The Rainbow Promise

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 future generations: I have placed My bow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. The bow will be in the clouds and I will look at it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all the living creatures on earth.” Genesis 9:12-16 HCSB

Our church refinanced our loans to get a lower interest rate. As the business administrator I was the one who signed all of the loan documents. My signature was a promise or guarantee that our church would repay the loan. My signature represented the church and was a promise to faithfully make loan payments each month back to the bank. The signature also reminds the keeper of the documents of who the person was that signed on behalf of the church.

God gave the rainbow as a kind of signature or covenant promise that He would never destroy the earth with a flood ever again. Any promise that God makes carries the authority and power of Almighty God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe. A rainbow in the sky should remind us of the faithfulness of God to always keep His promises.

Challenge: The next time you see a rainbow in the sky, let it be a reminder of how God protects and cares for His creation. Praise God that you can depend on Him to always keep His promises.

Count Your Blessings

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Genesis 9:1 HCSB

There are many times that I am amazed at how God has richly blessed me. First, God has blessed me with the gift of His Son that has provided forgiveness of my sins and the promise of eternal life. Additionally, God has blessed me with a wonderful wife, four great children, and five grandchildren. He has also allowed me to work as a minister at a great church and work with an amazing staff. God is good!

This verse tells us that God blessed Noah and his sons. God provided the ark to protect Noah and his family from the flood waters. He also provided for their needs and took care of all of the animals on the ark so the earth could be replenished. We don’t know exactly how God blessed Noah, but we can assume that things went well for Noah and his family once they exited the ark.

Challenge: We can’t explain why some people seem to be blessed more than others. Some very good people seem to have difficult times while people who do not follow God are seemingly blessed with worldly possessions. Our definition of God’s blessing is different from God’s definition. God is in control and He knows what is best for each person. What we may see as a difficulty may be what is best for that person because we cannot see the future. Count your blessings and thank God for all He has done for you.