Category: Noah

2/24/2022

Field of Streams? (Ge 6-9)

The movie Field of DREAMS tells the story of an Iowa farmer hearing voices telling him “If you build it, they will come”. So he plows under his corn crop and build a baseball field where the ghosts of old pro players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, would play. Now of course, the neighbors and the town folk think he is nuts, and that he is risking his farm for the sake of old baseball players that no one can see but himself.

Sounds similar to the story of Noah? The Bible tells us that Noah was a righteous man, and faithful to God in a world of sin.

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. Genesis 6:5-6

and so God tells Noah, If you build it, they will come. Genesis 6:13-21 (field of streams paraphrase) in this case IT is an Ark, and THEY is a literal ‘boat-load’ of animals.

If you think an Iowa farmer got funny looks plowing under his crop/livelihood, so that he could build a ballpark, that's nothing compared to Noah building a humungous boat in the middle of a desert.

It became Noah’s “Field of Streams”.

So Noah builds this ark out of GOPHER wood (I think this is a type of Cyprus tree). It is 450 feet, 75 feet wide, and 40 feet tall as designed by God. Please note the Ark Project was constructed by 600 yr. old Noah with the assistance of his 100 year old sons.

Of course this Desert Ark attracted some serious ridicule, or at the very least a few chuckles and smirks from the town folk.

ALL ABOARD!
Anyways, the ark is built, and then the collection and housing of the animal pairs begins.

Let me add a little perspective here..

If MY DOG was in line to board the ark, and spied Mr. & Mrs. Squirrel about to board.. he would be have to chase them and gone would be any chance of him getting back in line before the rain falls.
Then there is.. THE CAT. There is a reason why the phrase 'like herding cats' is used to describe near impossible tasks, and so it goes without saying boarding two cats onto a big boat filled with numerous other animal sounds and smells is not a given.

Below I have illustrated other potential boarding issues.

GRAB YOUR UMBRELLA
Once the animals were all boarded, God seals the Ark and the skies opened up which not one local Weather channel predicted, and those left behind did perish. These flood waters go higher and higher until on I believe the 40th day the highest mountains are covered.

I know the question sometimes arises as to whether or not this was a local or world widen flood.

What I do know is it was a WHOLE LOT OF WATER.

LIFE AT SEA..
So now there is a time where God floats the boat. Loaded with animals of every kind I cannot imagine how this all worked out. I am challenged to get my one rescue dog out several times a day to ensure he does not have an accident on the carpet so 'say-no-more' bout' waste management on this sea sick petting zoo.

But on the bright side the excursions and amenities not found on any other Cruise line, and since they would be in the Ark for I believe 371 days, they might as well make the best of what Noah's Luxury Cruise had to offer..

Good time for FISHING, (Wicked Tuna), or
maybe WATER-SKI, or
enjoying the simple irony of having two GOLDFISH on the Ark, and
let's not forget Noah's summit of MT EVEREST way before Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

ALL ASHORE THAT'S GOING ASHORE!
Finally the the waters subsided and the ark settled on one of the mountains of Ararat .

Once it became safe to leave the Ark, the animals were let go, must have been as interesting as the boarding), and shortly there after the first pooper scooper was invented.

In all seriousness now, this was the new beginning for mankind, and God signed with a RAINBOW His promise that he would never destroy the Earth by flood again.

Noah was a righteous man, and lived to be an incredible 950 years, just 19 years less than longevity king Methuselah.

ONE CRAZY BOAT RIDE..
To be honest the story of Noah, the Ark, the boarding of every animal two by two, all culminating with a Flood killing all life leaves me scratching my head. I believe, but can I tell you how it happened?.. NOPE.

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 55:8,9 where God declares, “My ways are not your ways. Neither are my thoughts your thoughts. For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways than your ways and my thoughts than yours.”

So again.. while I don’t understand – I still believe!

In summary, the story of Noah has today often is told as a children’s story. Christian Gift Shops have cute figurines of Noah, and his Ark all filled with smiling animals. Also, in my cartoon world the story of Noah's Ark is loaded with silly fodder. BUT the story of Noah has a sobering message balancing perfectly God’s providence for the faithful and obedient with harsh judgment of a wicked world.

