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Hear the devotional here: http://bit.ly/3dpeneC
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." 12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." 17 God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." (Genesis 9:8-17 RSV)
A warm and happy Thursday to you dear ConCafe Family, if weather permits! I rejoiced in 34 degree weather yesterday in Houston, knowing that though it was raining it would not freeze! Oh, joy for the little things. Smile. May God's blessings of joy and protection be yours, dear Friend. May our first full day of Lent bring us closer to the Lord, and closer to each other. For those of you on Facebook you may have noticed I try to place a daily Remedial Sunday School lesson. I try to make it simple and sweet, but with full intention of trying to help us all recognize that the way we acted before the General Election and in the days prior to the Inauguration, many of all political persuasions, did not act as "little Christs." It might be best to remember the basic attempts to guide us towards Godly lives in our Sunday school classes of days gone by. I may share a picture or two of those in the coming days.
Among the many lessons our Sunday school teachers may have tried to share with us, was the story of the Great Flood and the man we know as Noah. Of all the people in the world prior to the flood, only eight survived. This passage takes place after the waters had receded, and Noah and his family are trying to make sense of the world situation. And as in all situations, it is best to hear from God as to what God has in mind. And the first thing that God needs to ensure if that Noah knows what is first necessary. God establishes a covenant, a holy contract of sorts, where God, the party of the first part, and humans, the party of the second part, and all of creation, including all animals, the party of the third part; that God promises that He would never again "shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." And to seal the covenant, God places in the sky a bow, and please note the deliberate use of the military weapon of the time, the bow and in bow and arrow. God promises this with the full power of His might. "When the bow is seen in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." And God tells Noah personally that this sign has been established between God and all flesh of the earth.
You and I have countless covenants in our lives. Some were spoken and entered into with vows; some were unspoken, but supported with love and actions of love; and all strive to make our lives more meaningful and thoughtful. The covenant of marriage, which is entered into with vows which spell out required actions, seeks to promote and provide for a lasting and meaningful partnership for as many years as both parties want and work for it to work. The covenant of being children, then later parents, entered into with no vows, but with loving words and actions, seeks to provide the arena where development of personalities, character, and other attributes that promote wholeness and wellbeing, is a covenant that has no bounds of time in most cases. A parent will always be a parent so long as they live; and a child remains a child so long as they live and are receptive to a parent's love and direction. Let me stress, no one is perfect, thus no human covenant is ever perfect, but patched together with bandaids, duct tape, staples, string, and glued with love, deserve our attention, our efforts of grace, forgiveness, and mercy. And all of these covenants work best if founded on the eternal covenant that God offers to us, as He did to Moses. God is faithful and true; and on Him we can rely. And from God's example we can learn and strive to imitate Him as well.
The Lenten Journey is a daily walk on the grounds of that reinforced covenant between God and all humanity. May the power and might of God, however it appears to remind us, reinforce our commitment to be like God.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, may the bow of Your might and sign of Your faithfulness, remind us to show our faithfulness not only to You but to those with whom we have covenants. Truthfully, we are, or should be, in covenant with others, to make this world a better place. Guide us each day we pray, in Christ Jesus, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Live a life showing your commitment to God's faithfulness today.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
Hear the Ash Wednesday Devotional here: http://bit.ly/2ZpJizp
