Daily Devotion (January 24, 2025)
Genesis 7:1: “Then the Lord said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.'”
Noah trusted God! In Noah’s day there was widespread wickedness and violence. It is not just that people sinned but, in their sin, they rejected God. Is there a difference today? Is America, the World any different than the days of Noah?
Genesis 6:5: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Genesis 6:11-12: “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”
The nation has turned it’s back on God. No longer can America be called a “Christian nation”, if it ever was. The church is composed of individuals who have accepted Christ. Is it too late to turn back. America is corrupt and filled with violence. People cry out for help! Their cries fall on deaf ears. The government promises help, but the government is limited and mostly corrupt. Only God can help us, and we turn our backs on him. The churches are filled with those wanting to feel God’s presence but continue to live for self instead of God! In some churches the “worship service” has become more of a pep rally instead of a service humbly bowing before God. Worship is meant to be a time of reverence, humility, and connection with God, but it’s easy for the focus to become more about entertainment or emotional uplift rather than genuine spiritual devotion. (I want to apologize for the last statement but can’t. What needs to be said is the praise is to lead us to hearing the Word of God then doing what God says.) Psalm 95:6 reminds us to “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”
Worship is not about us even though true worship changes us. It is all about God! True worship focuses on God in humility and reverence.
The movie “Sister Act” shows how to pack a church. The problem with packing a church is when the music ends the people leave. Many of the songs used in churches are good praise songs. They do lead people to focus on Christ. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” We are not to just get an emotional spiritual high then leave the church and go back to living the ways of the world.
Those in Noah’s day probably had no problem recognizing there was a God. Their problem was not allowing God to guide them. Giving one hour a week to God is not a problem for many but do not ask them to give the whole week to Him.