Think on Good Things

Sickness has once again plagued the Alexander family. We've been dealing with it now for four days, which is why I'm a bit behind in posting. I'll get caught up soon, though. Thanks for your patience!

Day 218: Matthew 12
When I was growing up, my parents instilled in me many values. They taught me about God and the Bible. They taught me about good sportsmanship--to congratulate others when you lost and to have a good attitude about it. They wanted me to see the importance of education and reading and writing and arithmetic (that arithmetic never did amount to many skills for me, though--even though I wish it had). They also taught me the value of having good friends, watching "wholesome" movies, and not being around people who did things that were against my morals.

I knew then that my parents were right, and so, basically, I was a prude. I didn't go far with guys. I didn't go to parties, bars, or clubs. I didn't curse or swear. I didn't do drugs, have sex, or drink. I still had my own flaws, of course, just not these behaviors. And I'm glad I didn't do these things. I had a lot of friends doing them, and I saw how harmful this behavior could be on them. They were too close to guys who wouldn't be there the next week. They were ruining their brain cells, their intelligence. They became depressed and lonely. I felt sorry for them. But I didn't engage in these behaviors.

Don't get me wrong. There were some things that I really wanted to do and experience. But for some reason, I just didn't do them (I guess I thank the Lord for this). I was often seen as a prude (which was a negative concept) or a fuddy duddy or an old fogey. But I also had a great group of friends who weren't engaging in these behaviors either. So I felt all right.

Like I said earlier, I still had my own battles to fight. I sinned daily. I lied and stole and cheated on numerous occasions. And I learned something from my friends who battled these more visible behaviors. Although everyone knew that (s)he was a drug addict or that (s)he slept around with everyone, these people had something that I didn't have: they were honest. They didn't lie about who they were; rather, they were honest about it and let the whole world see who they were--warts and all. And either people liked them or they didn't. These friends of mine taught me many valuable lessons, and this was one of them.

But what we all had in common was that we were far from perfect. Jesus says in Matthew 12 that the mouth speaks what is already in the heart, so it's important to ponder and think about good things. Peace, love, faith, forgiveness, hope, repentance, salvation, redemption, grace. Thinking on the things that matter help identify who we are. I once heard a preacher say, "What comes out of the mouth is produced in the factory." I like that metaphor, and each day, I try to live life meditating and thinking on good things. Yes, evil and sin and depression and loneliness and all these other bad things exist. It's not that we shouldn't think about these things--we should try to help people who are struggling. But for ourselves, when we are trying to regroup and get refreshed and find rest, we should look to Jesus. He is the ultimate good thing, and he will allow our hearts to become more and more pure--no matter what we've done in the past.

Thank you, God, for good things.

God's Desire

I am a bit behind in posting, but I have still been reading along and writing down everything on paper. We have been traveling and we've also been having intermittent internet problems, so I haven't been able to post when I'd like. So, look for me to add these posts over the next several days, until I catch up. Thanks for staying with me.

Day 163: Jeremiah 5-8
Israel continues to reject the Lord, and so the Lord sends enemies to invade and destroy them. He wants them to come to him and to know him, and he will take drastic measures to ensure that they come to know him. Jeremiah is the prophet who delivers them this news and prophesies about what's to come if they don't repent and return to God.

So often, we run away. We get busy. We put obstacles in our lives that separate us from God. And just like he desire with Israel and Judah, God wants us to repent, too. He wants us to return to Him and live the life that He has meant for us to live. He may convict our heart. He may allow us to get into a situation that will teach us about Him, about ourselves. He may discipline us in other ways. He does all this because He loves us. God wants all of us, and he has the power get it from us. But he doesn't coerce. He doesn't beg. Instead, he grieves. His heart is broken. He hurts with he hurt of his people, and he mourns with them, too (Jeremiah 8:18-22).

When we are separate from God--either because of sin or because of situation or because of resentment towards God--he hurts with us. What a mighty God we have. A true friend.

The Lord Takes Away

Day 94: Job 1-2

Job is an amazing man. He was blameless and upright, God-fearing and pure. In the book of Job, Satan roams the earth looking for someone who will basically curse God and turn away from their faith. So, God offers up Job. He tells Satan that there is no one as righteous as Job and that Satan can do whatever he wants to Job. Wow.

