Morning

January 11

Genesis 6:8-9 ⁸But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. ⁹This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.

In that world filled with violence, where men had corrupted all their ways, there was one man who dared to be different. Noah did not go with the flow of the world around him. He found favor (KJV 'grace') in the eyes of God. How could he do that? Just as Abel before him, he looked to the promise of a Deliverer and by faith believed that God would provide a way for him to be righteous. He leaned on the grace of God and not his own good works. The author of Hebrews tells us Noah "became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." That is the reason he could be considered righteous. That trust in God was translated into a lifestyle of obedience to God.

Then we have that wonderful expression that says, "he walked with God." Adam had walked with God in the Garden of Eden. Enoch, Noah's great-grandfather, walked with God and was translated into heaven. And now this man Noah, had found a way, by grace, back into the wonder of living communion with God. Because he walked with God, he was blameless among the people. This is the call of God to everyone, to walk with Him, to live in communion with Him. When we do that, we get God's perspective on our situations and choices. We walk by faith and not by sight. We have a sense of reality that the world around us does not have. The product of living in that heavenly perspective is a life blameless among the people of our time.

Consider: Are you walking with God? It begins by finding grace through what Jesus did for you. It continues with daily communion with Him. Genesis 6:22 (NIV) Noah did everything just as God commanded him.