Crossroads: Victory begins at the foot of the cross of Calvary

By Ted Huizinga

To the dismayed and disappointed disciples making their way back home to Emmaus the Sunday afternoon following the crucifixion of Jesus, the resurrected Lord came alongside them and taught them all things concerning Himself from the scriptures beginning with Moses and the prophets. From scripture, He showed them how a crucified Messiah fulfilled all which had been written concerning His redemptive work as Immanuel (God with us). He opened their eyes to understand God’s salvation plan for fallen man and His role in completing that work. This daily devotional seeks to show how scripture reveals the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and He stands at the crossroads between eternal life with God and eternal life separated from God. It is my sincerest prayer and desire that you will see His glory reflected in the scriptural texts for each day, the associated meditations of my heart, and be compelled to take up your cross and follow Him to victory and glory.

“To my wife, Carol and sons: Thomas, Michael and Solomon.  I would not have written this book were it not for you and our mutual loved ones.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662455339

Book preview

cover.jpg

Crossroads

Victory begins at the foot of the cross of Calvary

Ted Huizinga

Copyright © 2022 Ted Huizinga

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-5532-2 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-5534-6 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-6624-5533-9 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

In the Beginning

Pristine Goodness

Life Partner

The Fall

Where Are You?

Consequences of Choice

Whom Do You Listen To?

Broken

Do Well

Everyone Has a Master

Seek the Lord

What Is in a Name?

Who Are You Walking With?

Signs of the End

Trust and Obey

The Wrath of Holy God

Follow Me

Exceedingly Great Reward

Wait on the Lord

More than Just a Name

Blamelessness

God's Covenants of Grace

Immediate Obedience

Keep God's Way—Righteousness and Justice

The Patience of God

God's Test and Sacrifice

When God Is Big—Problems Become Small

The Ripple Effect

Final Appointment

Chosen

Divine Election

Food for Thought

Denial

Fear or Faith?

Ends Do Not Justify Means

Undeserved Mercy and Grace

Honorable Stewardship

A Shelter in the Time of Storm

God's Great Grace

First-Time Obedience

Turn

Awesome God

God's Mindfulness

It Isn't About Me

The Psalm One Man

Vanity Unaware

Meditate Quietly, Peacefully

Rags to Righteousness

No Gray Areas With God

Awe-Driven Worship

Depart from Me

If Not Now, When?

This Is a Test

My Father's World

Wholehearted Praise

Long-Suffering Graciousness

Out of the Abundance of the Heart…

I Shall Sing to the Lord

Who Indeed?

Drink Deeply

Prayer—a Lifeline to God

Rock of Ages

Law and Order

Name above All Names

Salvation's Joy

Precious Shepherd Lead Me Home

Whose Earth?

Blessed Are the Pure In Heart

Make Way for the King of Kings

Are You Teachable?

Wait!

Spiritual MRI

God's Light Eradicates Darkness

Proper Desire

Don't Say One Thing and Do Another

No Surprise Here

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

The Lord Is Good

Blessed Man of Integrity

Self-Destruction Holds Sin in Silence

Forgiveness Comes by Confessing Sin Openly

God's Love Protects and Corrects

There's Victory in Jesus

Pay Close Attention

The Truth Shall Set You Free

Loving Life

I Will Never Leave You or Forsake You

The Joy of the Lord Is My Strength

Pride Goes before Destruction

Do Not Worry, Trust God Patiently

Satisfied in Jesus's Care

Sure-Footed

The Lord Is the Strength of My Life

Unconfessed Sin Leads to Physical Entropy

Love Wins

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry for Tomorrow We Die

Which Pit Are You In?

Worthy Considerations

Humble Yourself Before God

Repay Evil with Good

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

Take Up God's Cause

Take Heart

God Knows Everything

All Hail King Jesus

He Shall Be Exalted

Our God Is An Awesome God

Jerusalem, City of the King

What Does It Profit a Man to Gain the Whole World?

You Are Summoned

Heart-Healthy Trust

Which Way Will You Go?

Be Faithful

Oh, Be Careful, Little Ears, What You Hear

Yes, Fear!

What Seeds Are You Sowing?

Do What Is Right

Watch What You Say

Tell and Live the Truth

Facts of Life

Act Now, Think Later

Near or Far?

Cast in Concrete

Excuses

Name Recognition

Humility and Honor

Godly Pause

Wanted—Faithfulness

That's Just the Way It Is

Top of the Line

Life's Foundational Treasure

Opposing Strength

Controlled Blessings

Pyro-Mouthiac

Foster Friendship

Cover-ruption

Christian Consideration

Lovely Treasure

The Valuable Immaculate Conception

Name above All Names

Open Rebellion

Baptism

The Sword of God's Word

Worship Who?

God's Kingdom in Jesus

Angler with and for Jesus

Christian Virtue Step One

Eternal Comfort

Glorious Inheritance

Soul Food

Vicarious Purity

Sons of God

Persecuted

Seasoned with Mercy and Grace

This Little Light of Mine

Blessed Assurance

Entry Requirements to Heaven

Warning, Danger!

First Things First

The Heart of the Matter

Drastic Measures

To Tell the Truth

What Does Love Have to Do with It? Everything!

Earthly or Heavenly Rewards

Purposeful Prayer

Is God Your Father?

Your Kingdom Come!

