God Running

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament, Vol. 1

Encyclopedia of World Biography

Temple Grandin on Amazon.com

Temple Grandin, the Movie

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark and he sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded, Genesis, Genesis 8, Genesis 8:1, God remembered, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Romans 5, Romans 5:3-4, Temple Grandin, we also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance perseverance character and character hope

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Kurt Bennett

Bible Study, Genesis

Death and Noah’s Ark–For 40 days the flood kept coming: Genesis 7:17-24

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 7:17-24

What we find in this passage of scripture is that God can not only require the life of a person, but God can also require the life of a whole civilization. The people of Noah’s day continued on in their lives without regard for God, as though everything would continue as it was. (Genesis 6:5) But the day came when the door to the ark was shut and the people of Noah’s day had no recourse. They must have found the highest ground they could but it was to no avail because verse 20 tells us that the water rose to a height of 15 cubits above the highest mountain tops. As the water rose, and rose, and rose they must have thought about God’s provision for escape that they had seen under construction for the last 120 years or so. But by then it was too late, the water remained for 150 days providing for no chance of survival. Verse 22 tells us that everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. It was up to the people of Noah’s day to repent before the flood came.

A friend of mine was recently told that he has less than 5 years to live. He’s sought second opinions about his illness, including one from one of the top hospitals in the United States. Lamentably, they all give the same answer: less than 5 years. All of us will die of course and as Jesus has told us, it’s true that God could allow for any one of us to die tonight. (see Luke 12:13-21) Like the people of Noah’s day, the great questions of eternity are asked of us not during the judgment but during our day to day lives. These questions are asked of us quietly, almost inaudibly. What the people of Noah’s day experienced during the 120 years leading up to the flood, you and I are experiencing right now! It’s up to you and it’s up to me to live for God before the day of judgment. Like the time of the flood, deciding to live for God during the judgment will be too late! It’s up to you and it’s up to me to enter into the ark of our salvation, Jesus Christ, before the judgment comes. (see So Your Life Is Falling Apart)

My friend who’s dying is a believer and I’ve been tremendously blessed to watch him during his trial. You know, people are seldom influenced for Christ by our success. It’s when you’re demonstrating courage, courage from faith in Christ, courage in the face of difficulty, that’s when people find themselves drawn to God. My friend continues to work hard in his job as a firefighter, he’s kept his sense of humor, he’s kept his love for people. He continues to show grace and God’s love to others, just as he always has. That’s how it should be for any Christian during a trial. When the waters rise and increase greatly, when trouble comes and increases greatly, like the ark, we should be lifted up.

…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

May our hope be in Him.

References:

[Image via: labguest — Creative Commons]

Institute for Creation Research

Ray Stedman

1 Comment

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Kurt Bennett

Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis

death, depression, for forty days, Genesis 7, Noah's ark, Salvation, The waters rose

Genesis 7:11-16 — Then the LORD shut him in.

Noahs_Ark

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

Genesis 7:11-16

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month… (v.11) Even for Noah’s day, Noah was an old man when the flood waters came. The longer we live, the more likely we are to see tragedy. Those who die young are blessed in that they’re often spared the trial of observing tragedy, or at least the experience of tragedy in this world is mercifully reduced. (2 Kings 22:20) It seems that God sometimes reserves trials of great magnitude for his saints that have walked with Him faithfully and are on toward the end of their time on earth. The lesson here is for you old saints to never give up but to persevere in doing God’s work right up until that glorious day you leave your worn flesh and join Him on the other side.

Never give up.

Artesian Well

…on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. (v.11) The great deep burst forth speaks of a water source in addition to the great rains that fell. Today we see water pressure and volume from underground aquifers so great that in some instances it can be used to pump water to upper floors in multi-story buildings. These are called artesian aquifers. The artesian well in the photo is from a USGS article on artesian water sources. (USGS) The same God who separated water from water (Genesis 1:6), the same God who let the water under the sky be gathered unto one place (Genesis 1:9), allowed the water to cover the earth.

