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January 4

Reading 1 - Genesis 7 & 8

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ch.8:9 - The dove found no rest. Nor do we in the turmoil of the world. Deut28:65 Lam.1:3. And yet, if we do wander and fly to and fro in the earth, we still may return (if it is not too late) to the rest of the ark as the dove did. Ps.116:7. This Psalm (116) reminds us that whatever our problem or suffering, God preserves us and keeps us to eternal life (v.5-9).
Peter Cresswell
7:1 - The evidence of the language points quite categorically towards Noah being the only righteous man, and the saving of his family, it would seem, is brought about by his righteousness, and by the need for the earth to be populated after the flood. There seems to be quite a bit of evidence that God is prepared to save others by the righteousness of one in this way (we had a prime example recently in Job 42:7,8), and of course ultimately we are all saved by the righteousness of the one who was sinless - Matt 20:28, Rom.3:24-26, 4:25, 1Cor.15:3, 2Cor. 5:1, 1Pet.2:24, 3:18
Peter Cresswell
ch. 7 - Realising that the flood took place 1656 years after creation will help to give us some idea of a time frame in Genesis. Nor should we think of Noah and his family as primitive when we consider the making of the ark. Adam was the pinnacle of creation so what do we think was possible 1600 years later. Consider the 'advances' that man has made in the last 1000 years!

ch. 8 - Piecing together the dates and time periods in the flood account we see that God is using a calendar of 12 30 day months in a year. This is the basis for all time period calculations in prophecy. Does this indicate that before the flood the year was actually 360 days long divided into 12 30 day months?
Peter Forbes

7:1 In inviting Noah to 'come' into the ark we learn that God was already in there waiting for him.

8:21 That Noah's sacrifice was a 'sweet savour' shows that God does take knowledge of those who do things to please Him. Noah, in his gratitude for the deliverance he experienced offered a sacrifice though there is no indication that he had been commanded to do so - and God accepted what he offered.
Peter Forbes

Genesis 7 - The call to Noah is very kind, like that of a tender father to his children to come indoors when he sees night or a storm approaching. Noah went into the ark as soon as God bade him, for he knew it was to be his place of refuge. It is very comfortable to see God going before us in every step we take. Noah had taken a great deal of pains to build the ark, and now he and his family, were to be kept alive in it.

The very water which swept away the wickedness of the world, became the means whereby this man of faith was saved. What a wonderful description of what baptism does for us - 2Peter 3:21. What we do in obedience to the command of God, and in faith, we ourselves shall certainly have the comfort of, [Noah's name means Comfort], first or last.

After the hundred and twenty years, God granted seven days longer space for repentance. But these seven days were trifled away, like the 43,800 days that had gone before. Very soon, for ourselves, it shall be but seven days. Or have we already used six of those days up. Live this day as if it is your last... for this day could very well be the day when Christ comes for you.
Cliff York
SAFETY FROM THE STORM

What a storm! It was one of the most dramatic events in the history of mankind when it rained for 40 days and 40 nights and the earth opened up and all the springs of water flowed to the top. This was the time that God flooded the earth to destroy sinful men. But Noah and his family were righteous so God told them to build an ark so that they would be safe from the storm that was coming. When Noah, his family and all the animals were in the ark, God shut the door and they were sealed in. Then it rained and water poured out on the earth from the springs while the ark and it's precious cargo floated safely, guided by the hand of God and protected from the water that destroyed every other living thing. Noah and his family did not avoid the storm but they were sheltered from its devastating effects. No doubt they were swirled and tossed around on top of the water, but they escaped death.

Jesus promised us peace if we put our trust in him. Storms of unrest may rage around us but in the midst of it all God's anchor holds and we can be saved from the devastation and have his peace in our hearts. So let's do what he tells us to do today and experience the peace of God even in the midst of a storm.
Robert Prins
REMEMBERED IN ISOLATION

You couldn't feel much more isolated than Noah and his family must have felt as they floated about in the ark for a year and ten days. They lived in semi-darkness with only themselves and the animals for company. They had no view of the world outside - except for a small window at the top of the ark. And if they had looked out, most of what they would have seen would have been water. But this isolation, while it must have been unpleasant in many ways, was for the saving of all who were on the ark. Even so, they must have felt alone and forgotten during much of that time.

