I love what happens in this chapter here… even though everything outside the ark died. I must wonder: what could have been done so that the people that later perished had listened? I think Jesus’ miracles, if they had been performed on the earth, had been seen by each person, more people would’ve repented and followed Him, just as He would later say of Sodom, Gomorrah, Tyre, and Sidon (some later Old Testament cities that had been razed by wrath before Jesus’ birth, see Matthew 11:21-24) — I don’t know why Jesus didn’t do any works there, but I guess they knew He was God then — pretty dumb they didn’t believe in Him. (I’ll digress for a short while: how does someone know Jesus is God? Personally, I know and believe He is God because I don’t think I can survive without Him. I’ve tried to survive on my own strength and it didn’t work! We all need Him for both life and love, but all should want Him, too. I know I do.)
Anyway, this chapter is found in pages 4-5 of my NKJV Bible, pages 5-6 of my NASB Bible, and pages 9-10 of my VOICE and Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copies. I find it pretty cool that God promised never to pile-drive the earth like this in verse 21. In that same verse, though, He mentioned some controversial words about sin being in everyone’s hearts from a young age, but I don’t think that is part of what He does — it follows each person from birth, and all of us fall for it, seeing that most of us never know that Jesus is God by the time they’re older than I am, and I’m less than two years before my 30th birthday. For the record, though, I don’t think anyone is born to do evil works, all of us want to do good from the time we were created, for it is God’s design that it should happen. Too bad our parents never believed us growing up, and while many people even in their early 30s want to do good today, most of us are left with the illusion that we should listen to our elders — though they know that evil doesn’t work — and they can’t find any good opportunities to do good or be born again into freedom. Well, I have some good news! Jesus is near, and He doesn’t believe your parents’ godless words about being like them or living under a generational curse that you “should follow.” I’m like, “Please, like that’s ever gonna happen!” (I mean under the iniquity pattern; see Deuteronomy 5:9 in which it says that it follows each person without Christian parents until he/she is born again…)
Indeed, most parents in this world say that everything is your fault, but God doesn’t see it like that; they don’t know anything about you. They have no desire to love you or even their infant grandchildren; they don’t deserve you. It’s not as though you or anyone else is destined for condemnation anyway; it’s not what the Bible teaches. Someone can call this heretical, but I think they’re rejecting this message with such a wicked heart motive. I don’t want anyone else suffering from the whole “family-over-Jesus” thing. I mean, it’s pretty good to love and respect each person, relative or otherwise, but the condemnation you’ve been given is a disgrace to you and even themselves. I think the Holy Spirit says you should spend time apart from them for everyone’s sakes, cut them off forever if you have to. A revival is coming, as prophesied in Joel 2:28-29, and there’s no stopping it. I’m very happy it’s going to arrive! But the naysayers who speaks against it hate the Lord Jesus and only desire to worship the wickedness that God does not forgive. Not saying that He isn’t forgiving, but that these wicked deeds are ways to reject Jesus. If anyone, even your family members, are trying to get you to abandon Christ, you shouldn’t hang out with them. I do pray that my niece would love Jesus, though. She just turned one last Wednesday, and I’m understandably excited for her birthday party in three days. I pray that the weather is tolerable for her, though…
The final verse mentions that the seasons will remain the same each year across the world. While it’s winter here in Arizona, though, it’s summer in Australia, New Zealand, Chile, other parts of the Southern Hemisphere, so they’re sweltering in the heat! But dang, it is freezing cold when you go even ten degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer or further. Don’t get me started on Canada, for while I like everything up there (I’ve never actually been there myself, but I’d like to travel there someday), the weather is way too cold for me most of the year. But even so, the warm spring days here in Arizona will be excellent, and I’m looking forward to them. I’m not looking forward to the summer heat, but because I have a pool in my backyard, I don’t mind being here and cooling off for free with my friends, sometimes going to the waterpark if I can afford a one-day or season pass. I know food is expensive there, but that’s ok, yet I know my student loan payments for each month will soar much higher than it is now once summer begins. Indeed, I don’t have the money to pay those bills with my job (I’m already paying off several other things each month as it is), so if I don’t find a job that pays me quite a bit better than the one I have now, I’m screwed, even with my family and/or friends helping me, for each person has enough money problems of their own. Our generation is struggling to pay off debts, and I fear that most of us will be ruined by them. If that happens, future generations will understand that college is both a blessing and a curse, seeing that the U.S. educational systems are, for the most part, unwilling to help anyone with these, and forgiveness for any loans like these isn’t even possible. God’s curse lies upon the people who have given each former college student a death sentence by promising them success but trying to drive them into ruin in each aspect in the meantime. If anyone survives, that’s awesome, but I want no one else (including myself) to suffer due to the lies our ancestors tricked us into. Indeed, if any person breaks a promise, God will reject them. That’s why I don’t make promises lightly, or even at all. But I pray revival for each people group anyway, regardless of language, tribe, dialect, etc.
I figure you might find my words rather strong here (like I imagine you thought in my previous posts), but whatever. I pray you can seek after Jesus with the help of these words spoken here, and especially from the Scriptures, since I’m getting my opinions from each book here. But anyway, I’ll see you in chapter nine! I’ll probably make a minimum of three posts on that chapter, but it’s up in the air right now; I’ll read that chapter in each of the translations I’m using for this project. I might get into at least one of the other translations I’m not using for this while reading the other four, but I’ll stick to those four and especially the Hebrew for this, if I can find it.
Ron And His Stories 