by Don Ruhl

Read Genesis 7--9

Noah, It Is Time

Noah spent decades building the ark. Finally, it is time for him to enter the ark. God says,

1 Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation (Gen. 7:1).

Noah knows the spiritual condition of the earth, that it is very evil. Did he wonder when it was time to enter the ark? Nevertheless, he does not move into it, until the Lord says that the time is right. Noah is a man of faith, which means believing that God knows the perfect timing for everything. Therefore, faith waits until commanded. When it is time to move, faith no longer waits.

God issues an invitation, so to speak, and it appears that the invitation is coming from inside the ark. God does not say, go into the ark, but come into the ark. Eight humans enter the ark, but if the human eye could see in the spirit, would Noah see that there is a ninth individual on board the ark? Likewise, what could we see in the spirit? Are we alone or are there others with us?

Why does God invite Noah and his family into the ark? He is righteous before God in that generation, meaning that God sees the righteousness of this man and his family. The rest of the world is wicked, and the world refuses to repent. Therefore, God turns His full attention to this one man. Yes, the world is wicked around us, but God sees you and knows what you do, that you are striving to walk with Him. Do not despair.

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

by Don Ruhl

Read Matthew Chapter 2

Who Were the Wise Men?

Matthew says,

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem (Mat. 2:1).

Who were these wise men? How far from east did they come? Were they all from the same nation? What was the nation? How did they know that the King of the Jews had been born? How much of the Jew's religion did they know? Why did the Holy Spirit not give us more information about these men?

The Holy Spirit revealed all that He wants us to know. Perhaps we will get the answers when we get to heaven. The story of the wise men shows that the Christ is for more than the Jews, but He is for all people. Are you a Jew? Are you not a Jew? Either way, let us all do as the wise men did, and that is worship Jesus and bring gifts to Him.

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

by Don Ruhl

Read Genesis 4--6

Living Hundreds of Years

Adam, the first man on the earth, lived a long time.

5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died (Gen. 5:5).

What did Adam learn in all those years? You attempt to learn, improving yourself constantly, that is one of the reasons that you probably subscribe to these e-mail devotionals. Imagine having 900 years to grow as a man or woman! Are you wiser today than you were 10 years ago? Yet, you are not even 100 years old.

If you had centuries to improve yourself, what are the things that you would work on most? Are you working on those things now? If not, why not? Start today to work on those things that you know will make you a better person and a better disciple of Christ.

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

Read Matthew Chapter 3

Jesus Is Lord of Heaven and Earth, But John Allows Jesus to Be Baptized

Amazing is the humility of Jesus Christ, Lord of heaven and earth. He approaches John the Baptizer to be baptized, and even as we would do, John tries to prevent Jesus, saying, I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me? (Mat. 3:14). Jesus explains that John must permit the baptism to fulfill all righteousness. Then Matthew says these amazing words,

15 Then he allowed Him (Mat. 3:15).

It is as though John gave Jesus permission. As Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus gave John permission to give permission to Jesus to baptize Him! The Lord of the universe submits Himself to a particle of the universe for the simple action of baptism. What can we say about the humility of Jesus Christ? What can we say about the importance of baptism?

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

by Richard Mansel

In Mark 8:34, Jesus said, "Whomever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (NKJV). What does it mean to take up or bear our cross? This is the very heart of Christian discipleship.

Many use the phrase in ways Scripture never intended. They will say, "I have a bad back and that is my cross to bear." Or, "I have arthritis and that is my cross to bear." They will use it to represent the hardships in their lives or of others. We must be careful not to cheapen this most sacred of tasks for the following reasons.

First, hard times are not bearing our cross because they exist for everyone. Jesus said, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34, NKJV). Job said, "Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble" (Job 14:1). Troubles come with living, not discipleship.

Second, bearing our cross is voluntary. We read in Matthew 10:38, "And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." Luke wrote, "whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:27).

Bearing our cross is our decision to make, as these Scriptures clearly show. Therefore, hard times cannot be bearing our cross because no one asks for storms to savage their life. No one willingly endures the pain of suffering and loss. Christ says, "take up your cross," not "receive your cross."

Third, bearing our cross is contingent on our continuing to bear it. Jesus said in Luke 14:26-35 that we must sit down and count the costs before we decide to become a disciple. He says, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it" (Luke 14:28). When we take up our cross, we must keep on bearing the cross until we die. No one seeks to maintain the troubles in our life.

Fourth, bearing our cross is directed toward the glory of God. When we take up our cross and follow him, it is to bring glory to God, not ourselves. We must lose our pride and self-interest in order to bear our cross. Jesus gave up everything to go to the cross and he asks the same sacrifice of us today.

When we discuss our pain, we are directing attention to ourselves, not our Savior. It is not wrong to talk about our pain. Yet it is not what Jesus meant when he asked us to bear our cross.

"Why did Jesus use this particular illustration? He used a radical symbol to get people's attention. He was not simply speaking of an individual's personal problem or obstacle. In that day and age, a person who was bearing a cross was walking to his death. Bearing your cross means dying to self, laying aside your personal goals, desires, ambitions and goals for your life." / 1

A. W. Tozer wrote, "In every Christian's heart there is a throne and a cross; if he refuses the cross, he remains on the throne. We want to be saved, but we insist that Christ do all the dying. No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. We remain king within the little kingdom of man's soul and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of Caesar; but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility."

/ 1. Author unknown.