Jump Start # 3186

Matthew 24:38 “For in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark”

I have to confess, I have a really cool office. It’s so me. I spend a ton of hours in that place so I have made it comfortable in a setting that invites me to get busy about the work that I need to do. I have lots of pictures on my shelves. Pictures of family. Pictures of preachers that mean so much to me. Books line my shelves with special things I’ve collected from all over the world. I have a rock taken from the brook where David got his rock before he ran to face Goliath. I have a rock taken from a catacomb in Rome. I have a replica of a Viking boat. I have a wooden cutout of a church building that my grandparents once worshipped in. I have some really old restoration items on the walls. On the back of my door, is an art gallery from my grandchildren. Sitting at my desk I can see on the walls pictures I have taken from six different vacations. I have a statue of Martin Luther on one side of my desk and a statue of Walt Disney on the other side. I have a picture of Babe Ruth hugging Lou Gherig. A picture of my dad sits on my desk. I have a very old pulpit that stands in my office. It’s a reminder of where we came from as a congregation. My desk is beautiful. There is a picture of a tree high above the shelves. When you look at it, the tree is full of green leaves. But if you move a bit, the light hits that picture in a different way and the tree is full of orange leaves. Move a bit more and it’s a winter scene.  There is a giraffe that sits on the floor. My dad’s old putter leans in a corner. It’s a great office.  I love my office. It’s filled with books and stuff, and it’s functional and completely me.

But one of the best things about my office is the window that sits opposite my desk. It’s high on the wall, horizontal, but through it today, the sky is a rich, deep blue. I see the tops of trees and they are beginning to turn the powerful fall colors that God richly blesses us with. As I was looking at that scene, our verse came to my mind. I wonder what the day started like when God sent the flood. Did people wake up thinking it was just another day? But before long, the storm clouds thickened, lightning flashed and then the skies opened up.

Our passage tells us of the days leading up to the flood. There are some thoughts for us:

First, most of the world thought that life was going to continue on. They were marrying and giving in marriage. One gets married with the idea of spending a future with another. Why go through the process of a wedding if your life was going to end in a few hours by being carried away by the waters of a flood? What an assumption to conclude that tomorrow will be just like today? What a mistake to think that there will be another month?

Second, most of the world had ignored Noah. As the ark was being built, Noah was preaching. It seems that no one was listening. How much information about the coming flood he knew or he preached, we do not know. But the gospel of repentance would have been at the heart of his words. His generation was stuck on wrong. Every thought was evil. As the planks of the ark were going up, Noah’s words must have sounded louder and louder. Time is running out. Yet, no one heeded except his family.

Third, I wonder if Noah felt like a failure. He tried, but no one listened. He preached but nothing happened. We preachers often wonder if anyone listens to us. Week after week, we preach our hearts out but nothing happens. Is it us? Are we not doing something right? Are we missing something in our delivery? I wonder if Noah felt that way. God never holds Noah responsible. It wasn’t Noah. It wasn’t his sermons. It wasn’t his approach. It was the evil hearts that wanted nothing to do with God. That was the problem.

Fourth, I wonder what the day will be like when Jesus comes? I wonder, like the days of Noah, if it will start out like a regular, ordinary day. People will have errands to run. Some will be hurrying off to work. Some will have a long list of things to do that day. Just another day. But then, somewhere in that day, everything changes. The sky fills with angels. So many angels. A loud sound like a trumpet is heard. Everything stops. Nothing else matters. Skyward we see Jesus. There He is. What is so important to us, suddenly is not important. What matters at that moment is “do you know my Savior?” Some will be crying, because they are scared and they are not ready. Others will be crying because they have awaited this moment all of their lives. He is finally here. Today is the day.

And, when that moment happens, somewhere in the world, a baby will be born and that child will be the last person ever born on the earth. Somewhere, someone has been baptized into Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins. And, that person will be the last person to obey the Gospel of Christ. That person will be the last person to become a Christian. Somewhere on the planet, a preacher will be preaching the last sermon ever preached on the earth.

