Daily Dose of Hope

August 21, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 12

Prayer: Almighty Father, You always know what is best for us. Thank you for that. We are sorry for the ways that we resist. Help us to want what you want for us. Help us to want to be patient, to want to be kind, to want to be obedient. Conform our will, Lord, In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently doing a deep dive into the books of Genesis and Exodus. Today, our reading is Genesis 12.

In today's reading, we have the call of Abram. The first eleven chapters of Genesis were a broad sweeping narrative. God is beginning to reveal himself to a specific group of people and it all begins here. God commands Abram to leave his native land, and his father's home, to go to a land God would show him. God is asking him, as age 75, to leave the old and go to something totally new and different. If Abram does what God asks, God promises to give him wealth and many descendants. He will be blessed.

What's most interesting to me is that Abram does it. We aren't privy to any of the behind the scenes discussion. Did Abram think about saying no? I mean, the man was 75. He was pretty established. We don't know if he deliberated. Regardless, he says yes. He obeys. Interestingly, if you look at the Hebrew, the call to go was really just to Abram as an individual. It didn't include wife and family. But Abram brings Sarai and his nephew, Lot. They bring their whole household. I can only imagine the conversation between Sarai and Abram. She also would have to battle fear and uncertainly.

There are a number of call stories in the Bible. It usually involves God calling an individual person, followed by some kind of commission or promise. When God calls a person, there usually isn't a lot of attention to the impact on their families, such as in this situation. Yet, a call by God will impact not only the person called but everyone around them.

I can remember when God called me to full-time ministry. It was a very clear call (a story for another time) and it couldn't have happened in a more complicated season of my life. I had three young kids, Richard worked a stressful job, and money was tight. I couldn't imagine going back to school. And yet, the call was real. Would I say yes or no? In my case, I felt like there was only one answer. I had to obey.

Have you ever felt God call you to do something? God doesn't call all of us to full-time ministry but he does call all of us. God may be calling you to a particular kind of service in the church or in the community. He may be calling you to give of your resources. He might be calling you to reconcile a relationship. Take some time today and pray about God's call on your life.

Now, I wish I could stop there today but there is no way I can finish the devotional without mentioning Abram and Sarai in Egypt. They traveled there due to a famine. Once there, Abram passes Sarai off as his sister rather than his wife and she is taken into the palace. He feared that otherwise Pharoah would kill him to take Sarai, who must have been quite stunning. Almost immediately, God intervenes in the situation with plagues. If God had not intervened, Pharoah would not have known that Sarai was Abram's wife and Abram would not have had a son by Sarai in fulfillment of God's promise to him. Let's be real - Abram was absolutely in the wrong here, but God graciously intervened in order to keep his covenant with Abram. God plans to use Abram, despite his mess-ups!

One of the more comforting things about reading these texts is realizing just how much these heroes of the faith messed up. They were far from perfect and God uses them anyway. That bodes well for us.

Now, it's time for our going deeper discussion with Emmy...

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

August 20, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 11

Prayer: Dear Holy God, Your love is amazing. Thank you for the way you care for us. In these next few moments of silence, Lord, help us focus on you...Lord Jesus, help us set aside every distraction and take this time to lean on you. We want to hear your voice. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently doing a deep dive into the books of Genesis and Exodus. Today, our reading is Genesis 11.

This is the Tower of Babel passage. About a century after Noah, there were people who decided to make a name for themselves by building a high tower, higher and more powerful than any other building ever created, so high it would reach the heavens. This was a tower of pride and arrogance. They thought that by creating this tower, they could be strong and unified as a people, and it would keep them from having to multiply and spread throughout the earth. God had told them to be fruitful and multiply. They wanted to be strong and remain planted in one place, solidifying their power. They wanted to grow in greatness and fame.

So God intervenes. In keeping with his promise, God doesn't send a flood or another terrible calamity. He intervenes by making it so they can't communicate with one another. You can't be strong and unified if you can't understand each other. And so they were scattered all over the earth.

Here is where we begin to see an interesting shift. God is no longer going to seek a relationship with all the world's nations. Rather, this is when he begins to seek a relationship with one nation. He would enter into covenant with a new people that did not yet exist – Israel.