Very soon after that, Job loses everything. He loses his cattle and sheep, his oxen and donkeys, his servants and even his own sons and daughters. When he hears the news about all that he has lost, what does he do?

Before I get to what Job actually did, let's consider this question. What might you do if you have lost everything? It's hard to fathom losing everything; I can't even fully grasp what that means. It's too much to bear.

However, we can consider the notion of loss. We have all lost things. We have lost loved ones, and in this economic downturn, many of us have lost jobs. Others have lost children or had miscarriages. Others have mourned failed relationships, friendships, and marriages. We have all suffered from lost.

To make it a bit more personal, I will speak about something I have lost recently. Most of you know by now that Shane and I lost our dreams of planting a church. After three years of dreaming and then realizing our dream, we had to give it up. We are still grieving over all that we lost. Sure, we have moved on. We have a new church family who loves us and our children and is so glad we are there (as are we), but we are also still grieving over the church plant and other things surrounding that time in our lives.

*We are grieving that we had to move from a city that we love and had hoped to live in for years to come.
*We are grieving that our children will not go to the brand new elementary school in our neighborhood, the school equipped with high-tech classrooms and exceptional academic ratings.
*We are grieving that I will have to commute again. Long days and long hours away from family.
*We are anguished over leaving the friends we have made here and the spiritual relationships we have developed with people in our neighborhood and at various churches around town.
*We are saddened about leaving a home that we love. Familiarity. Comfort.

We are still sorrowful about a lot of different things. This past year has been very difficult for us, and we are still learning to deal with the loss we have experienced at many different levels of our life--emotionally, spiritually, personally, relationally, and professionally.

Over this past year, I have coped with loss in many different ways. I have been sad and depressed, so I got on depression medicine. I have prayed and prayed and prayed. I have praised God for this time, even though I don't understand everything that happened. I have talked with Shane, some friends, and many loved ones about my feelings. I have gone to counseling. I have also coped with my feelings through some negative behaviors--having a short fuse with Shane or my children; turning to food for comfort; avoiding people or conversations or conflict.

I am still working through all my feelings about that time in my life, and I will continue to look for the positive aspects of how God used me--used us--to advance his kingdom. I know that He did, and I'm confident that in spite of all that was lost, many things were gained, too.

So back to Job...Here was Job's response to all that he lost (vv. 20-22):

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
       "Naked I came from my mother's womb,
       and naked I will depart.
       The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
       may the name of the LORD be praised."

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. 

Job worshiped the Lord. Job, in his wisdom, recognized that the Lord gave and the Lord took away, AND YET, the name of the Lord will still be praised. And perhaps even more impressive, even in his grief, Job did not sin. Even when he developed boils, he did not curse God or sin. But he did grieve. He felt his suffering, and he went through deep sorrow and pain.

Let the name of the Lord be praised.

Sin, Consequence, and Prayer: David and Bathsheba's Story

Day 61: 2 Samuel 9-12

David is known for many things: a man after God's own heart (I Samuel 13), a king of Israel, the father of Solomon, the best friend of Jonathan, the husband of Michal and Abigail, a harpist, a foe of Saul, a shepherd boy. But he is also known for one terrible sin: having an affair with Bathsheba, getting her pregnant while she is married to someone else, and then killing her husband Uriah the Hittite so that David could take Bathsheba as his wife.

David's sins here are terrible, and God is very displeased with David. As a punishment for these sins, God decides to kill the child born to David and Bathsheba. After the son is born, David prays fervently to God to change his mind and let the child live. He weeps and prays until the day his son dies--at just seven days old.

There is a lot going on here, and this is a very complicated story. But there are two main aspects I'd like to focus on here: sin/consequence and prayer.

1. Paying the consequences for our sins.
When I was growing up, I often hoped that there were things I wouldn't do. Bad things that I knew were sins. However, as time went on, I began to sin. I didn't just make mistakes; I sinned. And I sinned "big." Sins that I said to myself that I would never do. And these sins changed me. In some ways, I still live with the consequences of some of my sins: whether it's from feeling guilty or suffering from anxiety or being affected mentally or emotionally. However, because I have sinned, I know more about the saving grace and redemption of Jesus Christ. I am forgiven. I am healed. I am pure. All because of the blood of Jesus. 

