January 3rd

Genesis 5:1-7:24: This is a detailed account of Adam through his descendants until Noah. Man these guys lived a long time. Around 900 years for most of them. So crazy. And then in Gen 6:2-3 it talks about how the number of people increased, and the men were marrying any beautiful women they desired and it says that God basically reduced the number of years that man lived down to 120, saying that His Spirit wouldn't contend with them, for man was mortal. It continues to talk about how many had just become so wicked, thinking only of evil all the time, and how God was grieved that he had made humankind. He decided to wipe them out. But He noticed that Noah was different. Noah was the 10th in line down from Adam. Out of 10 people in the line, the Bible only mentions that two walked with God, Enoch and Noah. Enoch walked so closely with God that he didn't die, God simply took him. How incredible to be someone that God delighted in so much that He decides to take you for Himself. That's a serious relationship with God Almighty. God decided to spare Noah and his family and had them build the ark, so that when the floodwaters came, they would live, as well as two of every kind of land animal and bird. The earth was flooded, and everything that was on it destroyed. Noah and his family were in the ark for 150 days.

Matthew 3:7-4:11: John the Baptist baptizing; Jesus' Baptism; Jesus being tempted in the desert.
Something that stuck out to me was the warning that John the Baptist gave the Pharisees when they approached the river that he was baptizing in. He said of Jesus that His "winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." He was trying to tell them that when the judgement day came, Jesus would be able to sift out the wheat from the chaff, He would know the difference between those that really knew Him, and those that were banking on getting in because of their good name, their good deeds, or their family name. The Pharisees were known for relying on good works, sacrifices and following the law to get them into heaven. What John is saying is, that's not what it's about. This is something I have to remind myself of often. It feels like there's a fine line between doing good things because you're trying to gain points, and doing good things because those are the fruits that are produced when you're following Christ. One follows the other, not good deeds in order to attain salvation, but salvation that produces good deeds. And the good deeds aren't a means to an end or to make us feel good. They should be something that we almost can't help. When Christ is truly living within someone, their actions and thoughts and responses to other people should be radically different than if they were operating on their own accord. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. That's what should happen when the Spirit is living inside of you. Man, I can see some fruits in that list that have been absent in my own life. Holy Spirit, be evident in my day to day. Be in control of my self.

Psalm 3:1-8: David is writing this Psalm while in the middle of fleeing from his son, Absalom. He is declaring that he is not afraid, for he knows that Lord is a shield around him. He can lie down and sleep peacefully, and wake up again because it is the Lord who sustains him.

Provers 1:10-19: This is a warning to not join in with those that are seeking to destroy others. The language used is "lie in wait for someone's blood" and "waylay some harmless soul". Obviously, in my day to day life I'm not in conversations about plans to take other people down, murder them and steal their belongings. But there are often conversations that aren't edifying or uplifting to other people. And there are times that I find myself rushing into those. Guard my tongue, Lord. I pray that I don't rush to speak ill of someone else. The closing verse of this Proverbs has a warning for those that do. It's actually destructive to the person guilty of the ill-hatched plan. Never have I felt good after talking poorly about someone else. I always get a sick feeling in my stomach. Most of the time I know that, while I was selfishly trying to make someone else look bad, I ended up making myself look bad. Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies. "Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain. It takes away the lives of those who get it."