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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Living in Hope   CURRENT TV SERIES Unchained

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.  --Genesis 7:1 Sometimes it’s tough to be a man or woman who walks with God. But imagine how hard it must have been for Noah. The Bible tells us that except for Noah and his family, the hearts and minds of everyone in his generation were so evil that sin is all they could think about. Noah was a man who stood against the prevailing tide of society. He stood alone—and he stood out like a sore thumb as the evil people around him laughed and taunted him as he lived righteously and built the ark in his front yard. Since our generation is much like Noah’s, the question of the day is, are you going to stand against the tide of society? I realize the powerful presence of evil in our society; I know that it’s very difficult some days to live godly in the midst of such a perverse generation. But we must wade into the water and stand strong against the heavy tide of society. Noah proclaimed to the people around him that it would rain soon. Since rain had never touched the earth before this time, people thought this was ridiculous and laughed all the more. And just like Noah, we’re doing the same thing today:  proclaiming the wrath of God that is to come…and the hope that is found in Jesus Christ. People may laugh or ignore us, but we know something that Noah also knew: God is faithful to deliver on His Word. So let me encourage you today to keep standing firm as you live for Christ, and keep sharing His Word with those around you. Some will hear and believe! Determine to stand firm against the evil tide of our world.         Called to Give Account by Dr. Paul Chappell “And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.” Luke 16:1–2 In 1960 Bernie Madoff started a small stock trading company that quickly became a major player on Wall Street. Madoff would eventually become chairman of the NASDAQ exchange. He received investments from some of the wealthiest individuals and institutions in the country, and offered a much higher rate of return than normal to his investors. In 1999 a financial analyst called his business practices into question, but the authorities did not take the charges seriously. It was not until 2008 that Madoff was finally arrested for defrauding billions of dollars from investors. Rather than investing the money that was entrusted to him, Madoff siphoned off much of it to fund his lavish lifestyle. After his conviction, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison. One day each one of us will stand before God as stewards called to answer for how we have handled the time, talent, and treasure that God has given to us. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). The reality is that everything we have belongs to God, and He holds us responsible for how we use it. While we certainly would not cheat others or steal from them, when we fail to utilize the resources God has given to us, we are defrauding Him. That thought should motivate us to diligence and faithful service, recognizing that He is fully aware of not only what we have done and not done, but of what we could have done if we had been willing to do so. Today’s Growth Principle:  If we live with the realization of the day we will give account to God, we will live wisely.