GENESIS 7
Genesis 7:4, 10 ...Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made...And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.
The story of Noah's ark is such a common common tale. It very well might be the first story that we ever hear in Sunday School! And so whenever I find myself reading a passage of scripture that I have heard countless numbers of times, I always find it hard to not just rush through the story...with a rolled eyes mentality of..."I already know all this"...and so I always pause and ask God to show me something new. To be honest, I was in a hurry...and didnt want to take a ton of time with this today. But I remembered who God is...and who I am not...and so I forced myself to calm down and to be still and quiet.
And I saw something that I have never seen before. In verse 1, God tells Noah and his family to load themselves and the animals into the ark. Then is verse 7 (see above) He tells them that it is going to take 7 days for it to happen. In the stories that I have always heard and thought that it was something that was pretty bang-bang...Noah loads...the people mock...and the floodwaters come instantaneously But this was a 7 day process! 7 days of wondering if it was really going to come true. 7 days to really wonder how nuts he was. 7 days to make one final push. Did it take him all 7 days to load? Did he spend those 7 days in the ark itself waiting for God to send the rain? I wish that I knew! What I do know, is that God is/was faithful. I love verse 10(see above). When God tells us He is going to do something...it is a stone-cold-lead pipe-lock!
The next time that you are faced with a common story or passage, dont gloss over it. Ask God to open your eyes and to let Him show you something new. Are you serving second and leftovers? Or the very best that you have...
GENESIS 8
Genesis 8: 20-21 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21 The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
Once again, hit with something that I hadnt seen before...When does God decide that He is never going to destroy the earth again? AFTER Noah gets out of the ark and builds an alter to give praise to His creator. I have always thought of this story as a..."well God did it to make His point so that He wouldnt have to do that again"...but it got me thinking. How often do I come out of a time of great stress, trial, and tribulation and give my thanks and praise to God? I am forever thankful for the heart of thankfulness that Noah had in communicating to God the love, admiration, respect, and thankfulness he had. And the next time I go through it, I will give thanks. How about you?
GENESIS 9
Genesis 9:20-21 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard.21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.
Growing up, we didnt have a television, and so the radio was on constantly in our house. One of the things that I always looked forward to was Paul Harvey and his "rest of the story-stories" at 12:15pm every weekday afternoon. This story of Noah always strikes me as one of those tales. A part of something or someone that is really well known except for this one part. For all the great and amazing things that Noah did...his thankful heart, willingness to follow God when it hadnt rained it literally forever, at the end of the day Noah is nothing more then a sinner who is in need of the grace and mercy of God. It makes me feel that even though I mess up, God is looking for those who will be be faithful, radical, and willing to do anything and everything for Him in SPITE of the natural human sinner that we are. Thanks God for using me in spite of the mistakes that I make.
Matthew 3
Mathew 3:8, 10 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance...The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
To conclude the day, a sobering reminder that repentance in and of itself, is not the end all. I cant just go on living the way that I want, and doing what I think is best under the umbrella of "I repented". And before I go about just assuming that I am producing fruit, I have to take a hard and HONEST look at myself. I dont like to have to be honest with me. I want to compare myself with others, and to feel that I am "spiritual enough to be good". I can afford to go through the motions with my walk with Christ. Neither can you. Our very existence depends on it.
To Date...
Books read: 0
Chapters read: 12
Verses read: 300
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