If you are reading this blog, you probably also read the story of Noah but have you stopped to consider the many lessons that can be learned from Noah’s time in the ark. Let me first remind you of his story and then share some things that I noted about his time in the ark.
The story of Noah is found in Genesis 6 – Genesis 9, and it opens, revealing that God was not pleased with His creation. Genesis 6:5-7 states, “ And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” Just reading these verses makes me wonder in the present lawless, corrupt state that our world is in, how is God feeling toward us?
Fortunately, there was a man named Noah that had a relationship with God, and God decided to save this man and his family from the destruction that He was going to mete out on the earth. God gave Noah specific instructions on building an ark of gopher wood. He gave him the length and width of it, which is equivalent to 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. There were to be rooms, three stories, one window, and one side door. It took Noah over 100 years to complete this task, but he did it according to all that God commanded.
God told Noah the purpose of the ark was to save him, his family, animals, fowls, and creeping things that would accompany him from the floods that would destroy all of the earth inhabitants. Additionally, God told Noah to gather food and take on the ark to feed his family and all the animals that accompanied them.
After the completion of the ark and seven days before the flood started Noah took of every kind: seven clean male and female beast, two unclean male and female beast, seven male and female fowls, and two of every creeping creature into the ark. When all was securely in the ark, God shut the door and caused it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that He made that was not in the ark were destroyed from off the face of the earth.
The Bible informs us the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days, and then it began to decrease on the earth. Furthermore, Genesis 8:13-17 states, “And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth” So Noah and the inhabitants of the ark had remained in it for one year and seventeen days because Genesis 7:11 previously stated, “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”
Now that I recapitulated the story of Noah let me share with you lessons on the shut-in, but allow me to begin by stressing obedience to God’s instruction is vital for your survival. No matter how detailed or long it might be, follow God’s instruction. Your obedience to God will not only benefit you but your family. Additionally, God will give you the strength, skills, and guidance to complete your assignment.
Now to the cruxes of this blog; lessons and expectations of a shut-in:
1. Before a shut-in God will give you the logistics.
2. God allowed Noah to build the object that saved him from pending destruction. What are you building now that will save you in the future?
3. View your shut-in as a place of refuge
4. A shut-in requires sacrifice.
5. A shut-in requires leaving people, places, and things.
6. God may place others in the shut-in with you. Noah’s family accompanied him, and at the appointed time, God sent the exact amount of animals, fowls and creeping things to go into the ark.
7. Shut-in entails a period of pressurization and obscurity.
8. In a shut-in, the conditions may not be convenient or pleasant.
9. As things are release in the shut-in, it will become stinky.
10. Things may not be smooth in the shut-in, expect movement
11. There is an atmosphere of peace in a shut-in. (There was no conflict between the humans, nor animals)
12. A shut-in provides protection from the storm which is raging on the outside.
13. As days pass in a shut-in, you will be elevated.
14. In the shut-in, God will feed you. (God did not tell Noah how long he would be in the ark nor how much food to take into the ark. God allowed the food not spoil and to last for the whole time; He is a provider.
15. Don’t leave the shut-in until God says, “Go forth.”
Finally, I want to close with these two nuggets. First, today’s preparation prepares you for tomorrow’s opportunity. Secondly, when Noah and his family came out of the ark, the first thing that he did was build an altar. When you come out of your shut-in, don’t forget to build your altar.
Last week I went to the supermarket to purchase a watermelon, and while I was there, I looked for someone in the produce department to advise me on how to pick a good watermelon. Unfortunately, no one was available to instruct me, so I took my phone, and googled, “How do you select a ripe watermelon?” In turn, I received instructions and YouTube videos to watch. With the assist of the goggle, I was able to pick a ripe sweet watermelon that my friends enjoyed, and I was able to share the instructions on how to choose a good melon with them.
As google had the solution to my problem, so, is the Bible for all believers. The Bible is our manual, and we can go to it and find out the answer and solutions for our problems and various issues.
Many years ago, the Holy Spirit ministered to me that is I searched the Bible I would find the answer on how to respond and what to do in every issue that I would encounter. Since that time, I have been amazed at how the Word, when researched, prayed over, and applied, has led me to success.
