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The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice.
– Psalm 97:1
He reigns.
Has a more beautiful declaration ever been written? Without that truth, we would have been forever lost to life after Eden. But because all authority belongs to God, Satan has no chance of wresting the universe from Him. Because God reigns, Jesus could heal sickness, forgive sins, and conquer death. Because God is in control, evil has been outwitted. Because He is Lord, there is power behind the words, “It is finished.”
The Lord reigns.
Those words of the Psalmist have crushed every demonic plot raised throughout history against God’s kingdom. Today they strengthen those who are suffering, give hope to those who are dying, and grant courage to the living.
Kings dream of conquest, but the Lord reigns.
Men rage against righteousness, but the Lord reigns.
Prayers may go unanswered, the innocent may suffer, and the harvest may wither.
Still, the Lord reigns.
In a time of His choosing, our prayers will be answered, the innocent will be delivered, and the harvest will be abundant. Only God comprehends the mysteries of the universe.
He alone weaves the intricate pattern of grace and judgment throughout earth’s story.
Nothing can separate us from His will, His love, and His grace. In our hour of despair, He is our resurrection. In our deepest night, He is the lamp from which the darkness flees. He is our revelation, our fortress, our king and conqueror. He vanquishes our tormentors. He lifts us up from the dirt and calls us His children.
He transforms the ragged into royalty, the powerless into conquerors.
We live in His refuge.
We eat at His table.
We walk in His riches.
In that great day He calls us to Him, we will see Him in all His glory. We will fall before the splendor of His majesty and cast our crowns at His feet, giving praise and honor to the King who saved us. With all creation, we will rejoice that it is finished.
Together with all creation we will declare, “He reigns.”
We don’t have to wait until eternity to begin the celebration. There’s no better time than today to declare His lordship over our lives. Today, when we must see Him with eyes of faith and trust our lives to a promise, the declaration of His sovereignty is especially poignant; a beautiful proclamation of a timeless reality soon to be revealed.
He is Lord. He reigns. Let the rejoicing begin!
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Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.
– Psalm 23:4
The room lay in shadows, the only sound within its walls the rhythmic whoosh of the ventilator beside my son’s bed.
I sat on an uncomfortable chair jammed into one corner of the room. The faint light from the window fell across the pages of the Bible I held as I tried to corral my stampeding fears long enough to find some comfort from God’s Word. Outside the door of his room, a cacophony of voices from the nurses’ station jarred our shattered nerves.
In the darkness, our son lay paralyzed from the neck down, on life support, suffering from pneumonia. We had been given little hope for his recovery and no hope he could go home to live. We stood before a sea of despair with our enemies riding down upon us. There was no way of escape, no place to run.
We were trapped.
We had already fought back a push for euthanasia.
The only path left for us was toward an impenetrable sea standing between death and deliverance. As we stepped toward it in faith, learning to care for our son, watching him regain feeling and movement, learning to trust God’s guidance, the sea of the impossible parted before us.
Our son’s injury was twenty years ago. He came home from rehab with us seven weeks after the accident, and he eventually weaned off the vent except to sleep at night. Today he breathes, moves, and walks with assistance. He lives each day with faith and gratitude. We are blessed to walk with him as he lives the impossible.
As we celebrate two decades of deliverance, I think back on the Exodus of God’s people out of slavery. How frightened they must have been. How confused Moses must have felt when he sought out God and was told, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.” (Ex. 14:15) I try to imagine what it was like for them to walk that fearsome night through the valley of the sea, under the shadow of death, pursued by their enemies. I wonder what it felt like to reach the other side.
And then I remember. In our home, we walk this path every day, a crossing no less miraculous for its repetition. Each day we have many challenges, but we also have many reasons to praise God for His power and grace.
Do you face a fearsome path today?
Take heart. The more difficult the journey, the greater opportunity for God to be glorified. Thank God that it’s not up to us to part the seas. We just need to trust Him and step out with courage into the journey ahead.
Take the first step today toward deliverance. God will do the rest.
Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today.
– Exodus 14:13
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Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.
– Ephesians 5:25-26
They were just turning down the lights in the sanctuary as I slid into a seat near the back of the church.
I was tired and soiled by the previous week. Life had been especially difficult, and I had not handled the pressure well. I felt completely unhinged spiritually and wholly unworthy to be in God’s presence.
The worship team began with one of my favorite songs, and I hoped I didn’t look as vulnerable as I felt.
It would have been easier to stay home. I didn’t feel like opening myself up to the conviction I was sure God’s Spirit had waiting for me. And yet, the yearning to run to my Father was greater than my shame. A desperate hunger for His compassion and holiness consumed me.
The worship was gentle, soothing. The speaker’s message appeared to have been written with me in mind. As I had figured, the Scriptures for the service hit my issues directly head on. Yes, there was conviction. There was also grace, much more grace. God’s compassion bathed my weary feet and anointed them with hope.
