Before I write about today’s advent lesson, I want to tell you what happened before the account of Noah. What I love about the Messiah Vine created by Kathi Westlund is that it gives us a timeline of redemptive history. All of the Old Testament anticipates Christ’s coming.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God spoke His creation into being by His Word. Do you know who the Word is? It’s Jesus.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

On the sixth day, God created man; Adam & Eve. He told them not to eat from a certain tree in the garden; the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, they disobeyed God’s command and just like that, sin entered the world and they found themselves in need of a Savior. When the Lord was walking in the garden after they had sinned, He called to them and said, “Where are you?” He knew where they were, but wanted them to come to Him and tell Him what had happened. He does that with us too. Every day He asks, “Where are you? Where is your heart? What are you following after?” It’s a question of mercy; a question that demands an answer.

Adam and Eve answered by blaming one another, while Satan was slinking off in the shadows. All of them received hard words that effect all of us to this day. However, before Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden, God gave them a promise in Genesis 3:15 which says, “I will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; HE (Jesus) shall bruise your (Satan) head, and you (Satan) shall bruise his (Jesus) heel.” This was the promise of the Savior; a day coming when Jesus would suffer for the sin of the world crushing the power of sin and death. Every baby born after that, parents wondered, “Is my baby the one God promised?” The answer came in the fullness of time when Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary; a miracle of Christmas.

After this, life became very hard. Sin was rampant on earth, much like the days in which we are living. God, in and act of severe mercy, decided to start over by sending a flood to cleanse the world of sin.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. . . . The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth (Genesis 6:5, 11-12).

He chose a blameless man named Noah to build an ark to protect them from the coming worldwide flood. It took about 100 years for Noah and his sons to build the ark which was a mercy from the Lord. He was giving people a chance to humble themselves, to seek Him, to turn from their wicked ways and to be found ready. He is doing that today as well. In His perfect timing, He told Noah and his family and two of each kind of animal to go into the ark. God shut the door. Noah and his family were safe from the judgement of God. The ark is a pointer to Christ. As Noah and his family were safe in the ark, we, in Christ, are safe from God’s coming wrath and judgment as well. Praise the Lord.

With that, let’s look to who God in the person of Jesus and who we are in Him. How does this historical account point to Christ?

December 3 – The Flood

Who is Jesus? He is the way of Salvation.

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one come to the Father but through Me (John 14:6).

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

Who are you in Him? You are Safe from the Wrath to Come.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5:6-11)

Who are you without Christ? You have been warned. Come to Him today!

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, and marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:37-39).

Thursday, December 3, 2020

When you pray, pray for:

1. Yourself
2. Your Spouse
3. Your Children/Grandchildren
4. Your Extended Family: Your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins

Praise the Lord that He is the Savior of the world saving us from the power of sin and death and His coming judgement. Pray for those that are not believing that they would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved and experience for the first time the miracle of Christmas.

Blessings to you,

Heather Haas