Precisely how he did that we don’t know but from Genesis 7:11, it appears that God used a great underground reservoir of water, in addition to the rains, to create the great flood.

And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. (v.12) Forty is a number in the Bible that signifies trial and chastisement. The rain fell for forty days. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. (Deuteronomy 8:2-5) Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for forty days. (Mathew 4:2)

On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. (v.13) Dr. John D. Morris and others make the case that before any of his children were ever born, Noah began to work on the ark. Noah is also mentioned first in verse 13, indicating that he was first on board before his family. That’s how it is with you and with me. If we desire to see our family members come on board with Jesus Christ, the first and most important step toward that end is for you and for me to commit. To commit to daily prayer. To commit to reading God’s word, daily. To commit to showing up at God’s house regularly. To commit to Him. The example of you, living out your faith before your family, is one of the most powerful influences you can have on them. It may take time but fruit will be born of it.

For good or for bad your example is extremely powerful. And when your good example doesn’t produce results don’t give up. Remember that bearing fruit takes time. Even Jesus faced setbacks when it came to His followers following His example. Set a great example for those you lead because you are their future.

Traveler and the Chaplain

In everything set them an example by doing what is good. (Titus 2:7)

Then the LORD shut him in. (v.16) In the last post we saw that in verse one of Genesis chapter 7 God directed Noah to “come” into the ark with his family, indicating that God was already in the ark. And we saw that Jesus Christ, the ark of our salvation, asks us to come unto Him. In verse 16 we see that the LORD shut him in. God Himself shut the door. God shut them in. No one could make them more secure. That’s how it is with our salvation. By God’s hand Jesus conquered death on the cross. By God’s hand Jesus rose again. By God’s hand Jesus’ work on the cross seals our salvation. Jesus said,

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

John 10:28

Then the LORD shut him in.

Period.

References:

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Institute for Creation Research

Lead Photo courtesy of Faith and Inspiration

Bible Commentary, Genesis

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Kurt Bennett

And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights, Genesis, Genesis 7, Genesis 7:11-16, In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth and the floodgates of the heavens were opened, Jesus, Jesus Christ, On that very day Noah and his sons Shem Ham and Japheth together with his wife and the wives of his three sons entered the ark, Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark, The animals going in were male and female of every living thing as God had commanded Noah, Then the LORD shut him in., They had with them every wild animal according to its kind all livestock according to their kinds every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind

Genesis 7:6-10 — …male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.

“Lions and tigers and bears!”

Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.

Genesis 7:6-10

Noah didn’t have to round them up. The Bible says that one to seven pairs of every specie found their way to Noah’s ark. Well how did that work? You may ask. I don’t know how, specifically, but I do know that animals today find their way to their birthplaces when they migrate. The arctic tern migrates from the North pole to the South pole every year. Over their lifetime they fly enough miles to get them to the moon and back! Interestingly, even arctic tern chicks who are separated from their parents are able to find their way. How do they do that? I don’t know how but they do. How did the animals find their way to Noah’s ark? I don’t know how but they did. (birds.com)

OK but how did different species who don’t associate in the wild coexist on the ark. I mean, come on, predator and prey on the same ark? Predators and other predators on the same ark? How did that work? It’s amazing what we see today in the way of unlikely friendships between animals. There’s a well documented occurrence of a polar bear playing with huskies in Churchill, Manitoba. The huskies were on a chain and as the polar bear approached, the owner of the huskies was sure that his dogs were on the polar bear’s menu. But instead they played together! Incredibly, the polar bear returned to play with the huskies every night for a week! (Animals at Play) An ABC news clip shows a lioness caring for a baby oryx antelope, a cat playing with a crow, and a hippo and a tortise who are inseperable. (ABC News-Nat Geo) Another Nat Geo clip shows a lion, a tiger, and a bear living together peacefully in the same enclosure at a ranch that takes in homeless animals (and foster children as well). (see video at the top of this post)

The name of the ranch?

Noah’s Ark.