Seek God's Kingdom First

Forgive Us Our Debts

Deliver Us

Forgive

Earthly Treasure or Heavenly Reward

Who Is Your Master?

First Things First

First Things First

No Worries

What Goes Around Comes Around

Godly Discernment

Godly Persistence

The Standard

Beware

To Know Is To Love

All Authority in Heaven and on Earth

Be Clean

Let It Be Done for You

Is Jesus in Your Boat?

Time and Eternity

Grace Rejected

Who Is This Man?

Come Follow Me

The Bride's Preparations

True Worship

Harvest Time Now

All Power Belongs to Jesus

Freely Give

Holy Endurance

Life and Death

Well-Known

Undeniable

Finders Weepers, Losers Keepers

No Offense

Godly Apprenticeship

Humble Obedience, Not Religious Robots

Learn to Do Good!

You Reap What You Sow

Let Your Light Shine

Be Thou My Vision

Conditional Establishment

God's Light Is Right

God's Greatest Gift

Name Calling

Who Is Really in Charge?

Glory Divine

Salvation

The End before the New Beginning

Destructive Pride

Perfect Peace in Trust

Winging It

Fide et Fortitudine (Faith and Courage)

Thought Died from Thinking

Pray for Peace

Bumbling Boastfulness

Abiding Living Word

Awesome Almighty Architect

Almighty Personal God

Perfect Peace

Delightful Jesus

Know and Tell

God Is and People Count

No Vain Thing

Make It Right

Don't Get Burned!

When Peace Like a River Attendeth…

God's Great Salvation

It Ain't No Fairy Tale

Life in Unending Righteousness

Dedicated Traveler

Stunning King of Kings

Healing Wounds

God's Kindness Leads Us

Imparted Power and Righteousness

All Who Are Thirsty, Come

This Is It

Take It to Heart

Revived Unto Holiness

Holy Hunger

Honor the Lord's Day

The Truth

The Standard

The Light and Glory

Good News!

Patient Righteousness and Praise

Brutal Honesty

Paradise Restored

What Can I Give Him, Poor As I Am?

Humbled

I Double Dare You

Knowing God

Bowing Is a Big Deal

God is Large and In Charge

The Way Up

Who Owns You?

Time with God

Let Your Light So Shine

God Holds All Keys of Power

Who Is Jesus?

Consider the Gospel

World-Renowned Faith

Flexible Faith

Power

Gospel Righteousness

Personal Accountability

The Truth versus the Lie

The Heart of the Matter

Faith and Law—Kissing Cousins

The Surgery of Faith

Guts and Glory

Tough Love

Pure Love

How Dare We?

I Reckon

God's Riches at Christ's Expense

Delivered

Are You Acquitted?

No Fear!

Ripe Fruits of Paradise!

All Good!

On to Glory!

Selfless Love

You Got This!

His

Solid Confession

Beautiful Feet

Prove It

Genuine Love

Brotherly Love

Hope-Filled Living

Hospitality

Bless and Bless Again!

Empathetic Love

Be Love Minded

Peaceful Living

Overcoming Love

God Rules

Godly Debt

The Law, God's Love Letter to Man

Put on the Armor of Light

Let Go and Let God

Timing Matters

Love over Liberty

On Guard

Skillful Living Is Good

Powerful Cross

What Are We Doing?

Godly Knowledge

Foundational Building

Christlikeness

Be Separate

Holy Spirit Residence

Matrimonial Responsibility

Transparent Love

Gospel Passion

The Great Escape

Order

Holy Spirit Clarity

Super Love

Godly Motivation

The Plan for Man

The Plan for Man

Heaven's Comfort

Victory March

Christ, God's Sufficiency for Man

Unseen Reality

Compelling Love

Christian Diplomacy

Holy Communion

Sorrow to Salvation

Rich Liberality

Gracious Giving

Who Goes Down, God Brings Up

Simple Gospel Truth

Thorny Gift

Supreme Exam

Love Born of Knowledge

Win-Win

Constrained Conduct

Advancement Granted through Suffering

Others Focused

Name above All Names

Growing in Salvation

Children of the Light

Lost and Found

Heavenly Minded

Homeland

The Lord Is at Hand!

What, Me Worry?

Worry-Free Living

Think on These Things

Contentment

All Things

Irresistible Choice

The Good Life

No Pain, No Gain

Believing Is Seeing!

Holy Conversion

Holy War

Commendable Love and Forgiveness

Love is Good!

The Righteous Line

Who?

Unassailable Hope

Live and Pray with the End in Mind

Victorious and Intense Love

Commitment

What Are You Wearing?

Cast Your Cares

Resistance Is Not Futile

Purpose-Driven Suffering

Know God, Know Peace

Overwhelmingly Well Equipped

These Things

Open Your Eyes

Growing in Christ

Life Changing Evidence

Coming Again

Holy Conduct

Epic Promises

Walking with Jesus

Eyewitness Testimony

Shine, Jesus, Shine

The Sin Problem and Solution

Do You Know Him?

The Test of Knowing God

Integrity of Faith

What Are You Living For?

Lust Proof Your Life

Be Heavenly Minded

Jesus—Messiah, Fake or Fact?

Fatal Denial

Faith Comes by Hearing

Divine Adoption

Exemplary Example

Motivated to Purity by Love

Whiter than Snow

Family Resemblance

Proof Is in the Pudding

Love Is Essential

Love Is Life

Tough Love

Charitable Love

A Matter of Conscience

Blessed Assurance

Spiritual Litmus Test

Is That You, Jesus?