The rest of the chapter is more genealogy. We see how the focus is moving from the scattered nations to one specific bloodline. God's promises will still be fulfilled but in a slightly different way through a different group of people.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

August 19, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 10

Prayer: Almighty God, As we move into a new day, we pray that today will be a day that we see glimpses of your glory. We need you, we yearn for you. Lord, help us set aside our distractions and settle our scattered thoughts so we can focus on you and you alone. In the next few moments of silence, Lord, hear our prayers... In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently doing a deep dive into the book of Genesis, which will be followed by a deep dive into Exodus. I think you have already realized there is a lot of substance in these chapters! Today, our reading is Genesis 10.

Let's start out by stating that this isn't the most interesting chapter. It's the list of the clans of Noah's sons. But if we look a little closer, we realize there is much to learn in this chapter.

In the previous chapter, we learned about Ham and his curse. His sons are listed here is verse 6. They are Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. You probably immediately notice Egypt and Canaan, and we notice that for generations, they were the enemies of God's people. But there is more. In verse 8, we read that Ham's son, Cush, is the father of Nimrod. Nimrod was a tremendous warrior and his kingdom was centered in Babylon (who eventually conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah) and Shinar, where the tower of Babel was built (we will read about that tomorrow). Nimrod's territory also extends into Assyria (who conquered the Northern Kingdom) and he builds the famous city of Ninevah.

In verse 13, we read that Ham's son, Egypt, is the father of the Kasluhites. That is the group from which the Philistines were descended. In verse 14, we read that Ham's son, Canaan is the father of Sidon. From Sidon came the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, and Hivites – all of whom were removed from the Promised Land by Joshua and the Hebrew army.

It is fascinating to see how many of the cities, nations, and tribes, descended from Ham, become outright enemies of God's people. That curse was real, my friends.

I know that genealogies can be boring, but they are included for a reason. If we look deeper, what we realize is that these genealogies can unlock so much of the Old Testament. Often, they even pave the way for the New Testament, and explain nuances that we just don't get unless we look beneath the surface.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

August 18, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 9:18-28

Prayer: Holy God, We come before you today in humility and awe. You are a good God. You, who put the stars and planets in motion, also created us. You care about the most minute details of our lives. You have numbered the hairs on our head. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for caring so much. Help us be put even a small reflection of your love toward those around us. More of you and less of me, Jesus. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently doing a deep dive into the book of Genesis, which will be followed by a deep dive into Exodus. I think you have already realized there is a lot of substance in these chapters! Today, our reading is the second half of Genesis 9.

Although the judgment of the flood changed the earth, it did not change the heart of humans, which is still inherently sinful. Today's reading is strange. Most of you probably noticed that. But I don't think the point of the story is Noah's drunkenness. Rather, the point is that even though we have this beautiful renewed earth and humans are given a second chance, sin is still rearing its ugly head.

Let's go deeper. The Scripture says that Noah, as the new Adam, is a man of the ground, which means he was a farmer. He plants a vineyard and gets drunk on his wine. Here is where things get odd. In his drunken state, Noah is naked in his tent. Thus, his nakedness was seen by his three sons. Most of us would say, well who cares? Not that big a deal. But there is more here than we can see on the surface. What does it mean that the three sons "saw Noah's nakedness?"

There are different theories. One is simply that Ham saw his dad naked and didn't do anything to cover him up. He then shared this bit of gossip with his brothers. That is the most straightforward, but it seems a little extreme that his father would then curse him and his sons forever.

More scholars tend to think that some kind of sexual sin occurred here. Some think that Ham sexually assaulted his father and others think he assaulted his mother, who was most likely laying next to Noah. Regardless, it was bad and then he went and told his brothers.

His brothers had more wisdom. In contrast to Ham, Shem and Japheth went to great trouble to cover up their father and not look at his naked body. They actually walk backwards so they don't have to see his exposed parts. And they end up being blessed for this.

And Ham ends up being cursed. Actually, its his son, Canaan, who really gets the curse. This is a painful lesson. When we sin, we make the assumption that we are going to bear the consequences of that sin. But with so many things, it isn't just the sinner who bears the sin, it's their offspring and future generations. The sin of Ham results in the Canaanites being cursed – they become horribly perverse in the next few hundred years. In fact, the Canaanites are often held up as an example of how we are not supposed to be. The whole Canaanite culture was shaped by Ham's sin.