The story of Noah and the Ark is our story
This is a world of great sin where the hearts of man (just like in Ge 6:5-6) appears to be on evil all the time. The Great News is those who love God receive His Amazing Love & Grace…

but again realize.. HOW WE CONDUCT OUR LIVES MATTERS ETERNALLY. if we choose self over God than our eternity is the same as those outside the Ark. We may not get all wet by a supernatural Great Flood, but we will be just as lost, just as judged, and just as damned.

May God bless each of you to be faithful and obedient to God while living in this self indulgent world.

Jeff (wearing waterwings) Larson

2 Comments

1/28/2021

0 Comments

Field of Streams (Ge 6-9)

If you have ever seen the movie Field of DREAMS you will know it’s about an Iowa farmer who hears voices telling him to plow under his corn crop and build a baseball field where the ghosts of old pro players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, would play. Now of course, the neighbors and the town folk think he is nuts, and that he is risking his farm for the sake of old baseball players that no one can see but himself.

The decision for this Iowa farmer to listen to whispering voices saying, “If you build it, they will come”, and then to build a ballpark without having a real explanation of what this is all about takes some faith.  So what about Noah?

The Bible tells us that Noah was a righteous man, and faithful to God in a world of sin.

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. Genesis 6:5-6

and so God tells Noah, If you build it, they will come. Genesis 6:13-21 in this case THEY are a literal ‘boat-load’ of animals.

If you think an Iowa farmer got funny looks plowing under his crop/ livelihood, so that he could build a ballpark, I am sure that's nothing compared to Noah building a humungous boat in the middle of a desert.  It became Noah’s “Field of Streams”.

Of course this Desert Ark Building attracted some serious ridicule, or at the very least a few chuckles and smirks from the town folk.

Noah builds this ark out of cypress wood. It is 450 feet, 75 feet wide, and 40 feet tall.

Next, please note the Ark Project was constructed by 600 yr. old Noah with the assistance of his 100 year old sons.

Think about it, Noah was approximately 10 times older than me, and his three 'boys' were 3 times older than my two sons.

ALL ABOARD!
Anyways, the ark is built, and then the collection and storing of the animal pairs begins.

Let me add a little perspective here..

if my ONE DOG was in line to board the ark, and spied Mr. & Mrs. Squirrel about to board.. he would be gone with any chance of him getting back in line before the rain falls is almost NILL.
Then there would be the other house pet of choice.. THE CAT. There is a reason why the phrase 'like herding cats' is used to describe near impossible tasks, and so it goes without saying boarding two cats onto a big boat filled with numerous other animal sounds and smells is not a given.

and Regarding dogs & cats folklore has it if not for Noah’s keen 600 year old eyes and senses, the demise of the common house cat would have been a certainty.

Also illustrated below are a few more boarding the Ark highlights.. including the demise of the Unicorn.

LIFE AT SEA..
So now there is a time where God floats the boat. Loaded with animals of every kind I cannot imagine how this all worked out. I am challenged to get my one rescue dog out several times a day to ensure he does not do his 'bizness' on the carpet so 'say-no-more' bout' waste management on this sea sick petting zoo. But on the bright side the excursions and amenities not found on any other Cruise line, and since they would be in the Ark for I believe 371 days, they might as well make the best of what Noah's Luxury Cruise had to offer..

Good time for FISHING, or
maybe WATER-SKI, or
enjoy the irony of having two GOLDFISH on the Ark
and let's not forget Noah's summit of MT EVEREST.

ALL ASHORE THAT'S GOING ASHORE!
Finally the the waters subsided and the ark settled on one of the mountains of Ararat .

Once it became safe to leave the Ark, the animals were let go, must have been as interesting as the boarding), and shortly there after the first pooper scooper was invented.

In all seriousness now, this was the new beginning for manking, and God signed with a RAINBOW His promise that he would never destroy the Earth by flood again.

Noah was a righteous man, and lived to be an incredible 950 years, just 19 years less than longevity king Methuselah.

