Devotional Thoughts

Genesis 6:8-9   “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (9) These  are  the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man  and  perfect in his generations,  and  Noah walked with God.”   Recently, we saw God was grieved by the wickedness of man. His creation had turned away from Him. In all the earth, there was only one man whose family had been with the Lord and walking in His will.  We saw a few days ago that Enoch walked with God, and God took him. Today, we see that Noah walked with God and God used him.  It repented God that He had made man, but “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”    We see “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations.” That does not mean that Noah was without sin; rather, his family had remained true to the direction of God concerning their lineage. Noah was mature in his walk with the Lord and was sensitive to the Spirit of God leading him in his life....

Genesis 6:5-6    "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  (6)  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." "Every imagination of the thoughts of (man's) heart was only evil continually."  Again, I go back to the beginning.  "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." (Genesis 1:26) But we read after the fall of Adam, "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image..." (Genesis 5:3)  I bring this distinction to show God's design for man was not that of wicked living; rather, He created Adam in his own image of sinlessness.  Now we come to the word that could throw us off course if we are not careful. The word, repent, as used in this passage means to have a deep sigh. Have you ever been in a place where you did n...

Genesis 6:1-2    "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,  (2)  That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." Let's go back to the beginning once again.  "And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man." (Genesis 2:22) Now let's contrast that with today's verses.  "They took them wives of all which they chose." Can we immediately see a difference between the language of Genesis 2 and Genesis 6?  God brought the woman to Adam and now men are choosing their own wives. You might ask, "What difference does that make?"  I'm glad you asked.  God never changes; therefore we can always go back to the beginning when we want to see His way of doing things. What was the basis in today's verses for men taking wives of their own choosing? Though we ...

Genesis 5:28-29  And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: (29) And he called his name Noah, saying, This  same  shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.”   Lamech, the son of Methuselah, prophesied concerning his son Noah. “This  same  shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.” Word meanings are very important in understanding the Word of God. The word, comfort, as used in this passage does not mean what we normally think of comfort. Its meaning in this verse is to avenge, or take satisfaction concerning something wrong, or an injury, that has occurred.   What was the wrongdoing for which Noah was used to avenge? Let’s go back in time to father Adam. God said to Adam, “… Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying...

Psalm 95:1-2    "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  (2)  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms." What a glorious day to give thanks!  But can't that be said of everyday?  The Lord is constantly worthy of our hearts being filled with gratitude toward Him.  I pray today will be a day of joyful noise and hearts filled with the music of thanksgiving. May we take this day to say a hearty "Thank you" unto our Lord! Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 100:1-5      Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.   (2)  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.   (3)  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.   (4)  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.   (5)  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Happy Thanksgiving! I want to say that I pray each one has a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.  No doubt, there will be a "joyful noise" as families gather together to enjoy a delicious feast. Laughter and joy will be abundant. I am so thankful for that blessing of gladness upon our hearts and minds. God is so good. As we enter into the festivities, may our hearts and minds be filled with true thanksgiving unto th...

Genesis 5:21-24    "And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:  (22)  And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:  (23)  And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:  (24)  And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." We saw yesterday that all the generations up Jared died. Enoch was the son of Jared and all the generations after Enoch died. Something very different took place with Enoch. We are not told that he died; rather, we are told that "God took him."  There is very little else about him that is revealed to us. We know he was the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah. We know that God took him. That is a wonderful thought to me. There are times for most of us when we see all the wickedness in the world and we just want God to take us out of it. God did that for Enoch. He lived 365 years. We know he was born, for h...

Genesis 5:19-20    "And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:  (20)  And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died." This might seem an odd verse to use for a study; yet there is something very important to understand.  Jared is the sixth generation of humanity and there is something repeated in this verse for the sixth time. That which is repeated are the words, "... and he died."  We remember the command given by God to Adam concerning the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, "... in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."  (Genesis 2:17)  It isn't necessary to say this just now, but I will... God is serious about everything He says to us.  He says what He means and He means what He says.  Not only did the first six generations die; but every generation since then and until the end of time shall experience a physical death....

Genesis 5:1-3    "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;  (2)  Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.  (3)  And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth." Let's go back to the beginning.  "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:27)  Now let's look at the manner in which Seth was born. "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth." Seth was born after Cain killed Abel. If we did not know the occurrence in the Garden of Eden, we could say that Seth, in the order of progression, was born in the image of God. But we do know what happened and we do know the consequence of A...

Genesis 4:25-26    "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.  (26)  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD." Earlier in this fourth chapter, we find the descendants of Cain are listed. Their individual crafts were mentioned also, such as, some were cattlemen, some worked with brass and iron, and some were musicians. It seems their abilities and desires were to work with their hands. Because Cain had killed his own brother, God had marked him so he would not be constantly hunted by others. Even though this had happened, there is no mention of God or Godly matters when his descendants are listed. Then we come to Seth, the son given to Adam and Eve. Eve made mention that God "hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." It is apparent that Adam an...

Genesis 4:8-10    " And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.   (9)  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?   (10)  And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." Because Abel had given his sacrifice through faith, the LORD had respect unto his offering rather than the offering of Cain. This made Cain very angry and he killed his own brother. Anger can cause people to do very bad things. Yes, murder can be one result of anger, but words hastily spoken can also be another result. Words that can damage and even kill someone's reputation can be spoken quickly out of anger. Those words can never be taken back. The damage is already done. "The LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?"  We see God asking another quest...

