KISS

We make things complicated some times. Perhaps we’re too learned, to knowledgeable. Perhaps we analyze too much. Or maybe we just think too much. Take the Book of Revelation, for example. It’s a Divinely inspired look at. . . What, exactly?

I’ve been rereading the Book of Revelation. In the first chapters of the Book, Y’shuaJesus is speaking to Seven Churches. As I’m reading it’s hard not to recall various things I’ve been “taught” over the years about these Churches. I’m trying to just read the Book without all the internal dialogue of what others’ think it all means. I’m trying to KISS; Keep It Simple. . .

Some times it takes fresh, innocent, eyes to see things we “educated,” mature folks do not see. Many years ago there was a railroad bridge crossing a highway leading east out of the then rural town of Atascadero, California. The bridge height was right at 14 foot. One day a tractor-trailer rig approached it. The driver saw height warning, knew that he was only 13 and-a-half-feet high, so proceeded under the bridge. About half way through he came to a very sudden stop. His trailer hit. The road under the railroad goes down to the bridge, under the bridge, then immediately back up. The trailer was long. The rear of the trailer was still high, while the front was beginning to rise on the other side of the bridge. Hence, the trailer stuck.

The driver tried unsuccessfully to back the rig out. Stuck good, he was. A large tow truck was called. It came, tried, and gave up. A lot of experienced people, ranchers on their way by included, were out there looking at the stuck truck, scratching their heads wondering what to do. Eventually a small boy walked up and asked the men why not just let the air out of the tires. To the credit of the men, they took the boys advice, let the air out, and the driver backed the rig slowly out from it’s prison.

Out of the mouths of babes.

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

KISS the Bible. Read like a child. At least that’s what I’m doing with the Book of Revelation now.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Death, Then. . .

The other night, standing around the kitchen, my wife told her Mom about a women she’d seen on a news program. The woman had died, she’d said, while kayaking, but came back from the dead with a great tale, er, story. This woman wrote a book about it, to encourage others. My wife relayed the essence of this woman’s message: there are people waiting beyond death, family and friends, and there is so much love.

It’s a common theme. There is life after death. There are families gathered together. There is light, warmth, love. Every thing turns out alright, after all.

My Mother-in-law didn’t follow what my wife was saying. She’s eighty-three years old. How does someone die, and experience that, and come back, is what probably confused her. I interrupted. I had to at this point. I said, “The woman thought she was going to die while trapped under the water. She had a dream. In the dream all the things that she longed for were right there, in front of her.” I went on to say that people want to know there is something after we pass from this life. They want to believe there is something more. And that it’s all available to them without them doing anything at all for it. “That’s basically what Y’shuaJesus said,” I continued on. “It’s a free gift for believing in Y’shuaJesus. But people don’t want to hear about Y’shuaJesus.” My wife said I was right.

Yes! I’m right! Well, more-or-less right. What I didn’t continue with, didn’t say, is that believing is the start, the beginning of salvation that culminates in a walk that is with our LORD.

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Paul tells us that not all will sleep. If not all sleep, that means some will. That’s how death is referred to by these First Century Jewish Believers in Y’shuaJesus as Messiah. Sleep. Not death. Sleep from which we will be awakened. And when we are awakened, we will have new, glorified bodies. Disease-free bodies. Incorruptible bodies. Perfect bodies. And a perfect heart. Tears wiped away, forgotten. And there will be a Central Figure before us when we awake: Y’shuaJesus! Praise the LORD!

And that’s exactly what’s desperately wrong with a woman’s story in which she says she died and found love and friends and family. It’s a tale from a few minutes hanging on the edge of suffocation. The brain without oxygen dreaming.

Y’shuaJesus will be there for Believers and non-believers alike. For the former, to wipe away tears and show His love. To the latter. . . well, it won’t be pleasant. They will see the love. Bow before the King in submission. They will, too late, realize He is The Way, The Truth, The Life. They will confess, too late, that Y’shuaJesus is LORD. And even if G-d, Father G-d, Abba G-d, were to invite them in, they would refuse. They would choose to turn away. They would be angry, hurt, afraid.

Sad! They would choose to turn away because they’d not turned away from their own miserable, sinful ways while on Earth. Repent! is to turn away from one’s sin. But before one can turn away, one must acknowledge sin. And in our society, our culture of liberalism and chaos, we are taught there is nothing Absolute, nothing evil, nothing that is sin. All things are relative. One person’s truth is his or her own truth. Not The Truth. All ways, all roads, lead to Rome AND HEAVEN, or so we are led to believe by the great liar, that devil satan.

We are being led like sheep to a slaughter. There are too many movies in which some human is a great hero, saving the day. There are too many movies depicting aliens coming to Earth to assist it in it’s healing. There are too many academia that are steering young people to believe in their own deity. Humanism is at the core of the United Nations Agenda 21. Humanism is satan’s tool to trick, if possible, even Christians. satan desperately wants to take worship of G-d from Him. He doesn’t want us to feel the warmth of a relationship with our Heavenly Father while we are on Earth. satan doesn’t need our admiration, our love, our praise. he just wants our soul.

We must be ready. We must be prepared. We must keep our eyes upon Y’shuaJesus!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Preparing for an Emergency—Seven

Pastor David Wilkerson’s “Urgent Message” mentioned the possibility of fleeing the coming firestorm—the disaster that he had written about. For himself, he cited Psalm 11:1, which encouraged him to stay put, to minister in place.

To the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain. . .”

This psalm is said by some to be composed by King David when pursued by King Saul. Barne’s Notes states that “Venema supposes that it was composed when David was in the wilderness of Ziph, and when, betrayed by the inhabitants of the wilderness, and pursued by Saul, his friends began to advise him to seek a place of safety by flight, 1Sa_23:14-23 [and] All that is apparent in the psalm itself is, that it was when the author was in danger, and when some of his friends advised him to seek safety by flight, Psa_11:1. Instead of doing this, David determined to remain where he was, and to put his trust in God, with the belief that he would interpose and deliver him.”

This sentiment of trust in G-d’s providence, and Pastor Wilkerson’s determination to be with his congregation, prompted him to want to remain in New York City despite his vision of impending doom.

There are at least three types of fleeing: One is directed by G-d; one is out of necessity to save one’s life that one might fight another day; one is to run and hide to die in peace.

The last type is shown in 1 Kings 19:3, when Elijah “went for his life” into the wilderness where he lay down to die. Elijah had been very naughty, upsetting Queen Jezebel by killing all her false priests. She sent a message to him that she’d be coming to get him. A woman scorned, and all that. . . So Elijah heads for the hills.

Then there’s Abraham.

The LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s home, and go to a land that I am going to show you.”

Genesis 21:1

This had to have been hard. He took his immediate family, left his place, his people, his land. He didn’t fully know to where he was going. He didn’t know what it would be like. But G-d called, so he surrendered all, packed up, and left. Abraham wasn’t necessarily fleeing from, but fleeing to a place to which he’d been called. I suppose he knew there was no going back.
Now Jacob fled the Promised Land, to avoid the draught that swept Israel. He did so knowing he’d return, even if only his bones. The people of Israel would return, though it took 430 years to do so. I wonder if Jacob had known how long, would he as readily have fled. And yet he did; G-d knew it to be best for him, and for G-d’s people.

So, then, if we believe we’ve heard the prophetic words of warning, do we stay or do we flee?

We are in the ministry of reconciliation—offering to those to whom we’ve been called eternal life in Messiah Y’shuaJesus. So whether called to another place, or into the highways, or to stay put and minister in place, from the mouth of our Savior Y’shuaJesus, we are to:

“Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Matthew 8:22

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Preparing for an Emergency—Six

I’ve touched on preparedness from the point of view of surviving a disaster of limited scope for a local calamity such as a storm, and briefly mentioned survivalists/preppers who provision for extended you’re-on-you’re-own survival. On Wednesday I reposted an Urgent Message that speaks of wide-spread disaster of undetermined length of time. It’s up to you if you want to accept Pastor David Wilkerson’s Urgent Message. Or if you want to try to put aside a few meals and some drinking water “Just In Case” of a storm or some other disruption of normal grocery shipments, then get started.

On my heart at the moment is to take a look at some reasons, beyond our own survival, for preparedness. Paul wrote to Timothy something of his heart on why he continued doing the things he did, despite opposition, physical discomfort, and illness.

This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

2 Timothy 2:10

In his “Urgent Message,” Pastor Wilkerson mentioned two possible approaches to the coming time of which he spoke. One is to flee, the other to prepare and stay. He had chosen the later, to stay. He knew not all could, or would, leave New York City, so he felt it best to stay with them. He would stay and minister as long as possible, which would depend upon the Lord’s desires in his life. Pastor Wilkerson didn’t argue for a pre-tribulation return of Messiah in which the Believers are called to meet him in the air. He also didn’t mention a mid- or post-tribulation return. Without speculating as to how long he must endure, he was prepared emotionally and spiritually to endure until the end, his end or Messiah’s return. Just like Noah, Pastor Wilkerson was not preparing for only himself, but for the work of G-d through him.

Now for Noah, preparing was fairly clearcut: build a boat, equip it, gather a bunch of animals, round up his family, and close the door. It occurs to me that Noah would have had to not only prepare for feeding both human and animal during the forty-day cruise, but he’d also have to have enough on board to handle things until crops would grow again. Noah begins to look a lot like a modern-day prepper, who would even have stocked seed on board with supplies for over a year. So for Noah, the mandate was clearly him, his family, and a selection of animals.

For Pastor Wilkerson, as with all those who realize the need to prepare for coming hardships, it’s not so easy. There’s a difference of opinion of how much a family might need to have on hand, and it has to do with what type and duration of disaster a person believes he or she will face. Pastor Wilkerson stated: “lay in store a thirty-day supply of non-perishable food, toiletries and other essentials.” What comes after the thirty-day supply is exhausted? I believe Pastor Wilkerson’s faith was enough that he wasn’t going to be worried. His faith was in G-d Who is able to rescue His own. G-d rescued Lot before consuming fire destroyed his city. G-d cared for Elijah, feeding him by way of a bird. G-d kept hidden His chosen during the evil reign of King Ahab, during Elijah’s time. Furthermore, our Lord said:

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Matthew 6:25

Take no thought. According to Barnes Notes on the Bible, “The word “anxiety” would now exactly express the sense, and is precisely the thing against which the Saviour would guard us. See Luke 8:14; Luke 21:34; Philippians 4:6. “Thought” about the future is right; “anxiety, solicitude, trouble” is wrong. There is a degree of “thinking” about the things of this life which is proper. See 1 Timothy 5:8; 2 Thessalonians 3:10; Romans 12:11. But it should not be our supreme concern; it should not lead to anxiety; it should not take time that ought to be devoted to religion. For your life – For what will “support” your life.”

This comment is exactly the balance I believe is necessary when we consider preparedness. We shall do best to allow our Lord to build our faith, that we are not anxious about any future, yet able to prayerfully consider, to think about, the need the Lord will have for us today, tomorrow, and in at any future time. Now in our prayerful considerations, we may wish to consider that the Lord may have us assist others in need, whether making through a storm or a major disaster with seemingly no end. It might be that a three-day emergency bag of food, water, and personal gear is inadequate to meet the needs of a group of people to which the Lord might bring our way. There may be people G-d desires to reach with the Gospel message, and you and me might be the ones G-d allows to represent Him. Presenting the Gospel to a hungry family is certainly more effective once the stomach is satisfied.

Consider these things. Give prayerful consideration to preparedness.

Until Monday, Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon you and through you.

Preparing for an Emergency—Five

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Matthew 24:21,22

Pastor David Wilkerson, in 2009, wrote the following on his blog:

AN URGENT MESSAGE
I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world.

AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE – EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.

For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires—such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.

There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting—including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. In Psalm 11 it is written,

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (v. 3).

God is judging the raging sins of America and the nations. He is destroying the secular foundations.

The prophet Jeremiah pleaded with wicked Israel, “God is fashioning a calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh, turn back each of you from your evil way, and reform your ways and deeds. But they will say, It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart” (Jeremiah 18:11-12).

In Psalm 11:6, David warns, “Upon the wicked he will rain snares (coals of fire)…fire…burning wind…will be the portion of their cup.” Why? David answered, “Because the Lord is righteous” (v. 7). This is a righteous judgment—just as in the judgments of Sodom and in Noah’s generation.

WHAT SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS DO? WHAT ABOUT GOD’S PEOPLE?

First, I give you a practical word I received for my own direction. If possible lay in store a thirty-day supply of non-perishable food, toiletries and other essentials. In major cities, grocery stores are emptied in an hour at the sign of an impending disaster.

As for our spiritual reaction, we have but two options. This is outlined in Psalm 11. We “flee like a bird to a mountain.” Or, as David says, “He fixed his eyes on the Lord on his throne in heaven—his eyes beholding, his eyelids testing the sons of men” (v. 4). “In the Lord I take refuge” (v. 1).

I will say to my soul: No need to run…no need to hide. This is God’s righteous work. I will behold our Lord on his throne, with his eye of tender, loving kindness watching over every step I take—trusting that he will deliver his people even through floods, fires, calamities, tests, trials of all kinds.

Note: I do not know when these things will come to pass, but I know it is not far off. I have unburdened my soul to you. Do with the message as you choose.

God bless and keep you,

In Christ,

DAVID WILKERSON

See You Friday, Lord Willing. Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Preparing for an Emergency—Four

Noah was preparing for one particular disaster—a flood. Not just any flood, either, but a very big one, one that, as revealed to him, would eliminate all inhabitants of the Earth except those in Noah’s Ark. If we choose preparedness, for what types of disasters shall we prepare?

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Matthew 24:7

Y’shuaJesus said those words around two thousand years ago. Since then, nations have risen, fallen, and fought one another. There have been famines and pestilences, disease outbreaks, and a whole variety of natural calamities. The United State Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) suggests at its website Ready.gov, the following in its introduction to PLANNING:

“Emergency preparedness is not the sole concern of Californians for earthquakes, those who live in “Tornado Alley”; or Gulf Coast residents because of hurricanes. Most communities may be impacted by several types of hazards during a lifetime. Americans also travel more than ever before; to areas impacted by hazards they may not be at risk of near their homes. Knowing what to do before, during and after an emergency is a critical part of being prepared and may make all the difference when seconds count.

“Some of the basic protective actions are similar for multiple hazards. For example, safety is necessary when experiencing all hazards, whether this means sheltering or evacuating depends on the specific emergency. Developing a family communications plan or making an emergency supply kit are the same for accidental emergencies, natural disasters and also terrorism. However, there are important differences among potential emergencies that should impact the decisions you make and the actions you take.”

Storms seem the most frequent and severe disasters we, in the US, face each year. Even in fair-weather places, like Georgia, storms disrupt services. During the winter of 2010-11, a nice storm pretty much shut down northern Georgia, including the metropolitan Atlanta area, which is home to about five million people. The worst of it lasted only three days, but driving even five days following the storm was difficult in many areas. Schools were closed. Deliveries were disrupted. Most still had electricity, so didn’t need to evacuate. In other winter storms throughout the United States, power is often lost. Without power, most will have not heat. And when it’s freezing outside, it soon freezes inside. Not pleasant. With no power, evacuating is often the only solution. And to where? Why, to a friendly government-established and -staffed facility.

But there is still the revelation of Y’shuaJesus that more severe things will occur. On Wednesday, I have scheduled an repost of an urgent warning from an American pastor.

Until then, May the Lord continue to Bless, Keep, and Shine upon y’all. . .

Preparing for an Emergency—Three

How much should a pantry have in it? Here’s what’s written about Noah:

And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Genesis 6:21-21

Not exactly clear how much Noah stocked in his boat. Perhaps Noah knew it would take forty-days supply. If we were to consider a cache, how much would we store?

Well, that’s a matter of opinion. Some survivalists/preppers stock several years of dried food, extra clothing, farming equipment, medical supplies, and various sorts of hunting and self-defense/protection gear. At that point, it’s not a pantry, but an entire room or more that is filled. That’s definitely prepared. At the opposite side is the man I mentioned with absolutely nothing in his pantry, as he lived from one day to the next buying what the family needed daily. Going upward from there is people who follow the government recommendations. I remember the 1950s when we were preparing for what we thought would be an eminent nuclear war. We had AM band radios marked with a radiation symbol to let us know where to tune in the event of an emergency. We had a list of things we were suppose to store, that included two-weeks supply of food that could be eaten without cooking, lots of water, candles, matches, and personal items. There were shelters fully stocked in the various public buildings. That was forgotten for a while as the threat of the Cold War died out. With it died the emergency broadcast system. The shelters were quickly forgotten, too. One day, in one town I lived in, one of the shelters was cleared out. There were a lot of leaking bottles of chemicals that had to be disposed.

With “9-11” emergency preparedness took on new life, and the government is once again in the recommending a plan and a kit. There’s an interesting campaign launched by CDC providing posters to state and local health departments. These posters use the Zombie Apocalypse as an eye-catcher. The idea is to get people to think and plan in the event of a local, regional, or national disaster. Depending upon the government agency, the recommended supply of emergency food and gear is now a three-day pack that can be quickly carried out of the house. Occasionally there are recommendations that include the three-day kit and a “long-term” supply for between two and three weeks. There is no provision for defense measures, either.

