September 16, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.” (Genesis 19.27-29)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Knowing a thing will happen and seeing it happen can never compare. Most all of us have experienced a natural disaster of one sort or another; a flood, a wildfire, a tornado or hurricane and even an earthquake. We see the media coverage of such events in their aftermath and never cease to be amazed, sadly amazed, at the sameness but the difference between each and every one. No two disasters are the same. We can have an “anticipation set” of images and ideas as a precursor for what is about to happen. We can have it and it rarely prepares us what actually occurs. Knowing a thing is not the same as experiencing a thing.

This would be the case with Abraham. Abraham had experienced the hand of God in many ways for provision and protection and for repositioning him mentally, spiritually and experientially. Abraham may have experienced wildfires, earthquakes, hailstorms and tornadic or straight-line winds. What Abraham had never experienced before in his life was the full force of God’s justice as wrath against such sinfulness which acted as a vortex of devouring His children like a black hole in space. Fortunately, Abraham did not observe the actual conflagration or else he, too, might have become a pillar of salt as did Lot’s wife. Still, when he rose after sunrise and walked to the place where he last saw and spoke to God, he saw the result of God’s promised outpouring. He had to stop and wonder did his nephew and family survive? He asked God to allow a stay of execution if God could find at least ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot lived. The answer seemed obvious: there were not ten righteous people in all of that area which had been destroyed. Smoke rose into the sky denser than any Abraham had seen from the hottest furnace. Surely, Lot and his family were spared. Their number would have been less than ten. Ultimately, it was four and then only three- Lot and his two daughters. However, that was not what God and Abraham had discussed. None would be spared if ten could not be found. But Abraham...

If not for Abraham and God’s love for him, Lot and his family would not have been spared. God remembered His covenant with Abraham. God knew his heart for family and friends. God knew the desire of Abraham for God. God honored Abraham by sparing Lot. It was not because Lot was righteous. He may have been as righteous as sinners can be, I suppose. The Apostle Paul wrote to the followers in Rome, “For all have sinned and fallen short, yet He is faithful and able to forgive us of our sins.” (Romans 3.23) Another way of saying this might be, “But Jesus….” If not for Jesus standing in our place in right covenant with God and a heart for God’s people, where would we be? Destined for the fires of Hell hotter than the hottest furnace known to man including the suns across the universe. Death would be better than a living Hell. Nothing survived God’s justice over the most perverse din of sin, except for Lot and his daughters. Grace was extended to them because of Abraham. Grace is extended to us because of Christ. How shall we say thanks? By surrendering our lives to Him in obedient service with a heart, mind and spirit full of love. If not for Christ…. well, you get it. God’s will be done.

TODAYS’ 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 endeavor, but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.