I left church revitalized, awed once again at the cleansing power of the Word of God.
The first washing believers receive is the cleansing of our sins by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit through our faith in Christ’s sacrifice.
Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
– 1 Corinthians 6:11
This comes when we hear the Word of God, believe it, and follow Him. One of our first acts of obedience is baptism, the outward declaration of our internal purification and rebirth.
This purification is permanent. Jesus told His disciples that they were clean because they had received His word. The Bible tells us that His sacrifice sanctified and cleansed His Body, the church.
At the Last Supper, as Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, Simon Peter protested that he needed to be completely washed. Jesus replied:
He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.
– John 13:10
In this passage Jesus declared all his disciples except Judas were clean. Their feet, soiled with the dust of the earth, were the only dirty part of them.
We may feel soiled by the fallen world around us and our own struggles with our old natures. But the blood of Jesus has cleansed us from all sins committed in the past, present, and future. Our feet get dirty from the earth in which we shuffle, and that’s why we need to read our Bibles.
The Bible is not just a book.
It is God, written down.
God’s Word is our teacher, healer, and friend.
It holds within its pages the power to unlock the mysteries of mankind’s history and future. It reveals our darkest thoughts and our deepest needs. The Bible opens hearts, renews minds, restores relationships, and imparts life.
Best of all, it cleanses us for a new day and a new journey.
You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
– John 15:3
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I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it.
– I Corinthians 3:2
The infant finishes his bottle and smiles contentedly.
A trickle of milk courses down from the corner of his mouth. It’s a sweet scene because it’s what babies do. They are born with immature digestive systems and no teeth. Mother’s milk or formula are necessary for the child to survive and thrive. As they grow, their teeth begin to come in, their digestive abilities mature, and they can tolerate solid food.
Babies are supposed to grow up. God expects His children to become fully functioning adults, as well. Anything less is decidedly dysfunctional.
It’s easy to tell a baby from an adult. But what distinguishes a mature Christian from an immature one?
It’s not the achievement of perfection. Even those who have been disciples of Christ all their lives still battle the fleshly nature residing in their mortal bodies. But a mature Christian should exhibit growth.
The Bible tells us the mark of maturity is a lack of carnality. In the Corinthian church, the carnal features of jealousy and strife had rocked the congregation. In his letter to the church, Paul took them to task for creating two competing cliques: those following the leader Apollos, and those following Paul.
This grieved Paul deeply. Not only did this display their childishness, but it also deflected the glory rightfully belonging to Christ. Paul reminded them those working in a field may have different jobs in producing a crop, but only God has the power to give life to the seed.
When God directs the planting, we can expect fruit. We are all co-workers in the field and infighting only delays the harvest. Infants don’t work because they aren’t made for it. They’re totally self-absorbed in their own needs, and they don’t care who they inconvenience along the way.
In the same way, immature Christians accomplish little except making messes for others to clean up.
We all begin as spiritual infants. We just aren’t supposed to stay that way.
One of the greatest qualities of God is His patience. He gives each person what he needs to grow in spirit and in truth. God’s provision for His children overwhelms us in both its simplicity and its complexity. He gives milk to the child. He expands the difficulty of digestion as a person grows in understanding. The message of salvation is simple enough for the babe, yet deep enough for the sage.
And yet, it is not rooted in what we know, but in what we do. Are we the cause of heartache in others or the conduit of His compassion?
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To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
– John 10
All sheep look alike to me.
Defenseless, timid, and nondescript creatures, they tend to wander and get into trouble. When one falls, it needs help to get back on its feet. Its purpose in life is mostly to eat, grow wool, and make more sheep. It’s easy to see why Jesus equated them to humans. A line of sheep looks like a sea of wool and blank stares, huddled in a timid group behind their leader.
I was in one of those lines recently, at a Christian concert.
If you’re a fan of Christian music, you’ve probably been in one of those lines, too. Why not get that CD signed, right? Because the concert I attended was held in a small venue in a small town, the line was a modest, but sincere, one. A little group of us gathered in the church foyer to say hello to the artist, one of the few larger names who scheduled a stop in northern Idaho on his concert tour.
I was probably the oldest person in the line; in fact, I may have been the oldest person in the room.
But something the artist said during the concert had connected with me, and I was determined to share it, so I shuffled in awkward formation with the others. Since it was a small flock, it wasn’t long before it was my turn. Suddenly I felt like a teenaged groupie, only worse, because although my heart is a Panhead, it beats inside a Gaither Trio body. All three of them, poured into a pair of stretchy granny jeans. I’m even sheep-shaped.
The artist was tired, ready to leave, but he patiently bent his head down to hear my request. Then he asked my name.
“Pam,” I answered.
At that, he reared back his head in surprise, startling me.
