The Introduction of Abram

And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abraham’s wife; an the went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. Genesis 11:31

Steps 4, 5, 6, 10, 12

Abrams family leaves Ur of the Chaldees, a close place to Babel. They are moving to go to the land of Canaan, just like Israel will do in a few hundred years. Abram is a descendent of Shem, the son of Noah. Abram’s story will be used by God to set the stage for many people and their experiences with God. Abram is a type of Jesus.

Prayer for Today: God, help me to see the truths of the story of Abram, and what you taught him, teach us today. We want to learn, and we pray for Your grace and mercy and teach us what You have prepared for us today. We want to grow and change into Your likeness. Thank You for Your patience with us.

Drunk with Blood

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. Revelation 17:6

Steps 4, 5, 6, 10, 12

Babylon has caused so much confusion with her errors, and is so drunk on her errors that all she knows to do is to attack people. The people that irritate her the most are those who tell her the truth about God. She chooses to kill these people instead of listening. She, is a church, and she has unlawfully united with the political powers of the world. The inevitable result of this kind of union is to harm people that don’t agree with her. Thus she adds murder to all of her other crimes. She will return to the same state of mind as the people before the flood – she thinks evil continually.

Prayer for Today: God, we have seen murderous thoughts and behaviors before. Some of us have even harmed others. Some of us have harmed by intent and some by neglect. But in any case we ask that You will forgive us and help us to walk with You. You know our hearts, we ask that You will change us so that we may walk, talk, and act like You. We thank You again for Your love and mercies.

Mystery Babylon

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication…And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABLYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Revelation 17:1,2,5

Steps 1, 2, 3, 11, 12

While old time Babel is in our minds we will take a brief trip to the future when the same conditions that occurred at the Tower of Babel will happen again in the end times. A mixture of religion and politics will occur called Babylon the Great. She, this church state mixture, will have an unlawful relationship with the governments of the world. God wants church and state to be separate; Satan wants church and state to unite to persecute. Because Babylon, a Satanic church, has an unlawful relationship with the kings of the Earth, she will produce ideas and laws that will violate the recovery experience with God. This is called the wine, or the doctrines, of her fornication and it will make the people of the world crazy with confusion.

Prayer for Today: God, You know what is coming to Earth. You know the confusion that is happening and that will happen. Help us to be so grounded in recovery that we will choose the right over the confusion. Help us to understand what the wine of truth is, and what the wine of error is, and that You will help us to drink the wine of truth alone. Thank You for Your patience with us. We love You and want to work with You, anything less will produce spiritual drunkenness.

The Confusion of Languages

Go to, let us go down, and there confound the language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel (confusion); because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:7-9

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12

Since mankind would not scatter across the face of all the Earth, then God chose to stop them from setting up a kingdom that would interfere with the safety of mankind. The people wanted to build a city, a tower, and a government based on fear and distrust of God. To allow this to continue would be to recreate the atmosphere of peoples thinking as it was before the Flood. God stepped in, assessed/judged the situation, and implemented His plan. He would give people many languages, rather than the one unifying language. This would result in language confusion, and people would separate depending upon understanding the language given you. This facilitated God’s plan and the people were distributed across the face of the Earth and the evil one world government was thwarted.

Prayer for Today: God, You know we like to disobey You but today help us to learn this lesson from the past. You know better about people than we do. We have tried to do things our own way and it has been a disaster. Please protect us from self, and bring us into full relationship with You. Help us to trust You more than our empire building rebellious thinking. Thank You for Your love.

The Tower of Babel

And they said, God to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole Earth. Genesis 11:4

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12

Mankind is back at it again. The spirit of Nimrod has brought the same spirit to his children. Now the people want to make a city, a tower, and a name so that they will not have to fulfill God’s wishes for them. God wants them to spread out over the lands, not have a city, not have a tower, and to have His name, not their own. The people do not want to trust that God will not bring another flood of water. They want to build a tower so that they can find out what God is all about and stop Him in case He changes His mind. They do not trust God and they decide the best way to protect themselves is to build a great tower and to disobey every concept that God has given to them. Such is the case of addictive thinking.