It isn't until Jesus that we see this begin to change. I think of the Canaanite woman who begs Jesus to heal her daughter who is suffering. It's an odd exchange in the Scripture (look up Matthew 15 or Mark 7), and she and Jesus have dialogue about how even the dogs get to eat their owners' scraps. In the end, Jesus is amazed by both her wit and her faith. Her daughter is healed. And Jesus shows us that his mercy and love now extend even to the Canaanites.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

August 17, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 9:1-17

Prayer: Dear Holy God, Your love is amazing. Thank you for the way you care for us. In these next few moments of silence, Lord, help us focus on you...Lord Jesus, help us set aside every distraction and take this time to lean on you. We want to hear your voice. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently deep-diving into the book of Genesis. Today's reading is the first half of Genesis 9.

It's in this part of chapter 9 that God reestablishes his relationship with fallen humanity with a covenant, a binding agreement, a promise of sorts. Let's go back to today's scripture, Let's look at the exact wording, "I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth. Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth." And God says that the rainbow in the sky will be a sign of this covenant that God will never, ever again choose destruction as a means to deal with the evil and sin of humanity.

What's interesting to me here is it almost appears that God regrets what he did. Maybe regret isn't the right word. God struggles with what had to happen. I think on some level, we get a picture of the tension between God's sense of justice and God's sense of love and mercy. God saw the hearts of human beings and was grieved by the evil that was present there. I think God is still grieved by the evil that is present in people ---this certainly has not gone away. We see sin and evil all over the world, in how people seem to have this capacity to demonstrate appalling cruelty toward other human beings. This has been a reality for centuries and centuries and it's a reality today. And it still grieves the heart of God.

But what we see in the covenant with Noah is that God, knowing that humans aren't going to change, will change how he deals with us. God commits to find another way to redeem his creation --- no more worldwide floods or total calamity. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.

So what will God do instead? God still takes evil seriously but God will deal with evil differently. Really, all the stories that follow this one show how God lives out his faithfulness in different ways, eventually culminating in the coming of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. God judges but God also redeems, over and over and over again.

Evil will be dealt with, but it will be dealt with in a different way, one in which all people can be redeemed and reconciled to a holy God who loves them and wants to be in relationship with.

Some more thoughts on this:

1. We continue to be in God's care. This is a covenant for all time - it isn't cancelled out by subsequent covenants. The rainbow is God's cupped hand over the earth reminding us of his care and concern for the whole world. Wherever you are, whoever you are, you depend on God and on the earth, which is his gift to us. You may not think you do, but all we have is from God. We are in his care.

2. God is in covenant with all living creatures. All the creatures all over the face of this earth belong to God first. They exist for God and not simply for us. God has concern for all of earth's creatures. Psalm 104:24, How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. The world isn't just about us. God loves all the creatures, God loves all of creation, not just humanity. And thus, we should see to the welfare of the wider world in which we find ourselves. We are stewards of God's creation. How we treat it matters. How we treat what God loves matters.

3. This is the beginning of God's plan of salvation and redemption. God's will is the renewal of all creation, the whole earth. Saving individual human beings is part of God's mission but God's desire is to redeem all people and all of creation. The amazing and totally humbling thing is that he calls us to help him achieve this mission, to put things right. And we as the church, we are the primary vehicle for which God calls us to put things right. In light of the story of Noah and God's ever-lasting covenant with his creation, how might he be calling us to put things right?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

August 14, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 8

Prayer: Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently deep-diving into the book of Genesis. Today's reading is Genesis 8.

Can you imagine what life was like on that ark? That was a long time to be hanging out just with family and a LOT of animals! I have all kinds of logistical questions but I will save those for another day.

I think one of the best lines of this whole chapter is in verse 1, But God remembered Noah... God remembered Noah, his family, and all those animals. God remembered that ark floating over the floodwaters. God remembered Noah when the waters kept rising. God was always with Noah. We certainly don't have any indication that Noah did anything but trust God. We don't have any Scripture that indicates that Noah, after a few weeks, started panicking that God had left him on that ark to die with a bunch of stinky animals. Not at all. God remembered Noah.

