God Deals with Sin Decisively - Genesis 7-9 and Matthew 3
In Noah's day the people had become so sinful that God decided to flood the whole earth, destroy all of the people, and start over again with Noah's righteous family. That was a very drastic action, but it gives us insight into how seriously God takes sin. We need to learn from God's heart, so we will not take sin lightly. Even at the end of the flood, God put a severe punishment on Ham by making his son, Canaan, a servant to his brothers. I am not sure just what Ham did when he saw his father, but God knew that He must take a strong action. What kind of sin do you need to address in your life today? I pray that we all will be very sober in facing our own sin and in turning from it.
We can be confident of God's mercy when we are right with Him. Look at the building of the ark and the protection of Noah and his family. That shows us that God will go to great lengths to protect His children and to provide for those who are walking with Him. He looks at the heart to see if we are serious about sin and our relationship with Him. If we are, He is there for us.
In Matthew 3 God sent John to deal with the sins of Israel in preparing the way for Jesus. What did he preach? Repentance was his message. That word means to change your mind and to turn away from sin once and for all. He made it clear that he was not talking about just being baptized. He wanted to see works of repentance. In other words, real repentance leads to a changed life. Then, Jesus came and was baptized by John Himself. That is another drastic action by God against sin. Jesus did not sin, but He was willing to submit to baptism to show us how important it was for everyone to mean business with God and repent of sin. All of this speaks volumes to us. We must make confession of sin and repentance a regular practice in our lives, because God takes sin very seriously. (I John 1:9) If we don't deal with it decisively, He will. If we do keep our hearts set on Him, He will be there for us all the way.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 10-12 and Matthew 4.
We can be confident of God's mercy when we are right with Him. Look at the building of the ark and the protection of Noah and his family. That shows us that God will go to great lengths to protect His children and to provide for those who are walking with Him. He looks at the heart to see if we are serious about sin and our relationship with Him. If we are, He is there for us.
In Matthew 3 God sent John to deal with the sins of Israel in preparing the way for Jesus. What did he preach? Repentance was his message. That word means to change your mind and to turn away from sin once and for all. He made it clear that he was not talking about just being baptized. He wanted to see works of repentance. In other words, real repentance leads to a changed life. Then, Jesus came and was baptized by John Himself. That is another drastic action by God against sin. Jesus did not sin, but He was willing to submit to baptism to show us how important it was for everyone to mean business with God and repent of sin. All of this speaks volumes to us. We must make confession of sin and repentance a regular practice in our lives, because God takes sin very seriously. (I John 1:9) If we don't deal with it decisively, He will. If we do keep our hearts set on Him, He will be there for us all the way.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 10-12 and Matthew 4.