As He said, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. Amen. God, please help us discern what we should let go of and what we should not as we follow Jesus. Even if we have left our nets behind, if we have not yet let go of our attachments to the world, may we, through the grace you provide and the hope you instill in us, be able to release all worldly attachments and become people of faith who look only to you. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. The world... Devotion... God who has manifested... Elevate... Before all creation, let us all come together to serve only God, for it is all in vain.

I will leave behind the umbrella. All the wealth and glory of humanity will also be left behind. Alone, I will serve only God. The people of the Lord should help each other. I will only serve God. I will enter heaven. I have decided to live according to the Lord's will. I have decided to live according to the Lord's will. I have decided to live according to the Lord's will; I will not turn back. Even if the people of this world do not recognize me, I will not turn back. I will turn my back on the world and look to the cross. I will turn my back on the world and go out. I will not turn back; I have decided to live according to the Lord's will. I have decided to live according to the Lord's will. I have decided to live according to the Lord's will; I will not turn back. Lord, we have turned our lives towards You.

Lord, may our steps, our hearts, and our gaze be held firmly by You, so that we do not return to the world. Help us to let go of all our attachments to the world and walk towards You. Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, we take steps to follow You, yet we often do not realize how many times our gaze turns to other places while we are facing You. Lord, help us not to turn our heads, and help us not to turn our bodies away. Continuously calling us to that eternal life, may we obey Your call and walk fully with You on that path. As we walk that path, we look forward to You, who will perfect and complete us. Through Your word and...

Let us pray together. A typhoon named Hinnamno is said to be making landfall now. God, please reduce the power of the strong winds and lessen the damage, and especially, may there be no loss of human life. With one heart, let us seek mercy and compassion from the Lord and pray. Heavenly Father, we do not know all the causes of the disasters that have occurred in this land. However, we cannot say that all these disasters are due to our sins. Yet, if there is something we need to turn away from, please help us to do so. We seek Your mercy and compassion because we believe that even in times of trouble, You do not forget us. Lord, when times are difficult and challenging, we look to You. The hardships are opportunities for us to listen well to Your words, as You have said they are like a loudspeaker through which You speak to us. Let us open the way wide and be ready for whatever comes our way.

May the people discern the will of God and, even amidst difficult trials and tribulations, never forget to seek God's mercy and compassion through prayer. If God can calm the winds of the typhoon, may the Lord reduce its intensity, and even if these winds make landfall, may God lessen the damage and ensure that there are no significant losses of life. Lord, protect and cherish human life, and prevent any harm from occurring. Please allow the winds to pass. Heavenly Father, may we, through this storm, turn away from the world and towards You, becoming a people of prayer who seek You earnestly. Help us to remember that even in suffering, You are a God who shows compassion. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. The reading is from Genesis 19:23-38. Let us read together.

When Lot was about to flee, the sun had risen. The Lord rained down sulfur and fire from the heavens, from the Lord upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and destroyed those cities and all the inhabitants of the cities, as well as the vegetation of the ground. Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Abraham rose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord, and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain and saw smoke rising like the smoke of a furnace. When God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the destruction when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, so he went up with his two daughters to the mountains and lived in a cave with them. The older daughter said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us in the manner of all the earth.

There were no men on this earth, so they said, Let us make our father drink wine and lie with him, so that we may preserve our lineage through our father. That night, they made their father drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He did not realize when she lay down or when she arose. The next day, the older daughter said to the younger, Last night, I lay with our father. Let us make him drink wine again tonight, and I will go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve our lineage through our father. So that night, they made their father drink wine again, and the younger daughter arose and lay with him. He did not realize when she lay down or when she arose. Thus, both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter bore a son and named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger daughter also bore a son and named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

It was our ancestors. Amen. Until judgment comes, judgment is not visible to us, so we often wonder whether this judgment will indeed come or not, leading to doubt or negligence in our vigilance. During the time of Noah's flood, people ate, drank, married, and bought and sold until the rain began to fall. Similarly, in Sodom and Gomorrah, although God made a covenant with a rainbow, saying He would not judge with water, they also witnessed fire raining down. 

From verses 23 to 25: As Lot entered Zoar, the sun had risen. The Lord rained down sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah, and He overthrew those cities, all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. The destruction did not happen until Lot entered the city. God had mercy on Lot and his family.

We see that God has paused His hand, as if waiting, until the people He has promised to save can escape this disaster and judgment. Similarly, in this era, we wonder who would believe or know that judgment is being delayed because of the people chosen for salvation. We say that judgment began with the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth because He came to save, not to judge. However, the very fact that He came to save and not to judge indicates that the paths of salvation and judgment have been separated. Those who refuse to partake in salvation are, in fact, moving toward judgment. News was delivered to Lot: You must escape from here; judgment is about to come upon this place. But wasn't there a chance given that if there were ten righteous people, they could be saved?

However, the conclusion is that there were no righteous people in this land. What was the conclusion? It is not that there are many wicked people; it is not because of the wicked that destruction comes. Even if there are many wicked people, it is the absence of the righteous that leads to destruction. If there are at least ten righteous people, judgment can be avoided. If there is even one righteous person in all of Jerusalem, God has promised to protect Jerusalem. Therefore, we see that God waits until Lot enters Zoar and until the sun rises. Then, the destruction comes, and we witness the rain of fire and brimstone falling like in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is said that there are still many wicked people in this area. Regardless, they will be overturned and destroyed. If we express it as fire pouring down like light, think about it. I saw heavy rain yesterday, and who knows if it will rain again today?

At that time, wasn't it an unavoidable rain? Just think about how light and fire poured down like that. Isn't it perhaps even more terrifying? Looking back on that scene today, it reminds me of the warning not to look back when leaving. We were told to flee to the mountains, but the plea was made to let them go only as far as Zoar. What happened on the way to Zoar? In verse 26, it says, But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. We were warned not to look back, yet she gazed upon the place that was being judged and devastated. What is the problem with just looking back a little? Does a single glance really warrant turning her into a pillar of salt? But what is it? Did she die because of what she saw, or did she perish because she couldn't truly leave when she was told to? Yesterday, her steps were led by her husband.

She may have been drawn out by the angels, but after all, Lot's wife likely did not want to give up any of her household items, her lifelong possessions, or the way of life she had lived in Sodom. That’s why she carelessly looked back, at the things he had left behind, the things she had seen, heard, and lived with until that point—everything familiar that she truly did not want to abandon. If she could, she would have wanted to endure and survive there, which is why she looked back. This is likened to the Israelites who, after the Exodus, often wished to return to Egypt. They had come out, but they had not truly left. Their bodies had escaped Egypt, but their hearts were still filled with it. Perhaps Lot's wife also physically escaped Sodom, but her heart was bound to it, and her heart was likely filled with all of Sodom. So that woman...

What it means is that just because you saw this, you will surely die. No, Abraham was also watching this right now. Did Abraham die because he saw it? No, that’s not the case. In verses 27 and 28, it begins: Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked toward Sodom and the whole region, and saw the smoke rising like the smoke of a furnace. Abraham knew that this region was being judged, and he must have been praying continuously. It's like when a typhoon is approaching, yet you still stand there praying and pleading for the direction of the typhoon to change. Similarly, he was concerned for Lot's safety and praying earnestly for him to be saved. Why wouldn’t Abraham pray? Lot, who was in danger, was like an ally who had come to him for help, and no matter what, he wanted to ensure Lot's safety.

Abraham, who hoped to survive, must have prayed for Lot even until the moment of judgment. However, now I see the entire region rising like the smoke from a pottery kiln. The whole area is engulfed in flames, filled with smoke. Whether it's a gas explosion in the city or a fire breaking out in a chemical plant, the entire sky is filled with smoke. And when the gunpowder of war begins, the entire region becomes enveloped in thick smoke. So, what was this land like before it reached such a state? What kind of area was it when it was chosen? Let's take a look at Genesis 13:10 again. In verse 10, it says, Lot lifted his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord.

Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it was like the Garden of the Lord and like the land of Egypt. Why do you think Lot chose Sodom? It looked like the Garden of Eden, the best place, the finest location. When Lot went to Egypt with Abraham to escape the famine, he saw the abundance of that land and the lifestyle he didn't want to miss out on. This is why he chose to live there. However, what was the humiliation he ultimately faced there? Despite his efforts to engage with the locals and settle in the area, working tirelessly to reach a leadership position among the people, he ended up being betrayed by the very residents of that region. And then...

In the end, it became a place from which he had to escape. Yes, I saw the warmth and the smoke that had exhausted him, and he may not have known why he escaped. However, today's verse 29 records, When God was about to destroy the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the catastrophe. Salvation is not because of us. It is not due to our abilities, nor is it because of our qualifications or conditions. Lot did not escape from Sodom because of his intentions, nor because he had performed any act of justice, nor because he had the qualifications or conditions to do so. He was saved because of Abraham. The fact that you and I are saved is also not because of us, right? We don't have such great conditions to perform good deeds, and we are not saved because of a high mileage of good actions.

