Devotion:
Read Genesis 19:15-26.
This troubling scripture for today tells of Lot and his wife and daughters escaping Sodom before it was totally destroyed by God. The city of Gommorah was also destroyed and all of the plains around them. Lot did not want to heed the warning as he wanted to stay even though the instructions of what was going to happen were clear. Do we understand the danger sometimes and ignore it? Do we have a sense of urgency, say when a tornado or hurricane warning is issued, and we think it will not affect us? I feel like this is what Lot was thinking. We need to listen to God.
This story of what happened to Lot’s life had an early effect on me and has stuck with me all of my life. I grew up in a small rural Methodist Church. My first recollection of Sunday School was when I was about five. The first lesson that I heard was the story of Lot and how his wife was turned into a pillar of salt because she looked back at the bad city she was leaving. We had a coloring sheet of her as a pillar of salt. (It was run on a smelly blue ditto machine). I can still visualize that paper as if it were yesterday. I lived in fear that if I misbehaved God might zap me and I would be salt! Maybe this was not the best story for a little one. However, I did then learn about the endless love that God has for us, and he is a forgiving God.
Personal Worship Option:
Dear God, help us make the most of our time and relationships in sharing about your love and mercy through Jesus Christ. Let our fears be calmed by our faith. Amen.
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