Genesis 7-8: Noah's Obedience and Patience

Noah's Obedience and Patience

Please forgive me for missing last week. My schedule had changed drastically and I also had 3 finals to do as well as trying to sleep. I will still be doing this weekly, Lord willing.

As we read through Genesis 7-8, there are points to take and questions to ask. I may not have answers to the questions that I propose, but we should always ask questions about scripture in order to bookmark (in a sense) how we think and answers that we seek to find in their proper context.

One point to take home is from Genesis 7:5, "And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him." Think about that. When the Lord commanded Noah to do something, he did it. He did not fight God for years and try to figure out why God was wrong, Noah just did it , like Nike. That paid off major dividends for Noah and his family as they were spared during the flood. When you do what God wants you to, He is sparing you from what is inevitable trouble if you do not follow through with what he said.

Also, there is another take home point from Genesis 8. The water was subsiding, but not quickly like a drain in a sink or bathtub. It took over 10 months for Noah to see the tops of mountains. That takes much patience. Now we also see that Noah kept checking for the development of what had happened to see if it was safe to exit the arc. Noah sent a Raven and then a dove to test the earth. When the dove no longer returned, another 50+ days later- Genesis 8:12, Noah knew then it was time to exit the arc. Do you see the obedience and the patience this man had? No wonder God spared him. That was not some guy that just reacted to everything on an emotional whim. He did what God said. Period.

A question I had was regarding the earth. I wondered if the flood covered the literal earth as in our entire planet, or did the flood cover the earth that surrounded Noah. I did not think I would come up with an answer (probably THE answer) so quickly. In Genesis 8:21 it reads "And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done." We know that there are still floods that happen on earth, but there are not major floods that have covered the entire earth/planet. So, we can understand the flood was covering the entire planet and not just a small portion of it.

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Genesis 5-6: From Adam to Noah and the Flood

From Adam to Noah and the Flood

Genesis 5 breaks down the genealogy of Adam all the way down to Noah. A quick point to take from that chapter is that (similar to Matthew 1) you don't know what is going to come from your time on earth. I can look at the fact that I don't have a children and think that is where my "legacy" stops. But, I cannot see the impact I have had on people and kids through my 38 years of living and how that affects people. I cant see how what I was taught and then taught others will affect future generations. Which brings me to Genesis 6 and a serious point of how we should live our lives according to what God wants. God saw that the earth was filled with wickedness and decided to wipe it clean, but before he did so, he spared Noah and told him specific instructions on the arc Noah was to build that would eventually save his family and human kind. The final verse of Genesis 6 is verse 22 which states "Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him." I read that and say, this is what we are to do all the time in our walk with the Lord. We aren't to do whatever we want and validate it later, we are to do what is holy and pleasing to God. Is it difficult to stay on the path of pleasing God, absolutely. But no one said that walking with the Lord would be easy. It will be difficult. God gives us instructions and guidance on what he wants from us. We need to do like Noah did and do all that He commands us.

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Genesis 4: Honesty with God

Honesty with God

Many of us know the story of Cain killing Abel due to jealousy and shame because Cain did not honor God with his sacrifices. Abel sacrificed his fattest portion to God and Cain sacrificed what fell on the ground. Now, in this time sacrifices were a part of the culture. When you sacrifice to God, it was not what you could muster up, but what was your fattest portion. That means, if you tended to trees and bushes that bore fruit, then you do not sacrifice what is rotted, you give what is the best in honor to God. Abel did that with his livestock. Cain brought forth sacrifices/fruits that fell to the ground. These fruits may be bruised and dirty and essentially not the best to bring forth to God to represent your thanks and sacrifice to Him.

Now, how does that play into your life? When you look at your relationship with God, what is it you are sacrificing? In other words, what are you hanging on to that God would rather have you sacrifice? Is it trust in Him? Is it tangible? Maybe it is money you are hanging on to. How is your tithing? Is your tithing based on a fear that you won't be able to survive?

The funny thing is, we are to trust in God and know that He will provide for us if we do what it is He wants us to do. If we just stay comfortable and make sure we are happy then we are missing out on truly giving up things for God. God doesn't want us to rely on the tangible, but know that He will provide for us. But we can't hold back from Him. We have to sacrifice.

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Genesis 3: When Satan Tempts You

When Satan Tempts You

We come across many temptations in life and when we have heard from God or have read what God's standard is, we are to follow that. But then there are those times that we really aren't sure and we let someone come in and twist what we believe or what God has told us and they mislead us intentionally or unintentionally. Either of those ways is dangerous as you are responsible for your own decisions and the reasons behind why you made those decisions.

In Genesis 3, we have Adam and Eve in the garden with Eve being mislead by the serpent. Eve tells Adam that is it okay to eat from the tree that God instructed them to avoid. Eve disobeys from the serpents words and twisting of what God said and meant. Then Eve leads Adam to do the opposite of what God said buy following the serpent's words. That gets them both in trouble with God. What would have saved them? If Eve would stayed away from the tree. They could have been saved. If Eve could have ignored the serpent they could have been saved. If Adam could have redirected Eve, they could have been saved. Yet, we see they disobey God and force God's hand of punishment (Genesis 3:16-19). Makes you wonder what life would be like if we just obeyed God instead of allowing ourselves to be lied to and mislead.

 
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Genesis 2: God Has Plans

God Has Plans

In Genesis 1 we saw how God created the earth and how we have to realize that we are not accidents and that we have a purpose here on this earth. God finished making the earth and then rested on the 7th day (Genesis 2:1-3). First off, which day is your day of rest? If you are not fully rested how can you be re-energized to not only do the job(s) that lay before you, but also do the work God has before you? People will make excuses and say "Just gimme coffee and I can get it done" but is that what God wants from you? I know American culture is "go go go" and "achieve more and make more money", but God established a predominant culture many, many moons ago that also involved rest. Let's be honest, even cars, cell phones, lap tops, light bulbs are not meant to run at all times...and neither are we. 

God created man and placed hm specifically, not just anywhere, but in a place for him to do the job God bestowed upon him (Genesis 2:15). God also saw that the man did not need to be alone. Many take this section of scripture to mean God's view of marriage in terms of we should all be married, but in context, Adam was the first person on the planet and therefore was completely alone. Today, if you are not married, do not force yourself to be married due to the belief of this verse because celibacy/singleness is also a gift (Matthew 19:9-12) and God does not contradict Himself. 

God know what He wants from you, now you must be receptive to what it is He wants and then you must be obedient to do what it is He has called you to do.

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Genesis 1: God Creates the Earth

God Creates the Earth

Welcome back to me :)

A quick note, this blog will be posted once a week on Mondays for the time being and maybe from here on out. I am in grad school and have taken on a heavy load for the next 4 months. The once a week schedule may stay in place, but I am just not sure and will listen to what God says and see how He directs my path. Now...on to Genesis.

In reading through Genesis 1, I am greeted with an introduction of God's creation of the planet earth. The wording used from the English Standard Version states that "God created the heavens and the earth." This does not mean that there are multiple heavens for us when we die, but it is in reference to what we call "outer space." 

In verse 2, we read "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." This means in God creating the earth and the heavens, He shaped them. Their shape has a purpose, it isn't just "random" nor is it just "evolution" apart from God. Think of how big the planet is. Well it is really small in comparison to Jupiter and Saturn. Think of all the seemingly insignificant animals and plants on the planet. God created them and has a purpose for them. Now, for Him to create us there had to be a connective purpose in that as well. Frogs need to eat flies to survive. Connection. Big fish eat smaller fish and plants to survive. Connection. We eat the animals and plants of this world to survive. Connection. It is all connected, not by chance, but because God made it that way.

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Hiatus

This blog will be on break from July 2- September 1, 2016.

Please check back in in September 1 2016.

Thank you.