Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Sunday January 03, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the book of Genesis Chapters 7-9. If you would like to read the chapters along with us you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-january-3

There is one major problem with obedience, it means that we are to do what someone tells us to do, in fact the word obedient means to be submissive to authority. However, there is something so uneasy to the flesh about being submissive to authority, in fact the first thing that even comes to mind most of the time is “You can't tell me what to do, I'll do what I want to do.” Now, if we had the choice to decide for ourselves whether or not we are to do something it is a different story, right? Well, that is why God gave us the power of free will. He will never force anyone to do what they do not want to do. However, that does not mean that there will not be consequences down the line for being rebellious and I am not just talking about God here, I am talking about life in general. If we have a problem with God as our authority then we are going to have a problem with anyone as our authority. What is the number one reason why people are rebellious? Pride, the ego. No one wants to let go of that “I will do what I want to do” mentality. Well, let me tell you something about pride, you might think you have everything under control, but the truth it controls you. Pride is what is going to destroy this world because men of the world do not want to be submissive to authority.

Do not believe me? Well, let's take a look at the way the world was before the big flood. After the sin in the Garden of Eden, mankind became more corrupt until the wickedness of man eventually became so great that God just wanted to end the world that He began. He was so angry at what was going on that He could not stand to see another living soul on earth and was about to destroy it completely. However, God did find one family, eight people, worthy of keeping life on earth. “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth............And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” - Genesis 7:1-4,21-23. Noah was able to save his family and preserve all of mankind because of his faith in the spoken Word of God. Although he had never even seen rain, he obediently built the ark, I am sure that he had to have had some people go up to him, thinking he was crazy for what he was doing, and give him a hard time about it. Yet, he faithfully obeyed God and because of his faith was able to save the world. The ark was a secure refuge from certain death, it signifies a Jesus Christ, who provides spiritual refuge for all believers. Noah's obedience to the command of God to build and enter the ark typifies the believer who, by faith, receives Christ and who will be saved from the total destruction of the world. Just as Noah was able to rest within the ark, secure from the waters of death, so can we be assured of spiritual rest, for our lives are hidden with Christ. Praise God!

Now, if you can imagine the world, say even sixty years ago from what it is today, it was pretty conservative, in fact married couples slept in separate beds (on tv anyway) yet even then it was more corrupted than what Noah had lived through before the flood. So, if God was angry with the people back then, can you imagine how angry He is today at what man has done to what He created? Although we can not change the fate of the world as we know it, we can change our fate. I will tell you that years ago, I was very rebellious, but I used the term independent. I claimed my independence and was not about to submit to anyone (within the exception of the law) and what it got me was getting involved with the wrong man. Oh, I became submissive alright and lost complete control of who I was, all the morals I had been taught over the years completely fell out the window the deeper I got into a relationship with this man. Praise God, that after several years of suffering, I broke free from His control. Now, I willingly submit to God's authority over anyone.

After the flood, God made a new covenant, “And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” - Genesis 9:14-17. Those who live in the world view a rainbow as something that is formed when it rains as the sun is shining. However, the truth is that whenever we see a rainbow it is a reminder that God promises that no flood will ever again destroy life on earth. Praise God that even when the destruction of the world does take place we, His people, can be at peace and ease because we are faithfully obedient to the Word of God.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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