Also, I am reminded that many times we receive a manual for something that we purchased, and we do not use it, we refuse to follow the directions, but we attempt to do things on our own, which usually leads to things going wrong. This places the blame on us for not taking the time to read and get an understanding of what is needed to be done.
The dictionary defines, “manual” as a book of instructions, especially for operating a machine or learning a subject; a handbook. God graciously inspired the writing of the believer’s manual, the Bible, to enable everyone who would read it, and follow the direction, the opportunity to be successful.
So, I end this blog encouraging you to read the Bible for, in it, you will find the direction that you have been seeking and as stated in Joshua 1:8b, “You will make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
For believers, the word, “grace” means God’s unmerited favor and goodness toward mankind, and despite man’s propensity to sin when you read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you witness God extending His grace to His creation.
Additionally, theologian, in their study of bible history have divided the Bible into seven dispensations, and according to their division, we are presently living in the Dispensation of Grace, which is also called the Church Age. During this dispensation, God reaches beyond His chosen people and offers salvation through the death of His Son to the Gentiles. For those that accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior they are privileged to be adopted into God’s family (John 1:11-13; Acts 2:38–39; Ephesians 2:8–10; Galatians 3:23–29).
When the Dispensation of Grace concludes the tribulation period will begin and according to the scriptures, God’s focus will be on the saving of His chosen nation, Israel. During the tribulation, Gentiles will turn to God; however, they will experience hardship and pain as never been seen or experienced in this world.
God loves us all, and He desires that all should be saved and none perish, but He is also a holy God, and He does have requirements that His citizens must follow. Yes, there is coming a day when our false proclamations, excuses, and lukewarm relationship with Him will be evaluated. Please, remember these two scriptures, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” Revelation 3:15-16, and “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” Matthew 7:22-23.
If you are one of the people that believe you can live ungodly, and God does not hold you accountable, you are sadly mistaken. God gives believers the ability to overcome. He gives us power and direction. If you choose to ignore what is available, the consequence of your actions is on you.
The Spirit of Deception, Spirit of Seduction, and Spirit of Blindness are in full blossom in our world. As it was in the days of the bible judges, everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes and leaders in their attempt not to offend people are adopting the spirit of Eli who failed to restrain his sons for their evil works. It is the responsibility of believers to be a living witness, to tell the world of God’s love and ultimate desire for them, and to urge them to come to God before grace is gone
To this end, my prayer for you and me is the words of David in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” and “Father, help us to get it right and answer while Jesus is yet knocking at our door.”
There are so many experiences that I have had in my life that I wished that I could erase and do over. There are things that I have said that after saying them, I wish I had not. These things cannot be changed, but there are some things though time-consuming can be changed.
I posted a blog on October 6, 2018, titled “WHEN YOU HAVE THE TOOLS,” and it was about using the Grammarly software to correct the blogs that I had previously written and posted. Last month while I was making some changes on my computer I realized that I had not utilized all of the checking tools of the software; therefore, there remained things that possibly needed correcting on the previously posted 271 blogs and the 25 newly posted blogs.
I had a decision to make; leave things as they were or take the time to go back and recheck the 296 blogs. I choose to recheck. Yes, it was time-consuming; I stopped posting blogs and took three weeks to recheck everything, but in the long run, it was worth it.
Now, I can feel comfortable with everyone reading my blogs. I realize the average reader probably wouldn’t notice the mistakes, but I want to appeal to more than the average reader. Someone might read a blog I have written and be so impressed that they want to aide me in other endeavors. So, I am thankful that there are tools available to assist me in writing. I am learning to be aware of my common grammatical mistakes and not to make them.
Finally, since we are helpers one to another for those of you that are writers, I highly recommend utilizing the Grammarly software. If Grammarly can enhance my writing, which it has, it will do the same for you.
NEGLIGENT (adjective) The word has 2 senses: 1. characterized by neglect and undue lack of concern. 2. marked by insufficient care or attention
Synonyms: delinquent; derelict; neglectful; remiss (failing in what duty requires);
lax; slack (lacking in rigor or strictness); hit-and-run (involving a driver of a motor vehicle who leaves the scene of an accident); inattentive; neglectful (not showing due care or attention).
PARENTING (noun) The activity of bringing up a child.