Where the Noah’s ark of the Bible is concerned, the reality of Noah and the events surrounding the flood are well documented. Noah and certain of his family members are mentioned in genealogies in 1 Chronicles chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3. The events of Noah around the time of the flood are referred to in Isaiah 54:9, Ezekiel 14, 1 Peter 3:20, and 2 Peter 2:5. Noah is also mentioned in the “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11:7.

Finally, Jesus Himself refers to Noah and these events as historical fact in Matthew 24. And again Jesus’ validation of the flood events is found in Luke 17.

The ark of salvation was filled with creatures who, apart from God’s hand, didn’t exist peacefully with each other. Our Ark of salvation, Jesus Christ, is filled with the same, creatures who don’t necessarily coexist peacefully in our natural state. But the Holy Spirit changes all of that. Galatians 5:22 says that the fruit of the spirit is love, agape love. Love that gives without an expectation of anything in return. That kind of love born of the Holy Spirit is what I need, what you need, what we need to experience the abundant Christian life. (John 10:10)

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

John 15:11-12

References:

Living Water, by Chuck Smith

1 Comment

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Kurt Bennett

Bible Commentary, Genesis

And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth, And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood, Genesis 7, Genesis 7:6-10, John 10:10, John 15:11-12, love, Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth, Pairs of clean and unclean animals of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground male and female came to Noah and entered the ark as God had commanded Noah

Genesis 7:1-5 — Go into the ark, you and your whole family. Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

Madeline

The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”

And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

Genesis 7:1-5

The King James Version of verse one says that …the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Indeed the Hebrew word for “come” is used here in the original text. What does this mean? If God is directing Noah to “come” into the ark, it can only mean that God is in the ark already! He’s beckoning Noah and his family to come. This is how it always is with God. His heart is for you and for me to come unto Him. Jesus beckons you and I to come unto Him for He said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) This is the answer because Jesus Christ is the ark of our salvation! Coming unto Jesus is the solution to the problem of separation from God. If you haven’t already, listen to God’s heart, come unto Him. (see So Your Life Is Falling Apart)

Here’s more good news from verse one of our text. We know the Lord loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) We know that He loves the world and we know He loves individuals. But pause for a moment and think with me about this first verse in Genesis chapter 7. In verse one we see that God has obviously taken notice of Noah’s righteousness, yet He tells Noah to Come thou and all thy house into the ark… (v.1) God could have started over with just two. He’d already done it once with Adam and Eve. But He chose to save Noah’s whole family instead.

Isn’t it terrific that God desires to save not only you, but your whole family as well!

Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal… (v.2) Seven pairs of clean animals would have been necessary to account for the animals sacrificed to the Lord. Only one pair would be required for the unclean.

And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. (v.5)

A few days ago my wife Kathy asked me to install a new thermostat.

“I did some research on the internet and it should only take about an hour,” she said.

So I dove in, removed the old thermostat from the wall, pulled out seven wires, and found that only four were used by the old model. As I read the instructions I learned that the new model used five wires.

“No big deal,” I thought. “How hard can this fifth wire thing be?”

After some research online I had the panel off of our heating unit and I was looking for a place to hook up the fifth wire – no good, can’t find the “C terminal” inside my heating unit.

“C terminal?! What the heck is that anyway?”

After a few phone conversations with Al, our local heating guy, I learn that I need to go under the house to check a junction box.

“I hate crawling under the house! A raccoon used to reside there, what if he’s back? My back always hurts when I crawl under the house.” I said to my wife with enthusiasm.

Under the house I go, belly crawling my way around in the dirt I find the junction box. It turns out that the blue wire is connected to a gray wire at the junction box.

“Dirty trick!” I said out loud.

So I figure out I need some extra wire and it’s off to Home Depot. At the checkout counter I see one of those large flat carts next to my wife, it has a large box on it.

“What’s that?” I ask, trepidation in my voice.

“It’s a grill,” Kathy answers.

“A grill?” I ask increduously.

“We need a new grill,” she says flatly.

I look at the box and read the words out loud, “some assembly required.” Great, just what I needed.

