Grace for the Moment

Duration: 365 days

A HOLY TASK

Obey the Lord with great fear. Psalm 2:11

mary and Mary [Magdalene] knew a task had to be done—Jesus’ body had to be prepared for burial. Peter didn’t offer to do it. Andrew didn’t volunteer … So the two Marys decide to do it …

I wonder if halfway to the tomb they had sat down and reconsidered. What if they’d looked at each other and shrugged, “What’s the use?” What if they had given up? What if one had thrown up her arms in frustration and bemoaned, “I’m tired of being the only one who cares. Let Andrew do something for a change. Let Nathanael show some leadership.”

Whether or not they were tempted to, I’m glad they didn’t quit. That would have been tragic. You see, we know something they didn’t. We know the Father was watching. Mary and Mary thought they were alone. They weren’t. They thought their journey was unnoticed. They were wrong. God knew.

from He Still Moves Stones

GENESIS 5-6

Adam’s Family History

5 This is the family history of Adam. When God created human beings, he made them in his own likeness. ²He created them male and female, and on that day he blessed them and named them human beings.

³When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of another son in his likeness and image, and Adam named him Seth. ⁴After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

⁶When Seth was 105 years old, he had a son named Enosh. ⁷After Enosh was born, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁸So Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.

⁹When Enosh was 90 years old, he had a son named Kenan. ¹⁰After Kenan was born, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹So Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.

¹²When Kenan was 70 years old, he had a son named Mahalalel. ¹³After Mahalalel was born, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴So Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.

¹⁵When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he had a son named Jared. ¹⁶After Jared was born, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷So Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.

¹⁸When Jared was 162 years old, he had a son named Enoch. ¹⁹After Enoch was born, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰So Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.

²¹When Enoch was 65 years old, he had a son named Methuselah. ²²After Methuselah was born, Enoch walked with God 300 years more and had other sons and daughters. ²³So Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ²⁴Enoch walked with God; one day Enoch could not be found, because God took him.

²⁵When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had a son named Lamech. ²⁶After Lamech was born, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁷So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.

²⁸When Lamech was 182, he had a son. ²⁹Lamech named his son Noah^[a] and said, “He will comfort us in our work, which comes from the ground the Lord has cursed.” ³⁰After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. ³¹So Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.

³²After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The Human Race Becomes Evil

6 The number of people on earth began to grow, and daughters were born to them. ²When the sons of God saw that these girls were beautiful, they married any of them they chose. ³The Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain in human beings forever, because they are flesh. They will live only 120 years.”

⁴The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also later. That was when the sons of God had sexual relations with the daughters of human beings. These women gave birth to children, who became famous and were the mighty warriors of long ago.

⁵The Lord saw that the human beings on the earth were very wicked and that everything they thought about was evil. ⁶He was sorry he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. ⁷So the Lord said, “I will destroy all human beings that I made on the earth. And I will destroy every animal and everything that crawls on the earth and the birds of the air, because I am sorry I have made them.” ⁸But Noah pleased the Lord.

Noah and the Great Flood

⁹This is the family history of Noah. Noah was a good man, the most innocent man of his time, and he walked with God. ¹⁰He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹People on earth did what God said was evil, and violence was everywhere. ¹²When God saw that everyone on the earth did only evil, ¹³he said to Noah, “Because people have made the earth full of violence, I will destroy all of them from the earth. ¹⁴Build a boat of cypress wood for yourself. Make rooms in it and cover it inside and outside with tar. ¹⁵This is how big I want you to build the boat: four hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. ¹⁶Make an opening around the top of the boat that is eighteen inches high from the edge of the roof down. Put a door in the side of the boat. Make an upper, middle, and lower deck in it. ¹⁷I will bring a flood of water on the earth to destroy all living things that live under the sky, including everything that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will die. ¹⁸But I will make an agreement with you—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives will all go into the boat. ¹⁹Also, you must bring into the boat two of every living thing, male and female. Keep them alive with you. ²⁰Two of every kind of bird, animal, and crawling thing will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹Also gather some of every kind of food and store it on the boat as food for you and the animals.”

²²Noah did everything that God commanded him.

Footnotes:

5:29 Noah This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “rest.”

New Century Version (NCV)

PSALM 2:7-12

⁷Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
    Today I have become your father.
⁸If you ask me, I will give you the nations;
    all the people on earth will be yours.
⁹You will rule over them with an iron rod.
    You will break them into pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰So, kings, be wise;
    rulers, learn this lesson.
¹¹Obey the Lord with great fear.
    Be happy, but tremble.
¹²Show that you are loyal to his son,
    or you will be destroyed by his anger,
because he can quickly become angry.
    But happy are those who trust him for protection.New Century Version (NCV)

PROVERBS 1:10-19

¹⁰My child, if sinners try to lead you into sin,
    do not follow them.
¹¹They will say, “Come with us.
    Let’s ambush and kill someone;
    let’s attack some innocent people just for fun.
¹²Let’s swallow them alive, as death does;
    let’s swallow them whole, as the grave does.
¹³We will take all kinds of valuable things
    and fill our houses with stolen goods.
¹⁴Come join us,
    and we will share with you stolen goods.”
¹⁵My child, do not go along with them;
    do not do what they do.
¹⁶They are eager to do evil
    and are quick to kill.
¹⁷It is useless to spread out a net
    right where the birds can see it.
¹⁸But sinners will fall into their own traps;
    they will only catch themselves!
¹⁹All greedy people end up this way;
    greed kills selfish people.New Century Version (NCV)

MATTHEW 3

The Work of John the Baptist

3 About that time John the Baptist began preaching in the desert area of Judea. ²John said, “Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is near.” ³John the Baptist is the one Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said:

“This is a voice of one
who calls out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.’” Isaiah 40:3

⁴John’s clothes were made from camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁵Many people came from Jerusalem and Judea and all the area around the Jordan River to hear John. ⁶They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.

⁷Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to the place where John was baptizing people. When John saw them, he said, “You are snakes! Who warned you to run away from God’s coming punishment? ⁸Do the things that show you really have changed your hearts and lives. ⁹And don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children for Abraham from these rocks. ¹⁰The ax is now ready to cut down the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.^[a]

¹¹“I baptize you with water to show that your hearts and lives have changed. But there is one coming after me who is greater than I am, whose sandals I am not good enough to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²He will come ready to clean the grain, separating the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.”^[b]

Jesus Is Baptized by John

¹³At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River and wanted John to baptize him. ¹⁴But John tried to stop him, saying, “Why do you come to me to be baptized? I need to be baptized by you!”

¹⁵Jesus answered, “Let it be this way for now. We should do all things that are God’s will.” So John agreed to baptize Jesus.

¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him.”

Footnotes:

3:10 The ax . . . fire. This means that God is ready to punish his people who do not obey him.
3:12 He will . . . out. This means that Jesus will come to separate good people from bad people, saving the good and punishing the bad.

New Century Version (NCV)