June 3, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” (Genesis 6.3)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Even God has a limit! Yet, we are promised that nothing shall separate us from the love of God. (reference Romans 8.38-39) We should not understand that truth with a worldly mind, however. What Paul was speaking to was God’s “tough love.” God’s love is not an entitlement nor a license to sin. (Ecclesiastes 15.20; Romans 6.15) God’s love, if it is love at all, seeks to maintain the sense of holiness and righteousness by which all things were created. With that kind of love, it is necessary to also have accountabilities and discipline in place. What God desires is for creation to make right and good choices. The benchmark is His own love and purpose. He made that perfectly clear in Jesus Christ who was “very God of very God” as well as “very human.” Jesus was not “human” in the terms which far too many are willing to say is normal and natural. When someone says “I am only human” or “They are just human,” it is speaking to the admission that mistakes (including those with serious consequences) are just a part of everyday life. And while we are all born into sin and a sinful world, we are still born with the Spirit of God ready to help us stay on course. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ which He released into the safekeeping of His Father in Heaven as He breathed His last breath on the cross, is made available to us so that “deep calls unto deep.” That is, the Spirit of the Son calls to the Spirit of the Father. When the two meet and unite to become as one then great things happen: life is redeemed, reconciled and restored. In that process, that which is not redeemable, reconcilable and capable of being restored is put away or taken away. It cannot be allowed to exist anymore where it can “steal, kill and destroy.” Mighty ones of God, you recognize those as the intents and works of the Enemy of God and humanity. He makes successful forays into the world of humanity. We each have our scars and battle wounds, some of them are very deep. Even Jesus bore those scars on His own fleshly body. He went to battle for us. He demonstrated “the way, the truth and the life” which leads to the Father in Heaven. There was and is no other way than to trust, believe and follow Jesus as the Christ. His words, teachings and works exemplify the pursuit of holiness and righteousness we are to follow all the days of our lives.

And when we don’t? There is a price to pay. God will not contend with our unrighteousness, our “go it alone” or “instead of with God.” He cannot because He does not want us to suffer eternally. Death is not a final destination. Death is the point of confirmation for the decisions we have made about our lives and about God. We all, except for Enoch apparently, will come to that point of death. The question becomes important for us as to “what comes next.” If there is no sense of an eternal beyond death, then this world is all we have. Even that reality requires a basic sense of true love which places the “other before self.” Even God understands this as “For God so loved the world that He gave up His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” The entire story of creation is not a tale of God having nothing else better to do. The creation story is about the expression of God’s love to give to others so they can continue the same legacy generation after generation. However, to let life go unbridled and ultimately be immersed in an unholy and unrighteous way of existing is not love. Intervention has to happen. Correction to the course. However, life was being lived out for seemingly 900 plus years at a time and they still weren’t figuring the truth out. “Calling upon the name of the Lord” is what brings healing and authenticity to life that endures forever. So, time got limited. God could not let it go on as long as it was. Now, it seems that in today’s world the critical mass of age continues to be far less than 120. Even with medical advances and health tips, diet and exercise, the real problems confronting humanity and limiting its true “love” quotient is spiritual. The line had to be drawn. Everything seemed to be falling short of the glory which God had intended for it. We have to make that decision in our own lives as well. How long can we allow short-term faith and intermittent faithfulness to continue before the next overwhelming intervention?

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.