Genesis 4:3-4    "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.  (4)  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering" After being banned from the Garden of Eden, we find that Adam and Eve had two sons, named Cain and Abel. Later, we will see more children added to them. These two sons were assigned duties as they grew older. Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. Adam and Eve apparently taught them the importance of worship. When it was time for the yearly offering unto the Lord, they brought their sacrifices. In reading those first verses of chapter 4, we find that "in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. (Genesis 4:3-4) Hundreds of years later, God gave in...

Genesis 3:22-24    "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:  (23)  Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.  (24)  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalm 107:1)  We can surely know that God's mercy is seen in our text verses for today. It was God's mercy that drove Adam and Eve from the Garden. If He had allowed them to remain in that place, their curiosity would have taken them to the "tree of life". You might ask, "What would have been so bad about that?"  I'm glad you asked that question. If God had allowed t...

Genesis 3:21   "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." We see a beautiful picture of God's grace in this verse. Before He cast them out of the Garden of Eden, an animal was slain to provide  the skin to make coats that covered the nakedness of or Adam and Eve. The blood of an animal was shed for those skins to cover them. I have no problem believing that animal was a  lamb.   We are covered with a robe of righteousness. "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness..." (Isaiah 61:10) Blood had to be shed for that robe to cover us. It was the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to  fulfil  the lusts  thereof. " (Romans 13:14) 

Genesis 3:15   "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." In this verse we see the first prophecy concerning the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The work of Jesus Christ is in opposition to the work of the serpent (Satan). (Romans 8:6-8 )   "For to be carnally minded  is  death; but to be spiritually minded  is  life and peace. (7) Because the carnal mind  is  enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (8 ) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." The carnal mind with which we all have to contend is the offspring of the transgression in the Garden. After their sin, carnality became a constant and daily battle. It was because of sin that Jesus came to this earth. "... "For to be carnally minded  is  death..." The spiritual mind is the offspring of the wo...

Genesis 3:11-12    "And he said, Who told thee that thou  wast  naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? (12) And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest  to be  with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." God asked Adam several questions. Where are you? Who told you? Have you eaten of the tree?  It seems the reason for the questions was to bring Adam to a place of confession and ultimately repentance. Yes, I do believe Adam repented after they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. He and Eve taught their sons to worship through sacrifices unto the Lord. Adam had the opportunity to take responsibility for his actions. But instead, he shifted the blame to Eve. We could say that he ultimately admitted to his sin. After trying to blame Eve, Adam did say, "I did eat." It may seem that confessing  unto God is a very difficult thing to do. Yet, He has said there is forgiveness to be exper...

Genesis 3:8-10    "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.  (9)  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?  (10)  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." God came walking to them "in the garden in the cool of the day." He came to them at a time that it seems was His normal part of the day when He would walk and talk with them. Surely they had sweet fellowship with the Lord UNTIL... yes, until this day. I wonder if they would usually go running to Him to hear what He had to say to them. But this day was quite different. Had God changed? No, in no way did God change nor has He ever changed. What was different? Oh yes, I remember... they had transgressed (disobeyed) the commandment of God. They had eaten of that tree whic...

Genesis 3:6-7    "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  (7)  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Eve saw the tree. Eve desired the fruit. Eve took the fruit. Eve ate the fruit. Eve gave unto her husband. Adam ate the fruit. Their eyes "were opened and they knew..."  Quite honestly this is still the progression when we engage in any sinful action against God. Sometimes these steps toward sin occur instantly and other times, we deliberate about it. But the consequence is always the same. Sin separates us from the fellowship of God. Sin inhibits the joy of our salvation.  David engaged in the sinful action of taking Bathsheba and having her husband murdered. He...

Genesis 3:4-5    "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  (5)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." It seems that humanity is constantly wanting something that they do not already have. We are always desiring more; whether it be money, fame, fortune, or knowledge. We never seem to have enough "stuff".  I have just spent three months clearing out "stuff" that has accumulated over a fifty year period.  I can assure you that it is more difficult to rid yourself of stuff than it is to accumulate it. The serpent (Satan) played on that part of Eve's character in order to place her where he wanted her to be.The first thing he did was to cause her to doubt God. "You won't die. God is hiding something from you and doesn't want you to be equal with Him. If you eat of that tree you will be as gods and know good and evil." Satan kn...

Genesis 3:4-6   "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Remember the serpent (Satan) is more subtil than all the other beast of the field. He is artful in speaking half truths.  "Ye shall not surely die." That's a part truth. They did not die a physical death that day. Death is separation. The death experienced by Adam and Eve was a separation in fellowship with God. We will see they were separated from God and thereby they were plunged into the state of being dead in trespasses and sin. See Ephesians 2:1. The half-truth was the lure used ...

Genesis 3:1-3    "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2)  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (3)  But of the fruit of the tree which  is  in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." We looked at the subtilty of the serpent yesterday. Today, we will look at Eve's response to the serpent. God's command was very simple and to the point concerning the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  "... of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17)  I consider that to be very straightforward. Don't eat of the tree or you will die. How did Eve answer the serpent? "God hath said,...

Genesis 3:1-3    "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  (2)  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  (3)  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made." It is important to know that we are in a daily battle. And when in battle, it is very important to understand as much as possible about the enemy.  We are told about our enemy in this first sentence of the first verse of chapter 3.  He is subtil; that is to say, he is very skillful in the art of deceit. Paul stated it in this manner.  "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles ...