The Pride Of Man.

Genesis 10-11

Let’s build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies – a monument to our greatness! This will bring us together and keep us from scattering all over the world. – Genesis 11:4 NLT

Chapter ten chronicles the multiplication of Noah's descendants after the flood. We are given a genealogical record of the offspring of Ham, Shem, and Japheth, the sons of Noah. From these three men "the nations were separated on the earth after the flood" (Genesis 10:32 NASB) – which was in keeping with God's command given to Noah and his sons immediately after the flood: "Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth" (Genesis 9:1 NIV). From all indications, they were doing just that. They were multiplying and filling the earth. But chapter 11 presents an interesting parenthesis in the story. In the midst of all the multiplying it seems that mankind decided to take matters into its own hands – literally. Rather than honor God by obediently filling the earth, they decided to stay in one spot, build a great city, and bring glory and honor to themselves. There seems to be nothing inherently wrong with them building a city. But there WAS something wrong in the motive behind it. They wanted to make a name for themselves. That phrase in the Hebrew has to do with reputation, fame, and glory. In other words, they wanted to do something that would make them famous. Not only that, but they wanted to build "a tower whose top will reach into heaven." This wasn't going to be just any tower, but a tower that would form as a link into heaven – the very dwelling place of God. Their ambition was great, and so was their pride. Their intent was evil. Matthew Henry has this to say about these people in his commentary:

It seems designed for an affront to God himself; for they would build a tower whose top might reach to heaven, which bespeaks a defiance of God, or at least a rivalship with him. They would be like the Most High, or would come as near him as they could, not in holiness but in height. They forgot their place, and, scorning to creep on the earth, resolved to climb to heaven, not by the door or ladder, but some other way. They hoped hereby to make themselves a name; they would do something to be talked of now, and to give posterity to know that there had been such men as they in the world. Rather than die and leave no memorandum behind them, they would leave this monument of their pride, and ambition, and folly. – Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible

To this day, mankind has a propensity to try and be like god. We want to be famous. We want to achieve. We want to accomplish great things. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with ambition or achievement. But when we allow what we can do, either individually or collectively, to become a means by which we defy God or attempt to replace God in our lives, we are walking on very thin ice. God had told Noah and his sons to multiply and fill the earth, not build monuments to their own ingenuity and creativity. God had not put men on the earth to make themselves famous, but to make Him famous. This was never meant to be about us, but about Him. But we are always trying to make it about us. Each of us spends a great deal of time trying to build a "tower whose top will reach into heaven." We want to be noticed. We want to experience some degree of fame. Just look at all the reality TV shows that have become so popular. Everyone seems to want to be a celebrity of some sort. Achievement has become a fixation. Our own glory has become more important than God's. We worry more about what others think of us, than Him.

Spared by God from the destruction He brought on the entire earth, the descendants of Noah soon forgot about the grace they had received from God and became obsessed with their own plan for power, prominence, and position. But God will not be mocked. He will not be disobeyed. He will not share His glory with anyone. So He came down and threw a monkey-wrench into their plans. Now, instead of them enjoying the convenience of a common language, they would find themselves speaking a variety of confusing tongues. "In that way, the LORD scattered them all over the earth; and that ended the building of the city" (Genesis 11:8 NLT). Construction stopped. But sadly, the rebellion didn't. To this day we see that men have never really stopped trying to build their tower to heaven. Pride is a powerful thing. Power is an intoxicating thing. Man is always trying to build a monument to his own greatness. But in the end, God will be the only one to receive glory.

Father, You alone deserve glory and honor. You created us. You sustain us. You spare us from Your divine judgment every day. But we somehow think that we are greater than we really are. We read our own press clippings and buy into the idea that we are really something special. But without You we are nothing. Our power is pitiful. Our achievements are miniscule. But our pride is immeasurable. Forgive us for attempting to build towers to heaven. Forgive me for trying to make myself famous, when only You deserve fame and glory.  Amen

Remnant...Delivered.