But God doesn't forget. We read, "But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded." (Genesis 8 v 1).

Sometimes we can feel isolated, alone or forgotten by the world around us. Maybe we feel that we have not been recognised as we should as we worked for the Lord. But we can take comfort in what God said about Noah. God will remember us and the time will come when we will find release from the situation we are in.

In the meantime we can be sure that our trials are designed to aid in our salvation.
Have hope.
God cares.
Robert Prins
God worked in periods of 7 days (7:4), and so did Noah (8:10, 12) 500 years before the law of Moses with its Sabbath Day law
David Simpson

Reading 2 - Psalms 9 & 10

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Ps. 9:11 - the Lord dwells in Zion - and so do we. Ps. 87:5-6. Where are we born? In Jesus - Ps.78:65-72 (notice the similarity between v. 66 and v. 6 of our Psalm for today - 9). Here in Ps. 78 David is Zion. But this concept extends in Ps. 132:11-16. Here Zion is everlasting - and chosen for ever - Jesus, the fruit of David's body. And us - Heb.12:22-24.
Peter Cresswell
10 v. 6 - To me this seems to be the curse of our age - we are told by our benevolent society that everything will be fine - we will never be in adversity - and if, by chance, we are, then we can make a big compensation claim from someone. The danger of our acceptance of the compensation society in which we live is demonstrated in this verse. Let us take heed and not be taken in by the non-eternal comforts that are offered to us as our 'right'. 1Thes.5:3 gives us further reason to heed this exhortation.
Peter Cresswell
9:16 Higgaion is found elsewhere in Scripture
Psalm 19:14 'meditation'
Psalm 92:3 'solemn sound'
Lam 3:62 'device'

Thus it can be seen that the word can be translated into English. From the three other uses of the word we can work out it's meaning.

Psa 10 - In this Psalm the Psalmist, on seeing the way in which the wicked seem to prosper and are not judged, draws the conclusion that he has been forsaken by God. A common way of thinking. It seems pointless to sever God when those who do not seem to get by without any troubles. However this is to look at things from a worldly and not Godly viewpoint. God is not particularly interested in how things are today. He is more interested in how we develop and so the things that are happening to us now are designed to change us so that in the future we will be blessed.
Peter Forbes

9:8 'He shall judge the world in righteousness' is quoted by Paul (Acts 17:31). In the Psalm the comment is made against the background of the everlasting nature of God - :7. We should realise that in contrast to the transient nature of all that we have and class as valuable God is enduring - '(Matthew 6:19)

10:7 Whereas the wicked has 'deceit and fraud' under his tongue the bride of Christ should have 'honey and milk' under her tongue (Song of Solomon 4:11)
Peter Forbes

Psalm 9 - I WILL PRAISE YOU O LORD WITH ALL MY HEART
This Psalm is a great Psalm for discovering some of the essence of praise.
"I will praise you O LORD with all my heart." When we praise it must be a whole hearted effort. Half hearted praise means nothing. Think what it is like when someone tells you that you look good or that you cooked a great meal but they don'' really mean it. It might as well not have been said. The same applies when we are praising God.
"I will tell of all your wonders." One of the very important aspects of praise is to boast about God. How often do we boast about what a wonderful God we have? When we hear someone telling someone else something good about us it makes us feel good. We can praise God in the same way.
"I will be glad and rejoice in you." A happy face, a joyful smile and laughter all show that we are happy and glad and rejoicing in our relationship with our God. Just as a courting couple rejoices in their love, so we too can praise God by being glad and rejoicing in him.
"I will sing praise to your name." Singing praises is one of the ultimate ways of showing praise - in poetry and music - the best our intellect and emotions can offer.
Do it now! Praise the LORD!