“No way,” he exclaimed, laughing. “As you were walking up,” he said, “I thought to myself, ‘That looks like Pam.’”
OOOkay. It turns out he knows another senior citizen, who looks just like me, named Pam. We laughed, and I went on my way, feeling weirdly special.
I don’t know what the chances were of that exchange happening, since hardly anyone is named Pam. I guess all sheep do look alike. But it was my reminder that I’m not just a face in a line to God. Although He runs the whole universe, He knows my name. He knows me inside and out, and He loves me.
God saw me before I existed.
He made me the way I am. He picked out the color of my eyes and gave me my dad’s knees. He knows my failures, my pain, and my insecurities. He chooses, however, to remember my faith, my service to Him, and my adoration of all He is.
Out of all the billions of people on the earth, He knows my name. He knows yours, too. We are His possession, and He cares for His sheep.
The Lord is our Shepherd. We shall not want.
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So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
– Galatians 4:16
The apostle Paul loved the people of God.
After his conversion to Christ, he spent his life not only establishing churches, but also ministering to their needs. He often had the unpleasant duty of confronting issues that threatened the fledgling church, and his letters to the Galatians and to the Corinthians were especially aimed at keeping the churches rooted in the faith.
Paul paid a heavy price for the mantle placed upon him by God. He suffered much for his allegiance to Christ, culminating in his martyrdom. Not the least of the wounds he bore were inflicted by the very people he loved so deeply. His poignant question to the Galatians reveals the depth of the hostility some Christians harbored toward him. How it must have wounded him to be attacked by the people he sacrificed so much to serve.
We often think a loving person is one who never crosses us.
But what is the Biblical definition of love? Isn’t it to seek the highest good of others? Doesn’t love require action on behalf of our beloved? If we care about someone, do we stand by and watch while he walks off a cliff? Wouldn’t we snatch our child off a busy street? Wouldn’t we throw a lifeline to a friend treading shark-infested waters?
Exercising “unconditional love” doesn’t mean we never speak the truth to someone living a lie. The term has become a convenient excuse for avoiding the accusations to be heaped upon us if we have the courage to speak out. It builds a wall behind which to hide from reality and avoid the responsibility of caring for our relationships.
Thank God, Jesus didn’t “love” us according to society’s standards.
Had He done so, we would have never known about sin, nor understood our need for a Savior. Our entire planet would have plunged into hell without so much as a word of warning. Thank God, He loved us enough to come into our space and snatch us from the edge of destruction.
Even today, most people don’t understand that Jesus did not come to “judge” us. He came to save us from judgment. He is not the enemy.
He is the truth that brings deliverance.
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God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said also, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
– Exodus 3:4-6
So they were saying to Him, ‘Who are You?’ Jesus said to them, ‘What have I been saying to you from the beginning?’
– John 8:25
The actor Charlton Heston once told the story of meeting a young couple who were ardent fans.
Gushing at the sight of the famous movie star, they breathlessly announced that they had named their son after him.
“Don’t tell me you named that poor child ‘Charlton,’” he protested.
“Oh, no,” they replied enthusiastically. “We named him ‘Moses.’”
The movie Ten Commandments famously depicted the rise, fall, and restoration of the Hebrew man who would one day lead his people out of Egypt. Set afloat as a baby in a basket to escape the wrath of Egypt, Moses was found by an Egyptian princess and unwittingly restored to his family to be raised as royalty. He was a man with a foot in two worlds, and his choice to follow the faith of his birth family cost him a king’s inheritance. But it gained him an eternal one.
Moses was likely taught about his Hebrew roots as he grew with his real mother. He knew the belief system and traditions of his people. He learned about God. But in the one moment God revealed Himself to Moses in the desert, his world was shaken by a divine force so beautiful, and yet so alien, Moses was afraid even to look at Him. This God was no ancient tribal fairy tale.
Who is He?
Thousands of years later, God’s disciples would be confronted again by the shining; the bush burned and not consumed.
They followed the man, but the force of the authority in Him, the beautiful, yet alien nature that He displayed, often left them bewildered. This man was no mere rebel.
Who is He?
I faced this question many years ago when I first began reading the Bible. One by one, my preconceived ideas of God fell before His majesty and mystery as He revealed Himself to me. And in the years since, as I have learned to walk with Him and trust Him and live in the abundance of His grace, I have bowed in awe of this powerful and wise Sovereign. In the complex world around me and the vast universe above me, I see the work of a profound intelligence. The more I know Him, the more I am humbled by just how little I still understand of my Creator and King.
Who is He? He is more than we will ever fathom on this side of the sun. One day, we will know and understand Him fully. Until then, we live in trust, awed by His faithfulness to us in these moments before the moment of His revelation.
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Now the LORD said to Abram,
Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you.
– Genesis 12:1
Today, the ancient Biblical town of Haran sits in ruins.
