Thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
Genesis 7:5
And Noah did according to all the LORD commanded him.
He built it....
He supplied and stocked it....
He preached about it to his neighbors....
It was there when the rain started to fall....
But at some point, Noah had to get in the ark.
It wasn't enough just to point to it and proclaim how great God was...
Noah had to get into the ark.
I am always amazed at the fact that Noah was the last righteous man on earth.
The entire population had given into sin and had spiraled downward to such a degree that God
was ready to start over....
You see, I truly believe that humanity was given every opportunity to repent and change the way they lived....
They chose not to.
Because of this choice, there were consequences involved.
But Noah and family got into the ark.
Inside was life...
Outside was death...
Outside it didn't matter how much wealth you possessed...
Outside it didn't matter what your social status was...
You died...
It's the same today.
A rejection of Jesus and his offer of salvation pretty much sums up your fate.
Can't blame Him...
We have a choice to make, even in this day and time.
We can choose to receive Jesus as Lord over our life....
We can choose to receive Jesus as the one who can save us...
And through our choice, we are placed in him...He is our ark.
The two verses listed above, to me are the very heart of why Noah was chosen...
He did everything God commanded him to do.
He followed the steps of building the ark...
He followed God's directives on stocking the ark...
He listened for God's voice and when it was time, Noah heard God and took his family and went into the ark.
Now is the day to "hear God".....
He still speaks and he still longs to have an ongoing relationship with us.
Noah walked within the boundaries of God's grace and mercy. He did not allow himself to be tainted by the world or society that he lived in.
Sin flourished in this ancient world....Man was depraved to the point that his heart and mind continually were on evil. This was the rule of the day except for one man...Noah.
This man focused himself on hearing and following God.
When I am in Christ....following him, my faith in who Jesus is allows me to see the coming "flood" of sin that wants to destroy me. Being in Christ allows me to follow God's directives that ensure my salvation. (I'm not talking about working for my salvation...I'm referring to simply doing the things that are part of the discipline of walking with Jesus).
So...I look around at my life and see the destruction already done...and the coming destruction headed my way if I don't change.
Since I am the problem, I cannot be the solution.
The solution for my state of life has to exist outside the realm of my own intellect and ability.
There must be a Higher Power that can deliver me from the flood of sin/addiction.
That Higher Power would be my ark of safety....Jesus.
I give myself...or place myself in Him, will and live, turning them over to His care.
The rest is simply me waiting...listening and doing what I am told to do...
Are you "IN" the ark?
Or are you on the outside?
Hmmm....looks like rain to me....
God on you....
mb
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