Much more important than knowing who those “lasts” will be, is the thought will you and I be ready for Jesus to come. Don’t kick the can down the road of what you need to do. Got some apologizes that you need to offer, then get to it. Got some things that need to be said, then say them.

Blue skies out of an office window—Noah and Jesus. Important stuff to think about!

Roger

Jump Start # 854

Matthew 24:38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark”

This week we are taking a look at marriage and especially weddings. My daughter is getting married in a few days that that thought has filled our house with activity, plans and so forth. There are details and details that go into making a wedding run smooth and pleasing to the bride.

Jesus used the concept of weddings often in His teachings. We love weddings. They are happy occasions. Sometimes the excitement of the wedding can blind us to what is going on about us. That’s the thought behind our passage today.

Matthew 24 is a serious chapter that tells of the coming of the Lord. The destruction of Jerusalem is foretold. For most of us, that is a historical event. For the Jewish people, that changed their history, destiny and lives. Jerusalem was their city. They thought it was God’s city. It had been the capital of the nation since the days of David. It is where the Temple was. To Jerusalem, every male Jew traveled for feast days. Records of family histories were stored in the city. Each family knew what tribe they descended from. They were proud of their heritage. They were glad to be Jews. Now all of that was changing. God’s law was now found not in Moses, but Christ. The King was Jesus. God was going to allow the holy city to be destroyed and the temple ruined. Modern Jews today cannot trace their heritage back to a specific tribe. All the records are lost. The destruction of Jerusalem was a transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

This event was as important as the flood. This is where Jesus found a parallel. In the days of Noah, people were marrying, just as they were in the days of Jerusalem’s fall. That is the historical context of this passage.

Now some thoughts. Our verses states that they were marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark. What a contrast! Noah was building the ark, while others were building a wedding. The days grew closer for Noah and the days grew closer for the wedding. The day came for Noah to move into the ark. The day came for a wedding. People gathered. Promises were made. Kisses exchanged. A happy future was planned. Then it started to rain. Then it flooded. Then everything changed. Noah had preached while building the ark. No one paid attention. They didn’t listen. Didn’t believe. Too busy with wedding plans. Too much to do.

I saw a report on ESPN recently that stated 80% of professional football players are broke two years after they retire. 80%. What happened? They didn’t plan for life after football. They spent all that they had. There is a lesson from this. In all that you and I do, we must never take our eyes off the eternal. Weddings, vacations, celebrations, building houses, going to college, graduations, birth of babies are all exciting times of our lives. We cannot allow these events to get us so busy that we forget about the eternal. Back in Noah’s days, people were so caught up with today that they failed to see a tomorrow. They didn’t pay attention to an old man who was building an ark and warning people of God.

Setting our eyes on Heaven is the key. We never take our eyes off the eternal. Even at weddings…even on vacation…even when moving into the college dorm…even when building a new house…even when holding a sweet new baby. All these events cannot make us miss Heaven.

Use those events to pray. Use those events to glean from the Scriptures. Use those events to tell the story of Jesus to others. Instead of shoving Heaven to back while these events go on, include Heaven in them.

That thought helped me last night. I was tired from working on wedding stuff. I feel that I’m doing more for my daughter’s wedding than I did my own. It was a great moment to complain and think about self. Instead, Heaven was invited in. I thought how blessed I am to have a wonderful daughter, who is beautiful on the inside and out. She walks with the Lord and has found a incredible Christian man who adores her. Their relationship has brought the best out of each of them. God has blessed me to be in a position where I can afford this wedding. Many prayers have been said through the years for what we are about to witness in a few days. God works things in His own way. I’m blessed to be a part of this. There is much to be thankful for.

