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by Sandy Shaw
We come to Genesis 8 verse 20. The Flood is past and Noah's first thought was to build an altar - and Noah remembers the God Who had remembered him. Noah wants to begin living in this very different world in communion with the Creator God, Who judges and saves.
Noah takes some of the clean animals which he has kept safe for over a year and sacrifices them as part of his worship and thanksgiving.
What he did pleased the Lord God. God was pleased with the worship that arose from the earth that day.
Is Almighty God pleased with what flows from our lives and minds and voices?
God then began to speak with Himself - "What I have done, I will never do again. Never again will I flood the earth."
Now HE is going to help man to live.
There will be seasons - whereas up until The Flood the world had enjoyed a uniformly mild climate.
The protective water vapour canopy had collapsed - now there would be variations in temperature - cold and heat - there will be a season when it is right to sow - and a right time to reap. And - GOD keeps His Promises. He does not promise food, but He promises the right conditions which will help produce food.
When Noah would be wondering if such a catastrophic disaster would ever happen again, God plants reassuring thoughts in the heart and mind of His chosen man.
A work of judgement had been completed, and Noah was to make full use of the fresh opportunities. Noah enjoys the renewed blessing of our loving God Who loves and cares about the condition of man.
Man is to produce food and distribute it responsibly.
Man is in charge of Creation, and today it is our responsibility to see that those who have little or no food - through no fault of their own - receive food and water and shelter.
There have always been local floods and famines and disasters, from this time onwards. We read of that happening in Canaan and Egypt - in Israel in the days of King David - and in the days of Paul. But never again has there been a universal Flood.
One word which shines through clearly is - relief where there is suffering - and share where there is nothing. But to do this, man needs the love of Christ in his heart - if he is going to minister in the compassion of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
"Hear us as we pray. Come wind of God - blow upon us - come risen and loving Lord Jesus Christ and breathe into us - and upon us - and help us in these days to minister meaningfully and practically to those in need. Loving Father, You have given us so much - teach us to share - help us to share. We pray for these men and women in the various agencies who seek to distribute responsibly the resources available to them. Amen"
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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