Psalm 10 - ROOM FOR GOD?
One of the distinguishing marks of a wicked person is in his thoughts. It is what separates a person of God from the wicked. You see, there is no room for God in all the thoughts of the wicked. God gets squeezed out of his mind causing his conscience to be unexercised and eventually to die. He is so busy doing his own thing, serving himself, living for pleasure, following his lust and exalting himself that there is just no space left for God.
The man of God, on the other hand, will always have God in his thoughts. He will pray, read the Bible, talk about God, think about godly things and learn spiritual lessons from the things that happen in his life.
What about your mind? Is there room for God in your thoughts? Try a little experiment and see how much God enters your thoughts today and evaluate yourself before you go to sleep tonight. My day needed adjusting today to give God more room, how about yours? We may have unconsciously squeezed God out of our thoughts,, but now is the time to consciously give him more room in our minds. How much room do you have for God.
Robert Prins
Psalm 9 - "To the chief Musician upon Muth-labben" - Here at the head of Psalm 9, appears the subscription that should actually be appended to the Psalm previous. Muth-labben means literally, "the death of the Champion" and as such fittingly properly belongs to Psalm 8 - a Psalm of David dedicated to his victory over Goliath, the giant of flesh.

The next words A Psalm of David are inspired also, and are the superscription of Psalm 9. This Psalm is a prayer of David pleading that God might soon interrupt the affairs of mankind to establish the Kingdom of His glory here on earth.

v.20 "Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men." - 3,000 years after David penned his prayer, the world has finally reached the point where "men's hearts are failing them for fear... for there is distress upon the nations with perplexity" - Luke 21:25-26. The unprecedented campaigns of terrorism and violence among the nations, as described in Jeremiah 25:32 - 33, will lead the governments of this world at last to the conclusion that it is impossible for them to solve the problems of the future, there is no way out for them, they are but men, and they need the God of Heaven to establish a righteous government on this earth to properly govern the nations.

Psalm 10 - David describes in this Psalm, why the world will end up in the state described by him in Psalm 9:20. He complains to God of the oppressions which the poor suffer from the wicked man, whom he describes as the hater of the poor, Psa 10:2; proud, Psa 10:3; one who will not seek God, Psa 10:4; and is regardless of his judgements, Psa 10:5; self-confident, Psa 10:6; blasphemous and deceitful, Psa 10:7; strives by subtlety and treachery to destroy the poor, Psa 10:8-10; and supposes that God is regardless of his conduct, Psa 10:11. The psalmist calls earnestly on God to preserve the poor and humble, and cast down the oppressor, Psa 10:12-15. He foresees that his prayer is heard; that judgment will be executed, and the poor delivered, Psa 10:16-18.

v.5 is interesting in the NIV - "In his pride, the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God". Have you made room in your thoughts for God today?
Cliff York

Reading 3 - Matthew 6

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The context setting for the giving of the Lord's Prayer to the disciples is in v. 8. Do we realise this? God knows our needs. Ps.38:9, 69:19. What should prayer be then? Certainly not just a list of requests. Rather a chance to praise God and recognise his greatness and our consequent position of total dependence on Him for all things. Then we can respond to Phil.4:6 appropriately.
Peter Cresswell
A major focus of this chapter - vs 2-18 emphasises that we seek to glorify God in our actions - not ourselves. Human pride is one of the most powerful opponents to the Christ like spirit.
Peter Forbes
:25 In telling the disciples to 'take no thought … what ye shall eat' Jesus is reminding them about the way that God cared for His people in the year of release (Leviticus 25:20). There are other quotations from Leviticus 25 in this chapter for you to find.
Peter Forbes
In the foregoing chapter our Lord particularly described the nature of inward holiness. In this chapter he describes that purity of intention without which none of our outward actions are holy. Our Lord warns against hypocrisy and outward show in religious duties. What we do, must be done from an inward principle, that we may be approved of God, not that we may be praised of men. The Pharisees prayed etc. standing on the street corners v5, so that they could be seen from two directions. In these verses we are cautioned against hypocrisy in giving alms. Take heed of it. It is a subtle sin; and vainglory creeps into what we do, before we are aware. But the duty is not the less necessary and excellent for being abused by the hypocrites to serve their pride. The doom Christ passes, at first may seem a promise, but it is their reward; not the reward God promises to those who do good, but the reward hypocrites promise themselves, and a poor reward it is; they did it to be seen of men, and they are seen of men. When we take least notice of our good deeds ourselves, God takes most notice of them. He will reward thee; not as a master who gives his servant what he earns, and no more, but as a Father who gives abundantly to his son that serves him in love - Matthew 25:34-40.
Cliff York