Victory in Jesus

Family Resemblance—Love

Metamorphosis

Free Choice

No Fear

Overcomer

Judge For Yourself

This Is the Life

Not My Will But Yours

Divine Protection

Where Are You Going?

What Are You Living For?

Love Truth and Eternal Life

What Is Truth?

Jesus Savior, Pilot Me

About the Author

In the Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

—Genesis 1:1–2

In Hebrew, Genesis means beginning. This is the book of beginnings. For a proper understanding of life, you must begin with God in the beginning. There is no life beginning without Him. Thinking that all we see around us came into existence by primordial chance and is maintained by extraordinary coincidence is intellectual suicide. It is not possible for the order, symmetry, beauty, and complexity in life we see and experience to come from chaos mixed in with copious amounts of time. As scientists discover just how complex life is on the cellular level, they realize the need for longer periods of time to try and make sense of the statistically impossible probability calculated to form even the most simple of organic compounds necessary for life.

Consider how we make things. People create by assembling raw materials together, through intelligent design, preparation, and order. Cars, homes, clothing, furniture, paintings, songs, computers, and others don't just happen by time and chance. These simple things are assembled with a great deal of thought and purposeful execution. How does it make sense then to think that your body just evolved to be the way it is? It is far more complex and beautiful than time and circumstance or intelligent man could ever assemble, let alone conceive. It stands to reason that the earth, the universe, and all living things were created by a superior intelligent being. We know Him as God.

If this is true, then why do very smart people want to foist a statistically impossible theory of chance origin and creature evolution, rather than accept the obvious? There are many reasons, but certainly this one tops the list—accountability. Many do not want to be accountable to anyone other than themselves. They put the created in highest esteem rather than the creator, in order to live the way they want. They don't want to be accountable to the God who made them, because the conscience God put in all of us universally screams damning implications for their relativistic, immoral, and wicked lifestyles. They need a way to silence that voice. This is one reason why evolution has grown from scientific theory to scientific religious dogma.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He prepared this planet that we call earth, and He set all the elements and compounds in place to support life. The Hebrew word created used in this verse means to make something out of nothing. God created the raw materials, the atoms, and elements necessary for this planet to exist. He conceived in His superintelligent mind what would work to support the life He saw in His mind. God didn't make things necessary for life to abandon the whole enterprise. How ridiculous a thought! No, He hovered over the face of the earth like a hen hovers over her newly laid eggs, keenly vested in and interested in what and who He will create, especially, my beloved reader, you.

January 1

Pristine Goodness

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed [it was] very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

—Genesis 1:31

The first day, God spoke light into existence. God declared it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. He called the light day and the darkness night.

The second day, God created the firmament to separate the waters on the earth from the waters above the earth. Firmament is the vault of heaven or sky.

On the third day, God separated the water from the land. He called the dry land earth and the gatherings of water seas. God saw this was good. On the dry land, He created grass, herbs, and fruit trees. God saw that this was good.

On the fourth day, God created the sun, moon, and stars, and set the earth in motion, causing signs and seasons for days and years. God saw that this was good.

On the fifth day, God made the sea creatures, fish, and birds. God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.

On the sixth day, God made animals, cattle, and creeping things and beasts of the earth, each according to its kind.

Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26–27).

He gave man dominion over all things on the earth and sea. His food was the herb and fruit from the trees. The beasts and animals were given the same diet. Perfect harmony, order, beauty, and function were established at the beginning of creation by the Triune God. God is an all-powerful, superintelligent being, and His work is always good. Man cannot charge God with any wrong or error in all of creation. Everything He made was very good.

January 1

Evening

Life Partner

And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.

—Genesis 2:18 (NKJV)

This is the first time God acknowledges that something in His creation is not good. Man was not designed to be alone. He designed and made us social beings. Generally, when we are alone, we are not in a good place. Animals, birds, and things are a poor substitute for human companionship. We need each other for love, support, procreation, and we need our Creator God for life, purpose, and meaning. Even though man finds much fulfillment in the work God has given him to do, we need to express love and be loved by someone.

Now, the Lord God brought the beasts of the field and birds of the air to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature that was its name (Genesis 2:19). After he had named the animals and birds, Adam was disappointed there was no other human being for companionship.

The Lord God caused Adam to go into a coma and performed surgery by removing one of his ribs. Using the rib, He made a female helper. Adam's response to the beautiful woman God had made is worth noting. He exclaimed, Wow, this is it! (The idea of excitement is conveyed in the Hebrew text but is not present in the English translation.)

In this passage, we see some very important concepts relating to God's plan for marital relations. Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man (Genesis 2:23). God said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24).

Woman was made from the rib of man, a tangible expression by God for her to live and love alongside him. Made to be different but of equal worth and standing in His sight. The man had a job before he had a wife (naming animals and cultivating the garden), and he finds great satisfaction in his work; the woman was made for nurturing and loving relationships, and she finds great satisfaction in those meaningful, loving relationships.

The Lord made sexual intercourse as the ultimate expression of intimacy a man and woman can have together. Leaving father and mother to join together as one in holy matrimony according to God's plan is altogether public, sacred, permanent, private, and fruitful. The innocence experienced by Adam and Eve before the fall is realized on the marriage bed. It is in this context the married couple can be naked before each other and not be ashamed and fully experience the goodness designed for them by the Lord.

January 2

The Fall

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

—Genesis 3:7–8

Possessing the body of a reptilian lizard, Satan came to the woman unsolicited and uninvited to tempt her regarding God's command about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He questioned, Has God indeed commanded, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'? He twisted what God said to Adam. God had said, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (Genesis 2:16–17). Eve knew the prohibition and attending consequence if violated. Questioning or doubting what God commands is the first step on the path toward disobedience. Adam was there with Eve when Satan cast doubt on what God said. Yet, his silence is felt to this day.

Satan continued to explicitly contradict God's word. He told Eve, You will not surely die. God isn't telling you the whole truth. Look at you, why would He take your life? Aren't you the crowning jewel of His creation? Here is the real deal, God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Adam and Eve were like God already, for He had made them in His image, but Satan added another element to that truth appealing to the sense of intrigue and desire.

Desire and doubt entered Eve's mind. Perhaps, she thought, Is God holding back something good from me? I want to be like Him more. I want to know what He knows. If the serpent is right, then what do I have to lose. After all, what can be so bad about wanting to be more like God? The fruit does look very good, and if it will make me wise… Okay, I'll go for it and give some to Adam as well."

In that horrific moment, she and Adam realized the mistake they had made, for their eyes were opened and they realized for the first time the shame of nakedness. Innocence was gone, and mankind became fully aware and a participant of good and evil. We became infected with the fatal disease God calls sin. Sin has affected every aspect of our beings: body, mind, soul, and spirit.

We are aware of our nakedness, losing comfort both in our own skins and in the presence of our Maker. Our first reaction is to hide our shame and run from the Lord. When the Lord came into the garden to visit with Adam and Eve, they hid themselves from Him. To this very day, men and women run from the one true God because of sin. But, beloved, He is in the garden of your life looking for you run to Him, not hide from Him. Only He can remove the nakedness and shame of your sins, if you will in faith ask Him to.

January 3

Where Are You?

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?

—Genesis 3:9

When Adam and Eve plunged us all into sin by disobeying God's one command concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, mankind's innocence was gone. Realizing their nakedness, they attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves, and tried to hide from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Man has been trying to hide from Him ever since, but the God who knows all things and sees all things asks you a wonderful question of love, just as He asked Adam, Where are you? (Genesis 3:9). Think about this. These are the first recorded words of God to our parents after they had disobeyed, violated, and marred His perfect creation and themselves.

God sees the sins we commit, but He is reaching out to you in love and forgiveness. He loves you and has taken the punishment due you on Himself. He wants you in His presence. Don't run from Him, and don't be afraid. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10). God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus put it this way, Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28–30).

The question stands for you today, Where are you? God wants to redeem you and heal the breach between you and Him. Here is the only catch: you need to respond honestly to this question full of love and mercy. Say to Him, Here I am, Lord, a poor naked sinner. I have violated Your word and have gone my own way, but I don't want to run from You any longer. Here I am. Please forgive me of my sins, and restore the fellowship I have broken with You.

He knows where you are and what you are, but He loves you nonetheless. He has done everything possible to save you from the evil one and to bring you with Him in perfect paradise, where sin and evil are vanquished forever. When you come to Him as He bids you to come, come in faith, believing in the love and peace in the rest He promises you. His promise is not merely words spoken, but it is sacrifice given by His Son on a cruel cross for your sins, that you may enter into His gates in paradise with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations (Psalm 100:4–5). Beloved, today God asks, Where are you? What will you tell Him?

January 4

Consequences of Choice

Then the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.

—Genesis 3:12 (NKJV)

God questioned Adam, the man in authority over His creation, about why he disobeyed a direct command to not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, nor to even touch the tree. We will never know the outcome if Adam had just admitted his sin and came clean with God immediately. We see here a clear picture of our psyche and God's love and forbearance. Clearly, God had and has had every right to punish Adam with the penalty of immediate death for his sin. He could have sent Adam to the grave and started over. Creation wasn't that old, and no one would have known. But this is not the action of the God of love and mercy. He has a much bigger plan—one that we cannot fully comprehend with our finite minds.

God did not make us organic computers. He certainly could have programmed us to do exactly as He wanted, but the main attraction would be missing—our free will. Without free will, there is no capacity to love or appreciate love. Starting over really was not an option, because sooner or later, another Adam would fail and God would be back at square one again. God's plan involves a real choice with real people concerning a real relationship with Him, and it involves risks and rewards for both. Love works that way. God's plan to make man a being in His image with the capacity to create and choose is full of pitfalls and variables on the path to the end result God wants, which is a loving relationship where men come to God in the relationship because they sincerely love Him.

God's love and goodness are at extreme odds at this point. Adam just violated the only stipulation placed on him to prove he loved Him. God's goodness and rights were violated, and now Adam is not accepting responsibility for his own actions. He even blames God for giving him the woman. Additionally, he blames the woman for his own sin. How can we even think for a moment of faulting God for the evil we see in the world today when we can see right here why it is so. Man disobeys God's simple commandment to not touch a tree to prove his love and loyalty, and then he blames God for giving him the woman he loves as the reason he disobeyed God. According to Adam, our human representative, it is all God's fault. What does an all-powerful, all-knowing, just, and loving God do with that?

God keeps His end goal in mind—a loving relationship with beings made in His image. He does it without compromising any of His divine attributes or character. He forgives the man for his foolish accusation by letting him live for a limited time, rather than indefinitely. God does the same today. Beloved, He lets you live, even though you may not have an accurate view of what is going on. He will work with you as long as you live in order to show you that He loves you and has a plan of salvation that will allow you to exercise your free will between now and the grave to love Him. He won't make you love Him, but He will give you every opportunity to come clean with Him, to love Him, and to live with Him forever. The alternative will be to live, die, and spend eternity in a place of torment without Him. The free will choice is yours. Choose wisely.

January 5

Whom Do You Listen To?

Then to Adam He said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

—Genesis 3:17 (NKJV)

Whom do you listen to, and who captures your attention? Better yet, who influences your behavior? Is it God, or is it man? Do you even want to hear God's voice? Would you rather pay attention to the voices of the people around you, or do you focus in on what God says? Beloved, listening to man is where things are guaranteed to go awry. Adam chose to pay careful attention to Eve, and ignore the clear and simple command of God. The results were and continue to be devastating.

Fellowship with God was damaged and needed repair beyond man's ability. Innocence in relationships man enjoyed prior to the disobedience referred to as the fall is now saturated with selfish denial marked with shame and fear. All of creation groans under the weight of man's sin. Plagues, disasters, pestilences, diseases, discord, and death are all now part of the creation history, our history.

Work, which was intended to be for our enjoyment—to be a natural function rich with blessing and full of reward—is not always pleasant, is fraught with trouble, has become our taskmaster, is a requisite for survival, and is frequently toilsome.

Spiritual and physical unity among all men is gone, and real warfare between good and evil rages all around us in and for the hearts and souls of men. Confusion reigns among men, because many do not pay attention to the voice of God anymore. Real enmity exists between those who choose to listen to themselves—guided by that old serpent, Satan—and those who choose to harken unto the voice of the one true God, Maker of heaven and earth.

The ability to live forever has been thwarted. God drove man out from the Garden of Eden where the tree of life grew. Access to eternal life, our way, is denied. The desire God planted in us is still alive, but the means to attain immortality is narrow and specific. Now, the only way we can live forever with God, as God intended, is to heed His voice and follow His prescription.

The relationship between husband and wife is no longer egalitarian, it has become hierarchical. Generally speaking, the husband rules over the wife and the wife desires the husband's love and affections. This is not the way God created the marriage relationship, but with Christ at the center of this basic of all human relations, mutually submissive, loving marriages can and do flourish, even here on earth's sin-soaked shores.

Sorrow plagues the birthing process. What was intended to be fruitful and pleasant has been tainted with pain and sorrow, and at times death. The woman bears the brunt of birth pangs when delivering children into this world, a constant and painful reminder of our rebellion against God initiated by us obeying the wrong voice.

Today, God wants you to heed Him through His Son, Jesus, the Messiah who takes away the sins of the world. He said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him! (Matthew 17:5b).

January 6

Broken

Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

—Genesis 3:21

The disobedience of our parents radically altered all of perfection in creation. God killed an animal to clothe Adam and Eve. Blood of innocent animals was shed to cover nakedness and shame caused by our sin. Before sin, they were naked, the climate was perfect for their physical comfort, and there was complete transparency between the man and woman. There was total honesty and integrity, and no hidden agendas. Man lived in perfect harmony with nature. He enjoyed it, and it benefited from him.

Next time you see some tragedy of man—be it war, terrorism, an accident, disease, pestilence, or (un)natural disaster—remember the glimpse you see of life and creation before we rebelled against God, and ask yourself, Whose fault is it for all the evil in this world? Who is it that wanted to be like God to experience or know good and evil? Certainly, we got what we wanted and then some. Do not blame God for the disasters, wickedness, and evil you experience. Blame us. God is not responsible for the way things are today and for the killing of animals and sea creatures to support man's needs for food and clothing. We are.

God is now in the repair-and-restore business. We need to recognize that our sin carried with it a bloodred price tag. Innocent blood was shed to cover our nakedness, and according to the law of Moses, almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22).

This is why God sent His only begotten sinless Son Jesus. His innocent, sinless blood was shed to cover and pay for our sins. He is the perfect High Priest, who is able to satisfy the just punishment of death and damnation we deserve for our sins—once and for all.

Just as Adam and Eve received the covering of skins over their bodies to hide their nakedness and shame, so, too, you must receive the covering and cleansing of your sins through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. Open you heart today, and allow God's Son to cleanse and cover your sins with His own blood. Allow Him to cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God and receive the promise of the eternal inheritance prepared for those who are called to receive God's mercy and forgiveness.

January 7

Do Well

So the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.

—Genesis 4:6–7

Adam and Eve conceived and bore two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain, the firstborn, was a tiller of the soil, and Abel, the younger brother, raised livestock. During the course of time, they both brought offerings to the Lord. Cain brought his run-of-the-mill produce, but Abel brought the firstborn of his flock, his finest. Why bother to bring anything to the Lord if it isn't your best? You insult Him by bringing token gifts just to appease your conscience. Don't you realize that everything in this universe is His? What He wants and accepts is your worship. Worship isn't secondhand gifts or offerings. Worship is putting God first in your life in every area of your life. He doesn't want to be an afterthought of your heart.

God respected Abel's offering but not Cain's. This made Cain angry, and he showed his anger with his mood and attitude. It was written all over his face. Dear reader, nothing is ever hidden from the Lord. He sees and knows everything. He confronted Cain with this anger issue. God said, If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. In essence, God was saying, if you do the right thing, then you will be accepted by Me. You need to put Me first in your life. If you don't, you have bought into the lie of Satan. He has deceived you into thinking that what falls under your care and the rewards of what you do is yours and should remain yours. After all, the deceiver says you need to be looking out for yourself; if you don't, no one else will.

But it doesn't work like that.

God is looking for our best. He made and owns everything. He loves you and will always take care of you. God wants you to love and worship Him first, before anything else. Abel had the right idea. You are made to worship someone or something. Who or what you devote your time and treasure to is the recipient of your worship. Sin began to control Cain's life, and it will threaten to take over yours as well. Don't let that happen, because it will only drag you further away from God and bring you to destruction. You must rule over sin. You need to choose this day whom you will serve.

Beloved, the Lord is saying the same to you as He did to Cain way back in the beginning. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it (Genesis 4:7). Only God is worthy of your worship and trust. Riches and earthly goods are His.

Honoring the Lord with the first fruits of what He has given you keeps your heart in the right place with Him, and puts you into a trust relationship with Him. He has promised that if you seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, He will take care of the physical needs He knows that you have (Matthew 6). Steward of God's goods, do well, do well!

January 7

Evening

Everyone Has a Master

Then the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? And He said, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.

—Genesis 4:9–10

One day, after God had given good counsel and warning to Cain, he and his brother were out in a field talking. The conversation turned ugly, and Cain rose up and killed Abel. Here, we see the second man of creation taking the rebellion one step farther down the road of sin. He refused God's counsel to do the right thing and take mastery over sin. Pride, envy, and hatred overwhelmed Cain's heart. In this true story, we see two lines of humanity developing: the righteous and the unrighteous.

Unrighteous men ignore God. Either wittingly or unwittingly, they listen to the voice of their god, Satan, who from his advent to earth has been on a mission to destroy men. A good dose of envy seasoned by pride kindles the flames of sin high. Those who nurture these desires become blind to recognizing and understanding eternal realities. They don't see God's goodness to those who are righteous and His wrath to those who are unrighteous.

A humble man obedient to God will covet good things, but the man of pride who covets another's advantages, success, or possessions seeks ways to satiate those desires. This is a deadly combination that leads to strife and discord, as we have seen in Cain. For him, it led to the first murder. The former obeys God's commands and trusts in Him for all good things; the latter seeks what is desired by his own methods and schemes.

Sin is progressive. It takes each step of disobedience, and like a victim in quick sand, the sinner is fully enveloped and controlled by it. Cain wanted to go through religious motions to appease his conscience and give God his leftovers. He refused to listen to God and give of his best back to Him. Abel was a living, breathing reminder of this failure—thus, becoming the object of hatred and murder. In God's eyes, hatred is murder. If murder wasn't bad enough, Cain's sin led him to lie to God's face. See how powerfully sin ensnares.

Oh, beloved reader, there is only one way to escape such a predicament as this. If God is speaking to you right now, don't be like Cain. Surrender your way to Him. His timeless warning to Cain speaks to us, Sin is crouching at the door and its desire is to have you, but you must master it (Genesis 4:7). The only way to master sin is to submit to the Master who defeated sin on the cross for you and me. Surrender your life to Jesus today, make Him your Lord and Master, and ask His forgiveness and mercy for your sins. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

January 8

Seek the Lord

And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed. And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.

—Genesis 4:25–26

After Cain killed Abel, his brother, he left the area of his upbringing. He married one of his sisters and had offspring. The Lord does not tell us about their relationship with Him one way or the other; the silence implies that they didn't. He does tell us that they were skilled men, polygamists, and murderers. Men wandering from the Lord right at the beginning of creation. Cain's kids did some pretty remarkable things. They were musicians, craftsmen skilled in working with bronze and iron, and herdsmen.

Sadly, there is no mention of calling on the name of the Lord in Cain's line, but Adam and Eve had another son whom the Lord describes him to be of another seed. He was someone different, like Abel, a man who pleased the Lord. Seth followed after the Lord and His son, Enosh, did as well. This is when we read that men began to call on the name of the Lord. Right here in the beginning, we can see that there is a differentiation of men. Some men are righteous and call on the name of the Lord, and some men rely on their own rugged individualism, their own wits and skills. They do their own thing rather than rely on or call on the name of the Lord.

Today, there are many who want nothing at all to do with the Lord and His ways. They have no regard for eternal matters. Their concern is only for the here and now; they seek to gain everything they can for themselves with no regard for others.

On the other hand, there are other men of a different seed who are keen to the ways of the Lord; they rely on Him and want a relationship with Him. They seek Him. The Lord encourages men to seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6–7).

Beloved reader, your physical lineage does not determine your standing with the Lord in righteousness or unrighteousness. For all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but where you place the desire of your heart has everything to do with your standing with God. Your desire for Him or not will determine whether you will live with Him in heaven or without Him in hell.

Those who seek Him are found by Him, and have a relationship with Him. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you don't have a relationship with the only one true living God, seek Him now, call on His name, and discover the meaning of life eternal starting now!

January 9

What Is in a Name?

This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him.