Many of us failed to realize that God requires more of parents than just feeding, housing, and financially supporting their children. He expects parents to take on the grave responsibility of a teacher. From the child’s birth onward, God expects parents not only to model an excellent lifestyle but to teach their children His Word. Additionally, this responsibility of teaching is placed on the elders in our midst.
The following scriptures found in the Old and New Testament emphasizes God’s requirements for parents, elders, and leaders:
Exodus 24:12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
Leviticus 10:11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
Deuteronomy 4:9 -10 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
Deuteronomy 6:1, 7 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deuteronomy 11:19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Ezra 7:25 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not.
Ezekiel 44:23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
Matthew 28:19 – 20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Titus 2:3 – 4 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children.
If you question the validity of teaching, look at our perfect example. The New Testament scriptures reveal that the majority of Jesus time of ministry on earth was spent in teaching the people:
Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Luke 13:22a And he went through the cities and villages, teaching.
Teach, teach, teach is the mandate given to parents, leaders, and elders, and as I previously stated above, many parents have been negligent in this part of their assignment. Regrettably, as we look at, and listen to our Millennials and Generation Z, we observe the consequences of the absence of sound teaching.
The book of Judges details the continued downfall of Israel and the reason was partly disclosed in Judges 2:10b “And there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” I concluded that this occurred because the parents, elders, and leaders were disobedient to God’s instruction and did not adequately teach their children.
Unfortunately, the scriptures also revealed that God became angry with this new generation and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers, and He sold them into the hands of their enemies. Please don’t be fooled, the same thing that happened to Israel can happen to our children and future generations if we are negligent parents. Please share this message with parents, elders, and leaders. Let’s be bold and persistent in teaching our children. Let’s not let the enemy of their soul, and the world be the ones to influence them but let us who have the Word of God do our job as we declare, “We are not negligent parents.”
From my studies on kingdom principles, I understand God created the heavens for Himself and the earth to be an outpost or colony for his citizens and ambassadors (Isaiah 45:18, Psalms 115:16). Therefore, believers who are the ambassadors and citizens of the kingdom of God have a responsibility to expand God’s authority and influence from the supernatural realm to the earth. Additionally, though settled on this earth, we remain citizens of heaven and are subject to the laws of the kingdom of heaven.
Just in case you do not understand what I am saying, let me give you an example. The Caribbean Island of Nevis is under the rule of Great Britain, and the natives of that island must follow the laws legislated by Great Britain. They may never visit or live in Great Britain, but they are a citizen of Great Britain who will care and provide for them as needed.
Unlike the natives of Nevis that never leave the island, believers will visit their homeland. As the bride of Christ, all believers when the rapture takes place, our bodies will be changed immediately. We will be like Jesus, we will be transported with Him to the homeland, which is in heaven, and we will enjoy this honeymoon spot for the length of the tribulation.
What a privilege Jesus’s bride will experience as we see and experience the majesty of heaven, and we are in the presence of the Ancient of Days. We will see heaven in all of its glory; we will see the throne of God, His angels, living creatures, seraphims, and cherubs. Without sun, moon or stars it will never be dark. We will live in the mansion that Jesus prepared for us, and we will never experience hunger as we eat fruit from the tree of life. No longer will we experience grief, pain, or disease, for we will have immortal and incorruptible bodies. Also, as the bride of Christ, our marriage in heaven is not to earthly mates but to our King Jesus, who has brought us to the homeland for a visit. Our visit to the homeland ends after the tribulation, and we will return to earth with Jesus and be there reigning and living with Him forevermore.
Finally, and most importantly, I am looking forward with great anticipation to my homeland visit, how about you?
Everyone wants to be loved, and most people desire to have a significant other with whom they share intimate love. I believe I can say that every one that is in a loving relationship wants it to be fulfilling and lasting, and most people can state how they want to be loved and appreciated. Well, God, the creator of mankind, shares the same sentiment. He does not want to be in an abusive relationship. He does not want to be a second fiddle, an afterthought, or sometime lover. God has His love requirements, and He shares it with mankind so that we will know what He expects from us.