“Why me,” I say. “It’s Christmas time, New Years time. It’s the holidays. I’m supposed to be watching football! For goodness sake the Chick-fil-a Bowl is on!”

When we return it’s back on the internet again, back to the heating unit again, under the house again…

“This was supposed to take only one hour! What about me time? For cryin’ out loud the Meineke Car Care Bowl is on!”

Are you getting the picture?

Nearly two days and one hundred or so complaints later the thermostat is still not installed. So I call a friend of mine who is an electrician, Rick Chown, to seek some advice. While we’re on the phone Rick and his wife Linda begin to share about their granddaughter Madeline. (just a few minutes ago I also spoke with Madeline’s mother, Rachel)

How she had her first surgery when she was one day old.

How she’s had over fifty surgeries during her nine years on earth.

How she’s had pieces of metal implanted in her back to support her spine.

How these had to be removed recently.

How she continues to suffer from infections.

And how she lights up a room with her smile and great attitude, in spite of her many painful challenges.

Rick shared this video of Madeline with me. She was recently fitted with a halo device which is attached to a rack designed to take pressure off her spine. She wheels around the Dallas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in this thing, encouraging the other patients with her good cheer. (see Rogers Family Blog)

Wow! You can imagine how I feel.

…Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. (v.5) Noah knew what the Lord wanted him to do. Like you I often wonder what God’s will is for me. Sometimes I say to myself, “If only I knew what God wanted me to do, I’d do it.” I have good news. God tells me and God tells you what His will is for us.

…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

“What does God’s will, giving thanks in all circumstances, look like?” you might ask.

Sometimes it looks like a little girl with a halo,

spinning and smiling,

spinning and smiling.

References:

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Kurt Bennett

Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis

1 Thessalonians 5:18, Christian, Christian living, Christianity, Genesis, Genesis 7, Genesis 7:1-5, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus, Jesus

Genesis 6:16 — A window shalt thou make to the ark… (KJV)

A window shalt thou make to the ark… –Genesis 6:16

God directed Noah to build a window near the top of the ark. He provided light for Noah and his family, if…

If Noah chose to open the window.

God provides light for you and for me, as long as we choose to open up the window of His word.

It’s up to you and it’s up to me how much of God’s light we enjoy. His word is there, waiting for us. It might feel easier to watch Sports Center or that cooking show. You might feel like gravitating toward Facebook or Call of Duty: Black Ops.

But the degree to which we choose to spend time in God’s word is the degree to which our lives will be changed for His kindgom.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:5

Let God’s light in.

Read His word.

[Image via Traveling Mermaid – Creative Commons]

References:

Jon Courson

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Kurt Bennett

Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis

1 John 1:5, A window shalt thou make to the ark, Christian, Christian living, Genesis 6, read bible

Churches unite to help thousands of stranded passengers in Moscow’s airports

Apparently the U.S. isn’t the only country dealing with flight delays. Due to a recent ice storm that hit a large area of Central Russia hundreds of flights have been delayed. The airport in Moscow is designed to hold around 3,000 people but the crowds have swollen to 10,000 due to the flight delays. Interestingly, in this nation that not so long ago claimed atheism as their national religion, Churches and Synagogues have stepped up to assist with food, bottles of water, and perhaps most appreciated of all, bunches of those moist towlette thingies. If you’re interested you can read more at Churches unite to help thousands of stranded passengers in Moscow’s airports | Russia | RIA Novosti.

How great is it to see God’s people in action.

This is how it should be because the Bible tells us that…

…the fruit of the Spirit is love…

Galatians 5:22

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Kurt Bennett

bennett's blog, Christian, Christian Leadership, Christian Leadership books, Christian living, Christianity, Galatians 5:22, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kurt bennett, kurtbennettbooks, Leadership, life, love, Moscow airport delays, Russia ice storm, Russian churches help stranded passengers, Traveler and the Chaplain

Bennett Christmas 2010

Bennett Family Christmas 2010

I’ve been away for a few weeks this month. One week was spent at a conference on Emergency Cardiac Care and another with my family celebrating Christmas.

