But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. —Genesis 6:8

A jeweler will display a ring or a fine piece of jewelry against a dark backdrop so that our eyes are automatically drawn to it. And that is what Noah was like against the dark backdrop of wickedness in his day. He was a rare jewel, a radiant light in a very dark place. The Bible tells us that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8), which means that God extended grace toward him.

The Bible also tells us that “Noah walked with God.” (verse 9). That is said of only two people in the Scriptures: Enoch and Noah. So what does it mean to walk with God? Amos 3:3 gives us insight into this: “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” The idea is to move in rhythm with someone. If you take a walk with someone, you have to keep pace with that person. When I walk with my grandchildren, for example, I can’t walk at my normal speed. I slow down.

The idea of walking with God is that we are not running and dragging God along, and neither is God running and dragging us along. Rather, we are to get in rhythm with God. The objective is to get in synch with Him, not try to get Him in synch with us.

I remember a time when I went scuba diving and ended up using too much of my air. So I had to use the extra regulator hanging from the instructor’s tank, and from that point on, I had to go wherever he went. I could either stay in rhythm with my instructor and live, or break free and die. So I stayed in rhythm with him.

That is the idea of walking with God. And Noah walked with God.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:16

There are times when it is hard for us to tell the truth. I am not talking about telling a bold-faced lie. Rather, I am talking about those situations in which it’s difficult to tell the truth because you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.

There are many ways we can lie. For example, think of those times when someone asks for your opinion on something. “What do you think?” they will say.

So you might tell a little white lie. “Well, I have never seen anything quite like it!” or “That’s one of the most fascinating performances I’ve ever seen!”

Then there are those instances when someone calls, and you don’t want to answer the phone. So you say, “Tell them I’m not home.”

What about those times when you say, “I forgot,” and you didn’t forget, or “It was the traffic,” and it wasn’t the traffic, or “I am so glad you called. I was just getting ready to call you,” and you weren’t.

There are other ways we can lie as well, and that is through gossip. Gossip topples governments, wrecks marriages, ruins careers, destroys reputations, and causes nightmares. It spawns suspicions and generates grief. Even the very word hisses when we say it: gossip. It really is from the Serpent. Proverbs 20:19 says, “He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.”

A helpful principle before you repeat something can be summed up in one word: THINK. Ask yourself these questions the next time you’re about to repeat information:

T—Is it truthful? Are you sure it’s true?

H—Is it helpful?

I—Is it inspiring?

N—Is it necessary?

K—Is it kind?

If it doesn’t pass that test, then don’t say it.

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” —Proverbs 14:34

Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political thinker and historian wrote a book entitled Democracy in America. This book was published after his extensive travels in our country when it was still young.

He made the statement about the greatness of America that bears remembering:

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers—and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests—and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce—and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

That’s right, our greatness has come from our goodness—from our belief in God’s Word, which gives us the moral compass we need, so we can know right from wrong and good from evil.

In the classic song, “America the Beautiful,” we sing the words, “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.” And that is so true. God has been gracious to our country, and I pray that we will turn back to Him like never before. I pray it does not take a national crisis to get our attention.

How we need God in America today. And let’s also not forget the Word of God that says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

So today, as you enjoy the fireworks and barbeques, remember the Lord who has blessed this nation in an extraordinary way. And remember to give Him thanks!

“I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior.”—Isaiah 43:11

As children are growing up, they will hear their parents say things they don’t like, such as when Mom or Dad says, “Do you think that I have a money tree somewhere?” or “You don’t know the sacrifices I had to make when I was your age!” Then there is my favorite parental saying: “Because I said so!”

Kids today may vow to never say that to their children, but when they’re adults and their children keep pressing them, they may find themselves blurting out, “Because I said so!” (Then they’ll think, I can’t believe I just said that!)

Sometimes we may look at God’s laws, standards, and absolutes and say, “I struggle with that. I don’t know about that. How can I know it’s true?”

Meanwhile God is saying to us, “Because I said so. Really, you know it is true because I said so.”

God is the source of truth. God is truth. So if God says it is true, then it is true. You may or may not agree with it. You may not fully understand it. But that doesn’t change what it is.

I have seen a lot of drama played out in real time in many lives. I have seen what happens to men and women who get married, work on having a strong marriage, stay married, and raise their children in the way of the Lord. Of course every family has its challenges. And every family has its tragedies. But I’ve seen in the long run how it works when we pass on these biblical truths from generation to generation.

I have also seen what happens when couples get divorced, get remarried, and get divorced again. I’ve seen how problems get passed from generation to generation.

So let’s just take God at His Word.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”—Exodus 20:12

Few things in life can bring us as much pleasure or pain as our families. When things are working well in the family, it’s great. When things are not going so well, it’s tough. Parents have tension with children. Children have tension with parents. Husbands have tension with wives. Wives have tension with husbands. Then there are the in-laws. Families are complex. But God established the family.

In the Ten Commandments, before a word is said about how we treat one another, God starts with the family: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12).

In Genesis we have God bringing Adam and Eve together. He started with the family. He created the family. And He—and He alone—defines the family. God loves the family.

There is only one picture that God gives to a lost world to show His love for the church and the church’s love for Him. That is marriage. He says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25), and “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (verse 22).

