10
February 2014.
Genesis
5:19-24 Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons
and daughters. (20) Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and
he died. (21) When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered
Methuselah. (22) Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah
300 years and had other sons and daughters. (23) Thus all the days
of Enoch were 365 years. (24) Enoch walked with God, and he was
not, for God took him.
Enoch is one of those men in Scripture
whom we would love to know more about. We are simply told of basic facts; he
was born, he walked with God and he did not die, rather God took him up to
heaven. Enoch’s godliness is emphasised in these verses as it is mentioned
twice that he walked with God. Why the emphasis? We need only think of what is to
come in Genesis 6, God sees the exceeding sinfulness of man’s heart. Enoch was
unlike his fellow men, for while they gave themselves over to sin and
satisfying the pleasures of the flesh, he gave himself to God. Their departure
from this world was also different, these men went onto die, as this chapter
record for us, they were born, they fathered children, they died. They all died
in their sinful condition and would face the judgement of God. Enoch is spared
death, and is taken up into heaven by God. Hebrews 11:5 tells us, “By faith
Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found,
because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having
pleased God.” We live in a time and world not too dis-similar from the one
in which Enoch lived, a world that is sick with sin, where men and women gives
themselves over to sin and the desires of the flesh on a daily basis. By God’s
grace we have been saved from this futile way of life that leads only to
judgement, but we are still faced with a daily choice as to what we will give
ourselves over to, to sin, or to God. Furthermore this passage challenges us in
regard to how we will be remembered, Enoch is remembered for his godliness,
will the same be said of you?
Eternal
Father, we thank You that You are the rewarder of those who seek You and who
obey You. We thank You that You have made it possible for us to seek and obey
You through the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today we will seek to live as
Enoch did, walking closely with You. Please strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit
to this end and may our lives give those around us cause to acknowledge and
praise Your Name. Amen.
7
February 2014.
Genesis
4:3-8 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the
fruit of the ground, (4) and Abel also brought of the firstborn of
his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his
offering, (5) but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So
Cain was very angry, and his face fell. (6) The LORD said to Cain,
"Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? (7) If you
do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching
at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."
(8) Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain
rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
This is a sad and tragic event in
Scripture, for it demonstrates how far mankind fell into sin. Cain commits
premeditated murder, even after being warned by God. As sad and tragic as it
is, we should also be thankful for such passages. This passage serves as a
warning and gives wise instruction to us all. The reality is that we are not
all that different from Cain, although we might not be guilty of such a crime,
our hearts can be equally filled with hate and anger towards another that can
cause us to have the same desires or thoughts as Cain did. Jesus taught us
clearly in the Sermon on the Mount that the thought, the desire is as
displeasing to God and sinful as the act itself. This event demonstrates to us
the nature of sin, sin produces sin, jealousy leads to anger, which leads to
hate, which leads to deceit, which leads to murder. Thus this passage gives us
a warning against sin, so often one sin leads to a whole string of sin,
therefore we need to be all the more diligent not just to resist the initial
temptation, but also to think of all sin which that one sin will lead to and
produce as a further means of resisting it as we see the carnage it will cause.
Furthermore, we are given wise instruction with regard to sin. God warns Cain,
He calls on Cain to be diligent, to watch out for sin lies in wait, waiting for
the right moment to strike, a moment when our guard is down. This is remarkably
similar to Jesus’ words of warning to his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane
when he says to them, Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray that you may not enter
into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” We
are instructed here not just to resist sin when it sets itself before us, but
we are also instructed to be on the watch, to be diligently looking out for it,
guarding our hearts, minds, mouths and actions at all times. Whilst this is
hard work, it is of great benefit to us and as believers in Christ we are
equipped, helped and strengthened by the Holy Spirit to this end.
Our
gracious Father, we thank You for the testimony of Scripture, for not only does
it reveal who You are, it also contains much wisdom and instruction for us. We
pray that You will enable us today to heed the warning and the wise instruction
of this passage and to be diligent in our battle against sin. May we rely upon
rely upon Your Holy Spirit, listening to His voice and prompting. May we walk
in holiness this day all for the glory and honour of Your Name. Amen.
6 February 2014.
Genesis
3:21-24 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins
and clothed them. (22) Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the
man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out
his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live
forever--" (23) therefore the LORD God sent him out from the
garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. (24) He
drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim
and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Sin leads to separation from God and to
death. Here God clothes Adam and Eve with garments of animal skins in order to
cover their nakedness and shame. The death of these animals and these skin
coverings do little to deal with Adam and Eve’s sin, for it still remains. Adam
and Eve still have the appearance of sin. As a result of this they are cut off
from the presence of God, there will no longer be personal fellowship with God,
Adam and Eve will no longer be able to openly and unashamedly approach God,
they are forever separated. Yet the death of these animals and the skin
coverings point us to the One whose blood will be shed, a blood that is
sufficient to deal with our sin, and that will cause us to be clothed in His
robe of righteousness. When the shed blood, the death of Christ and the
righteousness of Christ is applied to our lives, we no longer have the
appearance of sin, but the appearance of a righteous received from Christ. The
result of this it that we are no longer cut off from the presence of God, but
are drawn into His presence, kingdom and family! We have personal fellowship
with God now and for eternity, all because Christ has borne the curse, shame,
judgement and punishment of our sin.
Lord
Jesus Christ we humbly bow in thankfulness before You today, for we were filled
with sin and shame, having forsaken and turned away from You and yet You came
in obedience and love to give to us, through Your death, Your righteousness.
