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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. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry. Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”

Noah and his family were in the ark for a year and ten days. All this time did not make Noah perfect. In fact, Noah wasn’t saved from the flood because he was perfect at all. He was saved because of God’s grace, mercy, and love. The same is true of you and me. We are only saved because God has shown mercy to us, not because of anything we say or do.

Are we still sinful? Are we still prone to mistakes? Do we still set up other gods, misuse God’s name, fail to worship him, dishonor our parents, hurt, lust, steal, slander, cheat, and covet? Certainly, we do. We are even born sinful. But God has rescued us. He has saved us from the rising flood of our sinfulness with his death on a cross.

Therefore, we strive to obey God’s holy commandments, not because we have to, but because we want to, in thanks for rescuing us from our sins and preserving our lives.

My dear God, though I am a sinner, you have been merciful and rescued me through Jesus. Forgive me when I fail to live according to your holy will. Strengthen me to act and speak in ways that demonstrate that I am very thankful for your love. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.