Genesis 8-9

By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. – Genesis 8:13 NIV

Paradise was destroyed. Eden was no more. The earth as it had been made by God was now radically different. God, as a result of His justice and holiness, had been forced to destroy His own creation. Yet in His grace and mercy, God had spared a small remnant of His creation. Two of every kind of creature and the family of His servant Noah. For over a year Noah, his family, and a menagerie of assorted birds, animals, and creatures, lived in the confines of the ark he had made while the rest of the world perished in a world-wide flood of epic proportions. They had been spared from God's wrath by God's own plan. Noah didn't come up with the idea for the ark, God did. It was built according to God's design, not Noah's. Noah had never even seen a lake, let alone a boat! And it was God who sealed them in to the ark, closing the door behind them (Genesis 7:16).

God delivered them from His own wrath. He provided a way of escape that they could never have dreamed of or provided on their own. He spared them from destruction and allowed them to experience a new life. There are so many parallels to our own salvation story. We too were destined to die. But God reached down and chose to save us. He made us part of a remnant, a small group whom He would spare from His wrath. Then He provided a way of escape that we could never have come up with on our own. He gave His own Son to die in our place. All so that we might have new life. But there are also a lot of dissimilarities in this story. Unlike our salvation, Noah's would not result in eternal life. He stepped out of the ark to find a radically different world than the one he had left, but it was not idyllic and heavenly. In fact, he would find it to be hostile and still prone to the effects of sin, because the ark didn't transform his sons into saints – it only delivered them from death and destruction. So within just a days of disembarking from the ark, sin would raise its ugly head again. Noah would get drunk, fall asleep naked in his tend, and his own son, Ham, would walk in and find him that less-than-flattering state. Ham shames his father even further by telling his brothers about his father's condition – probably in a condescending and disrespectful manner. As a result of his actions, Ham's descendants would be cursed by God. The impact of this curse would be far-reaching because the Canaanites would go on to be a proverbial thorn in the flesh of the Israelites for generations.

Yet, God had spared Noah. And Noah's response was to build an altar to his God and offer sacrifices of thanksgiving for the deliverance He had provide. And God responded by making a covenant with Noah, his descendants, and every living creature. "I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth" (Genesis 9:11 NIV). God knew that mankind had not changed. He knew that the world had been destroyed, but not the reign of sin. He knew that men would continue to live in open rebellion to Him, and that further destruction would be both just and right. But He chose to show grace and mercy by making a covenant never to destroy mankind in that way ever again.

The particular intention of this covenant. It was designed to secure the world from another deluge: There shall not any more be a flood. God had drowned the world once, and still it was as filthy and provoking as ever, and God foresaw the wickedness of it, and yet promised he would never drown it any more; for he deals not with us according to our sins. It is owing to God’s goodness and faithfulness, not to any reformation of the world, that it has not often been deluged and that it is not deluged now. As the old world was ruined to be a monument of justice, so this world remains to this day, a monument of mercy, according to the oath of God, that the waters of Noah should no more return to cover the earth, Isa. 54:9. This promise of God keeps the sea and clouds in their decreed place, and sets them gates and bars; hitherto they shall come, Job 38:10, 11. If the sea should flow but for a few days, as it does twice every day for a few hours, what desolation would it make! And how destructive would the clouds be, if such showers as we have sometimes seen were continued long! But God, by flowing seas and sweeping rains, shows what he could do in wrath; and yet, by preserving the earth from being deluged between both, shows what he can do in mercy and will do in truth. Let us give him the glory of his mercy in promising and of his truth in performing. – Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible

God spared Noah. He has also spared those who have place their faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Those of us who have stepped into the "ark" of faith in Christ have been assured of our eternal security. We will never face destruction at the hand of a holy and righteous God. Yet we still sin. We rebel against the rule of God in our lives daily. But God is faithful to keep His covenant with us. He will not go back on His commitment to keep us, protect us, and deliver us. Every day we live in the unbelievable shadow of His mercy and grace. We live because Jesus died, not because we deserve to live. We enjoy life in the presence of God because Jesus gave His own life on our behalf. We have been graciously spared. So let us honor the One who made it possible.