God remembered Noah so he sent a wind to cause the floodwaters to recede. The word wind here is actually the Hebrew word, ruach, which is generally translated as Spirit. You guys, this was the Holy Spirit! It was the Holy Spirit that caused the flood waters to recede so that Noah and the animals could find dry land. The Holy Spirit saw the need and took care of things.

Our God doesn't forget. I want you to be assured that God remembers you too. Whatever "flood" or hardship you might be going through, please know that God remembers you too. Call upon the Holy Spirit to meet you at your point of need and he will.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

August 13, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 7

Prayer: Lord, our Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth! We magnify your precious and powerful name. How often we forget how mighty you are. You created all. You created us. Thank you, Lord, for who you are. Most of all, thank you for loving us with all our flaws and brokenness. In all we do, in who we are, help us to be more like you. We pray for humility, mercy, and compassion. Help us see others through your eyes. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently deep-diving into the book of Genesis. Today's reading is Genesis 7.

Judgement day has arrived. While I am very familiar with this story, it is still hard to read. People were working and doing their normal routine. They had no idea what was coming. But then the floodwaters came. Everything was destroyed.

There are a few reflections for me in this text:

1. I'm not always going to understand God's decisions, but I can still trust them. God knows and sees things that I cannot see. He has an eternal plan in mind. He knew what the people were capable of and he decided to do something about it. That is why he is God and I am not. But God has always taken care of me and has never let me down. He has always been faithful. I can just trust that his way is best.

2. Our sin grieves God. God was so upset about the sins of the people. He hates sin and evil. He was grieving so much that he wished he hadn't even created humans. I wonder how often he thinks that today too. But it does put things in perspective to think that when I sin, God is grieved.

3. God sometimes asks us to do really big things. He asked Noah to build an ark on dry land. Noah was obedient. How many times does God ask us to do something big for him and we dismiss it or talk ourselves out of it? I do this a lot! But if God asks us to something significant, he is going to give us the ability, tools, and strength to do it. Is God asking you to do something big right now? Have you asked him?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

August 12, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 6

Prayer: Almighty God, We come to you today with humble hearts. We are broken and we need you. Help us set aside our scattered thoughts and focus on you this morning. Help us set aside distractions so we might hear your voice. In these next few moments of silence, Lord, help us just focus on Jesus...In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently deep-diving into the book of Genesis. Today's reading is Genesis 6.

The first part of this chapter is very strange. Let me just go ahead and say that. Who were the sons of God and the daughters of men? It is beginning to sound more like Greek mythology than the Bible. What is going on here? There are several possible options.

The first theory is that the sons of God are fallen angels. In the Old Testament, the phrase sons of God elsewhere refers to angels, particularly in the book of Job. But a problem with this theory is Jesus' statement in Matthew 22:30, which indicates that angels do not marry. There really isn't any evidence in Scripture to make us believe that angels have a gender or the ability to reproduce.

Other theories are that the sons of God are powerful human rulers or godly descendants of Seth who intermarried with wicked descendants of Cain. But human males marrying ordinary human females does not account for why the offspring were "giants" or "heroes of old, men of renown." Additionally, why would God be so angry as to send the flood if he never specifically forbade these powerful humans or descendants of Seth to marry ordinary human women or descendants of Cain? It seems that the flood and God's judgment is linked to this section of Genesis 6. Such harsh consequences points to very horrible sin. Marriage and mating between fallen angels with human women would seem to qualify.

What about Matthew 22:30 when Jesus says that angels do not marry? Well, the fact that God's holy angels do not marry does not mean that Satan cannot pervert sexuality in this world. We've seen in Scripture that angels can appear in human form. Thus, fallen angels could possibly marry and have sexual intercourse with human women, and it would make sense that God would be really, really angry about that. I would love your thoughts on this.

This leads into how corrupt the world had become. Humanity had become so very evil, so much so that God regretted making people. And God basically decides to clean everything up. So he has Noah build an ark. He and his family will be the remnant remaining to restart humanity.

I've had hard conversations with people about this passage. I mean, what kind of god would kill all the living over all the earth except for one family and a few animals? How do we explain this to our unbelieving friends?