But in the time of Abram, later given the new name of Abraham, it was a bustling trading town watered by a tributary of Euphrates River.
Abram and his family lived in the wealthy city of Ur until God called him to leave Ur for a new land. God didn’t give him the road map of this journey, but He did give him promises to hold onto during the long journey.
God commanded three things of Abram on this trip:
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Leave his country behind.
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Separate from his extended family.
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Proceed to a land God would reveal to him.
Abram did leave Ur, but his journey to the new land was lengthened considerably when he failed to obey God completely by taking along his father Terah and his nephew Lot. They only got as far as Haran before settling there. Haran means “parched.” During his time in Haran, there is no record of promises or communication Abram received from God. God simply waited for him to act on His original command.
Since Abram had not completely severed the old ties, he was unable to strike out toward the promised land. Terah means “delay,” and Abram was indeed delayed in his journey for years in Haran until the death of his father released him to move forward.
It was not until Terah’s death God again appeared to Abram and repeated His command. In the end, Abram did obey God. He would, in fact, become known as the “father of all them that believe,” (Roman 4:11), a man separated from all he had known. He became a pilgrim passing through one land into the next, learning although God’s commands aren’t always accompanied by reasons, they are always filled with promises.
As believers, we are called to leave our old world behind for the promise of a new life.
When we are bound to the past and unhealthy relationships, we are unable to claim all that has been promised to us. We dwell in a parched land on the brink of despair, unable to move forward.
If we are ever to make progress, we must let God remove what holds us back. Do you stand at Haran today? Have you settled for a dry existence without seeing the promises of God fulfilled, because you can’t let go? Are you fearful of the sacrifices involved in crossing into the promised land?
No matter how long you have lived on the brink, God is still here, waiting for your heart to arise in answer to His call. In the list of faith heroes given to us in Hebrews 11, there is no mention of Abram’s delay in obedience. God’s grace is greater than our fears, our failures, and our doubts.
Take those first steps forward today.
The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.’
– Acts 7:2,3
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I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
-Revelation 1:18
Israel prayed for a Messiah, but God arrived.
They yearned for freedom from Rome, but He offered them deliverance from themselves.
They looked for a new kingdom, but the King came to claim their hearts.
The man Jesus embodied all the fullness of God. They just didn’t know it. Had His followers known, they would have been more saddened at His suffering, but less devastated by His death. On Golgotha, they witnessed a holy sacrifice. As the perfect Lamb offered Himself for their sins, they grieved, dreams in tatters, thinking they witnessed an execution. All they knew was that the man who they believed would redeem Israel was dead. Death had destroyed their hope. And there was no returning from the dead.
For the three long days Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, they wallowed in the finality of their despair, sure all was lost and they, too, would be killed. Even life without Him would be pointless. The darkness in their hearts was magnified by the emptiness.
The day for which Heaven had long waited finally dawned, and with it came a stunning realization for the disciples. Jesus was alive. He who was dead had risen from the grave. He was not the vanquished, but the conqueror.
The understanding came in waves as doubt melted into shock and joy and worship.
In the strength of that knowledge, empowered by the Holy Spirit, the disciples fearlessly proclaimed what they had seen and heard. They gladly suffered and died for His name, certain, now, that pain and physical death were temporary conditions. They turned the world upside down with the joyous news.
This Easter, the tomb is still empty. He is risen, and He holds the keys to death and the grave. Those who believe in His name have been released from the power of sin and given this same life. We live in the strength of this revelation. He is Lord. He is King. He is the eternal God. He is the Living One.
He is risen, indeed!
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If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
– John 14:28
Nuclear reaction:
A process, such as fission, fusion, or radioactive decay, in which the structure of an atomic nucleus is altered through release of energy or mass or by being broken apart. **
Nothing inspires as much collective societal angst as the sight of an atomic bomb exploding.
We know from history the release of energy derived from the splitting of an atom has the power to level a city, vaporize its inhabitants, and bring nations to their knees. We’ve seen the footage of an atomic bomb blasting into the sky and over the land.
Rewind the video. Imagine all that explosive force and power being compressed into one atom. Or one cell.
Or one body.
The declaration of Jesus in John 14:28 was not He was less than His Father in quality. He was less in quantity. In His incarnation, the all-powerful Word was compressed into a single organism, limited to time and space, constrained by the boundaries created by living in a body of flesh in a finite dimension. He only had two hands and two feet. He got tired, frustrated, and hungry. He could only be in one place at a time. It was in this vessel God lived and suffered and conquered the curse for us.
Jesus could have stopped the process at any time. He could have returned to heaven and left us lost. His obedience opened the floodgates of life to us. Like Him, we are called to humble ourselves so that others may live.
How can we better serve our Lord?
Acknowledge the boundless love that drove Christ to limit Himself for us.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the pint of death, even death on a cross.
– Philippians 2:5-8
Surrender to our limitations, as Christ submitted to His.
Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exult you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
-1 Peter 5:6
Commit ourselves to His path.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master.
– Matthew 10:25
It is enough to be like Him. To accomplish this, we surrender to living out of His purpose for us, revealed in bodies of flesh, tied to the limits of this space in time. We see what He endured for us and cry, “Lord, I am content with the situation in which you have placed me, for this is the path You have walked before me. If You are better glorified by this, I am blessed.”
**The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For our ancestors won God’s approval by it.
– Hebrews 11:1 (HCSB)
Ever feel like a failure?
I do, and often. My desk overflows with a never-ending pile of unfinished work. My job as a fulltime caregiver is a challenging one. It never feels like I’m smart enough, talented enough, strong enough, or Christian enough to run the race placed before me each day. I know my faith isn’t based on works, but I can add a hearty “amen” to Paul’s letter to the Romans in which he confesses to the warfare in his soul. Maybe it’s just that misery loves company, but it’s comforting to know I’m not alone in my predisposition to miss the mark. The Bible is filled with examples:
Noah obeyed the voice of God and preserved the entire world but couldn’t hold his liquor.
Abraham trusted God enough to leave his home for Canaan but fled to Egypt during a famine.
Sarah had a miracle child but caused a long line of family problems with her unbelief.
Rahab hid Israel’s spies from their enemies but had a checkered past.
Elijah brought down 400 prophets of Baal but was afraid of one woman.
Jacob wrestled with God but feared his brother Esau.
David killed Goliath but hid from Saul. Even worse, he committed adultery and arranged the murder of one of his loyal soldiers so he could have the man’s wife.
Samson was consecrated to God but fell prisoner to the temptations of a girlfriend.
We know these stories. We know the heroes of Scripture had feet of clay. They made some terrible mistakes.
While their exploits are listed in Hebrews 11, their failings are noticeably missing.
Instead, God lists the things they did “by faith.”
By faith they “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.” (Hebrews 11:33-35) Some were brought back to life from the dead, some were tortured, mocked, scourged, and imprisoned. Others were stoned, sawn in two, or killed by the sword. And some spent their lives destitute and mistreated for their obedience to God.
These were men and women, utterly human but divinely appointed, of whom “the world was not worthy.” (Hebrews 11:38) The writer of Hebrews assures us who follow in their footsteps that we are part of the great chain of faith, approved by God because we are His children. His sacrifice has cleansed us; His Spirit empowers us to accomplish all He asks of us.
God knew before I was born that I wouldn’t be smart enough, talented enough, strong enough, or Christian enough to run the race He would set before me. No one is. That’s why God offers grace to humanity.
Grace isn’t a license to stray from the path to life, but a gift making the journey possible.
Like Noah, we may have feet of clay, but we have found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8) Our best will never be enough, but God’s is.
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Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
– Genesis 6:22
Noah had already lived much of his life when God called him to build the ark.
He was not a young man when the fate of humanity was placed upon his shoulders. It was a fearful assignment, an overwhelming duty. What God had told him in secret, he spent decades building in obedience to His word.
We don’t know how much help, if any, Noah had building the massive ship. He certainly didn’t have power tools or a Home Depot nearby stocked with precut gopher wood and nails. There would be no hamburger drive-thru for him to pick up a quick lunch on a long day. There wasn’t even a hot tub in which to soak his old bones each evening.
How impossible the task must have been, this thing that lay so heavily on Noah’s heart. How crazy he must have appeared to his neighbors and friends. How very alone he must have felt.
There must have been many dark days when doubt raged, and he questioned his own ability to go on. The temptation to quit must have been very strong.
But Noah knew one thing. He knew what God had told him to do. He knew he had to expend every fiber of his being in obedience, trusting God would give him the strength to finish. Nothing else mattered except that the last nail was pounded into the wood, humanity’s preservation complete.
Thousands of years later, another carpenter walked the earth.
His directive from God was much the same. Like Noah, His job would be a lonely one. There would be no relief from the duty, no release from the burden, no call from heaven to stop the judgment about to fall.
When the last nail was in place, humanity’s salvation complete, He cried, “It is finished.”
This is the greater ark, a permanent rescue and safe landing in a new heaven and earth. It is the one-way ride to eternal life through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the storm clouds gather around us, as the forces of destruction assemble before us, the door to deliverance stands open to anyone who wants to enter.
But this door will not remain open forever.
Noah’s friends and neighbors must have mocked him as he and his family made the last step of obedience and entered the ark. For a week, the little group waited inside, while God allowed one more chance for others to join them. As the door stood open, the world danced and ate and drank and caroused and wasted their chance to live. Then God closed the door behind Noah and his family, and judgment fell.
A greater judgment is coming soon, more fearsome than anything we have ever known. Society laughs at Christ as she dances on her own grave. Her world is about to fall, but she seems not to care salvation awaits with its door wide open, a door God will close suddenly, in an hour of His choosing.
