February 23: Genesis 9:1-3
Key Verse: Genesis 9:2
The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.
Devotion:
One of the things I always used to wonder about was why animals always run away from humans. I started to think it was because of the way we treat them, but that only goes as far as a generation or until the animals have no contact with humans… Then I read this verse in the bible and it reminded me about how awesome our God is in everything!
Not only did He have a plan for everything and make sure the plan was executed, but He knew us before we were born and knew our wants and needs. For us to be able to survive He made sure there would be plenty of food available for us. Unfortunately mankind has all but ruined the ecological system God put in place and we struggle with all manner of foods nowadays. But the plan was there in the beginning and was set up by someone who knows exactly what we do need.
I have been enjoying trying out all sorts of foods they cook in China, Japan and Korea and it has amazed me how different the diets are compared to what I was used to. I must admit that I do feel a lot better eating a more varied diet; but what excites me more is knowing God had planned all of this out in the beginning! Each different country and society, even community, has its own specific likes and dislikes built up over generations of people. Each has chosen their own preferences from all of the food God has given us.
I will never look down on people who choose to live their lives differently because I know those differences are probably man made to start with – God gave us free choice in the beginning and He continues to uphold that free choice… If we abuse that choice then we have to live with the consequences, but if we abide by it and keep it close to our hearts, the God will continue to reward us as He has all the time!
Points to Ponder:
What are you favourite foods?
What are your favourite things to do for God?
February 22: Genesis 8:20-22
Key Verse: Genesis 8:22
‘As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.’
Devotion:
I don’t know about you but I love the smell of cooking; well, most cooking smells, but some are not nice. I know this is not what is happening here, but that is the first thing which came to mind when I read the passage. When we look at what was happening, we see something which is very endearing. Noah was told to take some of the animals and sacrifice them to God… What does that mean? Well it means they were taken away from Noah as a food source and given to God. Noah was putting His families needs as well as his own need aside and giving it all to God!
That is a big deal! How often do you take your livelihood and offer it to God? How often do you take things which you need to survive and give them to God? I do try to give things to God, but I don’t give everything like Noah was doing here. God wants us to be confident in giving things to Him and knowing we will still be looked after by Him. This doesn’t mean we give everything to God and wait to see if He feeds us! This means we give what He asks and know He will cover our needs!
This comes down to the same sort of thing where Satan tempted Jesus to throw Himself off the ledge to see if God would catch Him… We don’t tempt God. But if God asks us to do something, we do it! Abraham was asked by God to offer his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. Abraham was obedient and was doing exactly that when God turned the tables and gave him an offering to use instead of Isaac.
If we can be confident in our faith like Noah and Abraham, then we too will see the awesome grace and mercy of God as He gives us what we need to fulfil His requests. It’s all about faith in God and obedience to Him. Noah and Abraham are extremes for our sake so we can see God is always going to give us our needs!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you totally trust God?
Will you listen out for God’s calling?
February 21: Genesis 7:1-5
Key Verse: Genesis 7:4
Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.’
Devotion:
Have you ever got so mad at someone you did something totally out of character? I know I have done and said things I should never have when I got mad, and looking back at those times I regret them, but they happened because of situations which got out of hand at the time. After having such a great relationship with Adam and Eve, God had to endure total betrayal from them and for that He threw them out of the Garden of Eden.
When mankind continued to do more and more evil things against God, He could not throw them out of Eden because they were no longer there – but He could take away everything they had gained from their relationship with Him; after all they were certainly not acting like they were in any relationship with God any more! God had every right to be angry with the world because the world was working against Him and doing all manner of evil instead.
Noah had chosen to listen to God and to obey Him. Because of this Noah would have to face a very disturbing future, not because he had done wrong but because he was in proximity to the people who were doing wrong. This is one of the side effects of doing things wrong – we affect the people around us almost as much as we do ourselves and those closest to us. Noah would have to face the fact he and his family were going to survive when everyone else would not!
It is bad enough being picked out of a crowd, but when the whole crowd is going to get punished and you are not – things stand out a bit more. When I was in high school I often gave in and did what everyone else was doing instead of standing up for what was right just so I would not get labelled as a swat or goodie goodie! Noah chose to be different!
Points to Ponder:
Do you give in to peer pressure?
Will you stand up to be different for God?
February 20: Genesis 4:6-10
Key Verse: Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’
Devotion:
Can you think of an occasion where you got into trouble and the first things which came out of your mouth just didn’t make sense? When we are guilty of something and we try to cover things up, we get into more trouble and eventually make things worse for ourselves because we somehow think the truth is not going to get out. With God the truth is always going to come forward and He warns us of this.
All throughout the bible we see occasions where mankind has done some pretty stupid things because they think they can cover up the truth by telling a lie. The more the lies build up the taller the tower until it gets too tall and everything comes crumbling down in one big mess! The same can be said for most things in our lives and the more we try to get away with sin, the more we build up unsustainable towers which will eventually come crumbling down around us.
God wants us to own up to problems as soon as they are recognised. The quicker we can get to the truth and allow the truth to strengthen our positions, the better we will be off in the end. Yes there will be times when we have to face the consequences of our actions, but if we face up to them earlier, they may not be as big and bad as they can be if we continue to try and deceive instead of stating the truth!
Cain was given the chance to confess to what he had done out of greed and anger. Instead, he did the “very human thing” and told a lie to try and cover up his misdoings. The more he did this, the worse things got for him. There is nothing we can ever hide from God, so being honest and open with God from the beginning is always the best!
Points to Ponder:
Do you try to cover up your problems?
Will you try to allow the truth to come out?