Good Morning Friends,
Today we have Noah in a boat from the Genesis Flood account and Jesus and the disciples in a passage from the Gospel of Mark also in a boat and the interesting thing is that in both situations is that the people along for the ride were being asked to trust, obey, and believe with faith in the provision of God, but also in time to act in the power of the Holy Spirit. Both stories are about how both good and bad things can grow in our lives and in the world and that changing that is not such an easy thing and requires us the think differently but also to risk in faith for our own deliverance. So, Do We Understand The Salvation Offered By Jesus In Us Is The Continuing Work Of A Sovereign God?
Scripture: The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth. For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him. And after seven days the waters of the flood came on the earth.
Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10 (NRSV)
Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
Mark 8:14-21 (NRSV)
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, “Glory!” The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
Psalm 29: 1-10 (NRSV)
Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved. Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
James 1:12-18 (NRSV)
Message: Even though it makes a wonderful children’s story with lovely smiling animals with a colorful rainbow at the end, floodwaters are not such a romantic picture. Children died in the flood and the reality is that the story of Noah is not a nice story about a cozy boat ride. I do not completely understand the story of fallen angels having children with human women. But I do understand that such creations on earth would pose a disastrous consequence of us all and if that is the reason that God sent the flood then such devastation seems more in balance with the damage that resulted. The world was messed up and undoubtedly God grieved. But the thing is that whether it was fallen angels of just people who refused to follow the ways of God, the inhabitance of earth before the flood made God angry and this issue would not be resolved until the cross and ultimately at Jesus’ return. So now look at the second boat scene, here of Jesus teaching His hardheaded disciples. They forgot to bring bread, and they are stuck in a boat, a dozen or more of them hungry with no way to find food. Jesus takes advantage of the situation, which comes right after He has fed several thousand with almost nothing and tells the disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod. But they just do not get it. They are so hungry that they miss the point Jesus is trying to make. And let us be honest, we can miss it too. You see yeast or leaven is the attitude a person brings to any action or thought, an attitude that affects the outcome for good or ill. The Pharisees’ yeast is an attitude of legalism that takes energy away from love and performing acts of love, especially for the poor and powerless. The yeast of Herod is an attitude we could call secular, where one’s personal pleasure and satisfaction is the most important thing to center energy on. It leads to the saddest form of self-indulgence. The yeast of Herod. Instead, in the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Christ, everyone works toward the good of everyone else. So, Jesus did not give up educating the disciples for they had a purpose to fulfill too. For Jesus’ message was not, I will do the cross thing and you all are covered. The work goes on but hopefully with the right attitude. So, Jesus tells His hungry followers to clear the cobwebs from their memories: Listen up, people, and open your ears and minds. When five thousand needed feeding, did they have enough? Yes, God did that through my ministry, and you had more than enough to share.
And So, our trust in God must be constant and complete, for He cannot ultimately be anything but loving and giving, and He wants us to be like that as well in the creating power of the Holy Spirit. So, believe, and hope, and love God and your neighbor. Little else is worth our attention. And we are not only to know and understand this, but we are called in love to do this. The story was that the world messed up before the flood and the thing is that it was still messed up when Jesus and the disciples were in another boat centuries later even though they had as we do the hope of a new covenant in Christ. In that love we are to act. You see, we are the leftovers of Jesus’ ministry. Like the crumbs from the children’s table even Gentiles are to eat of the bread of salvation. We are to play our part in the miracle of Holy Spirit working in and through us to the glory of God’s continuing creation as new creatures in Christ. And this change requires God to act even in granting us faith and belief to make a commitment to at least in some small ways make a difference. The challenge then is with each of us accepting God’s grace and daring to be different. And a major part of that is understanding the miracle of Jesus and how He alters our thinking and being. We like the disciples need to believe differently and not be slow to trust. We are to venture into the world of faith understanding that Jesus is the only hope we have. And we are not to forget the miracle of Christ calling us to His purpose in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Pray we realize that there is no hope for any of us unless God wills it. Pray we live within the boundaries of behavior that follows God’s will. Pray we do not overstep God’s desire for us. Pray that no matter how ungodly the environment we are in that God will find a way to be with us in the challenge of facing evil. Pray our impulses and imagination leads us to glorify God and in so doing gives us a purpose worthy of the life we have been given. Pray we trust God more and obey God more and have faith in abundance. Pray we be aware of false doctrine and not succumb to its lies. Pray we are guided by the love of the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 