By Mike Kirby
When we recycle something, the plan is to get something new out of something old. This week in our devotions, we will look at the examples of men in the bible and trade in our old attitudes for something new, something they exhibited in their lives.
Begin by praying that God will use this week to change you into the person He wants you to be - that the old will be gone and the new will take its place.
Read Genesis 6:9-14, 22. What does that Bible tell us about Noah? What was the rest of the world like?
The Bible tells us of Noah's character, but it really doesn't tell us what he was like to be around. Was he funny or serious? Was he shy or outgoing? What was his job? What was it like to be his kids?
Read 2 Peter 2:5. How does that describe Noah? Whatever he was, he became a preacher, but think about who he preached to. The rest of the world was wicked. The world didn't want to hear his message.
We don't know exactly how long it took to build the ark. It may have taken as many as 120 years! Imagine Noah building the Ark. Think about him going out each day and building this boat in the middle of a field in a time when it had never rained before. Consider all the people that made fun of him as they walked by 'crazy old Noah.' How would you like to have been his child and been made fun of and called the kid of the 'batty boat man'? They endured this for perhaps 100 years or more! And all the while, Noah preached that this wicked world would repent and turn to God.
Whatever Noah was like before God called him, he now had a boldness from God to preach truth and righteousness to people who were his friends, his relatives and total strangers. His obedience and boldness must have caused loneliness and scorn, yet he followed God anyway. Now ask yourself this question. What happened to everyone who was not on the ark?
What happens to your friends, relatives and even strangers who die without a saving faith in Jesus? Do you feel the same urgency that Noah did to preach truth to a dying generation?
Read 2 Timothy 1:7, Ephesians 6:19, Acts 4:29-31.
Pray for people you know who don't know Jesus as their Savior. Pray that you can follow the example of Noah by living a life of righteousness. Pray for a new boldness so you can speak the truth of God's word to the lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment