Noah's Ark

Many of us are familiar with the story about Noah and how God decided to erase the human race due to their wickedness. We can see in:

Genesis 6-5:8

⁵ The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

In verses 9-14 we see why Noah was chosen and why the destruction of the earth was going to occur.

Genesis 6:9-14

⁹ This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. ¹⁰ Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. ¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. ¹³ So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. ¹⁴ So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 

Noah built the ark with God’s instructions and his family and pairs of every animal were saved. Forty days it flooded and after the waters disappeared Noah and everyone/everything on the ark was saved.

The world is at a standstill currently. The COVID-19 has crippled government, economies, healthcare and will test humanities morals. What this has proven is in fact that all of these things are false securities. Putting faith in man will only lead us into anxiety, stress and depression. The USA is supposed to be the most powerful, most advanced and richest country and yet something that we cannot see is crippling the country as we speak. It does not discriminate between age, sex, gender, financial status or race and can kill rapidly. We have no cure currently and only support we can give someone is oxygen.

Psalms 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.

In all truthfulness I would prefer being on Noah’s ark and being safe knowing God is protecting us. We have turned into a selfish generation with social media. A race between people to get the most likes and followers on Instagram and other similar apps. We have forgotten God and his mercies. We have turned our backs on God and we are seeing the results of our sin.

2 Chronicles 7:13-22

¹³ “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ¹⁵ Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. ¹⁶ I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

¹⁷ “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, ¹⁸ I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’

¹⁹ “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰ then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. ²¹ This temple will become a heap of rubble. All^[ who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ ²² People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

I know many people have seen this on social media. I prefer to focus on the last few sentences. We are all wondering why all of this is happening. It is because we have gone away from God. This world has forgotten who the Lord God is and what he has sacrificed for us. This is the time we become like David:

1 Samuel 13:14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

I mean how more obvious can the Lord be when he created this new trend of “Social distancing.” Unless we are non-essential workers we are at home with our significant other, children, grandparents pretty much 24 hours a day.

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

We can use these 14 days or however long this pandemic will last to spend time with God and our families. Some professions barely get to spend time with their children and now schools are closed. This is an opportunity for many to spend quality time with their kids. Noah had to spend 40 days with his family on an ark as well as some wildlife. They trusted God and in his plans. At least we have some internet and able to reach out to others during this very difficult time. Tomorrow is not promised and God is giving us a wake-up call. It is true that money, fame, how many followers you have does not matter to God. He wants us to give him his praise and rightfully so. We know at the end of Noah’s story God made a covenant, “Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood.” In Genesis 9:16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.

It is time we bow down on our knees and ask God forgiveness for our sins. Only his blood and mercy can save us. God is giving us a chance to redeem ourselves and put our faith back in him. Nothing is certain in this world EXCEPT that God is in control. We are all patiently waiting for the rainbow after this pandemic. Pray for those that have already dealt with fatal outcomes from this virus. 

Pray without ceasing!

Final Destination

What is our final destination? As Christians we hope and desire this to be heaven. Our belief that one day, Jesus will return for his children and we will be taken with him to paradise. All believers have a unique path/route to our final destination. We can all be sure that the path we travel will not be an easy one.

Matthew 7:13-14

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 22:14

For many are invited, but few are chosen.

Many of us lived during a time where there were no WAZE or Google maps, but there was something called MapQuest. We would print out directions to our destination and would have to follow it strictly or get lost. At least now, if we get lost the apps can re-direct us towards the correct path and even sometimes find a new route. This can happen so often in our Christian lives and sometimes we may be able to re-cover and sometimes we may be lost forever.

So now we enter our Destination, Heaven and the app starts to calculate our route. We will first see the map pop up on the screen, and on the bottom is the arrival time and how many miles to our destination. All of us have different time of arrivals and some may have less miles than others too their final destination.

As Christians the Road Map is Jesus.

John 14:6

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. There is nothing that will happen in our journey that God does not know about.

Jesus is at our center and the main focus in our lives. He left earth to prepare paradise for us and when he returns, he will take this chosen to their final destination. His road/path is the only way for us the reach heaven.

So we turn on the engine, check our mirrors, full tank of gas and put the car into drive and we are on our way. Thirty minutes in we run into a Crash/Hazard icon display.  

1.     Crash/Hazard

These are events that will deter our path. Sin is the major Hazard that can cause a Crash.

Sometimes we can’t walk away from that crash depending on the sin.

Colossians 3:8

But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Proverbs 6:16-19

Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,

A false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Hebrews 13:5/Matthew 6:24

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

We can’t serve two masters.

I Corinthians 6:9-11

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

The world has changed, and many Christians and churches rather have acceptance from society than follow the teachings in the Bible. What has been spoken by God can never be changed by man. His truths and commandments will be forever our guide and altering them is sin. These hazards will only cause us to crash and not reach our destination. Our path could be done due to this sin/crash, or our route will begin to start re-calculating and we may be heading in the wrong direction and destination. But God promises to protect us and he will never put us in a situation to sin without giving us a way out.

I Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Psalms 121:7-8

The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;

The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

We passed the Hazard/Crash and we are back on the road. We hit the major highway and hit the dreaded Traffic.