When I hear of someone committing an awful sin, I'm not too surprised anymore. Sure, some of my attitude is probably because I've become desensitized to it. But I think it's more about realizing that we're all human and not feeling so prideful about myself. We all do things that are completely out of our nature--things that we promised ourselves we would never do. And so I try to approach people and life more by viewing us all as sinful beings--no matter how "bad" the sin is--and not be so judgmental about myself or them when we do sin. Sure, we have to pay the consequences for our sins, but no one is better than someone else just because "Well, hey, at least I didn't do that." We are all sinful, yet we are also saved and forgiven because of the blood of Christ.

2. When the answer is NO.
David prays fervently for God to spare the child, but God says, "No." We often wonder why God tells us "No" when we pray to him. Maybe we haven't sinned as David did when God tells us no, or maybe we have. But it's interesting that we have an example of someone begging God to change his mind, but God's answer remains the same--He will kill the baby. This situation--even though God does not allow the baby to live--changes David. David is a different person through this process of dealing with the consequence of his sin. He's also different due to the prayers he prayed to the Lord--even though God's answer was no. David is probably more understanding, more forgiving. He recognizes that he is not invincible, and he is forever a changed man.

While I firmly believe that prayer can change God's mind, I also believe that prayer changes people. Just like when we have a fulfilling and open conversation with a friend, we leave feeling happy, elated, and content, when we have a conversation with God, we are changed, too. I've often wondered what the purpose of prayer is, and David's example here gives us a glimpse into one such purpose.

God's Covenant Can Heal a Grieving Heart

Day 60: 2 Samuel 5-8

David becomes king over Judah and Israel when he was thirty years old, and he reigned for forty years. Chapter 8 says that he did what was just and right for all his people, and the Lord was with him. God is establishing his covenant with David and promises to bless David and all of Israel.

I don't have too much to say about the reading for today, but I do want to remind us about the covenant God established with us, especially in light of the terrible events that happened at Fort Hood yesterday. Once again we are confronted with a horrific, evil act and question how we can make sense of it. Understanding what happened may never occur for us, but we can realize that God has established his covenant with humans, and no matter what happens in this lifetime, he has prepared a better place for us. For those who are left behind, my prayers are with you and your families. I pray that you will feel loved and comforted by remembering God and the covenant he made with you. May this act of remembering help you work through your grief.

King David as a Changed Man

Day 59: II Samuel 1-4

The house of Saul and the house of David are at war after Saul dies. Judah (where David lives) and Israel (where Saul lived) are fighting over who can have control of the nation. Israel is at war with itself. What must God think of this?

Did You Know?
Did you know that there was another king of Israel at the same time as David? His name was Ish-Bosheth, and he was a son of Saul who was made king by Abner, the commander of Saul's army. Ish-Bosheth was only king for four years, though, because he was murdered at the hands of David's men (without David's

David's character has changed. No longer is he willing to kill anyone that gets in his way (although he does steal his former wife Michal back from her husband). But David is growing. He is distraught over the death of Saul and Jonathan, and when his people kill two of his enemies (Abner and Ish-Bosheth), David kills them for thinking they can take vengeance into their own hands by killing innocent people. God is forming David, and the changes in his behavior and actions are evident.

That's how it is when we allow God to work in our lives. We change. We grow. We rely more on the Lord and less on ourselves. We realize who holds the ultimate power in our lives. Through David, I'm learning more about what it means to be in relationship with God. I hope you are, too.

David's Actions and King Saul's Reactions

Day 57: I Samuel 21-24

Jesus' idea of turning the other cheek when someone is out to harm you is actually found in the Old Testament. David has a chance to kill King Saul (who has been chasing David all around the countryside trying to kill him), but he doesn't do it. Instead, David cuts off a corner of Saul's robe when Saul isn't looking and presents it to Saul. When Saul realizes that David could have killed him but didn't, Saul weeps. He is deeply saddened about his own actions and begs David not to kill off his family. David swears not to kill them off.

Have you ever done something so bad that after you do it you weep about your actions and/or behavior? I know that I have. Saul here shows a contrite and repentant heart and sometimes it takes someone showing us another way before we realize what we have done. Saul's weeping is significant because it shows us that he does have a conscience and he is sorry for his behavior. But it took a very dramatic event in which he almost died in order to come to this point.

