QT 30 Dec 18, Gen 6:6-8, Blinded by Satan

Genesis 6:6–8 (ESV) — 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

NOTE: God uses language to communicate to man and to describe himself to man. But sometimes the language is incomplete. This is an example. It appears that God changes his mind. But the bible says that God does not change his mind, he is immutable. Just as we saw before in the garden when God asks man, "where are you?" We know that God is spirit and he is everywhere. God is not missing in any knowledge and does not asks questions to gain information. Therefore the questions are for our benefit and not for God's benefit. This is another example. God is not unaware or caught off guard by man's sins. The language conveys our loss and is contrasted with Noah's gain. Noah found favor (grace) in the eyes of God. Like Abraham, Noah found favor because he believed God. The story that follows makes that abundantly clear, Noah built an ark on dry ground because God told him too. In contrast, man disobeyed God's commands and their consciences by sinning against one another. One is saved by faith. The other group is judged by their evil. Every single one was considered evil. Even Noah sinned, but the one difference is that he truly believed God. He didn't play religion, or do works, or follow rules, or believe myths -- he truly believed in the one God. I think so many in our world will be amazed in the day of the Lord, that their religion did not save them. Their church attendance did not save them. Their life of good works did not save them. Because they missed out on the only thing that could save them, true belief in Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: Father, we are blinded by the god of this world. Not only can we not see correctly, we can't think correctly. Our minds are confused by feelings. Open our eyes, our true eyes, our spiritual eyes to see what we cannot see well.