COTR Weekly Blog for Leaders

“Crazy Noah”: Salvation in a Rudderless Box Poor Noah. I bet people thought he’d lost his mind.  I mean, who builds a 15,000-ton, rudderless, flat-bottomed rectangular box in an environment that had never seen rain or vast quantities of water? Only a madman or a faith-filled man obeying His God! Noah’s ark brings to mind an endearing children’s Bible story with plush stuffed animals and a cute toy boat bobbing gently on sea water.  In reality, Noah’s “rudderless box” story is a bit “heavier.”  It underscores man’s depraved sin nature, God’s judgment of that nature, and mercifully, God’s gracious work to set man free.  Although ALL that God had initially created was good, including man, in Gen. 6:5-8, God now grieves deeply over man’s sin “gone-willfully-wild lifestyle,” and God regrets having made human beings. Genesis 6:5-8 (NIV) The  Lord  saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, ...

Devotional #9 COTR Small group leaders February 10, 2019 BE THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED! Be honest. Are there parts of the bible you skip over? Do yourself a favor, DO NOT skip over Genesis 5. If you are willing to read, study, pray and think, you will discover a goldmine of insight and blessing from our God! I almost skipped Genesis 5 or at least was thinking of how to minimize it. And right there, I made my first mistake.  When it comes to reading God's word, EVERY word counts in God's economy. Therefore, every word of HIS must count in mine! God graciously reminded me of 2 Timothy 3:16-17: " All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the  servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. " If the Holy Spirit inspired the biblical writers to pen it, then I must know and treasure ALL of God's word! Mankind's limited understanding cannot authoritatively...