Effectively, here is what God is saying: “Look at this Christian couple right here. See the way that husband loves his wife? That is how I love this church, My people. See how that wife loves her husband? That is how My church loves Me.”

Because of that, when a Christian family starts to unravel and when Christian people get divorced, that is devastating in many ways to the testimony of believers in a given community.

It has been said that a family can survive without a nation, but a nation cannot survive without the family.

For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.—James 2:10

The Ten Commandments were not given to make us holy; they were given to show us that we are not holy. The commandments were given to show us that we need Jesus. The Bible says they are like a schoolmaster (kind of an old King James word). The idea is that of a disciplinarian. The commandments were given to say, in essence, “You can’t do this on your own.”

They are like a moral mirror. When you look at them, you say, “Uh-oh. I’m not measuring up.” Every one of us has broken the commandments.

Someone may say, “Yeah, that might be true, but I haven’t broken that many. I’ve only broken a couple of them.”

Maybe. Or maybe not. The Bible says, “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws” (James 2:10). If you have broken even one commandment, it’s enough to keep you from God and to separate you from Him.

The commandments were given to drive us into the open arms of Jesus. That’s why Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Have you ever been carrying around something that was very heavy and had someone say, “Here, let me take that from you”? That is what Jesus is saying. “Let Me lift that load. Let Me ease your pain. Let Me give you relief. Right now. Come to Me,” He says.

That is the message of what happened at the Cross. He died for our sins and paid the price for every wrong we have ever done. And if we will turn from our sins and believe in Him, then we will be forgiven.

And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.—Mark 6:31

The Sabbath is not a legalistic day that we as believers have to observe, but it is a great idea to take some time off and focus on the Lord. For many of us, that day is Sunday. I love to see Sunday set apart as the Lord’s Day, just like the early church did.

We should make our first priority to worship with God’s people. Maybe we will do some fun stuff afterward. But we shouldn’t let anything stop us from getting together and worshiping and putting the Lord first. I think God will honor that in our lives if we do.

Even Jesus took time off. In Mark we read,

Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. (6:30–32)

I love that. “Lord, this happened. That happened.”

“Have you guys had lunch yet?”

“We are too busy to eat.”

“Come on. Let’s get some lunch. Relax a little bit. You need to chill. You need to recharge. Come aside with Me.”

If we don’t come aside, then we will come apart. During the next 24 hours, your heart will beat 103,000 times, and your blood will travel 168 million miles. You will breathe 23,000 times and inhale 480 cubic feet of air. You will move 750 muscles and exercise 7 million brain cells. No wonder we all feel tired. We’re constantly going.

The principle of the Sabbath is taking time off, recharging, and focusing on the things of God.

So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.”—Exodus 8:28

It would have been tempting for Moses to compromise with Pharaoh. But God had told Moses to go three days’ journey into the wilderness (see Exodus 3:18), and Moses would accept nothing less. I love that. Moses was a stickler for details.

So many good believers have been brought down by the same strategy that Pharaoh used. “Oh man, pray for me. Intercede for me.”

It’s like when a Christian guy decides to do a little so-called missionary dating. He says to himself, “I will reach her for the Lord. We’ll talk. I’ll bring up my faith. I’ll get her to go to church with me.”

So they go out to dinner. He brings up his faith, and she doesn’t respond all that much. So he talks a little more about his faith the next time—and a little more the next time. Finally they agree to go to church together. But somehow dinner just went a little bit longer than they thought it would, and they don’t make it to church.

You don’t bring people to Christ by making concessions. If you come down to where they are, why would they want to go up to where you were? Stand your ground. Have some conviction.

Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). If God says something, He says it for a reason. He says what He means, and He means what He says. We need to do what He says as He says to do it.

Here is the bottom line: If you want to be a Christian, then be a Christian. If you don’t want to be a Christian, then don’t be a Christian. Either go for it or don’t go for it. Make a decision and do it.

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. —Hebrews 3:12–13

Where is one of the easiest places to get a hardened heart? Any place where God’s people gather. It isn’t in a bar or around a bunch of people who are doing wicked things. No, the easiest place to get a hardened heart is where you hear the Word of God being taught. Knowledge brings responsibility. And the same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay. The same message that transforms one life can cause another to say, “I don’t believe.”

If you go to church or a Bible study week after week, hearing the Word of God but refusing to believe it, you can actually get an irreparably hardened heart. I am not saying that you shouldn’t go to church. But I am saying that you should go to church with the right heart, with an open heart. Otherwise, you could get a hardened heart. You could be judged by the very message that should have set you free.

That’s why preachers’ kids and others who were raised in the church are often some of the most notorious sinners. They’ve taken God’s Word for granted and hardened their hearts against it.

The J. B. Phillips translation of Hebrews 3:12–14 says, “You should therefore be most careful, my brothers, that there should not be in any of you that wickedness of heart which refuses to trust, and deserts the cause of the living God. Help each other to stand firm in the faith every day, while it is still called ‘today’, and beware that none of you becomes deaf and blind to God. For we continue to share in all that Christ has for us so long as we steadily maintain until the end the trust with which we began.”

May God help us to keep tender hearts.