2.     Traffic

We all have sat in NY traffic, especially if you are trying to go to the airport or any other place in NY during rush hour. What can Traffic teach us?

Patience

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

David was 30years old when he became King.

Jesus was 30years old when he started his Ministry.

Abraham was 100years old when Isaac was born.

Israel wandered 40years in the wilderness.

These are examples of paths that take longer than what we might want or expect.

Perseverance

Romans 5:3

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance

James 1:12

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Job is one of the most popular stories of perseverance that comes to mind. His example was one of extreme pain and sorrow. Yet through it all, Job stayed true to God and his faith. Even in the darkest times, through death and turmoil, questions of faith and God, Job was faithful and trusted God’s plan.

Other examples are Jeremiah, Paul, Jesus all went through so much and persevered for the Glory of God. Their path may have hit some traffic but their destination was reached.

There will always be hazards/crashes that cause traffic. It will test our patient and perseverance. In those dark times we must continually pray to God and believe is his mercies and grace.

Finally we get passed all the Traffic and start speeding to make up for lost time. Of course who is waiting at the end of the highway…hidden Police car.

3.     Police

When we are running late for work or rushing for an appointment we might go over the posted speed limit. Or we may not completely stop at the Stop sign or even speed up when the light hits yellow.  We see those flashing lights of the police car and our hearts start to pound a little harder.

In our Christian lives the Police are there to help us to continue in the path of good and there are many Police types in our community.

In our Christian Life the Police are:

1.     Jesus

2.     Parents/Siblings/Teachers

3.     Pastors/Elders

4.     Fellow Member/Anyone directing us on the correct path etc

Romans 13:4

For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

Proverbs 22:6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

They help us regulate and help us reflect and realize when we are doing something wrong. We all make mistakes and sometimes having people police us can help us in our Christian lives. They can warns us of future dangers and have experience that we may be lacking. They are not there to judge us our put us down, but as true believers to uplift our spirits and continue to strengthen our belief in the Lord.

 We sometimes travel in large groups and that’s when Group chats can help bring people and their ideas together.

4. Group Chat

Fellowship is a huge part of the Christian community. It is a group or communities whom have the same interest/focus and goal. In Christian life Jesus is our focus and to live a life of holiness.

1 John 1:3

What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Our Christian lives can be stronger when we share our faith with others and can bring us closer to God.

Matthew 18:20

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

Jesus had 12 disciples and they had a fellowship to spread the truth and word of God to the multitudes. They had each other to rely on when times became difficult and had the Son of God for guidance. On our drive through life the hazards, crash and traffic are much easier to deal with when we have others to share our faith with. We can’t live alone in this world and having a Fellowship with God also means spreading his word and sharing our lives/stories with others to bring them closer to God. When others see the peace and love that God has given us in our lives, they should be drawn too that and search in their hearts for the one true God.

1 John 1:5-7

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

 When Jesus left this world he left us some Roadside Assistance.

5.     Roadside Assistance - Holy Spirit

We can think of the Holy Spirit as calling shotgun for the ride of our lives in front of us. Jesus sent the Spirit to be our Helper, Comforter and Guide.

John 14:16

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever

The Spirit is alongside us on our journey and is in our hearts guiding us to make correct decisions. That little voice telling us to do the right thing. Jesus left the Spirit here with us to help us in his absence as he is preparing heaven for us. The Spirit helps reveal truth and messages from God. It helps us interpret God’s Word.

John 16:13

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

He is the ultimate guide while we are driving to our final destination. He helps lead the way, remove hazards, gives us understanding and makes things plain and clear. He leads in the way we should go in all spiritual things. Without such a guide we make get lost. The Holy Spirit also is a gift giver, or we can think of snacks on our long ride. Who doesn’t love stopping at a Gas station and picking up tasty chips and soda.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

We are to spread and pass on the Word of God to others. Creating a Fellowship that shows his grace, mercy and glorifying his name. When the Spirit is with us we also produce fruit in our own lives that help us through our journey.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The Holy Spirit dwells with us forever, and He will never leave or forsake us is cause for great joy and comfort. Our life will never be that easy but we have the Spirit to help us through the narrow path.

In Conclusion:

All of our routes are going to be different. We all have different times to reach our destination, but our destination is all the same, Heaven. We will hit Hazards with sin and sometimes it will cause us too Crash. Sometimes that Crash can end our path earlier than we expect and that is life. Traffic will slow us down but remember it is God testing and teaching us patience and perseverance. If God gave us everything we wanted there would be no need to pray or serve him. We are just visitors on Earth and our permanent resident is in heaven. Our earthly life is a short trip compared to what is awaiting for us in heaven, Eternity. We get to ride with God for the rest of our lives, to live in paradise. Police/Pastors/Parents are our Guides and keep us on track to follow the commandments of God and stay in the correct path. Jesus left the Holy Spirit to as a Comforter and Guide through the path which for a Christian is narrow. Do not let the Devil re-route your path to your final Destination, Heaven. Life will test us, but remember, no matter what you’re going through, if God woke you up this morning He’s not finished with you. There’s a purpose for your pain and he can find another way around that roadblock.

We must Repent and ask God for forgiveness.

The only one way too Heaven is driving with Jesus in our hearts.