We don't often think of our sins as serious (at least not on a day-to-day basis). Jesus came and died for our sins and he has made us pure again, right? Well, this is true, but when we do spend some time reflecting on the choices we make and the sins in which we are entangled, we are formed in cruciform ways, ways that will affect our perspective, emotions, and actions.

From Saul we can learn the importance of evaluating ourselves and where we are in our life. We can also learn about the importance of making things wrong with people that have wronged us or whom we have wronged.

And from David we can learn about the importance of turning the other cheek when someone wrongs us. He also shows us how to praise God in the midst of pain, worry, and fear.

A familiar story by now

Day 53: I Samuel 4-7

Here again, Israel has rejected God by worshiping other gods and idols. This story of Israel's obedience and disobedience repeats itself over and over again. They, like us today, sin and do things they know they shouldn't, but throughout it all, God remains faithful, yet he still disciplines them.

In the world but not of the world

Day 48: Judges 12 to 16

Samson was going to be the one who would overtake the Philistines. He was the man chosen by God to defeat them. Samson, however, had different plants. He grew enamored with the Philistines and with one woman, in particular. Delilah. A Philistine prostitute. Samson literally went to bed with the Philistines. Instead of leading Israel to defeat them, he joined the two together.

Samson was eventually lied to and betrayed by Delilah. She enticed him to give her the secret to his enormous strength. As a result, Delilah shaved Samson’s hair and his strength—and the Lord—left him. He was overpowered by the Philistines and taken prisoner.

Eventually, his hair grew back. He was then led out into the temple to entertain the Philistine crowd. He prayed to God for strength to destroy the Philistines and he gave up his life to do so. He pushed the pillars of the temple with all his might and the temple came crashing down on all those who were inside it, including himself.

Samson was an Israelite living amongst the Philistines, yet he was called to be set apart from them because of his loyalty to the Lord God. Samson, however, got entangled with the Philistines and grew distracted from the person God called him to be.

Today, we as Christians are called to be in the world but not of the world. We live in the midst of the world, but we are still called to be set apart, to remember the Lord God and the people he called us to be. Too often it is easy to get entangled and entrapped in sins that are not of God but are instead of the world. We find ourselves tempted to engage in activities that God does not condone or endorse. We are like Samson. We are enamored with un-godly things. We are lured by these things like Samson was attracted to the Philistines and ensnared by Delilah. Yet God wants us to remember who we are: we are HIS people, called by him to live in this world yet remain separate from it as well. To encourage and save the world but not to become ensnared, trapped, and enticed by it.

Discipline and Punish: The Ways of the Lord

Day 42: Joshua 5-9

At least five times a day I have to tell Elizabeth to obey me. I give her an order, and she disobeys. I punish her each time and hope that one day she will eventually learn to obey (or at least obey more often). Her tendency is to disobey; she wants to do her own thing, to make her own decisions. But I still punish her when she disobeys--even if it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

As a parent, I can understand more about the idea of obedience, as well as the connections between obedience and punishment (or discipline). I didn't understand it much as a kid. I didn't think punishment was fair, even though I had deserved it, and I often grew angry at my parents when they disciplined me. Punishment was supposed to curb my bad behavior, to direct me towards doing the right thing. And it worked most of the time. One day I'm sure it will work for Elizabeth, too.

As we become adults, though, there is no parent to give us a spanking or to discipline us. We make our own decisions and we must suffer the consequences when we sin and disobey God. And even though God may not put us to death or have our peers stone us (like what happened to Achan), He still disciplines us.

As a Christian, I believe Christ has redeemed me and covers my sins even when I fail. However, just because I am forgiven and redeemed does not mean that I won't suffer consequences because of my sins. Sometimes the consequences are mental and emotional; other times they are physical. Other times the consequences occurs realistically in my life or my relationships. Regardless of what I do, God still disciplines me. He is still trying to get me to obey, just like I keep trying to do with my children. And He does so because he loves me and wants me to live a life that he envisions for me. But I also think he disciplines us because God is holy and we are not, and he wants us to remember this fact. God is holy; we are not. We are, however, made holy through Jesus, yet we still sin and must be punished.

