Noahs Ark

With all the recent rain, storms and flooding here’s some trivia about Noah and the Ark

• God Himself was the master designer and architect of the ark.   
• God judged the world with the Flood, saving Noah and his family, about 4,300 years ago.
• God shut the door of the Ark.
• Dinosaurs could have been on the ark.   
• Noah was a type or forerunner of Jesus Christ
• Noah was a farmer.  He was already 500 years old when he fathered three sons
• Noah lived 350 years after the Flood and died at 950 years old.
• Noah's ark was a huge boat:  450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 
• The ark took over 100 years to build.  It had a roof on top, three decks, and rooms within the decks.  The ark was not designed to be steered or sailed but only to float
• There could have been as many as 75,000 animals.
• II Pet. 2:5 says 8 souls were saved. We assume this means Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives.
• The Biblical word for Ark is "tebah" which is the Egyptian word meaning "box",
• The Bible says that the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
• The Bible says “gopher” wood, but we really don’t know what gopher wood is.
• Noah and his family were on the Ark for over a year. 

Stir Up

Definitions:
Move a spoon, mix thoroughly, rekindle, fan the flame, energize, refresh, motivate

Applications:

• mix it up- often it can get messy
• keep ready and useable– like cement – not let it harden – like cook – so  doesn’t  burn on the bottom
• get busy-work hard:  like big stir stick paddle of Tom Hebert
• lick the spoon:  enjoy

Scriptures:

• Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6 
• And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.  Hebrews 10:24 
• He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.   Judges 13:25

Got Milk?

SACRED  COWS

• Hindu’s who still today the cow is sacred…
• cow constellations
• Israel’s “golden calf” (Exodus 32)
• to our traditions of the cow always at the nativity (the cattle are lowing…)
• Jewish sacrifice and the red bull (Numbers 19)
• use for sacrifice all the way to babies-children-people sacrificed (Ezekiel 23:39)
• Chic Fila cows who encourage us to eat more chicken
• Team mascots...:"Go Bulls"

Why the worship of cows and bulls?  What is the importance?

• Cows considered to be good luck???
• Cows are revered as the source of food and symbol of life  (mother earth)(fertility) So possession of a cow then means you have all you need ???
• The cow has been a symbol of wealth “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills”  (Psalm 50:10) Fat cows = plenty
• The cow is a symbol of patience
• The cow is a symbol of truth… truth is good… so therefore honor truth ?????
• Cow mascot for University of Texas – BEVO -  LOL “I will chop off the horns of the wicked” (Psalm 75:10)
• Cow is as useful dead as when she is alive
• Cow’s milk white – purity
• Cows easily available in almost all cultures
• Cow’s horns = strength
• Cow: The term most commonly means go….. cattle means “to acquire”
• Cows are not used just for their meat, milk, and leather,
• Milk = cream, yogurt, cheese, butter, ice cream, buttermilk, chocolate milk
• The parts of cows are used in everything from the entertainment industry that makes horror/action movies using cow's blood to medical and pharmaceutical companies using insulin from the livers of cows for diabetics. Other products we use that come from cows in some form are paint, toothpaste, insulation for our homes, camera film, paintbrushes, asphalt, etc.
• Cows, as living creatures, deposit manure which is commonly used in gardens and fields-fertilizer.
• Cow dung used as a fuel and as a disinfectant in homes. Modern science states that the smoke from cow dung is a powerful disinfectant and is good against pollution.
• Cows will also readily eat plants on land that is not suitable for crop production, and even "clean up" a field after it has been harvested, adding to the soil organic content with their manure.
• Much native grassland is so vast that cattle herds are needed to keep it intact and healthy because the native bison herds that are left are much too small to be used instead.
• Cow's urine is also used for religious ceremonies as well as for medical reasons.

Thots and applications:

• Thankful to God for cows and their usefulness
• May I be completely useful
• May I be humble
• May I be strong
• May I be low maintenance
• May I point to Christ as the Bread of Life, and Living Water
• Keep my eyes on Creator and not creation
• Do not pervert what is good
• To God the things of the world are foolish
• Amazing our great desire to worship something and the great lengths we go to do it
• Traditions and symbols can get us in trouble – always stay with the “things that are True”
• Treat others including animals with care

BONUS:
VIDEO:  Cash cow – claymation video     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r6LV02QscU

QUOTE:  “One can measure the greatness of a nation and its moral progress by the way it treats its animals”  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

STORY:   My favorite cow story is the god of dagon when placed in the temple designated for GOD…  He knocked him face down – the people tried to prop him back up … then oops GOD did it again this time…He knocked him down and chopped the horns chopped off (I Samuel 5)

From “beasts of burden” to gods ?  Holy cow! Wow! So God reminds us once again to trust in him  “…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:30)

Keeper

Have you noticed that at almost at any time “Harry Potter” movies are on TV ?

 

PSALM 121 the word Keeper (depending on the translation) is used 3-4 times “Keeper”

 

RELATED WORDS:  Protector/Valuable/Holder/Guardian/look’s after...– trustworthy, strong, watched…held close or near…secure…accountable…guardian, custodian, caretaker…they are a “keeper” … let nothing out, let nothing in… surrounding…

 

KEEPER DEFINITIONS:

a person who guards or watches, as at a prison or gate.

a person who assumes responsibility for another's behavior:

a person who owns or operates a business (usually used in combination)

a person who is responsible for the maintenance of something (often used in combination): a person charged with responsibility for the preservation and conservation of something valuable, as a curator or game warden.

a person who conforms to or abides by a requirement:

a keeper of his word.

a fish that is of sufficient size to be caught and retained without violating the law.

Keepsake:  a small item kept in memory of the person who gave it or originally owned it.

(momento, souvenir, reminder, remembrance, token) 

NAMES:

Brother’s Keeper
Finder’s Keepers
She’s a Keeper
Keeper... goalie...harry potter...
Time Keeper
Promise Keeper
Bee Keeper
Bar Keep
Secret keeper
Shopkeeper
Housekeeper
Peacekeeper
Goalkeeper
Bookkeeper
Gatekeeper
Scorekeeper
Zookeeper
Innkeeper

APPLICATION:
Confidence:  to the believer because it presents God as one who is not passive but active in our lives.  To “keep” something is to actively guard and protect it. How wonderful to know that the God who holds our lives is not disinterested but is constantly watching over us. 
Appreciation:  God doesn’t have too but desires to. 
Keepers are trustworthy and strong…May I be someone like that for others and the things entrusted to me

Guard Your Heart

Sméagol is comsumed and even kills a friend for a special ring that had been made by the Dark Lord Soran.  As Sméagol embraces the ring and its cunning allure, he is transformed over time into the tortured, disfigured soul named Gollum. 

…Take every thought captive, so that it conforms to the will of God – 2 Corinthians 10:5

….Please guard your heart because it is the doorway to…

Thots
Disciplines
Motivations
Energy
Joy
Usefulness    

Protect it… keep it healthy and strong…Put a lock on it

Place a guard before it that “...none shall pass…”.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is

Luke 6:45 For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

“Danger Will Robinson”  

That is why God examines the heart of a man, not simply his outward appearance and what he appears to be – I Samuel 16:7

Atherosclerosis is a hardening of the arteries due to accumulated cholesterol plaques and scarring in the artery walls. 

Hardening of the spiritual heart can also occur. Hardening of the heart occurs when we are presented with God’s truth, and we refuse to acknowledge or accept it.

Congestive heart failure is an inability of the heart to successfully pump blood through the body due to weaknesses within its walls. Congestive heart failure can result from hypertension (high blood pressure), myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), and abnormal enlargement of the heart.

Heart murmurs are abnormal flow patterns due to faulty heart valves. Heart valves act as doors to prevent the backward flow of blood into the heart.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” – Philippians 4:8. 

Dwelling on these things will help to build a guard fence around our hearts.