As is often the case with the lives of the Bennetts, our Christmas celebration turned into an adventure. We attempted to drive to Crater Lake National Park but ten miles or so North of Fort Klamath we encountered a white out. I’ve never experienced anything like it, even while growing up in Illinois. Everything was just, well, white. After some debate we turned around — OK so I was the only one who wanted to continue, but we did debate, even if it was five against one. We wound up at a snow park where we enjoyed some great sledding and took this photo. The dogs loved the snow.

The Emergency Cardiac Care conference was interesting because they had fifty survivors in attendance. These were people who were revived by CPR, and/or defibrillation, and/or cath lab intervention. Hearing their stories reminded me of Christ’s intervention that saved me.

My thanks to David Smith and Nathaniel Bennett for their guest posts during my absence.

This week you’ll see a short post on Genesis 6:16, then beginning Sunday I’ll continue blogging through the Bible taking up where we left off at Genesis chapter 7.

May God richly bless you this Christmas season!

…don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Romans 6:3-4

In Him,

kurt

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Kurt Bennett

bennett's blog, Christian, Christianity, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kurt bennett

Luke 1 — You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus

Photo by drproehl

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

…no word from God will ever fail.”

Luke 1:30-35, 37

There he sat in the lounge chair, snacking on munchies with his friends while watching one of his favorite movies. They were more than friends really. After working twenty-four hour shifts with these men, after saving lives with these men, after fighting fire with these men, they were his family. It always felt good to be around them. He was completely relaxed, completely at peace, and completely content when the bell went off.

“Beep, beep, beep,” the pre-alert sounded. “Structure fire, flames and smoke seen from an upper floor of a highrise. Address is…” As was often the case, the tone of the female dispatcher’s voice said as much or more about the call than her actual words. This wasn’t a false alarm or burned toast. This was a serious call.

He moved quickly and easily from the lounge chair and made for the apparatus bay where his fire engine waited. Like a mother duck with ducklings, the Captain unconsciously listened for the noises of his crew making their way to the engine. First running, then the sounds of his men donning their protective gear, then the sounds of doors slamming – one door, the driver’s, then another, then another. As he entered the cab himself he heard the engine start, he heard the bay door open as he looked down to zip up his turnout coat, then he heard the siren.

“8102 responding,” he said into the radio as he simultaneously pushed the responding button on his mobile computer.

“Do you know where we’re going?” he asked the engineer. As usual he did.

The headsets came on and one of his firefighters asked, “What do you think Cap?”

“Sounds like the real deal to me,” the Captain replied. “We could be first in. Be prepared.”

“First in.” First in had special implications. Incidents that start well usually go well. Incidents that don’t start well…

“What are we taking up?” one of the firefighters asked. The crew reviewed the list of equipment that they’d need to take with them: two inch and three quarter hose packs, thermal imaging camera, irons for forcible entry…

It was barely more than five minutes when they heard the dispatcher say, “Units responding to the highrise fire, we have a report of multiple trapped victims on the fire floor and on the floors above.”

“Copy,” the Captain said into the radio. His adrenaline was already pumping but this last bit of information felt like an electric shock.

They turned a corner and there it was: perhaps fifteen or twenty floors up, multiple floors well involved with fire. People hanging out of windows. He took the briefest moment to steel himself for what was to come, then he gave his report, “8102 is on scene at a thirty story apartment building with at least three floors well involved, possibly floors fifteen, sixteen, seventeen. We have victims hanging out of windows. 8102 is going to the lowest fire floor. 8153, it looks like we’ll need at least ten alarms.”

“Central copies, multiple floors well involved. 8102 we just received a report of a floor collapse on the seventeenth floor.”

“Copy, floor collapse on the seventeenth,” the Captain said. Then to his crew he said, “Let’s do it.”

They bailed off the engine, entered the building, and began making their way up the stairwell to the fifteenth floor. On their way up, they shouted and directed people to the way of safety.

“8102,” the dispatcher called.

“8102, go ahead,” the Captain answered.

