2024-08-09
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week the Holy Spirit commanded me to write about God’s reactions to the evil that existed in Noah’s time and then to look at our present-day society. You’ll remember that I cited GN 6: 5 and will reiterate it along with vs. 11. “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time…Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.” Of humans, only Noah and his family were considered worth saving to God, which leads into the familiar story of Noah’s ark and the flood. At the time Noah lived in fellowship with God and had three sons, Japeth, Shem, and Ham.
We humans have the habit of rationalizing our behaviors. This capacity goes all the way back to GN 3: 1-6, which is the original sin. We inherit that and we add our own sins to it. God, whose heart is compassionate, recognized the predicament humankind is in and wanted to do something about it. We can’t help but see the love God has for us by looking at EZK 36: 26-27, [God speaking] “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” Obviously, the prophet Ezekiel was writing long after Noah’s time, somewhere around 541 BC during the Babylonian captivity. But we must remember that God’s idea of time is very different than ours [2 PET 3: 8-9]. And, we certainly know God wasn’t through working on the problem of human sinfulness. As for this rationalization of bad behavior, it is often taken in slow degrees of allowing more and more of it. It is only fair to give some examples. One would be the degradation of our use of language. More and more cuss words are being considered okay for general usage. Another might be the mean-spirited rhetoric that has been used in the current election cycle. Lies and negative assertions about one’s opposing candidate are exchanged with little thought of the long-range negative consequences to the subject and our society. Rationalization of criminal and unethical acts would certainly be another example. Bullying in the schools being overlooked. Bosses or others who create toxic workplaces often rationalize their behavior.
It is hard to wrap one’s head around the truth that God really is in charge of everything. HE 4: 12-13, “For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any doubled-edged sword; it penetrates even to dividing soul ad spirit, joints ad marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.” Is this a reason to be afraid of God or abandon listening to Him? I would assert that it’s only for the person whose heart, decisions, and actions are evil! Yes, God knows the content of our heart-attitudes. He wanted us to recognize His righteousness, which is beautifully explained in RO 3: 25-26, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance [patience] He had left the sings committed beforehand unpunished—He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the One Who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Now, what about people like Noah, Abraham, Ezekiel, Daniel Job, and the others who never knew Jesus Christ? It is obvious from their faithfulness to God that He had given them the good hearts they had. We must remember, all those who remain obedient and faithful to God can look forward to salvation and eternal life, because of the atoning sacrifice that Jesus made no matter what era they lived in.
PRAYER: O Lord, learning patience and humility may not come naturally to us, but they have been modeled by our Lord Jesus. That gives us a paradigm to follow as we learn to find contentment in being obediently faithful to You. You are aware of our struggles in this ever-falling world. You have given us the ability to overcome, and we are grateful for this [1 COR 10: 13]. It is never our intention to break Your heart, disappointing You with our sinfulness. We understand Your reasons for having to put limits on how much sinfulness You will tolerate. We beseech You to help us continue to overcome the evil in our lives and to keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus. PS 16: 8, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Thank You and praise You for Who You are and what You do, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We need to look at what the example of Noah and his sons teaches us, so that will be the subject of next week’s devotion. We must consider what evil remains in our lives and how we might go about finding a way to solve this problem. Certainly, visiting the shelter of the Almighty to listen and to pray helps [PS 91: 1-2]. I should add that we, as believers of the New Covenant, the Covenant of Grace, know that a covenant is a two-way promise. God’s many promises are made clear in the Scriptures, but what about our part? We are commanded by the Holy Spirit to ask ourselves, “Are we sinning, and if so, are we confessing those sins openly to God?” This means stopping the attitude and/or behavior that is wrong and letting God know through genuine confession, as David did in PS 51, that we acknowledge our sins and ask for His help in not repeating them. Then, the weight of our sins can be lifted by the forgiveness that Christ’s Atonement gives us. Thanksgiving and praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson, 2024. All Rights Reserved.
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