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Some Thoughts From Previous Years:
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January 2011
15th January 2011
8th January 2011
1st January 2011
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(Rev. Sylvia Griffiths)
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“... God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. Make yourself an ark. ..” (Gen 6:12–14)
In the days of Noah everyone was evil. Noah alone was righteous (see Gen 6:9). Imagine being the only decent person alive on earth. The only one with a close relationship with God. That would be HORRIBLE! It can be challenging enough to be a Christian with lots of other people around us who believe in Christ and have God's Spirit living within them. There's a lot we can learn from Noah's story, especially about faith.
God determined to eliminate the evil people on earth and start afresh with Noah and his family. It's worth noting that Noah was 600 years old and yet he only had three sons (Gen 7:11, 13). Didn't being righteous mean that he would be blessed with more children? Did his contemporary's scoff at his small family? They certainly would have scoffed at a country man taking 120 years to build a big boat! We need to beware of judging.
God told Noah that he was going to cause a destructive flood and gave Noah detailed boat plans. We don't read a verbal response from Noah. We just read that Noah did as he was told (Gen 6:22). Noah wasn't like Abraham who challenged God's decision to wipe out Sodom and Gomorrah (see Gen 18:16 – 33). Noah didn't question God at all. He solidly believed God and obediently followed God's Word as a result.
We live in a questioning world. This can be good, but Satan can also use it against us. We can struggle to believe and thus obey God unquestioningly. Wouldn't it be great to have the commendable faith of Noah (see Heb 11:6–7)? Faith that believes “If God's Word says xyz, then xyz is true. If God tells me to do something, he'll have a good reason for it. I don't need to know his reasons, I just need to obey.” Let's read God's Word and pray to have faith like Noah in 2012.“ The LORD is exalted, he dwells on high; …he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is [his people's] treasure .” (Isa 33:5 – 6)
Last month we were singing a jumping song at mainly music. I was sitting in a comfy armchair instead of jumping. As I watched all the children jumping up and down (about 15 of them along with some of the younger, more energetic parents!) , I felt the floor wobble up and down.
Life can be a bit like that sometimes. It can feel as though our world is wobbling up and down in response to our circumstances. Sometimes that's a welcome sensation but many times it isn't. When we are feeling unsettled, it can be a comfort to cling to verses such as the ones above, which remind us that God will be the stability of our times . God will calm everything down if we commit our unsettling circumstances to him.
Other encouraging verses include Isa 26:3 – 4 which remind us that God will keep us in perfect peace and be our eternal rock if we trust in him and fix our thoughts on him. One of the ways we do this is by repeating encouraging Scriptures to ourselves rather than our worries.
Today's verses also remind us that the fear of the Lord is our treasure. When we talk about fearing God we don't mean being scared of him (e.g. see 1 John 4:18 ) . Thanks be to Jesus, the ultimate expression of God's love, we don't have to fear God's punishment. “Fearing God” means believing that he is more exalted, powerful, knowing, and able than anyone or anything else (e.g. see Psa 46:1 – 2; 118:6 ) . In other words, God alone is “THE GREATEST”. Not only that, but God loves us (e.g. see Rom 5:8 ) and is constantly at work for our good (e.g. see Rom 8:28; Jer 29:11 ) . When we trust in God's love, goodness and power, and give God the credit for being in control of our circumstances in a positive way, this means that we are fearing God above our circumstances. When we fear God in this way, we have a treasure greater than money can buy. Let's seek to enjoy the treasure that is found in fearing the Lord in 2012.