Sun 4 Feb

Newspaper headlines don't seem to change much. I remember a minister saying in a sermon that he was in a waiting room and he picked up a magazine to browse through, and could not get over how accurate the headlines were in comparison to what was happening out there in the world. Then he glanced at the date. The magazine was over twelve months old. Newspaper headlines don't appear to change much. Or is the fact that the sins we commit do not change and are passed on. As much as we might deny some of the sins we commit. genesis 4 drives home to us that the sins we commit from generation to generation. Take for example Cain's sin of premeditated murder. You can imagine the headline. "Cain commits murder" or "Cain kills his brother". Pick up a newspaper a few generations from that time, what will the headline read? "Cain's descendant commits murder"? It is a disheartening story. The descendants of Cain continue on in their father's footsteps. It is a sad state of affairs. It is a reminder of what Moses will later write under the direction of God that God punishes children for the sin of the fathers to the third and forth generation of those who hate me. Yet there is hope. God is gracious to Cain. He grants Cain's request for protection. As you reflect on God's grace, can you see where God has been at work? Although the newspaper headline may not change, we can give thanks for God's grace at work in our lives.