Grieved.....
I was watching the news right before bed last night and I was so grieved by the happenings of the world...the murders, the underhandedness, the evil that seems so prevalent in the news, fears, wars, rumors of wars, .....I know there must be some good things going on somewhere but that wasn't being reported on...
It was hard to put the bad down and not fret over evil...pray...and then what do you pray? Come quickly, Lord...or show them Your light...or thy will be done...or as David prayed, consume them, in their evil...what, how...
I had to put It down...open my hands and give it over...let Him make that decision ...I don't know what His plan is for these various news pieces...people....His desire ultimately is that none should perish, and that all would turn from their wicked ways and follow Him...in my Finite mind, I don't know how that can be.....forgiveness is a big word, with deep, deep meaning...
Then this morning, it was this devotional, prepared before I knew it came up...I am so glad God has a plan...His timing...is perfect...
thank YOU for your love .....
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| God's Grief, God's Grace |
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| A daily devotion for April 24th |
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| From your friends at RayStedman.org |
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| The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain... But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:6, 8). |
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When the account says God was grieved, it is really the word God repented. We know from other Scriptures that it is impossible for God to repent. He does not change His mind like humans do. But this is a powerful figure to express in a vivid way God's anger and determination. When society reaches this stage of dissolution and deterioration, God's anger burns. It appears that He has changed His mind completely, even though He is but acting on principles that are entirely consistent with His own being.
Yet, in the midst of this, we read that it grieved Him, and grief is always the activity of love. What we finite human beings do not understand is that God's love and wrath are exactly the same thing. They are two sides of the same coin. What entrances us and warms us about God and draws us to Him is love. He is the God of love who loves regardless of merit. This is what attracts us. But it is because we respond that He appears to us in that way. To those who reject His love, the same quality in God becomes wrath, and it seems to be a wall of fire, burning and consuming everything.
We can see this also in ourselves. It is our love that causes us to be angry at anything that injures what we love. You injure a mother's child in the mother's presence, and watch her love flame out in anger against you. Thus we have here clearly described a time when humanity, in its rejection of God, passes beyond the place of seeing God as love and begins to experience His love as wrath. But it is exactly the same thing.
But there is always the shining of grace, as in verse 8: But Noah found favor [or, literally, grace] in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8). God was calling throughout this whole age, just as He is calling in our age today, pleading with people to turn from their ways, to resist the widespread lie of Satan. One man and his family turned and found grace in God's sight. He did not deserve it, and he could equally have turned and gone the other way, but he responded to the wooing and pleading of God and found grace in His sight.
Bring this down to this century and draw the parallel between the days of Noah and the days in which we live. We must remember that if we are delivered from the wrath to come, if we escape the judging hand of God upon society, it is not because of anything we have done; it is the manifestation of God's grace.
God wooed us and won us, sought us out and, through many influences upon us, brought us at last to see that the age in which we live is an age under the bondage of a lie. He has opened our eyes to the truth, till we have turned to the Lord Jesus and rested under the grace of God.
As our age deteriorates, and our civilization nears the point of utter collapse, we can thank God that we have been snatched away as brands from the burning, like Noah and his family, if our hearts are responsive to the appeal of God's grace.
How I thank you, Father, for Your grace, which has snatched me out of the fire and brought me into a relationship with Your dear Son.
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| Life Application |
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| God's love and wrath are two sides of the same coin. Are we believing Satan's widespread lie, still striving to please God, or are we walking in His grace? |
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| Related Message |
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| For more on this portion of Scripture read the message: |
| Signs of Collapse |
| or listen to the audio by clicking: |
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| Copyright © 2014 Ray Stedman Ministries — This daily devotion is from the book The Power of His Presence: a year of devotions from the writings of Ray Stedman, compiled by Mark Mitchell. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice and a hyperlink to RayStedman.org if the copy is posted on the Internet. |
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