“8102, we have reports of two more floors collapsing. It appears to be the fifteenth and sixteenth floors. We also have a report of fire showing on the roof.”

“Copy,” the Captain said trying to catch his breath enough to speak as he climbed the staircase.

“Cap?” It was his youngest firefighter, “Cap, are we going to make it?”

“We’ll save as many as we can.”

“OK but will we make it?”

The Captain knew they had to climb as far up into the highrise as possible. He knew he couldn’t save them all. He knew they’d have to save as many as they could.

And he knew they probably weren’t coming back.

“We’ll save as many as we can.” he said. The young firefighter could hear the determination in his voice…

Before Jesus was born into this world to save us, He enjoyed a wonderful and amazing life in heaven with the Father. He enjoyed a life that was filled with glory but He chose to forfeit all of that to come down to earth. (John 17:5) He chose to come in order to save as many as He could. He chose to come even though He knew it meant His own death.

Like the fire Captain in our story, what a devastating choice that was for Jesus.

But what a glorious choice that is for you and for me.

The fire Captain left the comfort of his fire station to go up into the highrise to save as many as he could, knowing that death awaited him. Jesus left His life in heaven with the Father to come down into the earth to save as many as He could.

Praise God in the highest for in spite of the terrible death that awaited Him, Jesus chose to come for you and for me, to save us, for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)

Paul, speaking of Jesus, said,

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:6-8

Thank you Lord for choosing to come down to save us.

Glory to God in the highest!

Merry Christmas!

References:

Jon Courson

Photo by drproehl

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Kurt Bennett

...no word from God will ever fail, And being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross, “How will this be” Mary asked the angel “since I am a virgin?”, bennett's blog, birth of Jesus, But the angel said to her “Do not be afraid Mary you have found favor with God, Christ's coming, Christian, Christianity, Christmas, First Christmas, God, He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, his kingdom will never end.”, Humility, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kurt bennett, love, Luke 1, Luke 1:30-35, Luke 1:37, Luke 2, Nativity, Philippians 2:6-8, So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God, The angel answered “The Holy Spirit will come on you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever, Who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human like, You will conceive and give birth to a son and you are to call him Jesus

Genesis 1:14-19 — The Fourth Day of Creation

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

Genesis 1:14 – 19

Given this mornings lunar eclipse I thought it appropriate to repost from Genesis 1:14-19. The total eclipse began at 2:40 AM and lasted 72 minutes. You can read about it in the Washington Post article Lunar eclipse coincides with winter solstice.

On the fourth day God created the sun and the moon. The sun speaks of the great light of the world, Jesus Christ, for He said, “I am the light of the world…” (John 8:12) And the moon speaks of the lesser light, you and I, for Jesus also said, of His people, “You are the light of the world…” (Matthew 5:14) The only reason the moon shines is because it reflects the light of the sun and in like manner the only reason we shine, as a light of the world, is because we reflect Jesus Christ.

Perhaps you saw these two lights interact early this morning during the eclipse. An important insight can be found here. When the world comes between the sun and the moon we experience an eclipse and the light of the sun is blocked from people’s view. That is exactly what happens to me when I get caught up in the things of this world. When I become consumed by my performance at work, by a desire to prosper financially, by a proclivity for entertainment, or other things of the world. When I allow the world to come between me and my Lord, my own light is eclipsed, and I fail to reflect the great light of Jesus Christ. The same is true for any Christian. The same is true for you.

You and I are the church. And as the church goes, so goes the world.

Let nothing come between you and Jesus.

For more go to Ray Stedman’s teaching on Genesis 1:14 – 19 or Jon Courson’s teaching on Genesis 1.

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Kurt Bennett

bennett's blog, Christian, Christian living, Christianity, commentary, Courson, creation, day, eclipse, fourth, fourth day of creation, genesis 1, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jon Courson, kurt bennett, Leadership, lights, lunar eclipse, moon, Ray Stedman, Stedman, sun, Traveler and the Chaplain, world, worldly

The Digital Story of Nativity

Too good not to share. Thank you Anastasia for sending this in!

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Kurt Bennett