Gen 6:9-22

I always wondered why Noah? Was it just from genalogical purposes or was there something special about him? The Bible called him a "righteous" man and that He walked with God. Was he a perfect man? No, but he loved and really cared for God and tried to walk in His ways. It's all about the 'tude and his was geared toward God. God loved him so much that he wanted to save him and his family and the untainted creation (the animals). So many times I've heard the expression that "if you were the only one, God still would have sent Jesus for you". This is the case that He did save the "one" and is the proof that He would do it again. The ark (and the word) is unique since it only appears in this instance but the boat is more than that since he was directed to make rooms in the craft. The provisions that he was instructed to take with him also provided for the animals as well as the family. I often remember the monologue that Bill Cosby did back in the 60s which was hilarious but to the point. Such memories...

Today is another landmark day for me - three miles over the Jimmy Carter speed limit and getting higher. Only plans that are set for tonight is our dinner at Kouzina - Cat Cora's restaurant which has a great fish dish, bronzini. Looking forward to it!

Praise for today: He is faithful and just!

Gen 6:1-8

As the world turns... It seems that even way back then the motto of the day was "beauty is only skin deep". That was the criteria that men married women. The shallowness of their time still persists today as the amount of divorces still reach epidemic proportions. Still, it takes two and the desires of the heart exceed the calling of the Spirit. Some feel that the sons of God were angels but a more realistic explanation would be that they were the sons of Seth while the women came from line of Cain. Still evil persisted in the land to the point where their stench even made God take notice. Rather than allow man to live an inordinate time, God saw fit to limit man's lifespan to 120 years. His patience could be seen in two ways - first the age of man was limited and second the flood which would wipe out the prevailing evilness would take place. Thanks be to Noah, who was the only one that pleased God and was worth saving.

Yesterday was a good day - church, a little shopping, made dinner and chilled. Reached out to a few peeps with the weather and how they will be affected. Heard about another engagement at GFC and congratulated them via FB and reached out to a local friend here to see if they want to connect. Still today, may head out to MK and enjoy the day - if the crowds or the weather is punitive, we'll cut it short and head back tomorrow. The beauty of annual passes!

Prayers today for the peeps that are going to GFC today and help move out the old pews before the new chairs arrive.

Praise for today: His strenght is perfect!

Genesis 5

This is the true lineage of Adam to Christ since it was believed that Cain's descendants were lost in the flood. It is from Seth that we see true men of faith that lived extremely long and prosperous lives. Some of whom are mentioned in various parts of the Bible. It seems like in those days, diseases and health matters were non-existent as their longevity spanned hundreds and hundreds of years. The commentary I used seemed to think that the earth is much older than it is stated in the Bible due to these unknown nature of days and years. What matters is the special relationship that one man had in particular - Enoch. His walk and talk with God is legendary, so much so that God didn't even want him to die but instead took him to glory. Other salient points of the chapter was that Noah meant "rest" -from the burdens of the world and the evil that persisted.

Wow! To live such long lives - the social system would go broke immediately if that were the case today since people would collect SS long before they would kick the bucket. Imagine having to wait a few hundred years to "qualify" for SS! Amazing. Even the jobs we hold would be for centuries rather than decades. Till death do us part would have a lot different meaning. The longer we live, would that mean the longer we would lead productive lives? The "line between the two" would not be a dash between the birthdate and the death date but rather "..." since it seems that it would go on forever.

Glad to be in FL and here in the condo. Daniel was such a treat for Friday and it was good to see him albeit in such a short time. Made swedish meatballs for the first time and it came out really well. Today's church and relaxation after yesterday's long day at EPCOT.

Praise for today: that He gives us the means to live forever with Him through Jesus Christ!

Genesis 4: 17-26

East of Eden, what a great book, movie and tv series! The close of v 16, reminded me again of that work by John Steinbeck. As I start this section of the chapter, what was interesting is  that Cain had a wife. She was nameless and with out origin but still from her came Enoch and it was from the blessing of Enoch that Cain built a city and named it after him.The lineage of Enoch was then spelled out and all of their accomplishments. Lamech's offspring were talented but he and his children were arrogant and proud of their sin. He saw his father Cain as an inspiration and perhaps that is what Jesus was referring to when He said we should forgive 70X7. The chapter ends with Adam and Eve producing Seth ("granted") who also had a son named Enosh. People began to ‘call the Lord’s name’. People began to think about God. That may mean that they prayed to him. It may mean that they talked about him. And they talked also about everything that he did. It may mean that they possibly called themselves ‘the Lord’s people’.

What a progression both of lineage and sin! Still very important to understand that these were real people with real accomplishments and living life sometimes very similar to how we think and feel. God dealt with them then as He is doing now.

Prayers for those still ravaged by HI, and for my peeps. Prayers for Scotty K who will have to go under the knife for his ankle injury seven weeks ago. Prayers also for a safe trip home to NJ and heading down to FL.

Praise for today: that He is God and we are not!

