v.1 The Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.”
This is the flood. The Lord commanded Noah to enter the ark together with his family and the animals that God commanded to go into the ark to be saved.
This is just another Old Testament story. Good for telling to the children especially at Sunday school. But…hmmmm…I am thinking of the story of the flood. What does it mean?
Act 16:31… "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved---you and your family."
Imagine the ark…imagine Christ…it was faith that saved Noah (Heb. 11:7) and his family, it was faith and obedience that made Noah follow God to build that ark. But God’s second judgment will not come by water; it is by fire.
Rev 21:8 But cowards, traitors, perverts, murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and all liars---the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
Imagine the ark…imagine Christ…imagine Christ…I imagine Christ as the ark inviting people to come to him, to listen to him, to follow him, like Noah and his family, like the faith of Noah…
Imagine Christ’s arms holding the faithful while the faith less are swimming in the lake of fire. Imagine the ark…imagine Christ…God is working for the salvation of man and a wooden ark will not do this time.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Genesis c.6
v.18, But I will establish my covenant with you and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons.
Chapter 6 is the beginning of the story of the flood. God saw the corruption of humanity and God deemed it in his sovereign will to put an end to it. He instructed Noah to build an ark that would save his family and the animals chosen to enter the ark.
I am asking myself, and maybe in the process God also, why would he destroy humanity for their corruption. The destruction is God’s will and this is already done, but what is the message of the destruction? It’s impossible to understand divine decisions.
But maybe this story is not about destruction but it's all about salvation. Maybe this is a story of how God separate his people, the people who walked with Him, and save them, like what happened to Noah and his family. Maybe this is the story of Israel, the story of Christ and the story of the saved who received their salvation through their covenant with Christ.
This story points to Christ. This story is prophetic of Christ’s redemption.
This is a story of redemption.
Chapter 6 is the beginning of the story of the flood. God saw the corruption of humanity and God deemed it in his sovereign will to put an end to it. He instructed Noah to build an ark that would save his family and the animals chosen to enter the ark.
I am asking myself, and maybe in the process God also, why would he destroy humanity for their corruption. The destruction is God’s will and this is already done, but what is the message of the destruction? It’s impossible to understand divine decisions.
But maybe this story is not about destruction but it's all about salvation. Maybe this is a story of how God separate his people, the people who walked with Him, and save them, like what happened to Noah and his family. Maybe this is the story of Israel, the story of Christ and the story of the saved who received their salvation through their covenant with Christ.
This story points to Christ. This story is prophetic of Christ’s redemption.
This is a story of redemption.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Genesis c.5
v.24, Enoch walked with God.
What is walking with God?
I am a walker. I love walking. One of the joys of walking is that it makes you reflect. One afternoon, I was walking with my wife; I caught a glimpse of her giving me a quizzical look. I smiled and asked why she was looking at me that way. And she said, “What’s that you’re whispering?” I said, “What whispering?” “You’re whispering something.” She laughed at me. I didn’t notice it, but while we were walking and while I’m thinking, I was thinking aloud. “The bzzzz….bzzzzzz…bzzzz….of…..bzzzz….” My wife must be thinking that I missed my lunch or something.
Walking with God is like, maybe, just maybe, like walking with my wife--walking with someone who knows me and loves me.
Of course walking with God means godliness, but why not be literal sometimes and just walk with God and talk and talk and have a lot of conversations with God while walking and thinking of all the good things you received and the challenges you’ve encountered and all the questions you want answered...
Walking alone, I imagine God looking at me, smiling and saying, “What’s that you’re whispering George?”
What is walking with God?
I am a walker. I love walking. One of the joys of walking is that it makes you reflect. One afternoon, I was walking with my wife; I caught a glimpse of her giving me a quizzical look. I smiled and asked why she was looking at me that way. And she said, “What’s that you’re whispering?” I said, “What whispering?” “You’re whispering something.” She laughed at me. I didn’t notice it, but while we were walking and while I’m thinking, I was thinking aloud. “The bzzzz….bzzzzzz…bzzzz….of…..bzzzz….” My wife must be thinking that I missed my lunch or something.
Walking with God is like, maybe, just maybe, like walking with my wife--walking with someone who knows me and loves me.
Of course walking with God means godliness, but why not be literal sometimes and just walk with God and talk and talk and have a lot of conversations with God while walking and thinking of all the good things you received and the challenges you’ve encountered and all the questions you want answered...
Walking alone, I imagine God looking at me, smiling and saying, “What’s that you’re whispering George?”
Monday, June 4, 2007
Gen. c. 4
v. 6-7, Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is you face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you but you must master it.”
I am Cain and definitely not an Abel. Sin is always crouching at my door, temptations, my former lifestyle is always there like a crouching tiger waiting for weak moments, I am impulsive, I desire things. I am Cain, I am Cain, I am Cain.
I remember one of my Sunday school classmates talking about his lifestyles before he became a Christian. And I am amazed at how God really changed him. But I don’t know, he may not be showing it and he will never show it, the inner struggle, and the turmoil of the tension of the old habits and old ways; the battle between old pleasures and the new life under Christ.
I shared that I can’t find the courage to do what he had just done. I can’t find the courage to tell people that, “Hey look at me! God has changed me.” I can’t find the courage to do that. I have this fear that if I shout to the world that God has changed me and then I snapped and went back to my old ways, I don’t know it’s like Damocles’ sword hanging above my head but this time I may not be the only one who may come into harm’s way, but I may brought along innocent spiritual babies or potential souls to be saved, even my family. The fear is real. The temptations are real. Sin is always crouching at the door.
I don’t know why I feel so insecure, it’s like I’m giving space for sin to happen, its like that I must master sin, master sin, and this gives me a feeling of tightness, master sin, master sin, master sin…I am thinking…maybe I don’t have to master sin. I’ll just cruise along and from now on start to enjoy my Christian life…no the danger is that I might fall back…no enjoy life, just cruise along.
I think I’ll enjoy my Christian life and that’s that. I don’t have to master sin; Christ did it for me.
I am Cain and definitely not an Abel. Sin is always crouching at my door, temptations, my former lifestyle is always there like a crouching tiger waiting for weak moments, I am impulsive, I desire things. I am Cain, I am Cain, I am Cain.
I remember one of my Sunday school classmates talking about his lifestyles before he became a Christian. And I am amazed at how God really changed him. But I don’t know, he may not be showing it and he will never show it, the inner struggle, and the turmoil of the tension of the old habits and old ways; the battle between old pleasures and the new life under Christ.
I shared that I can’t find the courage to do what he had just done. I can’t find the courage to tell people that, “Hey look at me! God has changed me.” I can’t find the courage to do that. I have this fear that if I shout to the world that God has changed me and then I snapped and went back to my old ways, I don’t know it’s like Damocles’ sword hanging above my head but this time I may not be the only one who may come into harm’s way, but I may brought along innocent spiritual babies or potential souls to be saved, even my family. The fear is real. The temptations are real. Sin is always crouching at the door.
I don’t know why I feel so insecure, it’s like I’m giving space for sin to happen, its like that I must master sin, master sin, and this gives me a feeling of tightness, master sin, master sin, master sin…I am thinking…maybe I don’t have to master sin. I’ll just cruise along and from now on start to enjoy my Christian life…no the danger is that I might fall back…no enjoy life, just cruise along.
I think I’ll enjoy my Christian life and that’s that. I don’t have to master sin; Christ did it for me.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Genesis c.3
v. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
God still loved them. Mercy..God's mercy...and I can't think of anything but mercy, mercy, and mercy.
God still loved them. Mercy..God's mercy...and I can't think of anything but mercy, mercy, and mercy.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Genesis c.2
Gen 2:25 Although the man and his wife were both naked, they were not ashamed.
The second chapter of Genesis is the continuation of the creation. I picked the last verse of the chapter as the devotion verse because it summarizes what made man close with God before the fall—their nakedness. There is a deeper more spiritual meaning of nakedness than being nude or clotheless, it is spiritual as well as physical purity, naiveté in worldly things; humanity is bared of all their pretensions—childlike.
This is what we must become in the eyes of God before we can worship him, we must become childlike again in order to be with God to understand God and to receive his grace of Salvation, to be child like in faith, to be naked of sins, to be washed by the blood of Christ.
Mar 10:15 I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.
Humanity can never return to his nakedness like his state before the fall, but God in his infinite love and wisdom made it possible and made it happened by the cross.
Nakedness. The feeling of absolute dependence on God.
The second chapter of Genesis is the continuation of the creation. I picked the last verse of the chapter as the devotion verse because it summarizes what made man close with God before the fall—their nakedness. There is a deeper more spiritual meaning of nakedness than being nude or clotheless, it is spiritual as well as physical purity, naiveté in worldly things; humanity is bared of all their pretensions—childlike.
This is what we must become in the eyes of God before we can worship him, we must become childlike again in order to be with God to understand God and to receive his grace of Salvation, to be child like in faith, to be naked of sins, to be washed by the blood of Christ.
Mar 10:15 I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.
Humanity can never return to his nakedness like his state before the fall, but God in his infinite love and wisdom made it possible and made it happened by the cross.
Nakedness. The feeling of absolute dependence on God.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Genesis c.1
In the beginning God…
One of the reasons why humanity is far away from God is because they are far from God’s wonderful creations. People especially those in the city are more inclined to worship the wonders of technology, the works of man hence God is treated as something that is there but not really there.
It’s the sense of awe, wonder and majesty that is missing.
I remember the picture of the Ormoc City disaster. The landslide buried hundreds of people and piles of bloated bodies were piled upon top of another and pushed by bulldozers to a common grave because to delay burying would lead to disease outbreaks. There were no time to identify the bodies; they were lumped together like dirt. People were praying; candles were lighted; prayer vigils were conducted; God is worshipped and called upon for mercy and strength and provisions and justice.
God is suddenly remembered.
One of the reasons why humanity is far away from God is because they are far from God’s wonderful creations. People especially those in the city are more inclined to worship the wonders of technology, the works of man hence God is treated as something that is there but not really there.
It’s the sense of awe, wonder and majesty that is missing.
I remember the picture of the Ormoc City disaster. The landslide buried hundreds of people and piles of bloated bodies were piled upon top of another and pushed by bulldozers to a common grave because to delay burying would lead to disease outbreaks. There were no time to identify the bodies; they were lumped together like dirt. People were praying; candles were lighted; prayer vigils were conducted; God is worshipped and called upon for mercy and strength and provisions and justice.
God is suddenly remembered.
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