Rain, Rain!

For Friday, September 18, 2026:

Genesis 7:12 CEV: “The water under the earth started gushing out everywhere, the sky opened like windows, and rain poured down for 40 days and nights.”

Let’s call this Noah’s rain. The world had become an evil place, and this was God’s sentence, God’s punishment. Noah’s friends poked fun at him for building an ark. But when the water came, they no longer laughed. Noah’s family and pairs of every animal were safe on the ark. Nothing else survived. This was God’s do-over, a fresh start for mankind. Hopefully we’ll do better this time!

It’s supposed to rain here today. I hope it rains where you are. Our state, our country and our continent are suffering a drought. In fact, a shortage of freshwater rain is a worldwide problem.

It works like this. Rivers carry all the gunk, muck and sewage into the oceans. The bad stuff stays there while water evaporates and forms clouds. Wind blows these clouds over land where it can rain purified water onto us. Simple system – ingenious design!

In Noah’s case, water gushed up from below while rain fell from the sky. There was no escaping it! God promised that we’ll never again see a complete flooding of the planet like that! The rainbow is our perpetual sign of God’s covenant with man, a sign of reconciliation, peace and a new beginning.

While the Bible says to not worry about today, prudent care of our planet would be advisable. Our provider, Jehovah-jireh, will make sure we have everything that we need. Jesus loves us, and so does his Father in heaven! After all, believers have been adopted into God’s Holy Family!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Faith = Obedience!

For Wednesday, October 29, 2025:

Hebrews 11:7 NLT: “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.”

Noah was the laughingstock of his neighborhood. At that time, if people lived near a lake, they might have a raft or something the size of a rowboat. If you fished for a living, your boat might be three times that size, but still quite small by today’s standards. God had commanded Noah to construct a monstrosity! It would be as long as five football fields, 85 feet wide and 51 feet tall! A comedian joked that Noah’s wife kept shouting, “You get that thing out of the driveway!”

We call “that thing” Noah’s Ark. Suffice it to say that this was the largest boat ever, built to survive the most rain ever! They would need space for 2 of every animal, and provisions for them. Noah’s family would care for the animals, so we need housing and food for them, too. There were multiple decks on the ark, separating animals that didn’t play well with others.

When God asks you to build a boat, you should start gathering lumber. It didn’t rain much, if at all, where Noah lived, so no one believed a global deluge was on the way. But Noah believed! Noah had faith, which is our lesson here. We shouldn’t ever question God’s need for a boat, and we shouldn’t second-guess the dimensions. God knows what he wants; God knows what he needs. Our job is to be obedient. Our job is to have faith!

When everything was ready, just as God had ordered, Noah gathered his family and then closed and sealed the opening that would soon be underwater! Are you on board?

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship