Daily D – Genesis 8:15-16
Happy New Year! Thanks for joining us on this journey through the Bible. We will ask God to mentor us throughout this year. We will seek his wisdom and direction daily. We will trust him to speak to our hearts and to show us the way we should go.
I am reading the YouVersion Bible reading plan from the BibleProject called One Story that Leads to Jesus. I am reading the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) as the primary translation for this plan. I will also compare the New International Version (NIV), the New Living Translation (NLT), The Message (Message), and the New American Standard Bible 2020 (NASB 2020).
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S = Scripture: These devotionals follow the SOAP Bible study process. Each entry begins with a Bible verse or passage.
O = Observations This is where I write what God is saying to me.
A = Application This is where I write down how I will put into practice what God tells me.
P = Prayer This is where I respond to God’s instructions with prayer for strength and guidance to do what he says.
The most important lesson we will ever learn, and the most important lesson we will ever teach, is how to hear and obey God. This SOAP Bible study method helps us master this most important subject.
Pray for me as I spend time alone with God and write these daily entries. Please let me know how I may pray for you.
Special gratitude goes to Casey Lester, who set up this template in MailChimp. She also curates Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook posts from these devotionals. You can follow me on these social media streams by searching for @davidgbowman.
With gratitude,
David
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Genesis 8:15, 16 Then God spoke to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you.“ (CSB)
Genesis 8:18 So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. (CSB)
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We first meet Noah in Genesis 6. He alone of all the people of the earth found favor with God (6:8). He walked with God (6:9). He followed God’s instructions (6:22; 7:5, 7, 13, 14). He walked onto the ark, and he did not leave the ark until God specifically told him to do so (8:15, 18).
The rescue vehicle was not a permanent residence. God spoke. Noah responded.
God mercifully rescued Noah and his family. He rebuilt humanity through this one family. In everything we read in these chapters, not a single word is attributed to Noah. God speaks, and Noah responds.
Should you experience a traumatic year like Noah and his family did, you would be forgiven if you pulled back from the counsel everyone offered you. Evangelism training often emphasizes that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. There are a lot of other people who have plans for our lives as well.
The voice you want to listen for during life’s most disorienting moments is the voice of God. Family and friends who love you dearly want to express what wisdom they have gained or assumed. Survivors of similar trauma may tell you what to do or what not to do. Many well-meaning people will offer what they consider the bottom line, the authoritative last word.
Keep listening for the voice of God. Seek him. Wait for him. Do what he says when he says it. That’s what Noah did. That’s how God used him to begin the whole world over again.
God told Noah to build a boat. He told him to get on the boat with all those animals and his family. God told him to get off the boat and to be fruitful and multiply.
Noah did what God said.
Slow down the reading and pondering of these chapters and notice how God spoke only occasionally. His words were separated by weeks, months, and years.
Lessons?
1. Listen to what God says.
2. Do what God says.
3. Leave the initiative with God.
4. Our obedience is our security.
5. Our obedience leads to our greatest mission and joy.
Of all the voices you hear today, determine to obey what God says to you, and do it without delay. He will not waste his time or yours on unnecessary details. He will not boss you around. He will invite you to know him in ever-deeper closeness and purpose. He will use you to project his goodness to all who know you.
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I will listen for the voice of God and do what he says.
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Our Father, I am listening. I will do what you say. Whatever you want for me is what I want too. Amen.
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