—Genesis 5:1

This chapter of genealogies does not list every person in Adam or man's line from the beginning. This is the line from Adam through Seth, a man of a different seed, a godly man. It is fascinating to see why God listed these men, the meaning of their names, and the order they were born.

Beloved reader, God does everything for a purpose, and I believe there is significance in this passage because of the Hebrew meaning behind these names and the order in which they were born and given. Seth means set or appointed; Enosh means human being or mortal; Cainan (or Kenan) means sorrow or lamenter; Mahalalel means the blessed of God or the praise of God; Jared means to go down or descend (a going away from a place of prominence); Enoch means to pierce into, impress, instruct, make wise, and dedicated; Methuselah means his death will bring it, or when he dies it will come; Lamech means despairing or for lowering or humiliation; and Noah means comfort, quieting, soothing, a giving of rest.

Thus, we have in the order and meaning of the names this statement: God has appointed a man of sorrow to be the blessed of God to come down from a place of prominence to teach and dedicate. His death will bring it (judgment): humiliation, comfort, peace, and rest.

Truly, the word of God and purpose of God can be understood on multiple levels, this being one. Here He communicates the gospel message over the span of hundreds of years through the names of significant people. These names foretell God's salvation through Jesus, the man of sorrows acquainted with grief, who is God with us. He descended from heaven, taking on mortal flesh, and lived among us, teaching us how to live dedicated lives to God. His death was for judgment on our sins, and His resurrection brings us comfort, peace, and rest for eternity.

Beloved, this is a stunning revelation given by genealogy, it is no accident these names. God wants you to know His great love for you expressed in His only begotten Son and Savior of mankind, you can trust in Him and what He has done for you.¹

January 10

Who Are You Walking With?

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

—Genesis 5:24 (NKJV)

Have you ever observed what walking looks like? It looks like a controlled fall. When you walk, you lean forward and catch yourself in more or less rapid succession with your legs. To walk to is to put yourself at a risk of falling on your face.

Walking with God puts you in a trust relationship with Him. He will keep you from falling on your face. As you follow the Lord on His path of eternal life, you place your trust in Him rather than in yourself. Only He can deliver your soul from death, your eyes from tears, and your feet from falling (Psalm 116:8) as He guides you steadily away from sin toward holiness on the narrow and difficult path which leads to heaven.

When you walk with someone, generally, you walk in step; you don't go ahead or too far behind, but you remain alongside, perhaps even holding your partner's hand. What a beautiful demonstration of agreement. To walk with God is to agree with Him and see things as He sees them. As you walk with someone, don't you find it wonderful that you are not alone and that you help each other along the difficult terrain as you make your way through it?

Walking with God is much the same, for He is with you each step of the way. As you journey with Him, you talk and enjoy His company along the way, trusting completely in Him for everything. We observe, learn, and agree with what He teaches us, then, in a manner of speaking, we are not—for God takes us.

To walk God's way means we surrender our lives and wills to Him. Jesus put it this way, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24). At the end of our earthly travels with God on the narrow path, He takes us home to be with Him. Beloved reader, it is never too late in life to walk with God. Enoch started when he was sixty-five years old.

If you sense that you need a change in direction and you want to live forever in glory and enjoy God's presence starting right now, take the first step and put your hand in the strong nail-scarred hand of the Lord Jesus Christ and walk with God by faith.

January 11

Signs of the End

So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

—Genesis 6:7–8

Why would the Lord destroy man and animals which He had made? What were things like just before the flood which brought the Lord to such wrath? There are three things here which justifiably aroused the wrath of God against man.

First, we read of deviant sexual demonic activity with the daughters of men. It says, The sons of God [fallen angels] saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. They were the giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:2, 4). The offspring of these sexual unions were called Nephilim, or fallen ones.

Second, every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. Man's imagination was energized with perversity. Imagination comes from the root word image. Man follows what he sees or imagines himself doing or being. The view from a heart in rebellion against God is foolishly selfish. Such are only interested in doing their own thing; they clamor after this world's riches and revel in ungodly deeds which they commit in an ungodly way. They are grumblers, complainers, who walk according to their own lust, and they mouth great swelling words, flattering the people to gain advantage (Jude 1:15b–16).

Third, we read that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. Wickedness can be described as sin on steroids. It is rooted in and springs from hell. A wicked or twisted man has one or more of these characteristics in his life: sexual perversion, unholiness, ungodliness, profanity, blasphemy, immorality, corruption, and all sorts of heinous behaviors. Before the flood, God gave man fair warning to repent from his wickedness. His Spirit worked hard to convince men of their sin and unrighteousness. He warned them His patience would end. Man would have 120 years to repent before He would destroy the world with a catastrophic flood.

This is what the world was like at that time, and this is what it will be like before Jesus returns in final judgment and wrath. He said that when He comes on the clouds of glory, it will be like the days of Noah. And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all (Luke 17:26–27). The only people spared were Noah and his immediate family, for Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah responded to God's grace in faith and built the ark, the vessel of his salvation from death. Will you respond today to the grace available in Christ Jesus and in faith trust Him to spare you from the sure and coming wrath of God on all those who refuse His Spirit's earnest work to turn from wicked unbelief to faith?

January 12

Trust and Obey

Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

—Genesis 6:22

For 120 years, Noah cut, fastened, and fit gopher wood, covering it and the joints with pitch in preparation for the coming flood. Imagine the ridicule and mockery he faced as people saw him building this monstrous boat he claimed God told him to build as he preached repentance to wicked humanity.