Prayer for Today: God, we can see it happening to them and we pray that we don’t have to go down that road again. We recognize the spirit of rebellion against God. We admit we have done it to You before, we will be tempted to do it again, but we don’t want to. Please help us keep it ever fresh in our minds that we need You to protect us from power mongering. Keep us humble, keep us alert to our need of You.

Nimrod the Mighty Hunter

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Genesis 10:8-10

Steps 4, 5

Nimrod was a descendent of Ham. He was a mighty man, meaning he had great strength, energy, and yet may have had some of his grandfather’s lack of respect. Nimrod initiated the building up of his kingdom. His primary city was Babel – the gate of God in the land of Shinar – where the future city of Babylon would be built. Nimrod appears to be rebelling against the counsel of God to Noah to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth. Nimrod wanted a kingdom and a city to rule over it, rather than being a farmer and living in the country. Nimrod was rebelling against the plans of God and his rebellion would come to fruition in the Babylon of Revelation 17.

Prayer for Today: Lord, mankind escaped from the old-world and in just a few generations was back to rebelling against You and Your plans. We know how easy it is to rebel. Please teach us how to surrender to Your plans and to trust that Your plans are better than our own. We want to know You and trust You, and we again ask Your help today.

The Blessing on Shem and Japheth

And he (Noah) said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. Genesis 9:26-27

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12

In an earlier story we talked about the curse of Ham and his son Canaan. In this follow story we see that Shem and Japheth were blessed for watching over their father. Shem turns out to be the son through whom the spiritual blessing is continued. He turns out to be the father of the Shemites, eventually known as the Semites. Shem is the great great grandfather of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The spirit he showed in caring for the dignity of his father was passed on to his descendents and the blessing continues to this day.

Prayer for Today: Father, we thank You for positive stories as well as for the warnings of the negative stories. Please help us to keep looking to You and to expect wonderful things from cooperating with You. Help us to remember that there are no little stories, but each story in the Bible has a lesson for us. One little deed can have a positive or negative effect for many generations. Today, help us to come to You and receive your gifts and Your blessings for today.

Noah Lived for 950 Years

And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died. Genesis 9:29

Steps 4, 5, 11, 12

Noah was the last of the people from before the flood who lived into the 900-year area. His son Shem lived only until he was 600 years old. Genesis 11:10-11. The decline of ages appears to be directly related to the changes in the atmosphere and the world after the flood and the increased consumption of flesh food. After the flood, and after the introduction of flesh, the length of time that people lived began to go down generation after generation, until the average age of people on the earth was about 70 years. Addictive lives have an effect on our length and happiness of our lives.

Prayer for Today: God, you know how we live. You know how much instruction You have given each of us and You know our responses to Your counsel. We ask for forgiveness today for our decisions and our actions. Forgive us we pray, and help us to turn back to You and get our lives back under control. We acknowledge today that without Your help we will die. Help us to accept Your life today.

The Curse on Ham

And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. Genesis 9:21

Steps 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

When Noah became drunk with wine he was uncovered in his tent. It appears that Ham saw his father’s nakedness and was not embarrassed nor did he cover his father. He apparently told his other two brothers and they were concerned about their father and his vulnerable condition. They respected Noah’s condition and walked into the tent backwards and covered their father’s nakedness. When Noah sobered up and found out what happened he prophesied that attitude and behaviors of Ham would pass on to the children and unless the children came to God to get help the behavior pattern would effect the children unto the third and fourth generation. Exodus 20:4-5. This same thing would happen to the descendents of Shem and Japheth but in a positive manner. Thus the impact of wine on our descendents.

Prayer for Today: Please God, help us to be aware of our behaviors and thoughts. Help us to recognize that our decisions effect not only ourselves, but also our children and loved ones as well. Help us to come to You to get help in these delicate areas. Help us to choose You today so that we can lessen the negative effects and amplify the positive. Thank You for Your love and care.