THIS WAS ONE CRAZY BOAT RIDE..
I have to be honest the story of Noah, the Ark, the boarding of every animal two by two, all culminating with a Flood killing all life leaves me scratching my head. BUT just like the flood was an act of God, so was this animal control process. So I must distinguish between hard to understand and don’t believe. I believe, but can I tell you how it happened.. NOPE. It's as they say.. 'above my pay grade'.

I believe God hears our honest questions, and our lack of understanding, and in reply he may simply say, “Of course you don’t”.

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 55:8,9 where God declares, “My ways are not your ways. Neither are my thoughts your thoughts. For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways than your ways and my thoughts than yours.”

So again.. when I don’t understand – but still I believe!

CUTE STORY? SOBERING TRUTH? or both?
In summary, the story of Noah has today often is told as a children’s story. Christian Gift Shops have cute figurines of Noah, and his Ark all filled with smiling animals. Also, in my cartoon world the story of Noah's Ark is loaded with silly fodder. BUT the story of Noah has a sobering message balancing perfectly God’s providence for the faithful and obedient with harsh judgment of a wicked world.

The story of Noah and the ark is our story
This is a world of great sin where the hearts of man (just like in Ge 6:5-6) appears to be on evil all the time. The Great News is those who love God receive His Amazing Love & Grace… but again realize.. HOW WE CONDUCT OUR LIVES MATTERS ETERNALLY. if we choose self over God than our eternity is the same as those outside the Ark. We may not get all wet by a supernatural Great Flood, but we will be just as lost, just as judged, and just as damned.

May God bless each of you to be faithful and obedient to God while living in this self indulgent world.

Jeff (wearing my waterwings today) Larson

0 Comments

9/12/2020

2 Comments

Who needs an ARK?

In remembering September 2019 we officially bumped our rain total to the second-wettest year on record in Minneapolis Mn, with 29.64” of rain, behind 1892 with 31.75”. Ok, not ARK building weather, but still the 2nd wettest year on record.

Of course back in Noah's day they didn't think they needed an Ark either. There wasn't even a Marina in town, but God grew tired of the true wickedness of man and decided to wipe out all mankind by a flood except for Noah and his family who would sail safely on an Ark.

Genesis 6:5-6 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieve.

So we all know the story, the people mocked him Noah's Ark project, until that day that rang out in infamy where the floods covered the Earth killing all living creatures except Noah, his family, and a literal boat load of animals.

This is one of those stories learned in Sunday School where God saved Noah and all the animals of every kind. Cute story for kids, but a powerful story for the rest of us.

While some Christians feud over the flood being local versus universal, or where the Ark is now.. the greater message is to a wicked world that was not SAVED on-board this giant Ark sized petting zoo. Death versus Life was the choice of mankind back in Noah's day, and death versus life is our choice today.

No we don't have to RSVP any Ark invitations from God, but.. same as in Noah's day either we are with (obedient to) God or against Him. Today, either I have accepted Jesus into your heart or have not. The choice is mine, the choice is yours. And just like in Noah's day,

IT MATTERS ETERNALLY what we believe. God will not be mocked. If we do not choose God's salvation plan we will be as lost as Noah's neighbors when the great flood consumed them.

Not such a cute story now. It's a nice story if you are on the boat, but if not.. then a snorkel and flippers will not save you. But it is a beautiful story, because just like the Ark in Noah's day, God has provided salvation. This salvation is found in the name of Jesus. God does not desire for any of us to perish, but we all have free will so the choice is ours.
CHOOSE WISELY, and your eternity is secured in Heaven.
CHOOSE POORLY and please understand you are not safe.

Note: Flood Insurance would not have saved you in Noah's Day, nor will Fire Insurance save you today.

May God bless each of you with the realization of salvation through Jesus Christ. It is a beautiful gift from our loving God. For those of you outside of His plan, know John 3:16, believe John 3:16, and then.. WELCOME ABOARD.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Blessings

Jeff (Soggy bottom boy in Minnesota) Larson

2 Comments

Field of Streams? (Ge 6-9)

Field of Streams (Ge 6-9)

Who needs an ARK?

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