Question to ponder: Is this a current day/current state of affairs, or is this really something God dealt with prior to our generation? So often our news reports are filled with such horrific happenings that we might sit down and ask ourselves, ‘How much worse can our generation get?’ As we ponder this today, let’s bear in mind that God had already dealt with a generation just as bad as ours. How much more can He take from the children He carefully and wonderfully made?

 

DATE POSTED Monday, 2022-01-04
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BY: Ed Algreen

 

SCRIPTURE FROM: Genesis 6:5-7
TRANSLATION: New Century Version (NCV)

 

BIBLE TEXT: 5 The Lord saw that the human beings on the earth were very wicked and that everything they thought about was evil. 6 He was sorry he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy all human beings that I made on the earth. And I will destroy every animal and everything that crawls on the earth and the birds of the air, because I am sorry I have made them.”

 

APPLICATION: Whether in our homes, or at work or just in society in general, we tend to hope that the discipline we hand out would impact others to avoid repeating the same sin. I know of a boss who once said that he should fire one person weekly, so that the others might stand in fear for their respective jobs and do better! God showed us in His Word how upset He was with seeing His creation turn so badly away from Him and His teaching. In fact, so disappointing, that God desired to just start all over again. Although God went on to say in Genesis 8:21 that He would never do such a drastic thing again, I’m sure that He must be so disappointed that He is seeing a repeat of things that hurt Him so badly to have previously disciplined our ancestors for. But as we enter a New Year, I believe we must ask ourselves ‘what is it that I can do to better obey and serve my God?’ Yes, we must be concerned about the rest of the world around us, but our responsibility is to pray for them to stay persistent in their commitment to the Creator of the World, or have a growing desire to know Him personally and/or more intimately. In an earlier devotional, I came across a statement by Jesus where He told His disciples to not be so worried about the date/time of His return, as they must be about seeing the hearts of sinful man turn to, and accept the Savior of the world. So when we look towards a New Year and wonder where to start, and what to plan for our days that God allows us to remain on planet earth, we must always look to what God wants us to do. When people, who need the Lord, come to accept Him as Lord, they will have no desire to keep on sinning. When we know that something irritates our parents, or our spouse, or those we love, we tend to try everything possible to avoid repeating that sin, or action. We know from the Scripture today that God was totally frustrated and angry at the sin seen in His creation. We also know that there is enough going on today that must be upsetting to our Maker, let us therefore commit ourselves to prayer, and to encouraging one another – especially the unsaved, so that they may see Jesus at work through us, and surrender their lives to Him for all eternity.

 

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God created the world and everyone in it, so He was very much authorized to wipe them out and start again. He promised never to send another flood, so we must enjoy every blessing, and do our best to avoid the sin that upsets Him.

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we are ashamed to be here on earth where so much sin abounds – perhaps very much like the sin that upset You in Noah’s day. For those who have accepted You as Lord, I pray that we will be even more committed to touching the lives of the unsaved, for we know that when sin is conquered, so will the crime, hatred and fighting – the things that hurt the Master’s heart. Lord, impress upon us the urgency of doing the work of the Father. There is no time to sit around and complain about it, instead we must seek Your wisdom, Your strength and Your guidance to be Your ambassadors while alive here on earth. May 2022 be the year of revival and great evangelism, because Your people, who are called by Your name, has humbled themselves and prayed. AMEN!

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