Inviting Heaven into your day is the key. It doesn’t have to be a grand event such as a wedding. It can be something as common as going to the grocery store. It can be as simple as reading a bed time story to the children. It can be as normal as going for a walk in the neighborhood. Remember Jesus saying, look at the lilies, or observe the birds…and then He invited Heaven into the conversation and thought. Don’t allow busy times to push Heaven out of your life, not even for a day. Don’t allow schedules, company, plans, packing, traveling as a time to forget who you are and where you are going. Don’t forget God because you are at a ballgame, out of town or sitting in a meeting at work. Invite Heaven. Include God. Set your mind on things above.

I’ve been to weddings that were supposed to be outdoors, but the weather forced it inside. I wonder if a rainy day in Noah’s time made people think about that prophet from God who warned them, offered them a chance to change, or did their minds only think of hassles of having to move a wedding indoor? They forgot to include Heaven.

Don’t be like that. Don’t let it happen today!

Roger

Jump Start # 720

Matthew 24:38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

Our passage today contains a warning from Jesus about the coming of the Lord. He compares that to the days of Noah. There were warnings there as well. Some say this passage is about the second coming of Jesus, others say, it’s about the destruction of Jerusalem. I’ll leave the technical stuff for other studies. It’s the coming warning that I want to consider in this study.

We have all kinds of warnings, from the labels on products, such as, medicines we take, to the dashboard of our cars. Weather warnings are the most serious that affects large populations. A few times the elements come together that causes the weather forecasters to send out serious warnings several days in advance. That happened last year in my area when the tornados struck Henryville, Indiana. Now, forecasters are warning about a huge storm that is headed for the northeast on Halloween. They have named this storm, “Frankenstorm.”

• There will be some who take heed. They will be preparing for the storm. Some will leave the area for safer places.

• There will be some who mock the forecasters. They will talk about all the hype and excitement and nothing comes about. So, for some, they will go about business as usual.

• There will be a few curious ones who want to witness such a storm. There will be some traveling to the storm area just so they can experience “Frankenstorm.”
• Then there will be a segment that never gets the warning. They won’t be watching the TV channels that tell residents to take cover. They won’t have their radios on. They don’t read newspapers. They will be busy caught up in their world, clueless to what is happening until they are caught in it unprepared. Some may get injured because they were not prepared.

It seems every major storm finds those same groups of people. Our passage tells us that it was that way before the flood. Noah warned. He preached while he built the ark. He preached for over 100 years. People didn’t listen. They ignored. They made plans showing that they didn’t not believe Noah.

If indeed someone believed that there would be a massive flood and blinding rain, why would they get married? That shows that they didn’t believe, until it was too late. Some probably never knew why the flood was happening.

Peter encountered people who denied the Lord was coming. Everyday is the same they said. It’s always been that way. Warnings have been issued. Jesus is coming. Some will be ready. Some will ignore the warnings. Some will mock the passages. Some will never get the warning. They don’t go to church. They don’t read their Bible. They will be clueless to what will happen until it’s too late.

God has other warnings. The coming of Jesus is not the only warning. God warns about behavior. The Galatians were told about the works of the flesh. The warning attached proclaimed that those who do such things cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Serious warnings! How do we take such warnings?

God warns about harboring hatred and an unforgiving spirit. Jesus said if we won’t forgive, God won’t forgive us. Serious warnings. How do we take such things?

It’s easy to see the mistakes people made surrounding the flood. It’s easy to see how folks ignore the warnings about Christ’s coming. But attitude and behavioral warnings are just as serious.

Warnings are given to protect us and keep us safe. Warnings interrupt our routine and make us take things seriously. Warnings are good. We need them. We especially need them from God.

Living clueless to what the Bible says is certain to get a person caught in the spiritual storms of life. It’s bad when they happens. It’s worse when a person realizes that it doesn’t have to be that way. If they had only heeded the warnings!

Take God seriously…listen to what He says. Unlike the weathermen, God is always right!

Roger