Still 'fine-tuning' our process. You can get to the original article HERE
NOTE: THIS ARTICLE is a reprint from the blog of reverend Kevin Rogers of New Song Church in Windsor, Ontario and is reproduced here for your convenience. You can visit the his blog called "The Orphan Age" HERE.
Where do you live? If you live in the past when your heart
was hardened toward God and your imagination was in a state of reoccurring
corruption, you live under the flood of consequence. You will never out-swim
your consequences and they will eventually take you down.
If you live in openness to God and follow where He leads,
you will find yourself leaving the past behind and in a journey to new
Creation. With the thunderous ringing of consequence in your ears, you make
safe passage to a new place.
So, what is this new Creation world like? It is a place
where you worship God for His kindness and merciful blessings upon you. It is a
world where you see that God spared you for a reason. God is not at war with
you but opens up the possibilities for you to explore as a highly favoured son
or daughter.
Every time God starts a new chapter, there is a new covenant
to guide us. God’s agreement with Noah, his family and the animal kingdom
confirmed that they were under His blessing and not His curse.
Genesis 9:
12 And
God Said, “This Is The Sign Of The Covenant I Am Making Between Me And You And
Every Living Creature With You, A Covenant For All Generations To Come: 13 I
Have Set My Rainbow In The Clouds, And It Will Be The Sign Of The Covenant
Between Me And The Earth. 14 Whenever I Bring Clouds Over The
Earth And The Rainbow Appears In The Clouds, 15 I Will Remember
My Covenant Between Me And You And All Living Creatures Of Every Kind. Never
Again Will The Waters Become A Flood To Destroy All Life. 16 Whenever
The Rainbow Appears In The Clouds, I Will See It And Remember The Everlasting
Covenant Between God And All Living Creatures Of Every Kind On The Earth.”
The fear of the Lord is a recognition that while God could
easily bring retribution and destruction, his love welcomes us to walk safely
in trust of His goodness. The fear of the Lord helps us discover that we have
been saved from unavoidable destruction and invited to live in peace.
We do not cower before a God that is capriciously angry and
unpredictable. We draw close to the warrior who rescues us.
Rain and the rainbow doubtless existed long before the
time of Noah’s flood, but after the flood the rainbow took on new meaning as
the sign of the Noahic covenant. The Hebrew word can also be rendered “bow”.
The rainbow probably represents the bow with which God often shoots the arrows
of his lightning bolts toward the earth. But after a rainstorm God’s bow is
aimed away from the earth. Whenever he sees the rainbow, he is reminded of his
pledge not to send another deluge to wipe out the earth.[1]
The warrior’s bow is not aimed at us. The arc of the
Saviour’s bow is upturned. If any arrows fly, they will point back to God.
The ultimate kill shot of God’s arrow pierced Jesus and
forever ended the war between man and God. It is into this peace treaty that we
are called to live willingly as God’s people. The sign of the Cross is an
upturned rainbow on Mount Ararat.