Wine is Dangerous Stuff

Who hath woe? Who hat sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Proverbs 23:29-30

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Noah, as a fallen human being, had his weak spots as we all do. We do not know if Noah had a tendency to drinking wine or whether his drunkenness was a one-time event. In any case it set a number of things into motion. If he had not gotten drunk he would not have been in the position for his son Ham to see him naked and think bad thoughts about his father. There probably would have been a circumstance where Ham’s thinking would have come out but it would not have been because of Noah. None the less, because Noah showed human weakness it set in motion many issues and clarified the defective qualities of Ham and his descendents. This story also shows that God works with human beings even if they have defects of character. God knows us, He knows our weaknesses, and He wants to work with us.

Prayer for Today: Thank You Lord for loving us even though we are weak and erring. Even the best of us are sinners and have fallen short of Your plans for us. Yet You still want to work with us. It is amazing that You would want to do this with us. Help us we pray to trust that You have a plan, and that we can be a part of it. Help us to trust You and to believe that You love us.

Noah and Wine

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. Genesis 9:20-21

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12

In this story God chooses to let us know that Noah had a problem. God does not cover up our defects and sometimes uses our defects to let others know that they are not alone. Our hero Noah had a bit of a drinking problem at least one time in his life. When this event occurred his son Ham revealed a character problem of his own in that he was disrespectful of his father and did not try to cover up his fathers’ nakedness and did not attempt to cover him and cover his embarrassment. This character defect in Ham led to his children having a similar problem, which did not bode well for them in the future. But God recognizes that all of His people are not mistake free but even then He wants to help.

Prayer for Today: God you know that each one of us have some peculiar thinking and behaviors. Please remember that we are weak and get easily side tracked. Help us to learn from our mistakes, and the mistakes of others so we don’t have to get into trouble before we can learn. Help us to learn from others and help others to learn from us. Thank You again for Your patience and long suffering, for we surely need it.

The Earth Repopulated

And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan, These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread. Genesis 9:18-19

Steps 3, 12

God chose to repopulate the earth out of these three men, and their wives. We do not know how long it took them to have sufficient children to repopulate the earth but we do know that Genesis chapter 10 is the genealogy of all the different sons, and the different nations. We don’t know if Noah, and his wife, had any more children but we do know that Noah lived 350 more years after the flood. In the fertile years of Noah’s sons they could each have produced 400-600 children so it would not take many generations to have a lot of children. From these families all of the various races of men came from. So we are all brothers, or cousins to all people.

Prayer for Today: Thank You Lord for having the foresight to see how all of these things would unfold. You did a very good job then and we pray that You will take care of business today as well. We need Your help. Keep us focused and grant us a vision of Your ability to care for us. Thank You for being there in our time of need.

The Sign of God's Covenant

And I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. Genesis 9:13

Steps 3, 11, 12

God decided to give Noah, and thus all of mankind, the awareness that He would not bring a flood of water on the earth to totally destroy it again. The Rainbow is a sign, or mark, of this covenant that God chose to make with mankind. We can trust God and He says He will not destroy the whole world with water, ever again. He then sent man and animals out to repopulate the earth.

Prayer for Today: You know God that we have initiated all kinds of things that seem like they will destroy the whole earth around us and our behaviors. Today, we ask that you will continue the cleansing process and that you will help us to restart our lives. We choose to serve You today and we accept Your covenant that you do not intend to destroy us by the cleansing waters. Help us to hold on to You by faith and trust that you can send us out into the world to do the tasks You have assigned for us.

A New Start

And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his son’s wives with him: Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord’ and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake: for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. Genesis 8:18-21

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12

God brought Noah, his family, and all of the animals in the ark, safely through the flood. Wickedness had been cleansed from the earth. A new start had been given to mankind. Now they were to go out and repopulate the world, with man and with animals. When Noah got off the boat the first thing he did was to offer sacrifice to God to acknowledge that without God there would be no new start. Noah offered sacrifice of the clean animals only. He offered the one extra animal or bird, so that the three pairs would not be harmed. God accepted the sacrifice and blessed Noah and family.

