Day 3 - Safety in numbers?

Really will be short today as I'm off up to church later to see England try and remember how to play football.

On to business then

Today’s readings:


Genesis 4:17-6:22;

Matthew 2:19-3:17;

Psalm 3:1-8
 
I felt today was a lot of clearing up. We wrap up Adam, his family and the whole confusion of Nephilim (basically giant angels) and really, really old people. Again, take these passages as you want but don't miss the truth behind them. Once again we see God looking out for humanity. What's interesting is that God has done so much for humanity and, well, everything but it's only in verse 26 of chapter 4 that humanity starts to worship God. How much does God do in each of our lives that we forget or neglect to thank Him for?
 
After this we get the start of Noah's story. Now there're a lot of theories about the flood but one interesting point is in how an awful lot of religions feature a very similar story and not just religions that are around where the Jewish people lived but even in Aztec and Hindu mythology. So maybe it's not as fictional as some might have you believe... The truth is still there though. God is angry and has every right to be. Humanity is not living right but while God is just and furious, He can't completely annihalate his creation and so prepares Noah for the next path. I think the message here is that despite other people prospering or living their lives in a manner that offends God, if you honour Him then you'll be taken under his wing.
 
And this is reflected in the Psalm. David wrote this while hiding from his son who wanted to kill him. He talks about how he is, quite literally, surrounded by enemies on all sides and yet he isn't afraid because he knows that God has his interests taken care of. And sure enough David was alright and continued his reign as the greatest king Israel ever had.
 
Finally, we have Jesus' return to his home town and then a leap to him being an adult and being baptised by John. Baptism is a fantastic commitment to doing God's work and here we see that Jesus recognises how important it can be to focus on that work and say to everyone that we all need the help of God to be the best people we can be. John is scathing though of those people who want to get baptised because everyone else is. It's something we all need to be wary of. If you want to serve God then don't fret about other people noticing you. God notices everything we do and rewards those good deeds both here and in heaven.
 
And now I'm needing to eat my tea and dash to church. Might see some of you there! Comments, criticisms and questions welcome as always
 
Jon