Because Jesus took our sins upon Himself on the cross and intercedes for us, we are saved. This picture of salvation is shown to us today, just like a blueprint. In the Gospel of Luke, how does it say? Let's take a look at Luke 17:27-30. 

It says, Until the day Noah entered the ark, people were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same in the time of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. This is how we will face the end times.

Just as fire and sulfur rained down, it is said that on the day the Son of Man appears, judgment will come upon Holland. Until that time, what have humans been doing? We eat, we buy, we sell—what else can we do? However, these matters should not completely dominate our lives. We must always think about bigger, more important issues; there are things that should not leave our minds. While it is inevitable that we engage in buying and selling, and while we must eat and live, we cannot live blindly, ignoring the future events that await us. We must always be alert. What does it mean to be awake? It means remembering that our existence is as creatures and that creatures can only exist through the Creator. Without His grace, we are nothing.

Remembering that even a moment cannot exist, we are always reminded that He created us so that we might praise Him with our lips. We live with this understanding, never forgetting that we were made to glorify Him. We should always give thanks to God and pray without ceasing. This is how we are called to rejoice always. Isn't this the way He teaches us to live in the life He has given us on this earth? We should live like this, regardless of circumstances—rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks should become our habits. Rejoicing should be a habit, and gratitude should flow naturally from our lips. Otherwise, we find ourselves overwhelmed with complaints throughout the day. We often focus on what is wrong, what we dislike, and what is bad, filling our minds and mouths with negativity and dissatisfaction.

How will you live joyfully in this world? You have to block the paths, cover your ears, and turn your eyes away. That is how you live. You don’t live by simply seeing what is visible and hearing what is audible. If we don’t live according to our thoughts, we end up thinking according to how we live. Isn’t that what Paul Valéry said? How appropriate that statement is! If we don’t think about how we want to live, we will just think according to how we are living, and that’s akin to being like an animal—living as we go. We need to think about how we want to live, decide what we will see, and determine what we will think. If we think randomly, see whatever is in front of us, and hear whatever is audible, it becomes a habit. We end up seeing without awareness, listening without awareness, thinking without awareness, and making decisions without awareness. That’s how Lot’s wife turned back without thinking.

It is living as we have lived. If there are only good things, we look back, and if there are only good things, we cannot take our eyes off them. So, it feels regretful to leave them behind, and that’s why we give them our attention. Unconsciously, what you do unconsciously is simply reading the Bible, unconsciously worshiping, unconsciously praying, and unconsciously giving thanks. Remember that this is what our faith life is about. Now, after this, a tragic event occurs. I will read from verses 30 to 33. 

Out of fear of living in Zoar, Lot went up to the mountains with his two daughters. He had to stay there, and even then, he was with his daughters. The older daughter said to the younger daughter, Our father is old, and there is no one in this land to marry us in the customary way. Let us make our father drink wine, and then we can lie with him.

Because of the father, they decided to continue their lineage. That night, they made their father drink wine, and the eldest daughter went in and lay with him. However, the father did not realize when she lay down or when she got up. First of all, why did they make him drink? Where did the wine come from? It came from Sodom, and after a brief stay in Zoar, why did they go to the mountains? Look, this is a person who said he wouldn't go to the mountains. However, seeing that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, he was afraid that this city would also perish. He thought, This place seems like the Garden of Eden or the land of Egypt, so he chose Sodom. Yet, even after going to Zoar, there was no satisfaction. And there was no faith. He had said that he would protect Zoar, that he would keep it safe if he were there, but even in Zoar, he felt uneasy. So, where would he go now?

He went to the mountains and hid in a cave. He fled to the cave. What did he choose first? He chose Sodom because he had ample possessions. It wasn't because he had no possessions. It wasn't that he had no daily money or food, but he chose Sodom because he was looking for a more prosperous place. Even when he was fleeing, he was told to seek refuge in the mountains, but he believed that if Sodom was not a livable place, then Zoar would be. He went there, hoping to settle down, but when the anxiety that it wasn't a livable place overwhelmed him, he was told to flee to the cave. Where is he gradually heading? To a more miserable place. At first, he had enough to eat and live on, so why did it come to this? And what happened to his daughters when they first came to the house in Sodom? There were suitors for his daughters.

There are two daughters, and I told them to take my daughters and go out. That's how Lot lived. How could those daughters see their father? They didn't see him as a father; they saw him as a man. Because those daughters lived according to the ways of Sodom that they had seen and heard, and they were raised in Zoar for a while, they committed such acts without any sense of guilt regarding incest. This was the lifestyle of Sodom; this was the mindset of Sodom. Also, no matter how much I think about it, I wonder where the wine came from. We have some interest in wine, but where did this wine come from? It’s not like I cultivated grapes and made wine like Noah did. So, on the escape route, is it really that they had nothing to bring but wine? Did they really bring this along and think they wouldn’t drink it if it was in front of them?

Since there was wine, they took the way of wine; it's the way of the world. So, they thought, Ah, our gardeners are all dead. Of course, they didn't come out. So, when they followed them to the cave of Sodom, they wondered what hope there was in this cave. Now, there is no hope for these daughters. We thought it was impossible to get married; establishing a family the way of the world is wrong. So, having seen, heard, and lived in Sodom, they decided to have children. Therefore, what they did was get their father drunk, making him lose his senses, and the eldest daughter lay with him. What about the younger daughter? Both daughters did the same thing. They said, Last night, we lay with our father, and tonight, we will make our father drink wine again, and I will go in and lie with him so that we can continue our lineage through our father. And that night, they also...

They made their father drink, and his younger daughter lay with him. However, the father did not realize when she lay down or when she got up. How much did he drink that he couldn't even recognize this? It raises the question of how much wine was consumed. As a result, they lived as they saw fit, leading to this situation. They chose their dwelling and way of life based on what was pleasing to the eye, and in following their desires and the lusts of the flesh, they ended up bringing about these consequences. Consequently, in verses 36 to 38, we see that Lot's two daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter bore a son and named him Moab; he is the ancestor of the Moabites today. The younger daughter also bore a son and named him Ben-Ammi; he is the ancestor of the Ammonites today. Why was this recorded?

Due to Lot, the two daughters of Lot gave rise to the Moabites and Ammonites. The purpose of the biblical record is to highlight that the tribes constantly troubling Israel are the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites. So where did these tribes originate? Upon investigation, they are found to stem from Lot, and they were born through his two daughters. The name Moab means from the father, indicating a connection to the father. Ammon means the son of my father, referring to being the son of the father. These two tribes continuously troubled Israel. Later, when the Israelites were trying to escape from Egypt, they were obstructed by these tribes. Together, they allied with the Arameans and became tribes that endlessly harassed Israel. Regardless,

However, when we look at the Bible, we are led to examine ourselves and to look within. These daughters and Lot did not reflect on themselves; they were so focused on the world that they lived in this manner. However, when we look at the Psalms, it records how we should live. Let's find Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24. I will conclude with this. Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24 say, Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts. And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 

Dear friends, our prayer space should be a place for such prayers. Lord, please examine if there is any wickedness within me. I always think I am good; I am under the illusion that I am righteous. If there is any evil within me, please examine it and remove the evil. This is how we should pray. What wickedness is there?

According to the Lord's Prayer that Jesus taught us, may You keep us from falling into evil and lead us on the eternal path. This should be the theme of our prayers and the way we live our lives. As a result of following our desires and greed, Lot chose Sodom and chose to live there, ultimately experiencing this miserable path in a cave. You must realize that the path you thought was an uphill journey must also lead you back down. The road we climbed with all our might is also the road we must descend. Therefore, we don't need to strive to climb higher. I hope you will follow the path that the Lord leads you on and go where He shows you. May you not follow your own desires, nor choose the paths that seem good in your eyes. Lord, please examine me to see if there is any wicked way in me and turn me away from evil. And...

Guide us along the eternal path. I bless this morning as a time for such prayers. Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, we instinctively and inherently desire the wicked path. It is attractive and captivating. All our senses and instincts cannot resist the allure of that path. Lord, turn our eyes away and tune our ears. At times, allow us to quietly sit in our inner chambers and reflect on our inner selves. Help us to examine whether there is anything evil within us, or what might be like a magnet attracting sin. Give us the time to ponder this deeply. May we be a people of faith who, even if we must go against this world and this generation, like salmon swimming upstream, can repent and return to our true home. Lord, as you prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, let it not be my will, but Your will be done.

May we pray and, like You who bore the cross, strike us daily to bring us into submission. Help us to discipline our bodies, breaking the nature of our flesh, and to be renewed every day with thoughts of the Spirit. May we all become people of prayer who deny ourselves daily to take up the cross and follow You, living a life dedicated to the eternal path. Now, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who showed us the way on the cross, and the love of God the Father, who receives us at the end of our journey, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who binds us to that love, be with all the children of God gathered here. May we choose to follow the path that You lead, rather than the path that seems good in our own eyes, from now until eternity.

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