Prayer for Today: Thank You Lord for giving Noah, and his family, a new start. Thank You for using this story to tell us that You will do that for us as well. We often need a new start to get us going on the right path. Help us to remember that it is You who helped us and not ourselves alone.

The Flood

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. Genesis 7:11

Steps 1, 2, 3, 11, 12

When the probation of man was completed, and they did not repent, then God followed through with His word. He means what He says. God had the ark built, everyone had been given their opportunity, and God had His remnant safe in the ark. He was ready to care for the people who had chosen Him. When they were safely inside the ark, then God brought the flood. The flood destroyed every living creature on the land. But creatures in the sea survived. So we know that when God speaks He will follow through. God does not threaten and not follow through.

Prayer for Today: God, we accept that you will follow through with both love and punishment. Help us to learn that You do not want to harm anyone but You will stop the process before You lose all of Your. Thank You for Your protective care. Help us to see You as caring rather than cruel. Help us to always look for the solutions You have provided and then to be willing to participate in the solutions rather than just be an onlooker. Thank You for Your patience and for Your love for us.

Entering Into the Ark

And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in. Genesis 7:16

Steps 1, 2, 3, 11, 12

God had set the time for the flood, He had given the directions regarding building the Ark, and it was He who told Noah when to go into the Ark. God sent the animals in, and then He told His people to go in, and He gave opportunity for all who would choose to go in as well. When all was done, and all that chose to go in went it, then God shut them in. All who obeyed were saved. All who chose not to obey were left outside of the ark and would receive the rewards of their decision. This is always God’s way of acting. He will alert us to an event, He will warn us, and all who want to know will obey and be saved. All who refuse the instruction of God will be lost.

Prayer for Today: God, You know how we have treated You in the past. Every one of us has abused You in some way or another. We acknowledge that to You today. We also acknowledge that many of us are still ambivalent as to whether we want to cooperate with You today. Help us we pray that we will not choose to be on the outside. Help us to choose to be with You on the inside today.

The Sign

And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth. There went in two and tow unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. Genesis 7:7-9

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12

All had been prepared in the ark. All that was needed to finish was the time, of 120 years, the people, and the animals that were to be saved. When God instructed Noah to go into the ark means that the probationary period was just about to end. The final sign was for the animals to come into the ark. They came into the ark by 7s for the clean animals and by 2s for the unclean animals. This also shows that the laws of clean and unclean animals were already in place long before the laws of Moses. When the animals were finally in the final part of the process was ready to take place.

Prayer for Today: Thank You Lord, that You would take care of every detail for Noah and we trust that You will take care of every detail for us. Help us to know what we need to do and give us the courage and faith to obey You. It is amazing that Noah believed You and cooperated with You. Help us God to trust You also.

Noah Obeyed

Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. Genesis 6:22-7:1

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12

Noah obeyed God and as a result of this obedience he was to be saved as well as his family. Provision had been made to save any, and all people who would respond to God like Noah did. They would do a 12th step and share this recovery message with all others and then they would help build the ark, and then get into the ark when God said it is time. Only 8 people chose to respond to the message that God had given to Noah and only 8 people were saved from their addictions.

Prayer for Today: God, when we hear Your voice, help us to be willing to listen, and to understand, and to obey. You know our hearts and You know how difficult it is for us to hear Your voice and when we hear You You know how difficult it is for us to obey You. Never the less, today, we choose to serve You again. Help us, send us people like Noah, and we pray that You will give us a listening ear and an open heart, and understanding to recognize You, and obey You. Thank You for not giving up on us.

Drug Court

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. I Peter 3:20

Steps 2, 3, 11, 12

God told the people of the world that He, the Judge of the whole earth (Genesis 18:25, would give mankind 120 years of probation. If they did not choose to change, and come to Him and enter into recovery, that He would destroy the earth with a flood. While Noah was preaching and building the ark, God would monitor the people and assess what they would do. God knew what would happen but He still gave free choice, time, and information. Noah told the people what would happen, and by building the ark, he told the people that God meant what He said and that He would follow through. Each person had to decide, and only eight people made that decision.