When we look at this story through modern eyes, it is really harsh. But we have to at least try to look at through the viewpoint of the ancient audience. God is incredibly sorrowful, grieving even, over the sinfulness of his creation. He isn't mean and wrathful, like the gods of the Mesopotamians and the other ancient nations. He doesn't plan on randomly striking people down. He is still a saving God. There is only one faithful person on the earth and God plans to save him and his family. God is intentional, rather than impulsive. He has a plan for humanity and he will carry it out.

More on this tomorrow.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

August 11, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 5

Prayer: Almighty Father, Thank you that your mercies are new every morning. Thank you, that no matter what this week has held, we can come to you and start over. We are grateful for your forgiveness. We are so very grateful for your care and your love. Help us, Lord, to set aside our distractions, to set aside our scattered thoughts and focus on you right now. In these next few moments of silence, Lord, hear our prayers... In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan. We are currently doing a deep dive into the book of Genesis. Today, our reading is Genesis 5.

This chapter details the family line from Adam to Noah. It's a lot of names and ages. If we were to look at the ages of these patriarchs as we understand chronological ages in the modern age, then we are looking at some really, really old people! And I should mention that some people do take these ages very literally and actually use them to try to date the earth. Most scholars don't believe that is the intention of the author at all. The real question we need to examine is: What do the words mean in the language and culture in which they were written?

If you look at Scripture, sometimes numbers are used like they are today. Ten cubits actually means ten cubits. But other times in the ancient literature, including the Bible, numbers are used numerologically. That means a number's symbolic value could be used to convey mystical or sacred meanings other than just its numerical value.

If we look at Genesis 5 as a whole, there are really a wide variety of ages mentioned. Adam lives to be 930, Mahalalel lives to be 895, Jered to 962, and Methuselah to be 969. If they all were round numbers like 500 or 1000, then that would make us question the implausibility of these ages. But the ages listed are very, very specific. What are we to make of this? This is where I had to do some real research because I'm getting over my head.

This is what BioLogos, a website that deals specifically with science and faith proposed:

There are 30 age numbers we can get from Genesis chapter 5—three numbers for each of ten patriarchs: the age when a son was born, the number of years the patriarch lived after the son was born, and the total number of years the patriarch lived.

The first thing more careful observation reveals about these 30 numbers is that all of them end with the digits 0, 2, 5, 7, or 9. You might not think that is too remarkable until you realize that it eliminates half of the possible numbers. It is like seeing a list of 30 numbers that are all even. We wouldn't think that was a random distribution of numbers. In fact, the odds of getting all thirty numbers to end with just these "approved" digits in a random distribution of ages are about one in a hundred million. That should make us suspicious that Genesis 5 is merely giving a historical report. Something else must be going on here.

One option is attaching some significance to the fact that all of the 30 numbers can be expressed as combinations of the two "sacred" numbers 60 and 7 in terms of years and months. 60 was culturally significant because it was the number that Babylonian mathematics was based on (the influence of this system is still felt today with our 60 minutes per hour and 60 seconds per minute). And 7, of course, has a prominent place in biblical symbolism beginning with the Sabbath. So when we're told that Methuselah was 187 years when he had his son Lamech (v. 25) we can see that 187 = 60+60+60+7 years. And then because 60 months = 5 years, when Adam is said to be 130 years at the birth of his son Seth (v. 3), that can be expressed as (60+60 years) + (60+60 months).

The question is whether it is a better explanation to interpret the numbers as having some symbolic or rhetorical significance to the original audience (even if we don't know what that is), or that they were just a straightforward listing of numbers the way we would use them today. Knowing what we do about the culture, and in the absence of any persuasive reasons for thinking that the ages of these men were so radically different than they are today, it seems that a symbolic or rhetorical interpretation is a legitimate option and maybe even a preferable one.

So, now that we have stretched our brains a bit, I'll stop. The bottom line is that it's complicated.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

August 10, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 4

Prayer: Abba Father, You are our Creator, Provider, and Sustainer. Thank you, Lord, for wanting to be in relationship with us. You are a God who sits high and looks low. You, who are over everything, also care deeply for us. We are so grateful. Help us do all we can to glorify you. We desperately need you, Jesus. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan. We are currently doing a deep dive into Genesis and Exodus. Right now, we are in the beginning of Genesis; today's reading is Genesis 4.

Let's talk a bit about this chapter. The sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, give God a first fruits offering. A first fruit offering is when we give God the first and best of a harvest or flock before we have used any of it. So, Abel gives God his best, the fat of his firstborn of his animals, the best of the best; Cain gives God some veggies, but obviously not his best. Why did Cain hold back on God? We don't know, but we begin to get a sense of his heart. So, not surprisingly, God is pleased with Abel's offering but not Cain's. What's interesting is that Cain isn't sorry, he doesn't show remorse. Rather, he gets angry.

So, God confronts Cain and gives him a chance to change his offering. Cain must know the right thing but he is refusing to do it. He is refusing to give God his best. His attitude is terrible. And God knows this. God knows exactly what he is thinking, he knows the anger and jealousy that he has allowed to grow in his heart. And God gives him a warning. "Cain, be careful, because sin in crouching at your door. It is right there. If you don't get this in check, then things are only going to get worse. Watch yourself." But Cain doesn't heed God's guidance. In fact, he ends up killing his brother!

God decides to punish Cain by making him a wanderer. He will no longer work the land. We might think of a wonderer in this instance as a nomadic person. This means Cain will no longer have the protection of his home and village but will be banished from the land and live a nomadic lifestyle, which means being exposed to all kinds of dangers. And while I think Cain is getting off kind of easy here, he is devastated.

The story ends with a token of God's grace. Cain tells God how scared he is of all that is out there. And God, in his compassion, gives Cain a mark. We have no idea what the mark is but it was a mark that meant he would be protected. No wild tribe could kill him as he slept in his tent. He would go with God's protection. Truly God's grace when he totally didn't deserve it. God is good.

Bottom line: Cain and Abel had a dysfunctional relationship characterized by comparison and jealousy. And my guess is it didn't start with this one story. The kind of anger and jealousy that Cain demonstrated tends to grow over time.

A few reflections:

· Friends, sin is always crouching at our door. But we have a choice. We don't have to give into it. We don't have to choose sin. There are a lot of things in life that we have no control over, but we always, always have a choice how we respond. Maybe Cain didn't like farming. God chose that for him and he didn't have a lot of choice there. But Cain did have a choice when it came to his first fruits. He did have a choice how he responded to his brother.

This is the thing, we don't typically stumble into sin. We make choices to allow sin to seep into our hearts and lives. Maybe we don't think of it as a choice but it is. We open the door to "small" sins by allowing things to seep into our heart. If I am jealous, if I am bitter, if I harbor serious resentment, if I say unkind things about people behind their back, those things affect our heart. Whether you are aware of it or not, these sins create a wedge between us and God. Not only do they keep us from growing in our walk with Jesus, but they make it so much easier for us to allow more sin to seep in.

· God knows our hearts. God knew Cain's heart. There is nothing we can hide from God. Cain couldn't hide his jealousy and greed from God. Even before Cain gave his sub-par veggie offering, God knew. God knew his heart wasn't in it, that he was holding back. God knew that Cain was harboring a lot of anger toward his brother, hence his warning that sin was crouching at the door.

· Comparison never turns out well. Scripture doesn't offer us a lot of details about the relationship between Cain and Abel. I can't help but think there was a history there. A history of comparison. A history of ill will. He obviously compared himself to Abel. But regardless, when we compare ourselves to others, it never turns out well. Either it leads to pride (if we think we're better) or sorrow if we think we are not. Comparison is the death of joy. Comparison of jobs, comparison of salaries, comparisons of children, comparisons of appearance.. You get the point. Comparison never ends well. This has been the hardest thing for me to learn. That I'm good enough the way I am. That God created me and designed me. And that the only thing that matters is the AUDIENCE of ONE

· God's grace is always present. Cain killed someone. The typical punishment for murder would have been death, but God doesn't do that. He makes him a nomad. Even then, Cain is highly distressed that he won't be safe out wandering the area alone. He is worried about being attacked or killed out in the world. So God extends more grace by giving him some kind of mark that would protect him for the remainder of his days.

No matter what we've done, no matter what's been done to us, no matter how dire our circumstances may seem, God's grace is always present. God's grace was extended to Cain, God's grace was extended to the complaining Israelites over and over again, God's grace was extended to David, God's grace was offered to the world through Jesus' death on the cross, God's grace is available to us today.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki