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I hope you enjoyed this week’s study as much as I have. What stood out to me most was that grace is freely given to all, but some reject God’s grace while others choose to embrace it. Some allow God’s grace to move through them, while others discard His compassion and truth.

So many people refuse to accept the grace of God and the truth of the gospel that is so often spoken to them. We need to not only pray that we’ll have an opportunity to preach the gospel, but also for God to open their hearts and their minds to accept it.

The rest of my thoughts on this study are below each of the images below.

Don’t forget to pick up your coloring page further down this post, and have a great weekend y’all!!

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife

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Genesis 6 – Noah Builds an Ark

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As I was reading the story of Noah, I couldn’t help but notice his dedication to God. In fact verse nine says, “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

As a side note, I want to mention that “perfect” in this sense of the word doesn’t mean he was without sin. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

We can assume that Noah was upright and faithful to God in the same way that Job was.

But the thing that really got me thinking about God’s grace was this: If grace is freely given and unmerited, then why didn’t the sinners of that day find grace in God’s sight the same way that Noah did?

“And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” – Genesis 6:7-8

As I started to dig around, I came across a verse in the New Testament that opened my eyes to God’s grace. Paul writes, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10

That helped me to understand the difference between Noah and the outsiders of his day. The grace bestowed upon Paul was not in vain, but in many cases, it is.

Grace is freely given to all, but some reject God’s grace while others choose to embrace it. Some allow God’s grace to move through them, while others discard His compassion and truth. Even if God had told them to build an ark, they would have scoffed at the idea, in the same way that many today reject the gift of salvation and ridicule His word.

Noah wasn’t perfect in and of himself. He was upright and just because he allowed the grace of God to penetrate his life, thus changing the way that he lived.

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Jonah 3&4 – Nineveh Repents

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Unlike the other prophets we read about in scripture who plead on behalf on God’s people for mercy, Jonah was exceedingly angry at God’s compassion and grace toward Nineveh.

While he should have been overjoyed at their repentance, he was miserable.

I think that the deep-rooted sin behind Jonah’s anger was pride. He was a self-centered man who was more concerned about getting what he wanted than doing what God wanted.

Jonah was angry at the Lord’s compassion as though he deserved more than the people of Nineveh did. This is a problem that many of us have with grace. We see it as something that’s owed to us or earned by good behavior, when the truth is that every single one of us have sinned and fall short of His glory. God’s grace is a gift that Jonah failed to recognize despite his rebellion and sin.

I’m reminded of the unmerciful servant who was forgiven an immense debt owed to the king, yet was unwilling to forgive a fellow servant who owed him much less.

Here’s the thing. Faith isn’t just believing in a God we can’t see or touch. It’s trusting in Him at all times. We don’t need to understand the mind of God, and we don’t need to agree with the choices He makes. We need to obey, and to trust regardless of what the outcome may be.

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Genesis 19:1-29 – God Protects Lot

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In the story of Sodom and Gomora, we see Abraham pleading for the lives of the righteous few in the city of Sodom. This is a contrast to our last study where Jonah was exceedingly angry at God’s grace toward Nineveh.
One was self centered, while the other was God centered.
 
What really stood out to me in chapter 19 was this. God’s grace was bestowed upon Lot’s entire family—his wife, his daughters and their husbands. But here’s the thing, in verse 14 we see that his sons in law refused to believe Lot’s warning.
 
“And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.” Genesis 19:14
 
I’m sadly reminded of the story of Noah and how so many perished without faith. And again I’m reminded of people today who refuse to accept the grace of God and the truth of the gospel that is so often spoken to them. We need to not only pray that we’ll have an opportunity to preach the gospel, but also for God to open their hearts and their minds to accept it.
 
“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” – Matthew 24:37-39

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Coloring Page

Click here to download this week’s coloring page.

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