In the book of Deuteronomy, the forty-years wilderness journey of the children of Israel is coming to an end, and Moses is reiterating the laws, statues, and commandment that God had given to him to give to the children of Israel. First and foremost, the reason for these laws was that the children of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years under the dictatorship of the Egyptians, so all they knew was the ways of that nation. While in Egypt, their population had increase mightily, and as God chosen people, they needed rules with the same requirements for everyone. So no one would be able to decide what they thought was the appropriate thing to do; God left nothing to their imagination or decision. He gave them specific rules that covered every area of their lives.
In these rules He incorporated His love requirements as stated in Deuteronomy 6:5 “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” The Message Bible states it as follows, “Love GOD, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!”
God, who is a jealous God, wants to be the center of all our thoughts and actions. He wants us to love Him wholeheartedly, and to serve Him and worship Him willingly, enthusiastically, and reverently. Plus, when we neglect Him, we will experience unnecessary problems which could have been avoided if we followed His requirements.
So, I end this blog today encouraging you to love the only one that loves you unconditionally, that always has you on His mind, and can do for you and to you what no one else is capable of doing. Don’t forget His love requirements.
Matthews 24:21 “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” (New International Version)
This week after listening to the news about the mass flooding and the barrage of tornadoes in the Midwest part of our country I prayed for the safety, emotional well-being and support of all those who experienced hurt and damage. Also, I thanked God that where I lived did not share a similar experience. I even went as far as thinking surely tornadoes would not come into our area. Well, I was sorely mistaken for that Tuesday evening we had tornadoes in the state of New Jersey. I had my television on in the evening, and I heard a weather alert for people to immediately get to a safe place in their home for the following cities and there was my city in the list named.
My conclusion to this experience is that there is safety nowhere, and it made me think about the climate and atmospheric events that will occur to this world in the future, as stated in the bible.
There are those that don’t believe in climate change despite all the evidence that researchers have presented, but I can clearly see that in the years that I have lived on this earth our climate is changing. Also, because I study eschatology, I realize these changes in our climate must happen and will get worst.
In Matthew 24:6-8, 29, Jesus shares with his disciples the events that will happen before His return to the earth. It states, “ And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.”
Besides the horrific events that will happen as stated in Matthew 24:6-8, 29, lest you don’t know or possibly forgotten let me share some more events that will be happening not locally but worldwide. Along with the famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, hail weighing approximately 120 pounds plummeting to the earth, volcanoes, poisoning of our water sources, ozone layer depleted causing the sun to scorch the earth, all the sea life dying, rivers polluted, and all the islands in the world completely wiped out. (FYI. Detail information about end time events are located in my blog archive on Revelation – 1/2/2012 – 5/3/2012)
As our world progresses to the return of Jesus to this earth, and we continue experiencing atmospheric and climate changes, I believe prior climatic occurrences, will cause man’s heart to become hardened during the tribulation. They will not think the catastrophes occurring on the whole earth are judgments from God but rather the results of man’s negligence in caring for the planet.
So, what are we to do as things get worse? Knowing and understanding the times in which we are living is paramount. Praying for the salvation of humanity is necessary and rejoice in the knowledge that God does a plan for those that love and serve Him.
I recently revisited my blog archive and was surprised to find out that I’ve been blogging for over seven years. The first blog that I posted was part of a series on the book of Revelation, and since that time, I have done eleven series and over seventy-five uncategorized post covering various subjects.
On last Sunday one of the associate ministers of my church preached, “Shake It or Drop it” and I was inspired to go home and pull up notes that I had on the eagle and do further research. (You can see this message on YouTube under the Bethlehem Community Church, Evangelist Eleanor Davis- 5/19/I9.)
I thought that I would have completed gathering information, writing, and posting a blog on the eagle on today; however, in developing the blog, I realized I needed more time. So, this brings me to today blog which is a reminder that some things take a longer time to complete and rather than rushing and not doing justice to your project, slow down and take your time.
Even God, according to the scriptures, took six days in creating this earth and at the completion of each day, He saw what He had done was good. Therefore, I encourage you as I encourage myself to remain consistent, keep moving even though you may not be going as fast as you desire, for eventually you and I will get our task completed and prayerfully be satisfied with the results.
Additionally, besides this series, I have some other series that I have begun preparing to blog, so I solicit your prayers, and may God continue to bless you.
The Teacher's Pick 