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January 2
I've entitled the reading in Gen chapters 4-7 “A Long Story of Sinning”
It Ends with the terrible judgment of God upon the earth...a flood that would cover up the highest mountains created...a flood that would swallow up wicked mankind to the last person...except for one/Noah (the only man who believed God) he and his family...and a remnant of animals that would ride out the flood on the ark. **(I can't help but see the salvation of God through an ark...but I also see how it foreshadowed something far greater...God’s eternal salvation for believers through a cross...our Savior’s cross...Jesus’ cross.
Now, what about the Beginning of this long story of sinning...? It actually started in yesterday’s passage...but in these chapters, It’s the story of Adam and Eve’s firstborn, Cain, murdering his little brother, Abel. That was Definitely a sin story. But I believe the Primary Sin Story did not start at the murder scene. We might say, “It started on the way to church.”
“Is that your prize lamb, Abel? “asked Eve. Abel answered, “Yes, mom. I'm excited about bringing my offering to the Lord. He deserves all of me, that is why I'm bringing the best of the lambs He has given to me. And let Him do with it as He wishes. Thanks, mom and dad, for teaching me to do life as a loving relationship that God initiated by His acceptance of the blood of an innocent lamb to cover my sins like He covered yours.”
“What a chump my little brother is,” Cain silently mumbled to himself.” “He could have brought any other lamb, and no one would have ever known.”
Apparently Abel followed his parent’s teaching about how to truly worship God by faith...which basically means worshipping Him as He requires...(Let’s listen to the requirement for true worship that the apostle Paul shared with Rome’s believers in Rom. 12:1...”I beseech you, therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies/your life as a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service of worship.” ) That’s how Abel came to worship. But Cain did not.
Cain did not bring the “first and best” fruit of his labor and life to God...He kept the best for himself and gave God the leftovers. Some say that God rejected Cain’s offering of worship because it was not a blood sacrifice. Sounds good at first and I could sure tie that into the Perfect Blood Sacrifice of Jesus for sin...Except for one thing...later the perfect law of God included offerings of plants and produce for fellowship offerings and specifically for poor Israelites who could not afford to bring an award-winning lamb on the Day of Atonement....they were allowed to bring some wheat flour and trust the blood sacrifice made by the high priest and the sprinkling of such blood upon the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies for the atonement for their sins.
God refused Cain’s offering of worship not because the offering was not a lamb, but because Cain’s heart was not totally God’s. At best Cain was pretending, just going through the motions.
There have been many in the line of Cain. For the first 19 years of my life that was me. But unlike the character in the song by the Platters, “The Great Pretender”, I was not left alone in my shame. Jesus came after me and changed my life.
January 2nd - Day 2
Genesis 4-7
January 2, 2020 • Jim McCracken
January 1st - Day 1
January 1, 2020 • Jim McCracken • Genesis 1—3
Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 Our reading today (Gen chapters 1-3) reveals the description of God creating heaven and earth. And we will take a little closer look at it shortly. But the theme of creation begs the question, “When did creation, as described here, happen?” Most evolutionist scientists say life began on earth 3.5 billion yrs http://ago...or so. And that human ancestors began showing up 2-4 million years ago. But Creation scientists, those who believe the Biblical record of God creating everything in a literal 6 twenty-four hour period, date creation between 6 and 10,000 years ago. Quite a difference. Darwinian evolutionists say that Biblical Creationists are not scientists because their evidence is based on the “assumption of a cataclysmic flood” that happened once upon a time. Well, your Bible reading partner today believes that the biblical record is true...without error...including the record of the flood and Noah’s http://ark...and the final authority for our lives, inside and outside the church. So I am a “recent” creation dating man and not the billions of years proponent. And unlike the evolutionists, I believe that God created it all “out of nothing.” Awesome to think on http://...isn't it? Continuing from the text....”Who existed in the beginning of everything?” God!!! God was there, Father Son and Holy Spirit...whenever that was, God was there in the beginning. And our bibles say that God was doing http://something...he was creating the heavens (and all that was in them) and He was creating the earth (and all that was in and upon it.) In our reading today, the Bible says that after 6 days of creating, God finished that creation http://work...that included http://mankind...man and http://woman...for the purpose of doing life together with Him and by God’s power, taking responsible dominion for the earth and heavens and all therein to the glory and worship of God. All of that is a Wow! But remember a greater Wow of God creating something new with a “finishing” touch....2 Cor 5:17 The Apostle Paul said “If there be any man in Christ he is a “new creation”, old things have passed away and all things have been made new.” In Christ we are “new creations”http://....plus, still thinking on the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross and what Jesus said just before He breathed His last...”It is Finished”http://...jesus said “tetelestai”http://...it is paid and it is purchased http://...my sin debt is paid and my eternal home in heaven is purchased. God created the heavens and the http://earth...and then He finished. Later, God the Son made new creations out of all who believed on Him. And He said, “I'm finished...I did what the Father sent me to do...I satisfied the righteous judgment of God on sin by taking sin’s penalty upon my body so that those called and chosen could be saved eternally. And if you are like me when you're reading passages and verses in the Bible, such as, when it says “In the beginning” ( God created the heavens and the earth)...perhaps you asked, “Wonder what God was doing prior to creation, being the eternal being that He was and is? And then I am reminded of Ephesians 1:4 “God chose us in Christ (When?) “before the foundations of the world were laid.” That too is a huge Wow...I hope that you are believing the Lord with http://me...today...that makes us one of God’s chosen ones from before the beginning of time. Blows me away too. And makes me want to worship Him today with all of my heart. Thank You, Lord, Now Use us in any way You choose today.
January 3rd - Day 3
January 3, 2020 • Jim McCracken
Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 3 Today’s Bible reading is Gen. chapters 8-11. We come to the end of the life and ministry of the patriarch, Noah. We read a fascinating story of how God made sure that the testimony of Himself and Noah reached around the http://world...by replacing the one and only language on earth, with many different http://languages...and scattering the people who built the Tower that came to be known as the Tower of Babel to the far reaches of the http://earth...for the spreading of the good news of God everywhere. And by the time you get there in the biblical record, Noah has been dead 350 years. I can't help but imagine that Noah’s grandkids lined up for years to ask their granddad, “Tell us one more time about those 75 years it took you to build the ark that saved mom and dad and you and nana and the rest of the family from the terrible flood. And tell us some more details about the 378 days on the ark. It had to be http://hard...was it exciting?” And I can only imagine that the man who walked with God for so long, responded, “Let me tell you about what GOD did.” “God came to me...I didn't come to Him. God told me what He was going to do in the world, and honored me by inviting me to join Him in the work. God gave me a job to do. Now listen closely...I didn't tell God what I could do for Him to help accomplish His purposes. I was quiet and attentive to His instructions. And with His help, I began and finished the work He called me to do with Him. And when that task was over, God gave me another one to do with http://him...and it may sound strange to you, but that next job was “to wait on Him” http://...for what??? **to do what only He could do...**end the flooding. And at the end of the flooding, God continued to “remember” me...(and the word “remember” means more than just recognizing my http://existence...it means that God kept His http://promise...he saved me and my family from His terrible http://judgment)...and you want to know something else?... God blessed me and mine even when I forgot Him. What an awesome God we have!” And had Noah known the patriarch David, he might have shared these words that God gave to him: Psalm 115:11-13 “O you who fear the http://lord...trust in the http://lord...he’s our hope and our http://shield...and He will always “remember” us ( be committed to us) and bless http://us...both great and small.” What a foreshadowing of how God works in our lives today through Christ our Lord. He chooses us in Christ, and not the other way around. HE shows us favor (grace) to believe Him and follow Him with all of our heart. HE shuts us up with Himself (like He did with Noah when the flood began to http://rise)...when times of great stress begin to rise, He shuts us up with Himself so that we have to trust Him for the next steps. Oh, and HE causes the wind to blow, the wind of the Spirit who rejuvenates our hope for the future, whatever God plans. Ezekiel speaks of the Big 3: Noah, Daniel, and Job. I think Noah would have deferred to his descendants: Moses, David, and Jesus, the God who made it http://all...the Lord who saves us through the cross and the resurrection to the uttermost. Thank you, http://noah...your life message inspires us to believe http://god...and today We will worship Jesus with you!
January 4th - Day 4
January 4, 2020 • Jim McCracken
Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 4th Job (chapters 1-5) is our reading for the day. Tradition says Moses wrote this narrative 500+years after the Tower of Babel incident. Perhaps when Moses was living in the Midian Desert close to the city of Uz, he learned the legend of the only righteous man doing life with God in those days. Inspired by the Spirit of God, Moses wrote of Job’s life message...” Trust God and His Sovereign Wisdom and Goodness, no matter what happens.” Two verses got my attention quickly. “Will Job serve God for nothing?” And “In all of this Job did not sin and he did not charge God with wrong.” Will people of true faith in God for their salvation serve the Lord even when they are suffering? Satan didn't think so and all those under his influence didn't think so either. But our reading leads us to a powerful truth. True faith in God may be shaken, but never broken. For the source of our faith is Almighty God http://himself...not just our strong will and determined resolve. “And in all this, Job did not sin. And he did not charge God with wrong.” What was the “all of this?” Well, In one day, Job lost his property and businesses to thieves and fires caused by lightning. In that same day, Job lost his seven sons and three daughters to a tornado that flattened the house where they were partying. In all of this, Job did not sin and he didn't accuse God of wrongfully dealing with his family. Even when his wife told him to “curse God for this and die”, Job still didn't sin or blame God. In fact, he said to his distraught wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and not receive adversity?” The record says that Job humbled himself and worshiped http://god...and then remained quiet in sackcloth and ashes for seven days. During those days friends sat quietly with him and then at the end of seven days, Job burst forth in agony and grief, even wishing that he had never been born. “And the best man living in that day closed out his agonizing with the following “ O what I feared has come upon http://me...what I dread has befallen me. I have no rest only trouble comes.” Was Job hurting? Absolutely. Was he overwhelmed by waves of grief? Absolutely. Did Job turn from God? No. He had some unanswered questions, but he never lost his faith. As courageous as that http://sounds...job worshipped God in the midst and through his grief. Do you see or hear any foreshadowing to our Savior Lord Jesus? I do. Listen to Jesus http://...it was a prayer time in the garden...”The time has come for the Son to glorify the Father” (as he considered the coming suffering of the cross)...”Father, if there is a way, let this cup pass from me, yet not my will but yours be done” (shortly before he gave himself over to the mob who came to take him to Caiphas)...(and then from the bloody cross right before his death)...”Father forgive them, for they know not what they have http://done...now into your hands I commend my spirit.” From one of the great patriarchs of our faith (Job) to the source of our faith and the gift of eternal life, Jesus http://christ...the first shows us a lesson of faith. The last empowers us to an eternal http://faith...from here to heaven...”Thanks, http://job...but thank you, http://jesus...you will always be better!”