The crisis of sin
Thursday, Sept. 17
Genesis 5:29 – 7:24 Read it here Listen to it here

Hundreds of years go by with barely any detail.
The human race multiplies and spreads over the earth, and sin along with it.
In 6:5 we read, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”
When we contemplate the frequent question of why is there evil in the world, one of our first thoughts is often, Why doesn’t God just get rid of the bad people?”
The story of Noah answers that question.
In a world full of violence and corruption, Noah stands out. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.”
If the way to remove sin from the world is to get rid of the bad people, Noah is a promising candidate for leading a fresh start. So God tells Noah to build a large boat, an ark, to save himself, his family, and the animal species from the coming flood that’s going to cleanse the world from sin.
As would be expected of a godly man, Noah follows God’s direction, builds the ark and gathers the animals into it, along with his own family.
The great flood comes and cleanses the earth. If getting rid of sin were as simple as getting rid of the people we classify as “bad,” this should have been the end of sin in the world. Unfortunately, we’ll see that it wasn’t.
–
In many of the Bible stories, especially in the Old Testament, it’s easy to get distracted by the question, “Did this really happen, or is is a story intended to tell us something about God?”
Personally, I’ve decided to leave that question unanswered in my own mind and faith. We only have to look at the ministry of Jesus to see that God is perfectly capable of bending the rules of nature as we understand them to teach a lesson—and is perfectly able to use parables to teach lessons.
I’m not always sure I can rightly discern between the two, but I am sure that it’s the lesson that’s important.

-Rev. Mark Fleming

Thursday meditation

Proverbs 1:20-27
Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

Prayer focus
God, open my heart and mind to gain wisdom wherever it may be found; take away the temptation to assume that others have nothing to teach because of their age, education or position in life.