Father, like Noah, I live because You spared me, not because I deserved to live. I live because You provided a way of escape. You placed me in the ark of Your Son and rescued me from destruction. I didn't earn it or deserve it. It was a gift of Your matchless grace. And even though I still sin against You each day, Your covenant with me is unbreakable because You are totally faithful. Thank You for Your grace and mercy.  Amen

Fellowship...Maintained.

Genesis 6-7

Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with him. – Genesis 6:9 NLT

Yesterday we saw how quickly the world degenerated once sin entered the picture. Cain killed his brother, is banned from the garden, and loses his fellowship with God. Men began multiplying, having children after their own kind. In other words, the sin nature of Adam was spread from one generation to the next. And chapter six lets us know that things were getting worse, not better. Even the descendants of Seth, who at least called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26), had determined to intermarry with the ungodly descendants of Cain and others who were in open rebellion to God in those days (Genesis 6:1-2). I don't think the opening verses of chapter six are referring to fallen angels coming to earth to have sex with human beings because angels do not procreate. Instead, I believe that we are being told that the influence of the ungodly is becoming so great that they are contaminating the human race to such a degree that few, if any, are left who truly know and serve God. In fact, it is so bad that we are told, "The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time" (Genesis 6:5 NASB). It had gotten so bad so quickly, that God determined to destroy mankind, retaining a godly remnant.

Only one man found favor in God's eyes – Noah. "But Noah found favor with the LORD ... Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with him" (Genesis 6:8-9 NLT). In the midst of all the sin and rebellion, one man had maintained his walk with God. The New American Standard translates verse 9 as follows: "Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God." He walked with God. That word "walked" carries with the idea of intimacy. It is a picture of Noah "rubbing shoulders" with God. Somehow he had managed to stay faithful to God in spite of being surrounded by a generation of individuals who walked in complete isolation and independence from God. We are told that Noah was blameless. That is the Hebrew word tamim (8549) and it means "complete, blameless."  This word pertains to something that is completely intact, free from blemishes or defects. Often the focus is on moral goodness, being guiltless and thus not liable for sin. It was often used to describe an animal that was suitable for sacrifice. So Noah was a man of moral goodness and uprightness. He had kept himself pure. This is not saying he was without sin or morally perfect, but that he was faithful to God. This is not about Noah's righteousness, but God's grace in the midst of sin. God chose Noah, not based on his merit, but as an expression of His own grace. One commentary puts it this way:

"The grace he found was not on account of his own merit, but on account of the mercy of God: and this shows that he was not without sin, or he would have stood in no need of the mercy and grace of God to save him; and as he found grace and favour in things spiritual, so in things temporal; he found favour with God, and therefore he and his family were spared, when the whole world of the ungodly were destroyed; he found favour with God, and therefore was directed by him to build an ark, for the saving of himself and his; he found favour with him, and therefore he had the honour of being the preserver of mankind, and the father of a new world." – The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible

The story of Noah is a story of God's grace and mercy in the midst of man's sin and rebellion. Noah found favor in God's eyes. God looked down and showed kindness and mercy to Noah and his family. In fact, the Hebrew expression “find favor [in the eyes of]” is an idiom meaning “to be an object of another’s favorable disposition or action,” “to be a recipient of another’s favor, kindness, mercy.” God showered His goodness and kindness of Noah. But we can't ignore the fact, that while Noah did not deserve the grace of God, he had maintained his walk with God. He had stayed faithful to God in very difficult surroundings. It is possible for us as believers in God and followers of Christ to walk with God – regardless of how bad things may appear around us. We can and should maintain our fellowship with the Father even though everyone around us walks away from Him. Noah lived in corrupt and violent times (Genesis 6:11-12). So do we. Noah was surrounded by men who had rejected God and lived according to their own wills and desires. We find ourselves in the same position. But Noah walked with God. And so should we.

