Faith

The days of Noah

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Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. Luke 17:26

Last week we traveled down to Williamstown Kentucky to celebrate our 45th anniversary and to see the Ark Encounter. It was a pretty amazing experience and I wish we had planned an extra day because there was so much to see.

Thinking back O think I came away with a new a greater sense pf the starkness of Noah’s faith. He believed and as a result persisted in building the ark. To put the enormity of the task in perspective consider that this replica built by Answers in Genesis ministries is the largest wood framed structure in the world. Noah built this without power equipment, without modern engineering or any outside support. He simply moved by faith in the face of rejection and with his sons became the pioneers of a new world!
Just as in Noah’s day the hard part is not just believing God’s message but in the demand for radical change that faith requires.

Crossing Over

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On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”  Mark 4:35

God has wonderful plans for another chapter in our lives. He is not content to leave us where we are and He challenges us to trust Him for something new. It seems so nice and peaceful just resting here on this side of what we know, but Jesus may be saying to you what He said to the disciples, “Let’s go to the other side!”

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Jesus is inviting each of us to prepare to be ready for new things. But His challenge includes a word we may have missed, Jesus said “Let’s!”  That single word makes all the difference when we launch out to points unknown.

There’s a song we sing at our Brazilian church in Portuguese that loosely translated goes something like this:

Sail away with faith in Jesus

Because this is the way you will see

What beautiful things He will do

Because with Him you will be secure.

translated from Solta O Cabo Do Nau

So if you feel overwhelmed by the smallness of your boat and the vastness of the sea, remember that in your little boat travels the King of kings and the Captain of all ships. No matter the storms, our Lord will never abandon us, nor allow the waves to keep us from the safe harbor of His arms!

God’s GPS

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 For we walk by faith, not by sight 2 Corinthians 5:7

When God calls us to follow, Christ many of us eagerly jump up and try running to catch up with Jesus. But sometimes it seems that the harder we try the farther behind we get. One reason may be because we are trying to live for Jesus but we still keep the same familiar goals of our past life. Until we see the new goals that Jesus has for us we will just keep going the wrong way.

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So God gives us a new GPS system for our spirits. God’s system is the WBF-walking by faith system.  Our old GPS won’t work anymore because our new path is invisible to our natural eyes. Jesus says odd things like, “Come to me out on the waters” when we are in a nice safe boat. Jesus tells us to feed five thousand when we only have five loaves and two fish.

As we walk the faith journey God’s satellite system (the Bible) points out exactly where we are. God’s GPS acquires our location and begins to call out when to turn, and when to keep going straight. If we keep walking in faith, the new system works perfectly. We see the old goals for the empty promises they are. But getting used to God’s way will take time. We make some mistakes along the way, turn up a wrong path or two or even fall to old temptations. But God’s GPS also carries with it a wonderful roadside assistance program called mercy. If we get off track, head off into a field or get stuck in the mud there is still hope. We just need to stop, ask for God’s mercy, and listen. God’s GPS will re-acquire our position then lead us by faith one step at a time to His destination!