Please pray for a dear friend of ours, Sue Linnus. Her husband just dies as a result of a car crash. He was hit by an apparent drunk driver. He was a special, Christian, guy. He lived in a wonderful log cabin in New Hampshire and was loved by everyone who knew him. He will be greatly missed.
Vol 2 No 4 THEO'S DEVOS
Genesis 6:6,8 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain...8But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Take a moment today and look around. Do you think God is happy with the world we live in. Our country is in a moral/financial mess and it does not appear to be getting any better. Christians and Christianity is undergoing an all out assault. It doesn't even look as though Christians are doing anything about it. We seem to be making very little impact on our society and I can't think that God is overjoyed. In fact it is hard to believe that the world of Noah was any worse. The Internet alone has brought us to an all time low. It is being exploited to debase as many people as it can.
Our verses for today tell us that God loves us in an oblique way. The grief that He is expressing is an expression of that love. We have seen before that John 3:16 is the first time in the Bible that tells us God loves the whole world but Genesis 6:6 gives the same indication. If God did not care about the world He would not have grieved over it.
So the question is does He grieve over us today and, if so, what is He going to do about it? I hate to contemplate that. If you jump ahead in the story of Noah you will see that God has promised not to destroy the world with water. OK that is nice but what about an atom bomb. Jesus will come back before that will happen you say. I believe that is true but when He turned us over to our sinful desires as it says in Romans chapter one He unleashed some serious problems and we are suffering from them. Tragedies are not the punishment of God they are brought on by our own wayward lives. How could there be wars if everyone thought of others more than they thought of themselves. For that matter how could there be any problems between people if we all lived that way. But we don't and horrendous problems result. What is the cause of the financial meltdown on wall street? Greed and the sin of man. How about the problems in Gaza? Same origin. Or what about the suicide rate, or any of a hundred other social diseases? You get the picture.
My point, however, is not to define the essence of the human dilemma. It is to rejoice that it doesn't have to concern us as much as it concerns the world. In the middle of a terribly sinful situation, when
God was going to wipe out virtually all He had created there existed a small light. Noah! He found favor in God's eyes and literally rode over the punishment for sin. He, his family and enough animals and birds to repopulate the planet.
Is our country on the verge of collapse? I would like to think that I am a patriot and do not want that to happen. But if it is, there is little I can do to prevent it. Is there truth to global warming? If there is then everyone in America will not be able to stop it if China, India and other countries don't virtually bankrupt themselves to help out.
Genesis tells me that it is possible to find favor in God's sight no matter what is happening around you. Do you want to be that kind of person? I hope so. If you do you have little more to do than to read God's word and take it to heart. Pray to Him and confess your sin(s) to Him. Walk with Him every day and let others know of how wonderful He is. God will not ask you to build an Ark (I am pretty sure of that) but He does ask you to walk like Noah. Don't worry about what the world tells you. Just stay close to the Lord and He will protect you through whatever is to come. In fact if Christians think of each other the way God asks them too we can beat the odds no matter what happens to the world.
And in the middle of all of this confusion He just might send Jesus back to end it all and take us home. I'm ready for that!!! Are you?
May God bless you today in some special way. Please let me know if you have any prayer requests. Just reply to this email and I promise to pray for you.
Theo
Dear Small Group Leader (or soon to be Facilitator)
Please allow everyone in your group to answer the Quick Question. It will get things started on the right foot, encouraging quieter ones to open up. Please do not require everyone to answer every question. They may not be ready to share yet. Also please allow at least 5-10 minutes at the end of your study so as many as would like to can respond to the REFLECTION question. This may be the most important time in your small group study. Thank You
SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY
Please Read: Genesis 6
QUICK QUESTION: What worries you the most about the situation our country is in?
Why did God decide to destroy life on earth?
How would you describe Noah?
What did God promise Noah?
How does our world compare to Noah?
How is the covenant God made with Noah important?
What do you think it means to be blameless?
REFLECTION: What are some things you can praise God for in spite of all this turmoil?
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