Building an Ark

“Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.  and this is how you shall make it;  the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.  you shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.” Genesis 6:14-16

It is easy to read the word of God and because a story is familiar to just skim over it and not really think much about what it is saying.  Everybody knows the story of Noah and the ark and then the fact that it is in the old testament, geez, there is nothing to be gleaned from it, right?

How many times have you heard that the old testament is old and doesnt count because we have the new testament?  Dont you think if God didnt have stuff in the old testament that we should live by and learn from He would have done away with it?  YES!  Gods word is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword!  It is applicable to today as it was the day it was written.  If you seek, you will find!  If you want more, then dont just skim over the stories but read them and ponder on them and ask God to reveal to you how they apply to you today in your circumstance!

Ok, pre devotion done and on to the real one   What was the purpose of the ark?  Easy question right, to save Noah and his family from the waters that God was going to allow to flood and destroy the earth with.  God promised to never flood the earth again so there is no need for us to build an ark right?  Wrong!

The ark protected Noah and his family from death.  In a literal sense, we should all be in the process of building an ark for ourselves to protect us from the death and destruction that the enemy is pouring out all around us!  If you have done no work to set up walls around yourself when the floods of trials and temptations come, how are you going to survive?

As i have written about many many times, i pretty much only listen to christian music.  Not that i dont love some of the secular stuff out there, believe me i do!  I have many cds that i have purchased that are still in their cases because i bought them when God was working on me on this idea of only letting His praise and worship into my ears.  I would do good for awhile and then rationalize the purchase of a cd and God would convict me and i would never listen to it.

How does that pertain to an ark?  Glad you asked.  From a figurative standpoint, i am building an ark to protect me from the worldly floods.  Music is a huge huge influence in peoples lives and it affects our subconscious and mood and thoughts more than one realizes!

How does a song that sings about going into a school and shooting the students bring anything good to your life or thought life?  Sure it has been packaged in a nice catchy tune and it sounds cool but the words are pure evil!  run, run, run faster than my bullet, or something like that.  What good could possibly come from listening to a song about murder?

Seems pretty innocent and im sure you are rationalizing, im not going to go out and kill kids so what difference does it make?  It lowers your defenses, it gives the enemy an into your mind.  The next song after that one is about sex and adultery and before long one is rationalizing why it is ok to have an affair with someone elses spouse!  But im so unhappy and my spouse doesnt love me and heck, listen to all the songs and look at the TV programs, everybody is doing it!!  And before you know it so are you and because you have not done the hard work of building an ark so that you are protected when the floods come, you are wiped out and the enemy is trying to drown you!

Building an ark is not easy work!  Building an ark is going to make people make fun of you.  It took Noah years to build the ark and people made fun of him and laughed at him and yet when the waters started, he got into his ark!  We need to be setting before ourselves standards that we are going to uphold and live out that during the flood, we can go into and be safe!  We need to be building an ark that is made of what we will or will not allow ourselves to do or see or hear!

Who cares if people make fun of you!  They made fun of Noah but when the floods came and he was safe inside the ark and they all drown, who got the last laugh?  Start putting up some walls, start building an ark and setting standards for yourself so that you have protection when temptation and trials come upon you!  I urge you to reconsider what you are listening to and what you are allowing your eyes to see and your mouth to speak!

When the floods come will you be swept away with the rest of the world because you have not done the hard work of setting yourself apart?  Did you stop working on your ark because your friends and family were making fun of you?  What are you going to do when the floods come?  Where are you going to go?  How long can you hold your breath and hope that the waters recede?  Will it be long enough?

Jesus, thank you that NONE of your word is null or void or not applicable to my life!  Open my eyes and increase my understanding of your word and your desire for me to live holy before you!  Help me to build my ark that when the floods come i am protected because of the hard work i have done to set standards around me!  Show me areas of weakness in my life that might cause my ark to sink!