God loves us and wants us to be holy like he is holy. I hope to live my life in holy obedience to God.

Remember

Day 40: Deuteronomy 31-34

We all sin and fall short of the glory of God.

When we do sin, we often try to forget, to get over it, to forgive ourselves. We don't want to remember. Maybe it's too painful to remember what we did or who we hurt. Maybe we don't want to remember our former selves. Maybe we don't even want to remember what we've done.

But Moses tells the Israelites to remember, "remember the days of old" (32:7), to remember how God delivered them, what God did for them. How he brought them out of slavery, how he saved them over and over again. How even when they were sinful and disobedient, He still showed them love and mercy.

Maybe instead of trying to forget our past sins, we could remember them. We don't need to remember them to make us feel guilty about them or to remember them for their own sake but instead we can remember how God saved us, how he loved us through our failures, how he remained faithful to us in spite of our mistakes.

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I will close with the last verses in Deuteronomy: Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel (34:10-12). 

What a tribute to Moses.

Contending for our release

Day 15: Exodus 5-10

God told Moses to say this to the Israelites:
"I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord." (NRSV)

Here, God finally reveals himself to his people. He lets them know what he will do for them.

But, they don't listen because they can't see past their immediate circumstances.

Yet still, Moses keeps doing what God is asking of him.

I really like this section of text where you see a conversation between The Lord and Moses. God asks Moses to do something. Moses goes and does it. Then Moses returns to God, and they make a new plan about how to get the Israelites released from Pharaoh. Pharaoh hardens his heart (and sometimes the text says that God hardens Pharaoh's heart) and a new plague ensues on the Egyptians.

It's interesting to me the reason why God tells Pharaoh to let his people go. God could have wanted them released to save them from the brutal hand of slavery, to save them from pain. Or he could have wanted them released to show them the Promised Land. Or he could have ordered their release because he is God and Pharaoh is not. But no. It's not any of these reasons. Instead, God wants the Israelites released so that they can worship him.

God wants the Israelites to worship him.

God places an extreme importance on worship. He vies for his people's release so that they can worship him.

Does God contend for our release, too? Does he want to release us from something so that we can worship him? From what does he want to release us? Selfishness? Work? Busyness? Depression? Worry? Immorality? Faithlessness?

This metaphor of God trying to save his people is still at work today. In the end, God wants us to worship him. He wants to release us from our worries, fears, anxieties, and everything else that is keeping us enslaved. He wants us to worship him instead.

When we come to worship him (any time and any place), we should remember that God has released us--he has FREED us--from our prison chains. We can now bow down knowing that he has taken away our pain; he has liberated us. For that, we should worship God.

The Old Testament: What's the Point?

Day 10: Genesis 36-39

The Bible is full of such wicked people. People no different than we are today. I wonder why God thought they were important enough to include them in the Bible. Joseph’s brothers are pretty bad. They want to kill him but instead sell him off to who knows where and then lie to their father Jacob by fabricating this elaborate scheme about Joseph being killed by animals. Then Judah, one of the brothers, sleeps with a prostitute who, unbeknownst to him, is actually his daughter-in-law Tamar. Contrast these people with Joseph, who has values and morals that are quite unnatural for his time. (Apparently it was quite normal to sleep with a prostitute if you were a man—Judah seemed to make this obvious to everyone when he tried to pay the prostitute with a goat. And, when he found out Tamar had slept with someone she wasn’t married to, he wanted to put her to death. Needless to say that I don’t like the double standards here.)

On the contrary, the Lord was with Joseph and everything around him prospered. Joseph was even put in jail because of his values when he wouldn’t succumb to the advances of his master’s wife.

So many people from the line of Abraham behave so badly. I’m not sure what we are supposed to think about these people. I do know that God is sticking with this family. He has not left them. But these chapters just aren’t what you expect from people of God. It just seems like stories about people who have no relationship with God. Really, the only mention of the Lord is in reference to Joseph. The rest of the time, it’s just stories about this family, stories that are mostly full of evildoing.

What is the purpose of the Old Testament in relation to Christians today? This is a question I have been asked and asked myself on numerous occasions. I don’t quite know yet. I hope it’s more than just thinking these people are so evil. Because that’s really all I’m getting out of it right now. Except with Joseph. His story resonates with me in a different way. God watches out for him even when faced with difficult situates.