Faith responds in persevering obedience to divine revelation. Faith is the power line between heaven and earth, between God and man; it rests on poles of God's assurance and carries the current of pleasure to God and to the man of faith: joyful anticipation and godly conviction.

The Lord noted that Noah was a just man, blameless among the people of his day. The Lord gave specific instructions for building the ark like what wood to use, the method of sealing the structure for water tightness, dimensions, location of the door, location of the window, and the number of decks. Noah did all that God commanded him.

Men and women of faith do not pick and choose what to follow when it comes to God's commands; they submit to His authority. They know that His ways are higher than their ways and His thoughts higher than their thoughts. God's commands are not burdensome; He gives them for a good purpose and helps you fulfill them. In this case, the specifications for the ship were vital to follow for Noah and his precious cargo's safe rescue.

I imagine there were days Noah didn't want to travel great distances to cut down and drag gopher wood trees to the construction site. The other trees close by looked like they would work just fine. Why not use them for the interior work? Noah could have reasoned, I don't remember God saying I couldn't use the other trees. What harm is there if I make the interior decks and rooms from these trees close by? After all, they are easier to work with. Besides, God will make sure that things turn out all right.

Men and women who love God, walk with Him, and trust Him would rather die than disobey Him.

They live life with an entirely different goal in mind. This earth is not home, heaven is. They are looking for the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10). Those who die in faith not having received in their lifetime on earth the promises, but having seen them afar off, are assured of them. They embrace them and confess that they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Hebrews 11:13). People who live the life of faith find grace in the eyes of the Lord, and are rescued from the judgment and wrath of God against unrepentant sinners.

January 13

The Wrath of Holy God

Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.

—Genesis 9:11

The wrath of God against wicked man had ended. God loves His creatures and man whom He had made, but He hates the sin and evil that man engages in. Sin and evil are destructive cancers to creative goodness. Evil behavior and thoughts shall never survive the presence, power, and wrath of uniquely omnipotent, good Creator God known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Love and wrath are closely related. Love will take whatever means are necessary to stop destructive behavior and attitudes to protect the objects of that love. Men and women have fought in life-and-death conflicts against the evil intent on destroying them for love of country and countrymen in war. Mothers and fathers who love their children teach them right from wrong, sometimes implementing strong discipline in order to protect them from selfish, destructive, and deceitful desires intended against them for harm.

In the case of a worldwide flood, God needed to stop people from destructive hell on earth. The flood was God's time-out; it was His rod against a humanity which had no regard for what He had made or who He is. They had rejected Him and His good plans for them. They didn't want Him, nor did they want to play by His rules. Beloved, never forget this, God is good, He made this universe, and He made the rules and provided the way to live in peace and harmony with Him and all that He made. If you, the apple of His creative eye, think you can ignore Him, you had better think again.

The love for all He has made will put a rebellious you on a collision course with His wrath if you do not understand this.

God promised never again to destroy man and all flesh with a flood; the sign He gave is the rainbow in the sky. The bow in the sky reminds Him of that specific promise He made to Noah and all his descendants forever. Does this mean we can live in rebellion as the wicked generation before the flood did and not be concerned about God's anger against sin? Don't deceive yourself, man will never get away with his sin, but unrepentant sin will do away with man. Hell is a place designed for those who prefer their sin over the Savior; there, they will forever live absent from God's love and protection, which thought alone is terrifying. In this place, unrestrained fallen angels of evil are unleashed against them—forever.

If you don't want to obey God, you don't have to, but you have been warned of the eternal consequences to such arrogance. He will let you have what you want, but if you don't turn aside from your evil ways, dear reader, you will never be allowed to live in His presence knowing His love for you. God rescues and eternally protects those who by faith receive His love and grace from those who reject His unconditional love and forgiveness demonstrated on the cross of Jesus Christ. God's wrath was poured out against all flesh in the flood, and wicked men perished.

Today, God's wrath against your sin has been poured out on His Son, Jesus. Pray for His blood to cover your sins, thus you will, like Noah, experience His undeserved mercy, grace, and rescue.

January 14

Follow Me

Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.

—Genesis 12:1–2 (NKJV)

The Lord commanded Abram to leave family and follow Him. God chose Abram to be a blessing, and he responded. He departed from his father's house and followed where the Lord brought him. He believed in the word of the Lord. This was no small request that God asked Abram to follow. Family was everything to him, just as it is in many cultures today. You received identity from your father.

Abram was known as the son of Terah. All of your significant relationships were centered on family. Parents arranged for the marriages of their children. Business development was accomplished by relationships starting with family. God was asking Abram to leave this all behind him and follow Him and only Him.

Essentially, God commanded Abram to do what He commands us to do, follow Him and only Him. Don't let family and friends distract or prevent you from following the Lord Jesus. His plan for Abram was to make him and his posterity into a great nation, to make him a blessing. Despite Abram's faults and sins, God did just that because Abram believed God and obeyed Him by putting Him first in His life and following only Him. This was credited to him as righteousness.

Believer, how long has it been that you have taken inventory of your life since Jesus called you and chose you to follow Him. Are you fully following Him in all He has commanded you to do? Are you seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness no matter what the cost to you personally? Do you stand up for Him when His name is trashed in cursing and