Rainbows

Seeing a Rainbow

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments 
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:12-13 ESV

A few years ago, a group from our church made a trip to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. When they returned, they were full of more stories of their time together than about the Ark. At first, I laughed about that, but then I thought how fitting that was because even if one day someone actually finds the original structure of the ark it really wouldn’t change a thing. Believers would still believe, and unbelievers would still doubt. What matters most is our faith, not some historical artifact.

But the Bible says that God did leave us something even greater than Noah’s Ark to visit. He left a sign of His faithfulness in the clouds that everyone can see, and we call it the rainbow. Everyone over the age of five has seen at least one rainbow, though few know who put it there. God left us this beautiful though fleeting sign of His eternal love and kindness, yet most will see it and still not believe in Him. Now, it is a great experience to go to the Ark Encounter, and I highly recommend it as a trip well worth taking. But more important than visiting the ark and more foundational to our faith it to look up in the sky after a storm and thank God for the rainbow. The only traveling we need to do, is from unbelief to faith, from fear to blessed assurance, because the rainbow is God’s eternal sign to everyone who believes of His great faithfulness and love!

Green Pastures

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

In the middle of struggles or temptation did you ever just wish things would quiet down and that life was simple and easy? I sure have. Then as I was reading through the 23rd psalm yesterday I came to the part about the dark valley. Oh I hate dark places in general and especially if they are a hiding place for enemies who are just looking for an opportunity to pounce. So as I thought about why a loving shepherd would lead his defenseless sheep through there I realized that it was because the green pastures and still waters are on the other side!

Why a Rainbow?

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

I do set my bow in the clouds and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13

After Noah came out of the ark the first things he did was to offer a sacrifice and to worship God. In response God made a covenant promise and gave Noah the rainbow as a visible sign of His invisible promise. What strikes me is that for Noah to see God’s special sign, he had to respond immediately. Rainbows do not sit around waiting to be seen. Because rainbows appear and then disappear in a single minute we need Nosh needed to put down everything he was doing to see it. For us to see what God is up to in our life we must do the same. If we have asked God for an answer, He just might show up with a rainbow. Are you ready to drop everything you are doing to put your focus on Him? To see the beauty of the rainbow we must look up when God chooses to send it. To see the visible sign of the invisible promise of God we must be ready at a moment’s notice. The most beautiful rainbows come and go at their appointed times not when we can work them into His schedule!