What are your thoughts on the Old Testament? Why or how do you think it’s relevant for us today? I’m really interested in hearing what you think.

Reaping and Sewing

Day 8: Genesis 29-31

Reading the biblical narrative in chronological order like I’m doing presents an interesting aspect of the text: it allows you to look at the text in relation to other things that have happened. I’ve just now read the story of Jacob and Laban and how Laban deceives Jacob by giving him Leah to marry rather than Rachel, the one Jacob wanted. I’ve always read this to view Laban as such an evil person, especially in relation to Jacob who was wronged. But reading this story so soon after reading the story of Jacob deceiving Esau makes me view it a little differently. What Laban does to Jacob is no different from what Jacob had done to Esau. The difference is that this time Jacob is on the receiving end of the deceit. Now he knows what Esau must have felt like. Maybe working for Laban for 17 years is the penance that Jacob has to pay for sinning against his father.

God does seem to teach us lessons in interesting ways. In this instance, Jacob reaped what he sewed.

And oftentimes, I do, too. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, though, when I’m wronged, maybe I should consider that the situation is a result of my own actions, my own behavior. Yikes. That’s not exactly politically correct, is it? To say that you get what you deserve. To say that I get what I deserve. It’s more kosher to cast blame than to take responsibility for one’s actions. Maybe I should start reflecting more on how my choices and my behavior influence what happens to me, just like they happened to Jacob.

God's Protection of a Murderer

Day 2: Genesis 4-8

The story goes: Cain and Abel were brothers. Abel offered pleasing sacrifices to God, while Cain didn't. Cain grew jealous and killed Abel. It sounds like something right out of a Hollywood film. Cain must have been dealing with some intense emotions. Anger. Hatred. Embarrassment. Jealousy. Feelings I've had before, too.

After the murder, God confronts Cain about his sin and places a curse on him, a curse of being a wanderer for the rest of his life. Cain will never have a home. He will be nomadic. In spite of this curse, God still does something for Cain: God puts a mark on Cain so that no one can kill him. God actually protects Cain from being murdered by others. I find it a bit strange that God would do that. God could have punished Cain in so many ways. He could have struck Cain down himself right then. Or he could have done nothing for Cain and just let him go, knowing full well that someone else would kill him for what he had done to Abel. An eye for an eye, right? But no. God protected Cain. What kind of justice is that for Abel that his murderer can never be murdered? Cain murdered Abel, but Cain himself could never be murdered. What?!! God’s choice puzzles me a bit because it seems like such a strange choice. Has justice been served here? It doesn't appear so.

Perhaps this story says something to us about who should be the one to dole out justice. God is the ultimate judge, and he chose to protect Cain. Maybe we should think twice before we seek justice for something done to us or someone we love. Maybe this story teaches us to give God the control when bad things happen to us. While we might want to take out our wrath on someone because of the awful and unspeakable things that happen to people in our world, especially when they happen to people we love, perhaps we should let God do the avenging and punishing. Not because that person doesn’t deserve to be punished. And not because we don’t feel anger, hatred, jealousy, and revenge, just like Cain. By no means! We should let God be the judge. God can even take our feelings away. He wants us to be formed in ways that bring peace and purification to our souls and part of this is not seeking revenge. When we do this, we don’t have to carry around those feelings forever, and we will be formed in ways that are holy and good. And, ultimately, we will find peace.

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Genesis 6:5-8 is so powerful. The passage begins with the Lord seeing how great the wickedness on earth had become. It then moves to the Lord regretting that he had made human beings in the first place (I guess God was not viewing things so “good” after all). And it ends with “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” The contrast of Noah with the rest of humanity cannot be missed.

I like the faith of Noah. He built a huge boat because God told him to do so, and God saved him from the destruction of the earth because of Noah’s righteousness. Noah’s family was saved, too—all because of the faith and righteousness of Noah. I want to have faith like Noah. I want to be able to hear God speaking to me and to obey his commands.

Side Note: “Noah’s Ark” really is a violent story. Tell me again why Peyton's baby nursery is decked out in this stuff?!! And why is this story one of the most popular ones we teach our children?!! Maybe we should rethink this approach.