Father, forgive me for NOT walking with You as much as I should. I find it so easily to become distracted by the things of this world and start walking away from You. But I want to walk with You. I want to experience daily intimacy with You. I want to grow in my knowledge of and love for You. And there is no reason why I shouldn't be able to, because Your Spirit lives within me. So please continue to show me how to walk in truth and righteousness, integrity and moral faithfulness – even in the midst of all the sin that surrounds me.  Amen

Fellowship...Destroyed.

Genesis 4-5

So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. – Genesis 4:16 NIV

Once sin entered the picture, it didn't take long for things to start going bad. Chapter four opens with the births of Cain and Abel. While painful experiences, like most childbirths, these would have been joyous occasions. But the joy didn't last long. Cain and Abel grew up and so did their sin natures. Over in chapter five we are told that Adam's sons were born "in his own likeness" (Revelation 5:3). Unlike their father Adam, who was made in the likeness of God, Cain and Abel were born in the likeness of their sinful father. They inherited his propensity to sin. So it is not surprising that eventually that nature raised its ugly head. And it came about in a surprising way. All in regards to a sacrifice made to the Lord. We are not told that this was a requirement that God had made. Nowhere in the passage does it indicate that God had commanded sacrifices to be made to Him. But both Cain and Abel bring a sacrifice to God. Cain, being a farmer or cultivator of the fields, brought an offering from the fruit of the ground. Abel, a shepherd, brought an animal sacrifice. Again, we are not told that God had required a sacrifice at all, let alone a particular type of sacrifice. The issue seems to be in regards to the manner in which the sacrifice was brought. In Hebrews we are given a little bit of insight into what was going on: "It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. God accepted Abel’s offering to show that he was a righteous man" (Hebrews 11:4 NLT). So this seems to be less about the kind of offering than the faith of the one who brought it. Verse 4 of chapter four indicates that Abel brought as his offering the first-born among the flock. He gave to God the very first of his flock. But their is no indication that Cain did the same. Some believe that Cain gave God from the leftovers. To give God the first of your flock or produce is an act of faith. You are having to trust God to provide from what is left over. To satisfy yourself first, then give God from what is left is NOT an act of faith. It is a reflection of a lack of faith in God. You doubt that He can provide, so you horde and hide from Him what is best. That seems to be what happened here.

But the result of it all is that Cain's sacrifice is not regarded or looked upon with favor by God, and Cain is furious. So much so that he becomes jealous of his brother and murders him. In just a short period of time, the sin of man goes from simple disobedience to the commands of God to murder. The downward spiral had begun. And it all began in the heart of Cain. Long before he murdered Abel, Cain began to show signs of sin's effect. He was selfish toward God. He suffered from anger, depression, and jealousy. God even questioned him about it. "'Why are you so angry?' the LORD asked him. 'Why do you look so dejected?'" (Genesis 4:6 NLT). Then God gave him the remedy to his situation. God may have rejected Cain's sacrifice, but He had not rejected Cain. He tells him, "You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must subdue it" (Genesis 4:7 NLT). God was out to teach Cain a valuable lesson through this circumstance, but he had to respond in the right way. He had to learn from his mistake. This had less to do about the sacrifice than about Cain's attitude. God warned Cain that sin was out to get him. And it would get the best of him. He was going to lose the battle with sin if he did not respond to God in the right way. And that is true for all of us today. In every circumstance of life God has lessons He wants to teach us. But we must respond in the right way. We must come to Him in faith, humbly asking Him to show us what He has to teach us. If we refuse, sin will raise its ugly head, and we will end up responding in anger, bitterness, resentment, hate, and yes, even murder at times.

As a result of Cain's actions, he is banned from God's presence. Verse 16 is probably one of the saddest statements in the entire Bible: "So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence..." (Genesis 4:16 NIV). No longer would he enjoy the beauty of Eden and the fellowship of God. His sin had destroyed all that. He found himself wandering and wondering what would happen to him. And that is the lot of all men who live in rebellion against God. We may build cities. We may attempt to build stable lives. But in the end, we will wander and wonder what is going to happen to us. We live lives filled with fear about the future. We are constantly looking back over our shoulder, wondering and worrying about the future. All peace is gone because God's presence is missing. And that same thing can happen to us as believers. Sin can still separate us from God. He never leaves us, but we can still experience a sense of distance from Him when we allow sin to reign in our lives. We tend to run and hide from Him when we sin. We are embarrassed, so we distance ourselves from Him. But God is still calling out to us as He did to Cain. "You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must subdue it" (Genesis 4:7 NLT). So how will you respond? In the right way or the wrong way? In faith or fear?

Father, I know sin crouches at the door, ready to pounce on me at any moment. I also know that I tend to respond to my circumstances in the wrong way. I fail to see You in them. I fail to allow You to teach me through them. Instead, I get angry and take matters into my own hands. I try to solve my problem in my own way, and it always leads to greater degrees of sin, not a solution. Help me to trust You more. Help me to see You more clearly in every circumstance of life. Because You are faithful. Amen

Paradise…Lost.

Genesis 2-3

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. – Genesis 3:8 NET

These two chapters are filled with sadness. In the midst of all the beauty that God has created, all the good things He has spoken into being, a dark cloud forms. It is the shadow of the fall. Man, created in the likeness of God, rebels against the very one who created him. Formed by the very hand of God and given life by the very breath of God, man turns and chooses to listen to the lies of the enemy. The first man and woman found themselves living in a perfect environment enjoying unbroken fellowship with God Himself. Their surroundings were beautiful. Their joy was complete. They had no taxes to pay, no neighbors to argue with, no stress, no media, no time constraints, no schedules to keep, or kids to worry about. They had it all. Including a capacity to sin. Because even in the midst of all this perfection, they managed to find a way to become dissatisfied with their lot in life. They found something they DIDN'T have in spite of all they DID have. And it seems to be associated with the one law or command that God gave them. He told them, "You may freely eat any fruit in the garden except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of its fruit, you will surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17 NLT). This was a command. It was non-negotiable. It was the one law they had to obey in order to live in the garden and to continue to enjoy unbroken fellowship with God. But there seems to be something about laws that cause all men to rebel. We are law-breakers by nature. We seem incapable of keeping any laws – even one.

The enemy knows our weakness when it comes to law keeping. And he knew Adam and Eve struggled with the same thing. I believe that as soon as God commanded them not to eat from that one tree, they both began to question in their heart what it would be like to eat from that tree. They began to think about it and consider it. The temptation began in their hearts long before Satan showed up on the scene. James makes this quite clear: "The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer" (James 1:14-15 MSG). Their problem was not the tree, the enemy, or the fruit. It was their hearts. All Satan did was fan the flame of desire that was smoldering there. He did it by questioning the trustworthiness of God. He sowed seeds of doubt into their hearts and minds regarding the word of God. And they bit – literally.

Eve saw that the tree was good for food. But this wasn't about food. She had every other tree in the garden to eat from. She saw something she knew she couldn't have, and she desired it. She began to lust after it. It was a delight to the eyes. It appealed to her senses. And on top of that, it could make her wise, like God. It appealed to her vanity and pride. But isn't that what all temptation does? It appeals to our basic instincts and senses. It promises to improve our life or enhance our well-being. It even whispers that we will be a little bit wiser if we give in. But the result is always the same: Disappointment. Because all temptation is a bait and switch. It promises something it can never deliver. But we consistently seem to give in – even thought we've bought the lie a thousand times before.

And when we give in to the temptation, the result is always shame and guilt. Innocence is lost. And that is what happened in the garden that fateful day. Their eyes were opened. But not in a good way. They saw their shame and guilt. Their eyes were open and, for the first time, they saw that they were naked. "t that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness" (Genesis 3:7 NLT). Instead of enjoying the presence of God, they hid from Him. Adam had new feelings he had never had before. He told God, "I heard you, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked" (Genesis 3:10 NLT). Shame, fear, and guilt always lead to an attempt to cover up and hide ourselves from God. We grow distant. We attempt to run from the very one who made us and can help us. We try to cover our sin by our own efforts – the way Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin with leaves. But it didn't work. It never works.