Genesis 4: 1-16

Much has been written about Cain and Abel. The perfect and accepted sacrifice vs the unaccepted one. According to the commentary that I use, it states that God was all along looking for an animal sacrifice and informed them and because their sacrifice (offering) to God was to satisfy their sin, the Cain offering was not accepted. I think while there is some merit to that the crux of the matter was the heart and the attitude. Maybe Cain should have asked God what He wanted since we do know that they dialogued with Him verbally. This is what it said: The writer describes sin as if it is a wild animal. That ‘animal’ was bending down low on the ground and it was waiting. It was ready to jump suddenly onto Cain. And then it would catch Cain and it would overcome him. In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter writes this: ‘The devil is your enemy. He is like a lion. A lion walks about and he makes a loud noise. He walks about because he is looking for someone to eat.’ God wanted Cain to do the right thing. Cain too could kill an animal as a sacrifice to God. Then God would be pleased with Cain. But Cain refused to live in the way that God wanted him to live. Cain’s attitudes were still wrong.
Besides killing his brother, Cain compounded his actions by lying to God - thus magnifying the sinful nature of man. Jesus recognized our sinful nature and stated that even the act of thinking of these crimes would be the same as committing them. God did punish Cain and still Cain thought his actions were not deserving of the punishment. However the lineage of Adam continues and has been tainted with sin ever since. Thus the need for a savior - Jesus Christ!
Prayers and thanksgiving for those who are still recovering from the aftermath of HI. Looking forward to heading down to FL tomorrow night and seeing my home away from home! Hopefully GG can join us!
Praise for today: Halleluia thine the Savior - revive us again!

Genesis 3

Perfection is a concept that while we feel we know, we can never grasp. There is always something that can and will spoil the perfect day, perfect house, perfect couple, etc. You name it and it will happen. Flaws are always a part of it and something will spoil the moment. The Garden of Eden was like that as well. Man and woman were friends with God and they were supposed to live forever and rule the world - sin changed all of that forever. The sin - the coverup and the running away from God sealed the fate for all of  mankind for all eternity. But even with all of that God did not wipe them away, He clothed them and gave them the means to survive in the world they wanted not what they had. The snake was special since it could talk and reason but it too as an animal in the garden could have been sent away by Eve but it wasn't. Instead the mind was disobediant, not just the bodies that partook of the fruit. Here also we see the first sacrifice of an animal for the purposes of God. Here the purpose was to cloth Adam and Eve since the hides would be more efficient than leaves. The toils and the pains each one would experience as been unique to each gender and would be so forever.

Thankful for a good review and still a sobering outlook confirmed for my compensation going forward. The prospects for my industry sector remains somewhat dismal and to quote a favorite phrase, "bad breath is better than no breath at all".  The projections could last over the new few years, still thankful for a job and for the benefits it provides.

Praise for today: He is my Jehovah Jireh!

Genesis 2

God did complete all that He wanted to do in 6 days, but He did a different kind of "work" - He blessed it and made it holy, because He rested from all He had done. God intended to have one day set aside to worship and rest. Some do it on the first day of the week while other chose the seventh. The summary of the Creation account in c. 2 was more to set it up for what man was suppose to take care of and enjoy. While the animals of the world were created, only man received His breath and in turn His Spirit. The importance of the waters flowing throughout Eden (although some of these rivers have dried up) is similar to that expressed in Ez 47.
A great commentary point: God gave Adam an important command. So Adam was responsible to God. As we shall see in chapter 3, Adam did not obey God’s command. In the garden, Adam had the freedom to be a friend of God. But Adam did not want this freedom. Instead, he wanted the freedom to do whatever things he wanted to do. He wanted to live his own life, without God’s friendship. So Adam chose to do evil things, although God had warned him about the results of such a decision. ‘You will die.’ Death was not part of God’s original plan for men and women. God wanted them to live always and to be his friends. But when men and women began to do evil things, the result was death. Their bodies did not die immediately. But their spirits were dead, because they were not still friends of God. And so they could not go to be with God in heaven when their bodies died. Adam’s decision to do evil things causes death for everyone. But Christ brings life to everyone who trusts him (1 Corinthians 15:21). Our spirits become alive immediately when we trust Christ. We must confess our *sins to God and we must invite him into our lives. Then we become friends of God. And we shall have a place in heaven. Christ has defeated death, but our bodies still die (1 Corinthians 15:26). But when Christ returns, God will change us (1 Corinthians 15:51). Then Christians who have died will become alive again. And we shall always live with God.
The chapter ends with the unity of marriage. True marriage is not two but three and with the third - should last forever.

What a weekend! Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc not only in our minds and gave us a heightened sense of paranoia (thanks news media) but also on our bodies and property. While my home was extremely minimal in damage, others lost power and thus had basement flooding or water damage. Spent the morning after making breakfast watching a streamed broadcast from GracePointe in Franklin, TN and heard a great message from Dave Ramsay. Then spent the next 4-5 hours helping my wife's sister's family getting stuff out of her basement after a failed sump pump left water in the basement. That was my workout for yesterday and today! Then after some weird e-mails came down to Delly last night so I could work out of here today.

Prayers for all my peeps and those who suffered greatly from this hurricane.

Praise for today: that I have a wife who is "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" and that God is in her!