sheep, didn’t really put any effort into it from Cain’s point of view. In verse 7, God does tell Cain “if you do well, you will be accepted, and if you do not do well, sin lies at your door.” Whatever the reason, Cain’s pride was hurt and he was angry. How many times have I experienced hurt to my own pride and felt anger as a result? When that happens, I should do right and give that hurt and pride over to God so that it doesn’t turn into anger, rage, jealousy, or any other sinful attitude of the flesh.

Unfortunately, Cain did none of these things, and took his brother into the field to kill him. Like his parents before him, God came to Cain asking him the question that God already knew the answer to. Cain’s answer was “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” There is almost a hint of sarcasm that I see in the response, and not a hint of repentence. As a result, the penalty of Cain’s sin further added to the curse on the earth. This shows me that our sins not only affect ourselves, but looking at his sin and the sin of Adam and Eve, we can see the effects of the curse even to this day.

Despite the additional curse and penatly for Cain’s sin, which was causing him to become a wanderer in the land, we still see God’s protection over him. Cain was worried that if someone saw him, they would kill him as well, which would be just and fair, as he did kill his brother. Instead God gives Cain a mark, a seal of protection, saying that if anyone took revenge on him, the vengeance would be returned on that person sevenfold. This shows me that God still looks out for us, even when we walk away from Him. Reading the rest of chapter 4, though, doesn’t give much hope in Cain returning back to God. In fact, his children seem to stray farther and farther from God until we read in verses 23 and 24 where Cain’s decendant Lamech killed a young man simply for wounding him.

Walking away from God is a dangerous thing. Focusing daily on Him, and putting our pain and our hurts at our feet gives us the strength that we need to carry on. By relying on God’s strength, we can avoid the pitfalls of sin that will not only affect us, but affect those around us, and even our decendents for years to come. Lord help me to always put You first, to put my hurts and my pride at Your feet, and help me to repent and keep my focus on You.

Chapter 5 is a geneology of Adam through Noah and his sons. What is interesting to note here is that all the decendents listed here, except for Enoch, were 700 or more years. There was one time I did the math as well, and determined that every single one of them had died before the time of the flood. Enoch was a special case for we are told that he walked with God and then was “no more.” He was probably a prophet for God, like Elijah in the time of the Kings of Israel, and, like Elijah, he was probably taken directly up to heaven by God, having never died in the physical body. What is important to note is that he walked with God while he was on the earth. Walking with God is a daily choice to follow His commands and obey His teachings. It is a life of no compromise and full dedication to God. It is something so few of us ever measure up to, and I know I fall incredibly short. So many other things in life drag my attention away, making me think it is more important, when there is nothing more important than God.

In Chapter 6, we read how corrupt the earth had become. With the long lifespans of the decendents of Adam, it is easy to believe that the earth probably numbered in the millions of people, maybe even into the billions. Unfortunately, these people turned their backs on God. Each one only had wickedness in their hearts. No one had their focus on God, which grieved Him. All, except for one man and his family, Noah and his sons; Ham, Shem and Japheth. We are told that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. In many ways our own world is in much the same state as it was in Noah’s time. Violence is everywhere. You can’t turn on the news without hearing something about the war in the Middle East, or violence in the streets. Divorce is common, not only in the world, but in the church as well. Marriage is under attack, even to the point of trying to redefine it so that it is in complete defiance of God’s plan of one-man and one-woman. Sexual immorality, homosexuality, cults, crime, the list goes on. Even more, true Christianity is often painted as the one in the wrong because it isn’t tolerant of the actions spoken of as sin in the Bible.

With all this around me, would I find grace in Noah’s eyes? Would I stand up for the Lord against the tide of sin that is overcoming the world? Or would I follow the path of so many “Christians” who believe the lies of Satan who says “Did God really say….?” Lord, help me to stand on Your Word, without compromise, so that I might be found in your grace.

Because God’s grace is far beyond anything we can imagine, God spared the earth through Noah. In the rest of chapter 6 into chapter 7, He commanded Noah to build an ark and to bring aboard animals to preserve the species when the earth is being flooded. It is hard to imagine how Noah must have felt given this task. For one, it had never rained before on the earth, so Noah, and those around him, didn’t know what rain was. Secondly, the ark was a massive structure that he built according to God’s plans. Based on the age given in Genesis 5:32 (Noah was 500), and the age given in Genesis 7:11 (Noah was 600), it is conceivable that it took Noah 100 years to build the ark. I can only imagine the ridicule that Noah must have faced. Despite that, Noah obeyed and through his obedience, God’s grace was demonstrated. God shut the door to the ark personally and destroyed the earth with a flood, but Noah, his family, and all the things that walked on the earth and flew in the air, were saved. The ark was the only way of salvation for Noah and his family. Anyone who tried to save themselves through their own works, whatever they may have been, had perished in the floods.

Noah did the works commanded of Him by God because He believed God. It was His faith in God’s Word that pushed him to do the work, despite any criticism the world may have given to him. Once the work was completed, though, there was nothing his works could do to save him. His salvation rested solely on God’s Word and God’s grace. Noah trusted that the arc would save him, as God told him. Noah entered the arc, not knowing but trusting. It was God who closed the door behind him. It was God’s grace that protected him, his family, and the animals aboard the ark. Do I put enough faith in God’s Word to do what the Word tells me to do? While I don’t do the works to be saved, I do them out of faith and trust in God’s Word, and my love for Him. How important is God’s Word in my life? Am I willing to stand up to the criticism so that I can stand by what God’s Word says?

This day I see a theme of “no compromise” when it comes to God and His Word. There are many times that I compromise, sometimes in small ways, but even a small compromise is still a compromise. Lord, help me to stand wholly and completely for you, without compromise, so that I might stand in Your Grace, now and forever.

Genesis 1-3 NKJV

Another New Year, another new attempt at reading through the Bible in a year. A little bit each day with a devotion as I go along, which I will post here sometime during the day, probably towards the end of the day, like today.

In Genesis 1, we read the account of the creations of the heavens and the earth. As I read through the creation account again, I marvel at God’s works. WIth His spoken Word, He causes the waters to part, land to form, and life to appear on the earth. When I think of all the intricacies of life, all the way down to the smallest cell and amoeba on up to the largest star and planets in the universe, I realize that God had His hand in it all. Knowing that causes me to look at my own life and realize how much He can help, if I were to get out of His way. If He could create the earth in six days and have time to rest on the seventh, what could He do with my life, if I were to surrender complete control to Him?

Genesis 2 expands upon part of the creation account, specifically the creation of Adam and Eve. Throughout the creation, God had said that His creation was good, but in Genesis 2, we read that God said something was not good. That was for man to be alone. God wanted a helper–a companion–for Adam, comparable to him. The animals were subject to Adam, but the helper would be Adam’s equal, his partner. So God created Eve using a rib from Adam, and the first marriage in the eyes of God took place. When man and woman were both created, it was then, as stated in Chapter 1, that God said His creation was “very good.”

There are so many things that can be gained from this chapter, some reflected in our times, such as the constant battle against marriage (divorce, living together, same-sex marriage, polygamy, etc). For my own life, though, I look at Michelle, my wife. We go through so many challenges, and I sometimes find myself questioning the next step. This chapter, particularly Genesis 2:24 – “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Michelle and I are one, and, with the Lord’s help, we will overcome the challenges, provided we are always surrendering to His control.

Oh the tragedy of Genesis 3. God’s beautiful creation corrupted by sin. In chapter 2, God had clearly stated that they were not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It is interesting to note that this was the only tree that God said they could not eat. The tree of life was there as well, and they were not told they could not eat of it. Even in the beginning God shows His desire for us to choose Him. He doesn’t want unwilling robots, but those who will wholeheartedly and obediently follow after Him. Alas, Satan, the great deceiver, will always try to get us to look away from God, as he does in the beginning of chapter 3. He starts by questioning God’s Word–”Did God really say….?” After that, He contradicts God’s Word and embellishes it. He makes the sin sound like something fun, that God is taking away from us. In this case, he tells Eve that the fruit would make her wise.

The progression of sin takes over, and Eve looks at the fruit and ponders what Satan told her. Instead of standing by God’s Word, she stands where the temptation grows. Instead of turning away from Satan and the forbidden tree, she begins to dwell on it until finally she reaches out and takes the fruit and eats it. Not only that, but she gives it to Adam to eat as well. The progression of sin is a very dangerous thing, and can sometimes be very subtle. It almost always begins with the “Did God really say…?” In my own life, I know that I need to stand on God’s Word more, and focus on Him, not on the empty promises of Satan and this world. It is a daily thing, and the rewards are beyond measure. The rest of Genesis 3, though, shows us what the penalty can be for falling into sin.

Nothing escapes God’s notice, and after Adam and Eve hid, He searched for them. I am so glad that God searches for me, even if I fall into sin. It shows me that He loves me, no matter what. Unfortunately, though, following sin always comes the consequences from those sins. Eve was told that she would have pain in child birth and that her husband would rule over her, while Adam was told that the earth would give up thorns and thistles and he’d have to work it until he died. Neither of which was God’s plan for them, but which was a result of their sin. The two were further banished from the Garden of Eden and prevented from eating the Tree of Life, so they wouldn’t be able to live forever in their now fallen state. The consequences of sin can be severe, as what happened with Adam and Eve, or it may not appear to be quite as severe. Ultimately, though, I need to recognize that all sin, no matter how great or how small, separates me from God. I need to repent and turn back to Him when I do fall. Even more, I need to keep my eyes focused on Him at all times, so that I have less chance to fall into sin.

The tragedy, though, is not without its hope. There is a promise in Genesis 3:15 that the serpent’s head will be crushed by the Seed of the woman, a prophecy of Christ’s birth and triumph over Satan. I look forward to the day that Christ returns in glory and forever crushes the head of Satan, and that I can one day eat from the Tree of Life when God establishes the new heaven and the new earth as spoken of in Revelation.

Come Lord Jesus, come.