June 10, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So, God said to Noah, ‘I AM is going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” (Genesis 6.11-13)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

God is true to His word. Many people may not truly understand what God did as they believe the punishment was cruel and excessive. Of course, the scope of punishment being global might seem excessive except for the scope of degradation of human life at the hands of those who refused to “call upon the name of the Lord.” That penchant for sin by the rest of the world for so long is excessive. You would have thought they would have learned by that time there had to be a better way. Perhaps they had come to believe that there was no accountability at all. Such thinking would only foster continued sinning and living in darkness. This shows how extraordinary Noah and his family must have been. They were the anomaly as we do not hear of any others apart from his family who found favor in the eyes of the Lord. And we dare not operate under assumption that “long life” constituted favor, blessing and a state of righteousness before and in the eyes of God. For example, Methuselah died in the year of the Flood at 969 years of age. Did the flood shorten his days? As Noah was a descendant of Methuselah, dare we not assume that Noah’s desire to walk in righteousness before God was indeed generational? Or was Noah an anomaly even in his own family? There are other writings which exist outside of the biblical narrative concerning Methuselah (such as the Book of Enoch and the Book of Moses) which describe him as a priest. In that case, Methuselah would have died before the Flood or else he lost his faith in God as Noah kept his in building the Ark. What a tragedy! Imagine Noah having to turn his back on even family who had lost their faith in God as the door of the Ark was closed, sealed and the flood water rose sending everyone to a watery grave.

Still, God is true to His word. He loves life. He takes no pleasure in having to discipline severely those who love their lives more than they love anything else. We may think that God not answering prayers is harsh and uncaring. It could be a form of discipline to teach us to have the right heart and mind about things. It could be a means of teaching patience and endurance to discover answers and blessings that are already ours. It could be the breadth of wisdom and the depth of love which are the essence of God’s nature and character that sees the best answer is sometimes “no.” We can certainly be disappointed hearing “no.” We may not be much better than our children who also are not happy with being told they cannot have something or do something. They do not have the depth of wisdom, knowledge or love as we do as their parents. They may pitch fits and throw tantrums in attempts to get their way. As parents and leaders, it is up to us to model the lesson we have learned (or are learning still) about denial. It isn’t just about building character; it is about saving a world. A world that surrounds us. A world that includes us. A world that depends on us getting it right between ourselves and God. The story of Noah and the Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah under the Conflagration, the Hebrew exiles freed from Egypt but left to wander 38 years in the Wilderness, and Jesus at the Cross are all God’s examples of having to say “No.” Love has to be tough that way in order for things to be made right. There is no “cotton candy” gospel or sugary grace. Sacrifice is the evidence of one’s true and prioritized love. Jesus taught His disciples, as we remember, “No greater love is there than this that one lay down their own life for the sake of another.” We do well to remember that God, in creating the Flood and the Conflagration and the Wandering and the Crucifixion, was Himself experiencing the loss of life to which He was sincerely connected. In each person was breathed the “spark of life” which brought them from a thought and an act into an actual living creature. That “spark of life” is God’s ruach. The very same that brought life out of the dust, life from a rib and life from a cadaver fully emptied of “water,” blood, and “fire,” spirit. We are the benefactors of such great love when we focus as did Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus (and others in the legacy of faith through to the modern day) on serving God and following His will. The consequence is clear. God’s love is everlasting and eternally final. He will keep His word!

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.