Scripture to Read: Genesis 4:6-8
As we continue in Genesis 4 today, we see that God, in His loving kindness, grace, and mercy, reaches out to Cain. God even gives Cain the warning about his heart not being right with Him. The sad fact is that Cain totally missed what God was saying to him. There was ZERO repentance from his sin because Cain’s anger had control of him. Cain even goes and tells his brother, Abel, what God had said to him. We have no idea why Cain shared what God had told him because Cain chose to disregard what God had said. We know Cain ignored God’s Word because we read in Genesis 4:8 that after Cain talked with his brother, Abel, he rose up against Abel and killed him. When God lovingly confronts us about our sin, we need to repent immediately and confess it as sin. We do not need to rationalize our sin nor seek to blame someone else for our sin. What is sobering is that, as Christians, we can grieve and quench the Holy Spirit of God in us when we choose to stay in our sin. That is why God warns us NOT to grieve Him or quench Him in Ephesians 4:30 and 1 Thessalonians 5:19. When God lovingly confronted Cain, Cain said nothing in response to God at all. All we know, from Genesis 4:8, is that Cain went and told his brother what God had said, and then he killed his brother. The darkness in Cain’s soul was evident through his actions.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about confession, repentance and not grieving or quenching His Holy Spirit in us?
2. How are you guarding against grieving and quenching God the Holy Spirit in you each day?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!