As followers of Christ, we can’t know the hour or day of His return.
But we can show others the door.
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How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
– Hebrews 9:14
Two spies lay hidden in darkness as the king’s men searched for them in the night.
Word of their presence in the city had reached the king of Jericho, and soon his men were at the door. The prostitute who lived there saved the men’s lives, but not before securing a promise from them to spare her and her family when they returned with Israel’s army to conquer the city.
Before being lowered out of her window to safety, the men gave her a piece of scarlet cord. They instructed her to gather her family together in the house on the day of their return and hang the scarlet cord in the same window. Since her house sat on the wall of the city, the cord would be seen, and her house spared. Rahab obeyed, and her faith saved her entire family from destruction by God on the day the city fell.
The scarlet cord seems like such a small detail in the account of the fall of Jericho, yet it depicts a theme woven throughout the Scriptures.
In Leviticus 14:4-6, the ceremonial cleansing of a person healed of leprosy included dipping a scarlet thread and cedar and hyssop seven times in the blood of a sacrificial bird and sprinkling it on him. A live bird was also dipped in the blood and released, symbolizing the person’s release from bondage to uncleanness. This person was now free to worship and fellowship with others, a beautiful symbol of our release from sin.
Moses and Aaron were commanded to burn cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet material along with the red heifer to produce the ashes needed for Israel’s purification from sin, as outlined in Numbers 19:1-9.
The blood of animals and red thread can never make us clean from our sins.
But these Old Testament symbols spoke of the greater sacrifice to come. Genesis 38:27-30 relates the account of the twins born to Judah by his daughter-in-law, Tamar. Because birthright belonged to the firstborn, a scarlet thread was tied on the arm of the infant Zerah as he began to emerge from the womb. But he withdrew his arm and the other son emerged first. This son was named Perez, or “breach,” because his birth caused a division between the two of them.
Jesus, a descendent of Perez, was declared the Son of God at His first coming. We are told in Scriptures He is the second Adam, the first having lost his birthright by sin. His birth created a breach in humanity. But for all who hang the scarlet thread of salvation in the window of their souls will be saved.
Zerah means “dawning” or “brightness.” At the birth of John the Baptist, his father Zacharias prophesied about him and the One before whom he came:
To give His people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s merciful compassion, the Dawn from on high will visit us
to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
– Luke 1:77-79 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
In the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all who accept God have seen a new dawn and will shine in the kingdom of our Lord. (Matthew 13:58)
In the poetic verse of Song of Solomon 4:3, the bridegroom tells this to his bride: Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely. If the scarlet thread is symbolic of redemption, this verse speaks to the beauty of those who proclaim His salvation and testify to His redemption in their lives.
And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!
– Romans 10:15 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
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Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time.’
– Genesis 7:1
The Bible paints a picture of the days prior to Noah’s flood as one of a generation lost.
In a world filled with wickedness, only Noah was left to follow God. If the flood was the judgment for evil, and Enoch was translated before the wrath of God came upon earth, who does Noah represent in the Matthew 24 timeline?
We often forget Jesus first came to the people of Israel, His chosen and beloved nation.
He answered and said, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
– Matthew 15:24
But the house of Israel rejected their Savior, and so He turned to the Gentiles.
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
– John 1:11-12
For the last 2,000 years, we have been living in the age of grace.
The doors of heaven flung wide open to all, Jew or Gentile, to escape the judgment to come and enjoy eternity with God.
But those doors will close one day soon. Remember the Scripture in Genesis in which God warned His Spirit will not pursue mankind forever? There is an end to His patience when evil has overtaken society and all who will hear His call have responded.
Noah and his family represent those who are saved during the coming judgment on earth by fire. They symbolize the nation of Israel, who will be brought to belief the Messiah Jesus Christ, along with those who accept Him as Savior during the seven years of trial upon the earth. They will be carried through a time of terrible suffering to the deliverance of their souls.
The rest of humanity who reject Him will be destroyed in the tribulation of those days and face an eternal judgment.
In the well-known and often-debated passages of Matthew 24, Jesus responds to the question, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” In answer, Christ addresses the events just preceding His Second Coming of Christ in all His glory, the coming about which John prophesied in Revelation 19:11-21. In Matthew 24, Jesus is addressing the nation of Israel, those believers converted during the seven years of tribulation, and an unbelieving world. The Bride of Christ will already be gone, translated like Enoch to heaven.
The reference regarding “one will be taken and one will be left” in Matthew 24:40-41 is, in context, relating to being taken in judgment and is not a reference to the Rapture.
The Biblical account of Noah’s Flood gives us a startlingly graphic picture of what is coming at the end of the age. Its message is urgent and sobering. God will cleanse His creation and make all things new. He will bind up wickedness and destroy the wicked. He has waited a long time for that day, but He won’t wait forever.