Sin entered the world that day. With it came shame and guilt. And they're alive and well today. The scenarios and the scenes are different, but the results are always the same. We see something we know we are not to have. We begin to lust after it. We begin to question God's wisdom in denying the pleasure of it. We rationalize that this one thing can give us what God never intended for it to provide. Then we give in to our internal desires and disobey the word of God. We buy the lie and suffer the consequences. And the consequences of sin are always the same: shame, guilt, a loss of innocence and broken fellowship with God. But thankfully for us, we can restore our relationship with God through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross. We can confess our sins and He will faithfully forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We can have our fellowship restored. We can have our shame and guilt removed. All because of what Jesus Christ, the second Adam, did on the cross.

Father, I don't know why we hate Your commands so much, but we do. We can't seem to obey You to save our lives – literally. But You came up with a better plan that trying to rely on us, and that was Your Son giving His life as a payment for our sins. He DID obey, perfectly. He didn't give in to temptation, but instead obeyed Your commands – all of them. He did what Adam, or any other human being, couldn't do. He obeyed, and as a result, we can enjoy restored fellowship with You. Our sins are forgiven. Our shame and guilt are done away with. Thank You! Amen

Then God Said…

Genesis 1

Let everyone in the world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command. – Psalms 33:8-9 NLT

Eight times in this opening chapter of the Old Testament we see the phrase, "Then God said…" With the power of His spoken word alone, God brought into existence all that we exists. He spoke and the sun, moon, and stars were immediately formed. He spoke and light miraculously broke through the darkness. He spoke and the heavens were formed. He spoke and the land and seas suddenly separated and took their proper places. He spoke and vegetation filled the earth. He spoke and fish filled the seas and birds filled the sky. He spoke and the land was filled with animals, reptiles, and insects of all kinds. He spoke and man…

It's interesting to note that this last time we are told that God spoke, rather than man immediately appearing, God simply states His intent to make man. This time it was going to be different. God did not speak man into existence. He formed Him. We will see that more clearly in chapter two. But when it comes to everything else, God simply spoke and His command resulted in the immediate formation of the universe. God's word is powerful and efficacious (capable of having the desired result or effect; effective as a means, measure, remedy, etc.). He speaks and things happen. He speaks and stars come into existence. He speaks and entire seas and land masses form. Yet, so often He speaks and I fail to listen. His word lacks power too often in my life. He speaks and I ignore. He speaks and I argue. He speaks and I refuse to obey.

Genesis sets up the power of God's word. It shows us that we worship a God whose very speech is packed with power and authority. He just needs to open His mouth and incredible things happen. Yet we fail to honor and respect His word. We fail to obey it or revere it. We don't stand in awe of it. The Net Bible has this to stay about the power of God's word. "By speaking, God brings the world into existence. The efficacious nature of the word of the Lord is a prominent theme in this chapter. It introduces the Law, the words and commandments from the Lord that must be obeyed. The ten decrees of God in this chapter anticipate the ten words in the Decalogue (Exodus 20:2-17)." When God speaks, we should listen. And He has spoken to us – through His prophets, His apostles, His Son, and His written word. He speaks to us through His Holy Spirit. He is not silent. He speaks loud and clear. But are we listening? Do you know what He is saying to you today? Do His words have power? Do they carry authority with you? The One who spoke the universe into existence wants to speak into your life today. Will you let Him?

Father, Your very word carries power with it. With just a word you could eliminate all You made. With a single word, You could destroy what men have spent decades building. Your word packs a punch. But I do not always listen to what You have to say. I don't always obey what I hear You say. And for that I ask Your forgiveness. I am hard of hearing too much of the time. I have selective hearing the rest of the time. I want to hear You and obey You more. May I learn to stand in awe of Your word this year. Amen