It's About Time!

[Altonwoods]

I can hear it already,

"It's about time? yeah it is...You haven't written a blog for three weeks and this is all you've got! I'm sorry but that's just weak"!

WOW! Give me a chance! Would it kill ya to have a little faith or to be a little more patient? Maybe YOU should do like I've been doing and embark upon a study of the life of Noah...

I feel as though I've seen a lot of things change during my short lifetime. We've become a "microwave society" who's tongue in cheek prayer is "Lord give me patience, but hurry!" We're used to having the
"instant gratification" of our desires. We spend our lives watching
thirty second commercials on television and then wonder why attention
deficit disorder is so common! We've become a people that seek
constant reassurance of our being on the "right track", it's a herd
mentality and the message is "don't stop and eat the flowers"! We're
not sure exactly where it is we're in such a hurry to go but hey,
everybody seems to be going there and even if it is wrong it seemed
like the right thing to do at the time...

^{Proverbs 16:25} There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

The story of Noah has always been one of the most fascinating in the Bible to me. As I read through one of the more well known parts of it I paused for a moment and reflected..

"How did God talk to Noah and tell him to build an ark?"

I know what it says in Genesis 6:13, God spoke to Noah, but at the risk of being allegorical I'm simply wondering...was it in an audible voice, or did God somehow just place the idea in his thoughts?
Perhaps it was Noah's "inspired" conclusion based on his knowledge of
Gods character and his observation of the pervasive moral depravity of
his time that convinced him that God surely wouldn't let this go on
indefinitely. Building the ark was based on the faith Noah had that God
would do exactly what He said! At times I feel as though I'm building an
ark and I can relate in some small way to Noah, however, I'm really
glad to say that at least as far as my current venture is concerned I've
never heard any voices that I attributed to God telling me what to do.

Maybe God had to speak directly to Noah because Noah didn't have a bible to read!

I read Gods word quite regularly and I continually try to understand the meaning of it and apply it to my life. Of course I'm a long way from reaching either goal, but so far what I've gotten from it is that it
tells us to love, to go, do, and be, to the ends of the earth! Maybe
just to the end of your block, or the edge of your town, wherever you
find yourself if you're a child of God you're there on His time!

^{Hebrews 11:7} By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became
heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

In 1 Peter it says that Noah preached to the people of his "time" for over one hundred years and yet the only people he took with him into the ark were the eight members of his immediate family! Can you imagine
the ridicule he endured from the people who heard his warnings of coming
destruction, saw the giant boat he was building on dry land and thought
he was a fool? And from the perspective of the world he was a fool,
right up to the time when the waters began to flood the earth!

Studying the life and ministry of Noah has really helped me to be more patient with what I feel is my calling from God. It's helped me to give everything over to Him, to have a stronger faith that He is in
control of the circumstances of my life. To be peaceful and not be
anxious when things work out differently than I might of expected or
wanted them to. We all have the same two choices when that happens, we
can respond emotionally, and become frustrated or discouraged at the
"No" we seem to be experiencing or we can instead keep pressing forward
looking for the better "Yes" that God has waiting for us!

Maybe it is about time, more than anything else in this country our most common ailment is "hurried sickness". There's not enough time for people to be able to "unpack" emotionally toward each other and really
let them know how they feel. We hardly even understand the need for it
but we certainly understand the unavoidable consequences of not doing
it! Isn't it about time that we as the church, the "body of Christ",
reached out with our arms, legs and anointed hands and showed this world
Gods heart that's broken over the gulf of sin that separates them.
We're living in a culture very similar to the times of Noah and I
believe that one day soon God will once again shut the door behind those
He will deliver from the coming deluge and the time of the Gentiles
will come to a close...

It's about time!

[Larry Clark]

I think sometimes the church fears what unpacking someone's bag will do to the comfortability of doing church. It will mean we have to get our hands dirty with someone else's problems. It will mean we ourselves will have to do some unpacking and that cause fear. I believe it is what God wants us to do and as we unpack the bag and share we will experience the healing the Holy Spirit bring through authentic Christian fellowship. I know I need to have a friend who will let me unpack my bag and who will still love me after the dirt has been uncovered.