Where are you in this place in time? What do you believe?
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By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
– Hebrews 11:5 (Berean Study Bible)
The Enoch Generation
A discussion of Noah’s flood as it speaks to conditions at the end times often addresses two groups of people living on the earth when God sent the judgment:
- Noah and his family, the only righteous people left on the planet
- The rest of the world, judged to be wicked
This sobering picture portrays believers, represented by the family of Noah, riding out the storm in the ark while those who refused deliverance are destroyed in a catastrophic flood. The ark symbolizes salvation offered by Christ.
This picture is called a “type,” or foreshadowing, of New Testament events played out in Old Testament symbolism. This device is validated by Paul in Romans 5:14 when he tells us Adam was a type of Christ.
Noah and the ark present a beautiful picture of the salvation we have in Christ. But if we simply insert that picture into Matthew 24, it appears Noah represents the Church, and the Flood represents overwhelming judgment upon the unbelievers. This is misleading.
In this picture, a very important historical figure is quite literally missing: Enoch.
Enoch was the great-grandfather of Noah and the father of Methuselah, whose name means, “His death shall bring.” The year Methuselah died was the year of the Flood. Methuselah represents the mercy and long-suffering of God in the face of wickedness.
Enoch and Noah are the only two men in Scripture of whom it is said, He walked with God. We read in Hebrews 11:5 that Enoch pleased God, the only one besides Jesus Christ of whom this is spoken in Scriptures. In Jude 1:14-15 we learn Enoch prophesied about the return of Christ to execute judgment. And in Genesis 5:22-24, we read this:
Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Enoch walked with God, prophesied to others about the coming of the Lord in glory, and pleased God. He did not see death but was translated to be with God before the coming of judgment.
Enoch was “snatched away,” or raptured. He represents the Church, the one who escapes the wrath to come, translated and taken by God before judgment in the last days.
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Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
– Genesis 6:5
Theories abound on the timing and manner of the return of Jesus Christ.
It’s not hard to find Scriptures to support opposing viewpoints, and even those honestly searching the Scriptures to answer the question posed by the disciples in Matthew can get lost in the maze of prophecies outlined in the Old and New Testaments. There is one place we can all start, though.
Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:36 that no one knows the hour or day of His Second Coming in glory. He did tell us, however, that His coming would be “just like the days of Noah.” Although He was specifically speaking of the suddenness of His return, He pointed us to the conditions of the world before the first big judgment, the flood.
What preceded the worldwide destruction of the flood?
The explosion of population as the human race “multiplied.”
Whether the “sons of God” that married the “daughters of men” were fallen angels or fallen followers of the Lord is debatable, but the passage speaks to the perversion of the Biblical model of marriage.
The fullness of evil, expressed not just in actions but in the thought life of humanity.
God was so grieved by the wickedness in the world, He regretted creating mankind. The Ten Commandments that would come later addressed the outward actions of men, but this passage in Genesis reveals what Jesus told us at His first coming: We are defiled first by what we think.
An earth filled with violence and corruption.
God’s lament in Genesis 6 shows a world harvest of evil had come to fruition. Ecclesiastes 1:18 tells us that “in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.” Because God is all-seeing and all-knowing, He was tormented by the knowledge of every horrific act and by every perverted thought in the mind of His creation.
God’s warning that the door to grace would soon close.
God warned in Genesis 6:3, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” This verse is sometimes interpreted to mean that the lifespan of humans would be shortened from the much longer time they had enjoyed prior to the flood. But in context it would more appropriately refer to the 120 years Enoch and Noah preached repentance to that generation, especially in light of 1 Peter 3:20, 2 Peter 2:5, and Jude 14.
It’s not hard to see parallels between the world just preceding the flood and the world preceding Christ’s Second Coming. While some elements of the fallen world are ever-present, these conditions—when considered with other pertinent prophetic events on the horizon today—would lead us to believe our Lord is “at the door.”
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[In the coming weeks, Slightly Obsessed will explore the Scriptures regarding end-time events and what Jesus meant when He said the coming of the Son of Man will be “just like the days of Noah.”]
Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
– Matthew 24:42
A small walkie talkie sits at its charging station in our kitchen.
It’s always on because we are part of a volunteer fire department in our rural community. Our area is at high risk for wildfires during the summer and fall months, and we live miles away from the nearest fire stations. Because of the likelihood of fire, our community finally built its own fire house, purchased a fire truck, and trained volunteers to protect our property.
Our system is linked with the local county sheriff’s department, and we’re always on call, should the alarm come to assist a neighbor. We don’t know when the next fire is coming, or if we’ll even be needed. But we’re always on the alert.
Deep within the soul of each true believer in Christ is the knowledge we are made for more than the brief years we walk upon this earth. Our great hope as followers of the Lord Jesus is the promise of resurrection to live in eternity with God.
