Jan. 9, 2021
Sodom’s sin was so great that the Lord sent angels to investigate (Genesis 18:20, Genesis 19:1). What they found was a people driven by lust.
The angels warned Lot and his wife to flee Sodom without looking back, but Lot’s wife couldn’t do it. Her actions revealed the state of her heart. Unable to let go of her old life, she turns back and is destroyed.
While Lot and his daughters made it out, they still had Sodom’s ways of thinking in them. Lot was still inclined to do what’s easy and agreeable than what’s right. In this case, he’d neglected his responsibility to find husbands for his daughters. Desperate to preserve the family line, they did what they knew to do and turned to incest to protect their future.
Lot wasn’t alone in his struggles to break old patterns. In Genesis 20, Abraham presents his wife as his sister — once again twisting the truth in an effort to protect himself rather than trusting God.
Continuing His longest recorded sermon, Jesus warns against comparison and making light of our own sin while harshly criticizing someone else’s.
Instead, Jesus says if we think we need something to ask God for it. When we’re seeking answers or meaning or purpose, look to God who loves us and wants what’s best for us.
Jesus finishes the Sermon on the Mount with a series of choices we all get to make.
Will we choose the way of God or the way of man? (Matthew 7:13-14)
What kind of voices will we let into our hearts? Those that speak the things of God or those that encourage us to follow our flesh? (Matthew 7:15-19)
What kind of Christians we will be? Those who say they follow Jesus or those who know His heart and do His will? (Matthew 7:21-23).
And finally, what will we build our lives on? Will we trust what God says is good or what seems good to us? (Matthew 7:24-27)
Make It Personal
- Where are you comparing yourself to others instead of asking God to reveal your own opportunities for growth?
- How we respond to Jesus’ teaching will determine the kind of lives we lead. Consider the different options Jesus presents and ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there’s any part of your life where you’re choosing your way instead of trusting God’s ways.