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Can God Get Glory from My Life?
by Dominique Henderson
Happy New Year!
I’ve set as a personal goal to read the Bible in its entirety this year. (I’ve started and stopped at least twice before.) My goal is that this experience will pay rich dividends for me and the readers of this devotional in that biblical truths never return void (see Isaiah 55:11). Today I’d like to share with you three truths from a reading in Genesis this past week.
The first truth is that disobedience grieves the heart of God. In Genesis 6:5-7, God makes the decision to wipe out his creation and start from scratch. Immediately this seems like a contradiction of God’s character in that he is all-knowing and all-powerful. Should he have know this would happen on day one of creation? Why would he create a race of creatures that would eventually grieve him to the point that he needed to destroy them? I’m no scholar, but I am an individual that has created things. Nothing upsets me more than my creation not serving its intended purpose. If we think of ourselves of created beings of God intended to bring him glory and to worship him, we can quickly see how mankind at that point grieved God. See verse 5 of Genesis 6:
The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
I have italicized the words “every”, “only” and “all” for emphasis. From God’s perspective every action man committed at the time (with the exception of Noah) was evil and sinful. This disobedient pattern of life prompted God to extinguish his creation. Do you have aspects in your life that grieve the heart of God? This is a lesson for all of us that struggle with habitual sin-- that is easily conquered by the power of the most High God—to confess it and claim victory through the blood of Jesus. God gives the formula for what we most do:
“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Genesis 4:7
“To do what is right” or “to do well” (in KJV) is to act in accordance with God’s character. The Bible tells us we were made in the image of God (see Genesis 1:27,5:1) and therefore we should reflect his character. God speaks and acts in faith and this is the only way he operates. Everything he made was through his spoken words and acts of faith. This is why Hebrews tell us that “without faith” it is impossible to please God. In Romans, we see that “what is not done of faith is sin” (see Romans 14:23). Therefore, regardless of what Cain’s sacrifice was it was not of faith and therefore displeased God. This act of disobedience led to Cain’s slaying of Abel because of his impure motives. It also perpetuated a line of disobedience in Cain’s offspring.
The second truth is that God’s covenant is given to those that obey him. Prior to Jesus’ death on the cross, God was selective in whom he gave his covenant. This covenant relationship was born of obedience to his laws and commands. You can argue that this selection is biased. I would totally agree. It is biased from the perspective that every individual that can choose right from wrong can choose to obey God. God simply decides to honor and favor those that obey. I as a father show preferential treatment to my children if they choose to obey me. It would be unjust to bestow the benefits of obedience to my children that disobey. I believe God is no different. He created us all and loves us all, but he doesn’t have covenant relationship with all his creation—only his children. For those that have chosen his gift—Jesus the Savior of mankind—he enters into special relationship and we become a son of God. In Noah’s day ,he was found as the only blameless, righteous man at the time. Therefore God chose to establish covenant with Noah because of his obedience. The evidence for this is found in scripture and is the third truth which is obedience preserves life. In Genesis 6:22 and Genesis 7:5 we read that “Noah did everything the Lord commanded.” This is the recipe for a covenant life with the Almighty. The Lord delights in our obedience to his commands because it enriches our life. In the case of Noah, mankind was preserved through his seed. What would have happened had Noah decided not to follow God’s command? Undoubtedly we know that his seed would have been wiped out along with all others and God would have chosen another willing vessel. The point being, that God blesses the individual that chooses to obey him. What other resolution could you make this new year than to obey the voice of Almighty God? I can think of no other, therefore I’ve chosen to do so. Join me and watch God’s covenant blessings overtake you in this year and the years to come.
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