Prayer for Today: God, thank You for being patient with the people then, and with the people today. Help me to make the decision that Noah and his family made. Help us to choose to serve You and to go through Your recovery program. Thank you for these stories so that we have a fair opportunity today. Thank You for our probationary time and we pray for your help to see and to do what is best for our recovery.

God Reveals His Plan for Rescue

Make thee an ark of gopher wood rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch…And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh where in is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. Genesis 6:14,17

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12

God finally reveals how He will solve the logistical nightmare of rampant totally unrestrained addiction on the earth. He will have Noah build an ark and then He will bring a flood, to wash the earth of its evil, and addictions. This flood will be worldwide, and it will disrupt all of the life then known on the earth. God had chosen a man to build the ark and God was going to fulfill His plan unless mankind changed it’s mind in the remaining time of the 120years of probation. God was going to protect and deliver His people, even though few in number. God would use this people to accomplish His purposes.

Prayer for Today: God help us to be alert to Your plans, and help us to cooperate with You and Your plans. We thank You for the awareness that You have a plan for every issue. We ask today that we might continue to be a part of Your plan and bless us for we need every part of it that You will grant us.

Noah's Time is Like Our Time

But as the days of Noe (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:37

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12

God says that life on earth will eventually return to the same state of unrestricted addictive behaviors just before the coming of Jesus – The Son of man. The same violence, the same addictive behaviors, the same lack of awareness of anyone else’s needs. God says that violence, confusion, greed, death, addictions will so infect the earth that total destruction will become necessary again. What has happened in the past will happen again. But the good point is that somehow and someway, God will still rescue a group of people so that He can save them.

Prayer for Today: God please have mercy on us. We want to change, have tried to change, and have had limited success. Please keep telling us these stories and keep assuring us that You have a plan and that it is working out just as You would have it to be done. Help us to not give up hope in You and help us to be able to cooperate with You. Thank You again for Your awareness, Your love, and Your help. Thank You God.

How God would Deal with World Wide Addiction

And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before Me; for the Earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the Earth. Genesis 6:13

Steps 1, 2, 3, 12

God decided that things were so bad that the only way to preserve anyone was to destroy all living things on the land. God saw what uncontrolled addictions had done to the earth. He saw that the addictions were so out of control that all it produced was violence in the land. If God did not do something the violence would kill off everyone on the earth. This is the ultimate statement of where addictions would take us without the control of God.

Prayer for Today: It is difficult for us to see that addictions could be become the producer of total violence in the land, but You saw it then and You see it now. Help us to be willing to see our personal addictive behaviors, and help us to be able to see addiction as a worldwide process as well. Deliver us God for You only have the power and the wisdom to see these things. Help us to cooperate with You.

The Whole Earth had Come to the Point of Full Addiction

The Earth also was corrupt before God, and the Earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the Earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted His way upon the Earth. Genesis 6:11-12

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12

God, the Judge of all of the Earth, declared that all of the earth was corrupt and filled with violence. God judged that mankind, as a group, had so turned away from God that there was virtually no one earth that was in to recovery. All the people on the whole planet were so into their addictions that everything about God, and thus everything about recovery had been rejected. This state called for radical action to save a remnant of people from the earth.

Prayer for Today: Thank you Lord that You can judge properly. There is no shadow of error in Your heart, and that You love equally and perfectly. We pray that as earth comes to this same state again You will protect us again. We want to be in recovery, and You know how much we struggle with giving up our addictive ways of life. Help us to be willing to change, help us to be willing to accept Your plans to save us. We ask this to be done for us, and in us, and we trust You to accomplish for us what we can not do for ourselves.

But Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord

But Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:8-9

Steps 4, 5, 11

In the middle of all of the evil and violence in the land, God still had a man who was willing to do right and to walk with God. That man was Noah. Noah was a man who practiced recovery and stayed in recovery all of his life. Noah walked with God. To walk with God is to do those things that please God, and does not bring separation. We know that evil and addictive thinking and behaving, separates us from all that we love. Therefore, Noah was not doing those things and was walking in recovery.

Prayer for Today: Help me to be like Noah, and that even when everyone has turned against You, help me to stay in recovery. There are many addicts that surround me, and the temptation to go back to the old ways is strong, but help me to stay steady and to stay in recovery.

God Will Not Always Strive with Us

And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. Genesis 6:3

Steps 4, 5, 11

In this text God has put a limit on the time that humanity had to work with. God was going to give humanity a 120 year time limit and if they did not choose Him and recovery, He would destroy mankind. He also would work with them intensely for this final 120 years to save as many people as would respond to His call. We will find out that not many would choose Him.

Prayer for Today: God, You know it is tempting for us to judge You. We will say that You could have done differently. We pray today that You will help us to understand why You chose to deal with mankind and why You had to put a halt to the wickedness. We pray that we may mature, and eventually understand what happened, and eventually bless You for all of Your efforts for us. Thank You for today, that I can read this story and at least meditate upon Your efforts. Thank You for Your love.

And It Grieved God that He had Made Mankind

And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. Genesis 6:6

Steps 4, 5, 8, 9

In this story God conducts an inventory on His intents and desires. He concludes that mankind had not turned out the way He wanted it done. Yet, since God knows the end from the beginning He already knew this before He even created mankind. Yet, even God, feels sorrow and sadness that His best efforts had been thwarted by addiction/sin. Yet, even in this terrible time, God still had a plan and He would implement the plan to protect and preserve mankind.

Prayer for Today: God, thank You that You are able to feel pain, and sorrow, along with us. We are sorry that all things did not turn out the original way for You, and for us. Thank You that You did not give up, and that You still had a plan, and always will have a plan. Help us to see Your plan, and to participate in it. Grant us wisdom, insight, and a willingness to change.

God Saw the Wickedness of Man

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them. Genesis 6:5, 7

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11

God saw that His creation had turned against Him and against His recovery program. God knew that He could help man to change, but they refused Him and chose addictive thoughts and behaviors. It got so bad that an eternally merciful God concluded that a special plan had to be put into place to have anyone survive to work with. God decided that the only way to have anyone make it would be to bring a general destruction on earth. They would not change and rather than let them suffer He would come up with a plan.

Prayer for Today: I recognize that many times it seems that my heart is evil continually. I sometimes can hardly think of a good thing to be done. Yet sometimes if feels like I think that way that You think. Please help me to not fall into the pit of thinking evil continually. I want recovery, but often do not know how to get it, or to keep it. Don’t give up on me, and please help me to stay in touch with You. Thank You for Your patience with me.

The Sons of God and the Daughters of Men

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they too them wives of all which they chose…There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. Genesis 6:1,2,4

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11

In this section of Scripture, time continues on toward the time of the flood. The Scripture says that the sons of God, those mentioned in Genesis 4:26, the followers of God, saw that the daughters of me, those who followed in the footsteps of Cain, were attractive, or fair. The sons of God decided that marrying these women would be a good idea because they were beautiful. God has always frowned on marrying outside of recovery, for as soon as one does that then the potentiality of relapse grows greater. Sure enough the results of the marriages between the followers of God and the followers of Cain, or rebels (fallen ones) against God, resulted in more rebellion and more problems for mankind. People tend to lower their standards to keep harmony in the home. So when one marries someone who has equal or greater addiction patterns we almost never lift the moral standard but almost always sink to the level of mutual addiction. The term giant in this text can also be translated as a bully or a tyrant, not a good plan for our children.

Prayer for Today: God You know whom I want to marry and whom I should marry. I pray today that my desires for sex will not override my relationship with You. Help me to pick the right partner to maintain my recovery and not to undermine my recovery. You know the right partner for me, help me to surrender to you, for their benefit, my benefit, and for our benefit. Thank You for standing by me to help me even in my relationship areas.