Tell Me The Story

“All these things happened to them as examples and . . . for our admonition.” 1 Corinthians 10:11

Now that I have grandkids, I’m back into the classic children’s Bible stories. Wide-eyed stories like David and Goliath, Noah’s ark, and Jonah and the big fish quickly capture a child’s imagination!

But there’s a danger here—not with the stories themselves but rather with our attitude toward them. If we view them simply as kids’ stories, kind of like the Grimm’s Fairy Tales of the Bible, we miss the point.

The stories of the Bible were never meant to be outgrown. There are profound lessons to be learned from the amazing accounts of those who faced giants, floods, and fish!

Hundreds of years after the fact, the apostle Paul explained that the things that happened to Moses and the Israelites as they wandered through the desert “happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition” (1 Cor. 10:11). These stories are about us. They mirror the tensions we face daily as we too seek to apply God’s will and ways to the realities of our lives. They teach us of the treachery of sin, our desperate need to trust God unflinchingly, and the importance of staying faithful and true to Him regardless of what happens.

Don’t ignore the old stories. You might be surprised what God wants to teach you through them.

We learn the blessed Word of God To fix it firmly in our heart, And when we act upon that Word Its truth from us will not depart. —D. De Haan

Stories from the past can give us pointers for the present.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/tell-me-the-story/

Our Offspring

“This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac.”—Genesis 25:19

The Torah portion for this week, Toldot, is from Genesis 25:19—28:9 and Malachi 1:1–2:7.

The Torah portion of Toldot, ‘offspring,’ begins almost exactly the same way that the portion of Noach began. Here we read, “This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.” There we read, “This is the account of Noah and his family” (Genesis 6:9). In Hebrew, the phrases are identical. So the Sages are puzzled. If the opening words are the same, why aren’t the names parallel? If Noah was chosen as the title for the reading about him and his family, why isn’t Isaac’s name given the same treatment?

Let’s review. A few weeks back, we explained that the Torah portion of Noah was named for its leading man in order to teach us the power of one person’s effect on generations to come. The story of the flood was the story of mankind, but it all hinged on one individual and that person was Noah. So he gets the spotlight.

Now let’s take a look at this week’s reading. It’s the story of Jacob and Esau’s birth, Esau selling his birthright, and Jacob receiving the blessings of the firstborn. This is the story of Isaac and his family, but the emphasis is not on Isaac; it’s on his children. The story line of our portion for this week is who will continue the legacy of Abraham and Isaac?

In Jewish culture, people place a lot of value on a person’s family lineage. For example, most people with the last name ‘Cohen’ can claim that they come from the prestigious tribe of Levi and the group of priests called cohanim. Others can trace their heritage to legendary rabbis who lived decades or even centuries ago. Still, some can even trace their families all the way back to King David. But I have a friend who used to say, “That’s nice. However, more important than who came before me is who will come after me.” It’s impressive to claim a prestigious lineage, but even more impressive to be the ancestor of great men and women yet to come.

And that’s the message of this week’s Torah portion. Noach celebrates those who came before us. Toldot asks us to consider who will follow us. Noach is about the heritage that we received. Toldot is about the legacy that we pass on.

What legacy will you leave behind? Long after we have exited the stage of life, our children, with God’s help, will be playing the leading roles in the greatest story that the world has ever known.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/our-offspring

As Righteous As You

“This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.”—Genesis 6:9

The Torah portion for this week, Noach, is from Genesis 6:9 – 11:32, and Isaiah 54:1 – 55:5.

The Torah tells us that “Noah was a righteous man, blamelessamong the people of his time.” The Sages are puzzled by the last part of the description. Why not stop at righteous? What does it mean that he was also “blamelessamong the people of his time?”

Torah scholars explain that there are two ways to understand the Scripture’s description. It could mean that even though Noah lived in a totally corrupt society, he was able to withstand the influence of everyone around him and remain righteous. Or, it could mean that had Noah lived in another time, the generation of Abraham for example, he wouldn’t have been anything special. Relative to the corrupt society around him, Noah stood out and appeared righteous.

Ultimately, we don’t need to know how Noah compared to anyone else. What matters is that Noah was as righteous as he could be himself.

