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Wed, April 30 SOAP Devotional

April 29, 2008
Read Genesis 10
To read this text go to: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen%2010&version=51



Scripture- Genesis 10:32- These are the clans that descended from Noah’s sons, arranged by nation according to their lines of descent. All the nations of the earth descended from these clans after the great flood.



Observations- In yesterday’s passage of Genesis 9, God told Noah and his family to be fruitful and multiply—they were to fill the earth with people again. While God’s initial attempt at creation was largely destroyed by the flood, now God is telling Noah that not only will the world never again be destroyed, but they are to have confidence in going forth and populating the earth—God’s blessing was with them as they went. Later in the chapter, we are told that life is to have the highest value among them because they are created in the image of God. This passage is often called the “Table of Nations” and reflects the fulfillment of God’s command to the people of the earth. It also depicts God’s blessings on the nations and His work of recreation after the ‘uncreation’ of the flood—it is the story of God’s sustaining grace. It is also a reminder to the people of Israel that they share a common ancestry with the other peoples of the world. They were to remember who they are and where they come from and it provided the primitive branches of the genealogical tree of humanity that culminates in the objective of every biblical genealogy—the person of Jesus Christ.



Application- Let’s be honest—passages like these are the parts of the Bible that we usually skip without paying much, if any, attention. This passage, like many others, just seems to be a collection of hard to pronounce names. Why are they even in the Bible to begin with? They seem so boring and irrelevant. These are the genealogical records of Israel. Our family origins are important to us. Millions of dollars are spent each year researching and tracking family histories. This is nothing new. I have become very interested in my family history. Our family story is interesting. I am probably not related to any one else with the last name spelled uniquely like mine—Wallis—because my paternal grandfather (my father’s father) changed his name because of some trouble he ran into (an interesting story I will not go into here). I don’t know much about that side of the family, except that if Grandpa Wallis hadn’t changed his name, I would be Matthew William Crowder. Maybe that’s why I have such an affinity for hardware and tools. On my mother’s side of the family tree, we are somehow related to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Rutherford B. Hayes, and the crazy sisters from Manhattan who left their fortune to their cats. I hope to find out the specifics some day of our family story and how we are related to these people. Our family connections pull at us in important ways. The fact that these records are included in Holy Scripture is evidence of that. They serve an important role in helping see the hand of God working throughout the centuries of recorded history to preserve the means of our salvation. God was working, before we ever knew we needed Him, to secure our salvation through the person of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but once be become followers of Jesus Christ, we are adopted into a whole new family. So, no matter how prestigious or lowly our family history might be, we have a new family that claims us! That’s good news, folks!



Prayer- Lord, thanks for loving me enough to adopt me into your family and accepting me as Your child. Thank you for being the best Daddy (Abba) I could ever have. When I am feeling overwhelmed by life and circumstances, help me to remember Whose I am and that You are always with me. You would never call us to do something that You would not also equip and sustain us to get it done. I can truly do everything You are calling me to do through Christ who gives me strength! Help me never to forget that. I love you. Amen



Your Brother in Christ,

Pastor Matt
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Powerful Video

Watch this video for a powerful example of grace & forgiveness.

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Some Cool '80s Quizzes

Test your recall some '80s pop culture. Have fun!

Back to the Future Quiz
http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=310&p=1

Totally Rad '80s Fads Quiz
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The Coolest Toy Ever!!!

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Tuesday, April 29 SOAP Devotion

April 29, 2008
Read Genesis 9
To read this text go to: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%209;&version=51;



Scripture- Genesis 9:5-7- “And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die. If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image. Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.”



Observations- In the events leading up to the flood, life had become very cheap. Starting with Cain & Abel and mushrooming from there, murder had become commonplace. This chapter is a “do-over” with humanity. Noah and his family were just getting off of the boat as the flood waters were receding. Before they had much of a chance to get settled, God begins by making a new set of rules. God had already seen Noah’s obedience through offering the sacrifice and declared that He would never again destroy the Earth. Now God addresses our behavior. First, He tells them that it is ok to eat meat, as long as the “lifeblood” was no longer in it. They needed to understand that it cost something to take another life. God then addresses the taking of human life. We are to value human life because we are all made in the image of God. We are not to take another life if they steal from us, wrong us or our property, or insult us or our family. This was given to bring an appropriate sense of order to society by properly valuing the image of God in others—we are not to take that lightly.



Application- One of the central messages of the Bible is that we are loved by God because we are created in God’s image—all of us. Yes, we are born into a sinful world and are surrounded by sinful people, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is something of God’s image in all of us. God created us in His image and gave us free will. We abused that will and chose to go our own way. That broke, but did not remove, the image of God within us. The result of that is that we are born with a natural inclination and attraction to sin. In and of ourselves, we have no resources to resist sin. Sin is the magnet and we are the iron filings. When we commit our lives to following Christ and accept Him as our leader, forgiver and friend, the image of God begins the process of being restored within us. We now have God’s presence within us through the Holy Spirit and this gives us the resources to resist sin. God sees Himself clearly when looking into the mirror of our lives, but we and others see only a distorted image. Like when an old fashioned mirror is broken and repaired, at first the image it reflects is distorted. But, given time and the effort of repeated polishing, the image becomes clearer and clearer. That process of polishing (together with the Holy Spirit) the mirror of our lives so that it more clearly reflects Jesus to the world is what we call growing in grace, or Sanctifying Grace. Everyone we meet has this potential within them, even the biggest “jerk” we can think of. God calls us to show them grace as we are given the opportunity. The bigger the “jerk,” the more we need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit working through us.



Prayer- God, help me to have a high value for others. Help me to see Your image in them and show them the love, grace and compassion that they need to see You and Your love. Help me to take advantage of the opportunities You bring my way to share Your love with others. Help me to see Your image in them—no matter how broken it might be. Thank You for loving me enough to send Jesus so that Your image could be restored in me through our friendship and Your teaching and help through the Holy Spirit. Amen.



Peace,

Pastor Matt
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