Thank You, that because of this sacrifice and gift, we now have fellowship with
God, Father, Son and Spirit, we have had the shame of sin removed and a hope
placed in our hearts that one day we shall see You face to face and walk with
You, just as Adam and Eve once did. We praise and adore You. Amen.
5
February 2014.
Genesis
3:14-19 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done
this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on
your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your
life. (15) I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between
your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall
bruise his heel." (16) To the woman he said, "I will surely
multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
(17) And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of
your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not
eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it
all the days of your life; (18) thorns and thistles it shall bring
forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. (19) By
the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for
out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
This has to be one of the most
remarkable passages in all of Scripture! Why? It is so remarkable because of
the abundant grace, patience and compassion shown by God. God told Adam and Eve
that the day in which they ate of the forbidden fruit they would die. Yet here
we read that God stays His hand of just punishment, extending patience and
compassion to Adam and Eve, giving them time to come to repentance and faith.
You may ask faith in what? Faith in the promise of grace. In the midst of this
curse, as severe as it may be, grace triumphs! There is the promise of
deliverance, or one who would crush the cruse underfoot and bring salvation.
Although God is handing down a cruse and judgement against sin, He is also
extending the promise of salvation, in fact He is offering salvation to Adam
and Eve, through faith in this promise. How good God is!
Most
Gracious God, how we thank and praise You that you do not treat us as our sins
deserve, but that You are so patient and gracious towards us, for You desire
for none to perish but for all to come to salvation. Thank you for this
glorious promise, one that has proved itself true through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Help us today to hold fast to this promise in faith, knowing that in
this promise we find life, salvation and reconciliation with You. Amen
3
February 2014.
Genesis
3:7-10, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
(8) And 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. (9) But the LORD God
called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" (10)
And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid,
because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
Although sin promised pleasure, wisdom
and life to Adam and Eve, it gave them fear, shame and guilt. Sin gave them
this to such an extent that they could no longer look at each other without
feeling ashamed, and worst of all they became afraid of the presence of God,
having to hide themselves from it. How our hearts should be filled with praise
and thanksgiving today, when we consider all that which Christ has restored to
us who believe. We no longer hide away from God, but can stand in His presence,
clothed in the righteousness of Christ and have the confident hope of the
coming day when all shame, guilt, sin and fear shall be removed!
Merciful
Father how we glorify and worship your great and gracious name, for You have
not treated us as our sins deserve, but have rescued us from sin, guilt, shame
and fear through the life of Your precious Son. May we live lives this week
that reflect the wonderful salvation and confident hope that we have. Amen
31
January 2014.
Genesis
3:6, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a
delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she
took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with
her, and he ate.”
Sin has always appeared in this form,
making promises and yet never delivering them, claiming it will satisfy our
desires and yet leaves them emptier than before. Here sin promises nourishment,
delight and wisdom, it claims to be able to give all these things, and yet it
robs Adam and Eve of almost everything. The wisdom it offered has proved it
self to be foolishness, the delight it promised turned to misery and distress,
and though it claimed it could satisfy and nourish their bodies, it gave birth
to sickness, disease, suffering, pain and ultimately death. Let us be aware of
the deceitfulness of sin, let us be quick to unmask its false promises and
claims; let us resist and flee from it, knowing that all that which Christ
promises is not only true, but is infinitely better than all that which sin
claims it could give us.
Holy,
righteous Father, help us to see the beauty and fullness of a life lived in
light of Your glory and holiness and emptiness and futility of a life lived in
the darkness of sin. Lead us by Your Spirit to see the lies, deceit and false
promises of sin, strengthen us today to resist it and to flee from it, casting
ourselves upon Your mercy and grace. Amen
30
January 2014.
Genesis
2:15, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it
and keep it.”
Work, it is a word we don’t like to
hear, we often see it as a necessary evil! Yet work is not evil, for we were
created by God to work. Right from very beginning God gave us a work to do, and
a work that Adam and Eve initially derived much joy from and sought to glorify
God through. While sin may have brought more difficulty, suffering and pain
into our lives, while it has made our work harder, that doesn’t mean that we
can no longer draw joy and find delight in work. Rather the challenge is for us
to seek to glorify and enjoy God in and through our work, to do our work for
Him, for His honour. When we do this, work becomes much more joy-filled,
because work is no longer work, it is an act and expression of worship. Will
you worship God in your work today?
Loving
Father, thank You that You created us to work and to find joy in work. We ask
for Your forgiveness for being such reluctant workers and often seeing it as a
burden or even as an evil. Help us to worship You in our work today, to do our
work for Your glory and honour. Amen
29 January 2014.
Genesis
1:26-27 “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over
every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (27) So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and
female he created them.”
What a humbling, but joyful reality! We
are created in a completely unique manner by God, created in God’s image, so
that we might be able to know, enjoy and glorify God in a manner and to a depth
that no one else outside of the Trinity can know God! Not even the angels
closest to God, know God in the manner that we, especially as believers do,
thus our enjoyment of God and our worship of God is deeper than theirs! Rejoice
today in the fact that God created us in His image and even though we sought to
suppress and deny that image through our sinfulness, He has completely renewed
and restored it through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Great
Father of glory, how we thank You for creating us in Your image so that we
might know, enjoy and glorify You in a manner that nothing else in creation
can. Help us not to squander this great privilege but to rather seek to know,
enjoy and glorify You more and more each and every day.
27 January 2014.
“In the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
This is a verse we know well, but do we
appreciate all that which it communicates to us and teaches us? I would
encourage you to take some time today to consider this verse and ask yourself
the following question: Who must God be (his nature, character and attributes),
in order to be able do such a great work?
Gracious
God, help our view and understanding of You to increase today, so that we might
be humbled and glorify You all the more.
