Living Outside the Stacks

Scripture Genesis 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offering on the altar. Observation Sacrifices were a form of worship and sign of devotion. Application In verse 8 it says: “But God remembered Noah…”, this means that God remembered the covenant that He had made to protect Noah, his family, and the animals from judgement and He preserved them. Noah’s sacrifice both acknowledged and demonstrated gratitude for that preservation. The same way that God established a covenant with Noah to preserve his family from destruction is the same way that God has…

Scripture Genesis 7:4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made will blot out from the face of the ground. Observation God gave man an additional week to repent of his sins and be reconciled with Him. Application Mercy. There’s that word again. I believe that the whole time Noah was building the ark, he was telling the people around him why he was building it. I believe that he was letting them know that judgement was about to fall on them because of their evil ways. And God, even at the very last…

Scripture Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. Observation The mercy extended to Noah’s family was not given because of Noah’s actions but because of his faith in God. Noah lived according to God’s precepts and compared to his generation, he was a good man. We cannot earn mercy and grace, it is ours through faith in God as the sovereign Lord of our lives. Application Recently, I’ve been trying to come up with a word for the year. A word that would mean something to me spiritually, emotionally, and physically. A word that I could grab…

Scripture Genesis 5:29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” Observation Lamech, Noah’s father, was prophesying about the redemption of mankind through the coming savior, Jesus Christ. By the time Noah had become an adult and had a family of his own, the world had become so evil and corrupt that God’s only option was to destroy the earth and all who inhabited it. However, God had such a close relationship with Noah that He had mercy on him, his wife, his three sons, and…

Scripture Genesis 4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” Observation God didn’t ask the question of Cain because He didn’t know what Cain had done, He asked to give Cain the opportunity to confess and ask for forgiveness. Rather than accept responsibility for his sins, Cain became sarcastic. Even after his attitude, God still gave Cain another opportunity to confess in verse 10. Instead, Cain becomes even more insolent. Application No matter how hard we try, we can’t hide our sin from God. He sees and He knows everything, and even with that knowledge,…

Scripture Genesis 3:21 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Observation The making of the clothing from animal skins was the first sacrifice, a foreshadowing of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins. As a result of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience, the just punishment should’ve been death but God showed mercy instead. Application God’s love and mercy is present even when we are willfully disobedient. This is not because we’re deserving of any special favors but because God loves us so much that He’s willing to give us a second {or third or fourth or fifth} chance. Prayer Dear…

Scripture Genesis 2:18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Observation Every time God finished creating something new, he looked at it and said it was good, meaning that the purpose it was intended to serve had been fulfilled. The sun and moon created light and day, the waters watered the earth to feed and nourish the plants and livestock, etc. The only creation that, upon completion, did not receive the seal of approval was the creation of man. Man, by himself, was incomplete. Man’s purpose was to tend the Garden of Eden…