Today we read Genesis 8. Noah demonstrates extraordinary patience and willingness to listen and obey God while confined in the ark for more than a year. People of faith do not always demonstrate such patience and often act on their own, even under less trying circumstances than those of Noah. But God is patient when His people are not; in Christ, He provides forgiveness and deliverance when His people do not have the patience of Noah. • Thank You, gracious Lord, for Your patience and forgiveness when we do not trust as we should and when we act on our own without patience. Amen.

Various Authors. The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 634). (Function). Kindle Edition.

Today we read Genesis 7. Faithful Noah and his family experience the greatest horror this earth has known, but the ark carries them up and away from the destruction and total devastation of the great flood. Although dwarfed by Noah’s experience, all Christians experience turbulence in their lives that can lead them to the brink of despair. But through Noah, God has demonstrated that He will lift up and save His faithful people whom He has cleansed in Holy Baptism. • Lord, give to Your people today the confidence in Your salvation that Noah demonstrated when he willingly placed himself and the welfare of his family into Your gracious care. Amen.

Various Authors. The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 632). (Function). Kindle Edition.

Today we read Genesis 6. Seth’s descendants increasingly participate in the evil that overwhelms God’s creation, preferring their own inclinations toward beauty and power over God’s clear will for their lives. Recognizing that the human heart is a continual source of evil, God’s patience is about to give way to judgment. But God also plans to have mercy. Even as Noah finds favor in the eyes of the Lord, so also the faithful of all times have God’s favor on account of the promised Savior. • We thank You, O Lord, that You look upon us with favor because of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Keep us ever in this faith. Amen.

Various Authors. The Lutheran Study Bible (pp. 627-628). (Function). Kindle Edition.

Today we read Genesis 5. The genealogical summary advances the story to the next major development—the flood. Genealogies teach an important theological lesson: God perseveres in the fulfillment of His promises. God does not become bored with His plan or discouraged by Satan’s efforts to derail it. Like God’s people before us, we often wander from God’s path. Yet, God works patiently to set the course right again and to draw us back to Himself. For this reason, the genealogies that may seem boring actually proclaim “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2Pt 3:9). • Lord, fulfill Your good purpose for me in Christ, as You have promised. Amen.

Various Authors. The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 626). (Function). Kindle Edition.