A famous story is told about Rabbi Zusha of Anipol who lived in the 18^th century. The great rabbi was on his deathbed, and he was crying uncontrollably. No one could comfort him. One of the students asked, “Why are you crying? Surely you have nothing to fear! You were almost as wise as Moses and as kind as Abraham!” The elderly rabbi replied, “When I am called to the heavenly tribunal, they won’t ask me, ‘why weren’t you like Moses?’ or ‘why weren’t you like Abraham?’ But they will ask, ‘Zusha, why weren’t you like Zusha?’ And to that I will have no reply.”

God doesn’t judge us according to the people around us. If the people around us are evil, it doesn’t give us permission to sink to their level. If the people around us are saintly, God doesn’t expect us to be perfect ourselves. God expects us to live up to our own potential, be it a little or a lot. It doesn’t matter how Noah compared with the people around him. What mattered was that he was the best Noah that Noah could be.

We often get distracted by the people around us and forget about focusing on the one life that matters most:  Ours! Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, once said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” Every person is gifted with his or her own unique talents, passions, and capabilities. But not everyone unwraps the package.

God won’t ask you why you weren’t like Mother Theresa, and He won’t applaud you for being better than Hitler. He’ll want to know if you were as great as you could be.

How will you answer?

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/as-righteous-as-you

The Power of One

“This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” — Genesis 6:9

The Torah portion for this week, Noach, is from Genesis 6:9 – 11:32, and Isaiah 54:1 – 55:5.

This week’s Torah portion is mostly about the story of the flood and ends with the story of the Tower of Babel. Which begs the question:  Why is this portion called “Noah”? Shouldn’t it have been called something like “The Flood” or maybe “The Ark and The Tower”? This is the story of all humanity. Why name it after one person?

The Torah portion begins, “This is the account of Noah and his family” because the story of human history comes down to one person and one family. And isn’t that how it always is? History is never determined by the masses. It always comes down to a few people who make a world of a difference.

That being the case, it’s ironic that many people feel too small to make a big difference. When it comes to the upcoming elections in the United States, for example, almost half of eligible voters won’t make it to the voting booths. Why? For many people, it’s because they don’t think that it will matter. Why bother voting if their vote won’t make a difference? The fact is most people think that one person is powerless. But the reality is that there is no limit to the power of one determined individual.

A quote from the Talmud was made famous by the movie Schindler’s List. At the end of the movie, the Jews who Schindler saved during the Holocaust give him a gold ring, made from teeth that the survivors happily donated for the cause. On it, these words were engraved:  “He who saves a life, saves a whole world.” That’s the value of one human life. It’s equal to an entire world! Why? Because one person has the power to influence a whole society.

The Torah portion about Noah describes the history of all of humanity. But like all important moments in history, it is the story of one person – one person dedicated to the Lord and to obeying His Word even though those around him were determined to go against God. Our future is being written the same way. It will all come down to a few individuals who are faithful to the Lord. Will you be one of those people?

Never underestimate your power. Individuals like you and me write the story of the world.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/the-power-of-one

Noah And The Great Flood

When Jehovah saw that men were growing more wicked in the world and that their thoughts were always evil, he was greatly grieved and regretted that he had made man. Therefore, Jehovah said, “I will completely destroy all living beings from off the earth, for I regret that I have made them.”

But Noah had won Jehovah’s favor. So Jehovah said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all living beings, for the earth is filled with their wicked acts. I am going to destroy them from the earth. Make yourself an ark of cypress wood. Build rooms in the ark, and cover it within and without with pitch. This is how you shall build it: the ark shall be five hundred feet long, eighty feet wide, and fifty feet high. Make a roof for it and place the door on the side. Build it with lower, second, and third stories. For I am about to bring floods of water upon the earth to destroy every living creature in which is the breath of life. Every creature that is on the earth shall die.”

Then Jehovah said to Noah, “Enter with all your household into the ark, for I see that of all the people who are now alive you alone are upright. Of all the beasts that are fit for food and sacrifice you shall take with you seven, the male and the female; but of the beasts that are not fit for food and sacrifice two, the male and the female; and of the wild birds that are fit for food and sacrifice seven, to keep each kind alive on all the earth. After seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy every living thing that I have made.”

Then Noah did all that Jehovah commanded him. When the waters of the flood came upon the earth, he, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, together with the beasts that were fit for food and sacrifice and the beasts that were not fit, and the birds, and everything that creeps upon the ground, entered the ark because of the waters of the flood.

The rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and Jehovah shut Noah in the ark. And the waters rose higher and higher and raised up the ark, and it was lifted high above the earth. All creatures living on the land died. Noah only was left and they who were with him in the ark.

Then God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God caused a wind to blow over the earth, and the flood went down, the rain from heaven ceased, and the waters withdrew more and more from the land.

After forty days Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven; and it kept going to and fro until the waters were dried up on the earth. He also sent out a dove to see if the waters had gone from the surface of the earth. But the dove found no rest for her foot, and so returned to him to the ark, for the waters covered the whole earth. Therefore, Noah reached out his hand and took her and brought her back into the ark.

Then he waited seven days longer and again sent out the dove from the ark. And the dove came in to him at dusk; and in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive-leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had gone from the earth. And he waited seven days more and again sent out the dove, but it did not return to him.

So Noah took off the covering of the ark and looked and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. Then he, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went out of the ark.

And Noah built an altar to Jehovah and took one of every beast and bird that was fit for sacrifice and offered burnt-offerings on the altar. And Jehovah said to himself, “I will never again condemn the ground because of man, nor will I again destroy every living creature, as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the solemn agreement that I make for all time between me and you and every living creature that is with you: I have placed my rainbow in the cloud and it shall be the sign of the solemn agreement between me and the people who live on the earth. Whenever I bring a cloud over the earth and the rainbow is seen in the cloud, I will remember the agreement which is between me and you and every living creature; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy them.”

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/Noah-And-The-Great-Flood.shtml

“Lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. cxxxix. 24).

There is often apparently but little difference in two distinct lives between constant victory and frequent victory. But that one little difference constitutes a world of success or failure. The one is the Divine, the other is the human; the one is the everlasting way, the other the transient and the imperfect. God wants to lead us to the way everlasting, and to establish us and make us immovable as He. We little know the seriousness of the slightest surrender. It is but the first step in a downward progression, and God only knows where it shall end.

Let us be “not of them that draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe unto the saving our the soul.”

Your victory to-day is but preparing the way for a greater victory to-morrow, and your surrender to-day is opening the door for a more terrible defeat in the days to come. Let us, therefore, whatever we have claimed from our blessed Master, commit it to His keeping, and take Him to establish us and hold us fast in the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/a-b-simpson-devotional.shtml

 

The Tipping Point

Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. —Romans 12:1

In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell observes that struggling businesses are often turned around by one key decision. Many once-foundering companies are now thriving and successful because of a choice that became the tipping point.

Although targeted to those in business management, the principle also applies to those who are committed to advancing the cause of Christ. Sometimes we find ourselves up against a wall, struggling with a decision or situation that threatens to cripple our capacity for effective service to our King. It’s at those critical junctures that we can make a “tipping point” decision to turn things around.

The decision? Surrender your will and heart to God. James 4:7 says, “Submit to God,” and Romans 12:1 tells us, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God.” Be willing to sacrifice your agenda for His greater purposes.

What if Noah had told God, “I don’t do boats!” What if Joseph had not forgiven his brothers and failed to protect them from the life-threatening famine? Or what if Jesus had refused to die on the cross?

Surrender is the tipping point. When we make that choice, God can use us to do great things for Him.

Lord, take my life and make it wholly Thine; Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine. Take all my will, my passion, self and pride; I now surrender, Lord—in me abide. —Orr

Surrender becomes victory when we yield to God.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/the-tipping-point/

Wolf and Lamb

“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearlingtogether; and a little child will lead them.” — Isaiah 11:6

One of the most famous prophecies given over to us by the prophet Isaiah is the messianic description of world peace. Not only will nations beat their swords into plowshares, but the tranquility will spread to the animal kingdom as well. Predators and their prey will live together in peace and harmony. The wolf with the lamb, the leopard with the goat, the calf with the lion, and a small child with them all. Pretty miraculous! But the Jewish Sages have a different take. They ask:  “What’s the big deal?”

The Sages recognize that this miracle has already happened before. Been there, done that. During the great flood in the time of Noah, all of the animals lived peacefully together in small quarters together with their human caretakers. The lions did not start a mutiny, and the elephants did not lead a stampede. Even the smallest creatures remained unharmed. The wolf already lived with the lamb! So what’s so amazing about this happening again?

The Sages teach us that there is a profound difference between the peace that was kept on Noah’s ark and the peace that will reign during the messianic times. During the flood, living creatures came together because they shared a common adversary. But in the messianic era they will come together because of love.

How will this awesome transformation come about? How will we go from a world filled with hate to a world brimming with love? Just a few verses later we are told:  “They will neither harm nor destroy . . . for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).

Just as water fills the sea, everyone will recognize that God fills the earth. Just as the waters make up the sea, the whole world will understand that God makes up the earth – and everything and everyone in it. After millennia of fighting against one another, we will finally understand that we are part of each other. We are all part of God. We are all one.

So how could we possibly hurt each other?

We can all access the messianic era right now. Think of your body. There are good parts and less than ideal parts and perhaps even a part that is irritating you. But you would never hurt any of those parts. Your right hand does not slap the left! That’s how we have to see the people around us. Yes, even the irritating ones. We are them and they are us, and we need to treat them accordingly.

When we succeed at bringing peace into our own lives, we then will see it in the whole world.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/wolf-and-lamb

What Kind of Example Are You? (3)

“Be an example…in conduct.”                                          1Ti 4:12 NKJV

Seneca, the Roman statesman, said, “I govern my life and thoughts as though the world were to see one and read the other.” You can always predict what a person of integrity will do in two areas: (1) In business. Saying no to your boss usually isn’t a good career move. But when faced with a choice between his career and his convictions, Daniel refused to eat the king’s meat because it was a violation of God’s law (See Da 1:8-17). Joseph refused to sleep with the boss’s wife (See Ge 39:6-12). Elisha refused to accept a rich man’s money in exchange for healing (See 2Ki 5:1-16). Getting the idea? (2) At home. Noah saved his family from destruction by listening to God (See Heb 11:7). And the first thing he did when he emerged from the ark was to build an altar. Think about that! Noah had an altar before he had a home. Most of us have homes, but no prayer altar. And it shows! Lot, on the other hand, lost his wife and his sons-in-law to the destructive influences of Sodom (See Ge 19:14-26). Today issues of character that once raised alarm don’t even raise an eyebrow. But they should. “I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Ro 12:1-2 NLT).

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/what-kind-of-example-are-you-3/

The Mark of a Hero

“Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I . . . if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it.”—Ruth 3:12–13

How do you define a hero? Often we tend to think of men or women who have exhibited remarkable bravery or courage, or who have committed extraordinary acts of strength. For most of us, a hero is someone who has gone beyond the expected and the ordinary, and who has achieved greatness because of it.

In listing the great heroes of the Bible, men like Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Joshua, and David, among others, come to mind. Each in their own right accomplished great things for God and His people. So when we come to the story of Ruth, it might be easy to overlook Boaz as a hero. After all, he didn’t kill a giant, go off to a foreign land, deliver a people from enslavement, or win great battles.

But throughout the story of Ruth, Boaz quietly and consistently exhibited heroic qualities. You see it in his dealings with other people. He was always sensitive to the needs of others. His words to his workers, his relatives, and others were colored with kindness. When faced with a choice, Boaz made the right one, not the easy one.

We see this demonstrated when Ruth approached Boaz to be her kinsman-redeemer — a relative who volunteered to take responsibility for the extended family in the event of a husband’s death by marrying the widow. The relative did not have to marry the widow. If he chose not to, the next nearest relative could take his place.

Boaz was a close relative, and from his actions, it is clear that he was attracted to Ruth and agreeable to marrying her. But he was not the kinsman-redeemer. Unbeknownst to Naomi and Ruth, there was a closer relative who had to be given the option to marry Ruth and acquire the property involved.

In following the proper steps and seeking out that other relative first, Boaz was acting in Ruth’s best interest. Above all else, he wanted to see Ruth provided for according to Mosaic law — even if that meant Ruth would marry the kinsman-redeemer and not himself. Boaz put aside his personal feelings for his desire to do the right thing, and ultimately, bring honor to God.

We often are faced with this type of challenge in our choices— we can choose to do what is easiest and most expedient for us, or we can choose to do what is right and follow God.

More often than not, the right choice is clear. Making it is the mark of a real hero.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/the-mark-of-a-hero-3