The New Testament Scriptures are permeated with a sense of urgency.
The early disciples clearly believed the return of Christ was imminent. Although God alone knows the timing of the course of His plan as it is played out on the world stage, He has commanded us, “Be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” (Matthew 24:44)
We live in an age of great uncertainty. Radical changes in the political environment of nations and a sense we are hurtling toward some catastrophic worldwide event has sparked new interest in end-time prophecy. Today online conspiracy theories abound, along with well-meaning but misguided predictions. When it comes to eschatology, the study of last or final events, are you pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, premillennial, postmillennial, amillennial, or just plain confused?
It’s tempting to relegate the debate over Jesus’ coming to the Bible scholars. It seems like pointless arguing when there are so many urgent things the Church could be doing.
But as we’ll see in the next weeks, what we believe about the last days and Christ’s soon return is crucial to how we live every day. Because we can’t know what day He’s coming, we are commanded to be always ready.
Together, let’s find out why.
Next Week: Like the Days of Noah, Part 2
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But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
– Peter 2:9 (Berean Study Bible)
They march. They curse, rant, and riot. They spew their rage all over social media.
The political climate has been tumultuous since the recent election. Some folks don’t like the results of the election, and unlike years past, can’t seem to get past it. They can’t move on. They are obsessed with protesting the loss.
Although the title of this weekly series is “Slightly Obsessed,” humans rarely get a little obsessed about anything. We either love it or hate it. And we have a national compulsion to share why. To be obsessed with a thing is to be consumed by it, to have our thoughts and actions dictated by constant and commanding thoughts about the object of our passion.
What possesses us, changes us.
It tells others more about who we are than anything we can say, sing, rant, or tweet. Talk is cheap. We can march all day for justice, but if we’re so possessed by anger we trash an innocent person’s business, justice is not the message he hears. Assaulting others with our attitudes, no matter how justified in our own eyes, is still assault. Vulgarity and self-righteous pride only reveal the ugliness lurking our own hearts.
Jesus tells us this in Luke 6:45:
The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
We’re all obsessed about something. It might be movies, food, politics, or germs. What fills your heart today? What is your treasure? Who owns you?
I want to be a woman possessed by the Spirit of the living God. I pray my heart is so filled with Jesus that my mouth overflows always with His praise. I yearn to speak words anointed with His grace and truth, my brokenness revealing His beauty like the fragrance from a crushed flower.
I pray this for you, as well. May the Spirit of God fill you with the power to withstand this evil age and live in hope of eternity. May God possess your thoughts. May the treasure of your heart overflow to reveal salvation and joy and a magnificent obsession for all that is good.
May you be addicted to the Lord Jesus Christ, fully possessed, and more than slightly obsessed with the kingdom to come.
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The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.
– Exodus 14:14
I sat on the bed, heart in shreds.
An accusation had been hurled at me on social media, again, by the same person. Everything in me fought to defend myself against the lies.
Deep inside, though, I knew it was a trap. I could never convince the attacker of my innocence, and it would only draw me farther into a toxic situation. I had already cried many nights over it. I could not fix this, and that hurt.
Then there was a quiet knock on the bedroom door. My daughter slipped softly into the room.
“May I pray for you?” she asked.
Relief washed over me. “Yes,” I said. A thousand times yes, my soul echoed.
She climbed onto the tall old cannonball bed that once belonged to my Ozark grandmother, Bertha Blossom Griggs, whose iron will conquered many hardships. Nanny Griggs endured a hard life as a sharecropper in the South, the loss of a stillborn daughter, the fire that destroyed their home and the store they managed, and the death of her husband.
Nanny knew she had to pick her battles to survive. She told me years ago, “I don’t care what people say about me. When they’re talking about me, they’re giving somebody else a rest.”
I had been giving someone else a lot of rest lately.
My daughter folded her long, slender legs under her at the foot of the bed and bent forward in earnest prayer. Tears filled my eyes at her gentle intercession. Four words especially grabbed my attention, a plea for God to help me shut out the lies.
Bingo. Shut out the lies.
There, in my head, raged the battle that sapped my mental energy and hijacked my emotions. It kept me demoralized and under the finger of the accuser, who by the way, was not the person flinging the mud, but Satan. The devil, my real enemy, was trying to steal my praise and my time and my heart.
I breathed a grateful thank-you to my tender daughter for seeing my distress and helping me cut through the deception. She and the rest of my family spoke the truth I needed to hear. The situation may never be resolved, but I’m no longer listening to the lies.
Maybe you have been under attack lately. Perhaps you struggle to make sense of the accusations, fearing they may be rooted in truth. It’s a good idea to test them against the Word of God and listen for the conviction of the Holy Spirit. If God and those we trust do not confirm any sin, then we can shut out the lies and be glad we’re giving somebody else a rest.
For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.
– 2 Chronicles 16:9
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