Where to go? In America, today, tt is expected that we, the people, in the case of disaster and evacuation, will move to a nice shelter somewhere out of danger. I suspect this is why the three-day pack is recommended, it is definitely more portable than the ultimate prepper’s larder. Were a disaster to strike, we will follow along with countless others shambling into a stadium or other suitable venue, where we will be fed and cared for until the disaster is mitigated. From what I’ve heard, that scenario didn’t work out too well during the Katrina Hurricane disaster in New Orleans. Those that took to the road to avoid Katrina, found themselves in gridlock going north with many just running out of gas on the highway. Some others that stayed out of desire to, or didn’t have a way to evacuate, went to the stadium, where they found another form of disaster. That three-day supply would have been a great idea in either case, and a two-week kit even better—if someone didn’t “requisition” it from the bearer.

More thoughts on Monday.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina: Lower 9th... — New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina: Lower 9th Ward. House thrown off foundation, partially atop an upside-down Ford-150 Photo by Infrogmation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Preparing for an Emergency—Two

Now it’s a good thing Noah didn’t live in America today. I read recently of a man facing charges from city government for not completing his boat in the time frame in which he was originally granted. The city was going to move the boat, completed or not, away from the guys home because the boat had been an eyesore too long. In my neighborhood, I agreed to something called CC&Rs, which restricts me to lots of things beyond what the county ordinances disallow. No way could I build a boat on my acre of land; I’m not allowed to have a ham radio antenna.

And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Luke 17:26,27

We are an increasingly urban society in America. This means lots of people crammed together coexisting, or at least trying to do so. In the area in which I now reside, which was rural not too long ago when I moved here, growth has brought us to a point nearly suburban, which means we still have some open land left to pillage, and no high-rise buildings in clusters. Things are a bit less concentrated, but we have industrial and office complexes appearing next to neighborhoods. Roads running by the neighborhoods are snarled with automobiles when employees head to work or to home, and often during the day. Schools are crowded, while new ones are built and filled quickly to overflowing. And there seems to be no end in sight. It also means that we are within a mile of a grocery store in a large shopping plaza. Each plaza seems to have a salon, a shop to do ladies’ nails, dry cleaners, and a restaurant or two, and several fast-food places.

Urbanites don’t keep food on the shelf, it seems. One of my neighbors admitted he had absolutely nothing in his cupboard, that his family either ate out or picked something up to bring home each day. I’m not from that lifestyle. To use a line from a song, “I’m a little more country than that.”

I grew up in rural areas, lived most of my adult life in rural areas. During season, we ate a lot of fresh produce from farm stands. My mother shopped sales and stocked the pantry with as much as we could afford. They also travelled about a hundred miles to an Air Force base to shop at the commissary—saving a lot of money doing so. The only things they needed to buy more frequently were perishables that wouldn’t freeze. They didn’t call it “Prepping”; it was just a way of life.

There are other reasons to have a large pantry. One example is one community in which I lived, up in northern California. Winter storms rolled through at least once each year that closed the main interstate that runs between California to Washington. It could stay closed for several days. After the first day of the storm, the store shelves were bare, and no shipments arrived until the interstate reopened. We either had a minimally stocked pantry, or went without.

It’s time for you to look in a cupboard, or closet, or where ever you store food, to see what’s on hand. Let me know what you find. How long can you exist, not thrive, but just exist on what you have on hand? Until Friday, then.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Preparing for an Emergency—One

Back in the day, it was Survivalist; today it is a Prepper. The word isn’t yet in the dictionary, but that doesn’t stop about 7,490,000 results (in 0.34 seconds) in a search on Google. While once a fringe in society, like, ah yes, environmentalists, preppers are popping up all over, like Georgia wildflowers after a gentle rain. Now the popular media, television, has a show called Doomsday Preppers. Whether one is a Survivalist or a Prepper, or just hoping to survive a local natural calamity, like a hurricane, the idea of preparedness isn’t new; it goes way, way, way back—to at least Noah.

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Genesis 6:11-22

Did you watch the movie 2012? There were three arks depicted. It took a lot of engineers to develop a system in which those arks would survive what was to come in the movie. So here’s Noah, perhaps a farmer and hunter who may never have seen a boat in his life (I don’t know, but just guessing). Perhaps the most water he may have seen was a river swollen after a sudden desert rain. So G-d, Who is an excellent Engineer, gives Noah detailed plans. Noah follows along, just like build-by-the-numbers- construction sets, and gives birth to a pretty cool boat. Well, maybe it was a ship. It was big.

