Wednesday, October 03, 2007

October 3 - God's Way to Safety

Today's Reading:
Genesis 19:1-29
"Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed"

Focus Verses: Genesis 19:15-17
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished." 16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"

Insight:
Sin leads to destruction. Lot was living dangerously by living among sinners who had no regard for God and clearly no regard for Lot or his family. Lot was disturbingly willing to compromise with wicked neighbors and give in to their demands. In mercy, God came to Lot and his family to save them from the coming destruction. Yet Lot hesitated, the husbands of his daughters considered his warnings to be a joke, and his wife (even as they fled for their lives) turned back toward the city as if she didn't want to leave.

Response and Action:
I need to take sin seriously. I do not want to compromise with sin. I do not want to share my living space with sin. Instead, I will flee for my life. God, in his mercy, has given me a way to escape sin and destruction through Christ. I want take that way of escape and not turn back.

O Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Lead me away from temptation and deliver me from evil. Do not let me be tempted beyond what I can bear. Thank you for your faithfulness to provide a way of escape for me when I am tempted. Help me to turn away from sin and destruction and, instead, be led by your Spirit toward eternal life. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Proverb for Today: Prov. 3:25-26
"Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared."

New Testament for Today: Galatians 6:7-8
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
In Context: Galatians 6:1-10

Resources:
Daring to Draw Near: People in Prayer
by John White