Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Worthy Life –Temperance Sunday
Gen 9:18-27
 V21 “When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk”.
 

This week we are meditating on living a worthy life. God created us in His image and wants us to live according to His will. At the same time, God gave us free will to choose between right and wrong. Only if we are led by the Holy Spirit can we make every decision according to God’s will. 
 
Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. In the Bible it says, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time,” and he is described as one who “walked faithfully with God” (Gen.6:9)
 
In today’s portion we read about a time where Noah fell short of God’s standard through getting drunk. When drinking, people lose sight of the Spirit and act wayward from God’s will. Noah’s drunkenness caused him to act in a way that is contrary to God’s standards for a worthy life. This clearly shows how Noah was vulnerable to temptation despite God’s favor on him. We as Christians need to make sure we never act carelessly or neglect the Grace of God. It is very important to keep ourselves of sound mind and to remember that we need God’s help to walk in His path. We will face temptation in this world, however, as Christians, we must resist evil and stand firm in our faith. Our bodies are a living sacrifice for God by not being conformed to the secular world.
 
Ham, one of Noah’s sons, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers. He took the opportunity to gossip and exposed his father. Ham’s brothers, Shem and Japheth, reacted quite differently; they refused to even look at their father’s nakedness. They took a garment and covered Noah so others wouldn’t see as well. In doing this, they expressed love in action. When a loved one sins, we have a choice to make. We can join them, expose their sins to others in gossiping, or we can avoid judgment of their weaknesses and lead them to Christ. Here, Shem and Japheth chose to act in a way that remained in God’s will and they were blessed for it.

 
PRAYER
Lord, help us to live each day led by your Spirit and according to your will. Forgive our sins and lead us not into temptation. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
 
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Are we led by the Holy Spirit or by worldly pleasures?
 
Sherly Thomas, St. Thomas MTC, Yonkers, NY
Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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