Noah is often shown as being laughed at by those around him. Hum, a lot like the Survivalists of the late 70s, the Preppers of today. I can’t recall where it came from, perhaps from some Sunday school lesson a long time ago, but somehow I got the notion of Noah not really having a clue to what he was doing. It’s like he might say, “Hey, I don’t know what it’s for, I’m just following orders.” This can’t be a true representation of Noah, which is why I find suspect some of the way kids are taught the Bible. Even if Noah didn’t totally know what was going on at first, one can’t think ill of him if it were, for at least he followed orders. (And it was nice of him to do so, as it sounded like G-d didn’t have a lot of good folks to choose from back then, and he’d already “repented” of his creation, giving up on the whole “Let’s create man in our image” thing.)

Matthew Henry commented that “Noah [was] distinguished from the rest of the world, and a peculiar mark of honor put upon him. When God was displeased with the rest of the world, he favored Noah. Being a good man, He found him out, and smiled upon him. He was made a vessel of God’s mercy. God makes Noah the man of His counsel, communicating to him His purpose to destroy this wicked world by water, as afterwards, He told Abraham His resolution concerning Sodom (Genesis 18:17). The secret o f the Lord was with His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7) by a spirit of revelation, informing them particularly of His purpose.”

Noah had to have seen the corruptness in the world that he knew. He had to have been removed from that evil, too. Maybe he wasn’t perfect, just like us, but at least he caught G-d’s attention. He also must have seen some natural signs that made all the work and harassment he received from people around him, worth continuing until the ark was complete. Once it was done, how long did Noah have to wait until G-d decided it was time? Could have been a while. And once it was time to start loading, how long did that take? That could have taken a while, too. It’s hard enough sometimes to get my daughter’s dog to return to the house when she’s licking her lips at the scent of rabbit; she just wants to sit still, like a hunter in a stand, waiting for dinner to appear on four legs. I can’t imagine gathering up a whole bunch of animals, trying to care for the first few while gathering more. I’m sure the whole process has been expounded upon by a witty preacher trying to make a point about something or other.

The series continues Wednesday, in the meantime take a look at Genesis and think about parallels between the days of Noah and these days.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Back to Basics—Five

Two more points in my reading of Ezra that I initially suggested were: G-d’s prophets must stir up the people AND appeal to non-Jewish leaders to honor previously granted commitments to G-d’s people while declaring they are following the G-d of Israel; Once again, a non-rebellious, non-Jewish leader looks reasonably into the records and sees that the Jews are entitled to rebuild their temple, and commits to help also.

In my reading of Ezra, even though the rebuilding of the Temple had been objected to, and the Jews ordered to stop work, it continued. Perhaps it continued only very slowly. Perhaps it was problematic even among the Jewish Returnees. I can image some Jews saying to others who might be working on the Temple, “Hey, we have orders not rebuild. We have to honor those orders.” I can also imagine some Jews beginning to side with the non-Jewish residents of the area, even telling them when building is going on so that protests can be made. Non-Jews then would be telling the Jews not to follow G-d’s desires, not to follow after G-d’s heart, that the king had ordered them to stop.

Finally a couple of men begin to see things from G-d’s perspective, and encourage actively rebuilding the Temple. And this time, these wise men appeal to the king based upon King Cyrus’s decree. And they win. The decree is located in the archives, and permission is granted to continue the building. Not only does the current king, King Darius, allow it to begin, he helps fund it.

Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place. Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

Ezra 6:7-10

King Darius even desires prayers be made for him and his sons. Once again, a non-Jewish leader has reverence for the Lord, G-d of All.

Ezra provides a picture of Restoration. It models getting back to the basics. Once apart, we must get back to a stable place from where we can begin to celebrate in the Lord in the Community of Believers. We can then rebuilt our selves as Temples of the LORD. It seems clear that today, as Believers, we will go through periods in our lives in which we find resistance to our focus. And as we begin to slow down our work, our hope is that G-d will send someone to encourage us in our journey, our seeking, of G-d’s heart. We seek G-d’s heart and His Temple in us is restored.

There are other lessons in the remaining chapters of Ezra. There is another group of exiles to return. There are more corrections to be made in the religious observance of the Jews in Israel. It is like this for us, too. We ascend a tower, following a circular stairway. We look out a window each new level, and see more of the landscape then previous levels. We continue on. We will do this our entire lives, until the Lord calls us to Him, in death or in His return to Earth. We grow. And every now and then we must take a time in which we return to the basics, renewing our vows and journey with our Messiah, Y’shuaJesus.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .