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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> committed-walk-with-Christ@groups.io <committed-walk-with-Christ@groups.io> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Mr. Ed via groups.io<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, March 28, 2021 12:56 PM<br><b>To:</b> Mr. Ed <pinky14@abe.midco.net><br><b>Subject:</b> EXT: [CWWC] 4 Hopeful Lessons from Noah and the Ark: - Fresh Start Devotion for Sunday mMarch 28 2021<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>4 Hopeful Lessons from Noah and the Ark:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Author: Meg Bucher <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>(contributed by Lee Ann)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Scripture Reading: “All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” (Numbers 14:21)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>> “We All Fall Short of the Glory of God” ( Romans 3:23 )<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>The glory of God is what God intended humans to be. Since the fall in the Garden of Eden via Adam and Eve, we’ve been perpetually stuck in a spin cycle of sin. God sent His only Son to earth out of love for us, and our inability to remedy the existence of sin in our lives. There’s no way, on earth, for us to shake it completely. And the consequence of our sin is death. The Old Testament points to our Savior, Jesus, who came to defeat death once, for all.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Noah’s Ark reminds us of our compassionate and forgiving God. Even though the Father knew we would end up drowning in the same sin that covered the earth in corruption before the flood, God promised not to destroy the earth again. Through Jesus, we are forgiven for our sins, and able to turn from strongholds of it- a heart change stronger than a powerful wall of water. One step at a time, we become more like Christ. Knowing this, we can choose to lend the same love, forgiveness, and compassion to others as He gives to us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>> 2) Trust God with the Impossible.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Noah built an enormous ark, following every meticulous step God gave him. Though it undoubtedly cost him his reputation, friendships, and possibly respect from his family, not to mention the physical pain and mental anguish of wondering if he heard God correctly, Noah demonstrated the powerful product of godly obedience. We so often forget we serve the God of miracles, the God of the impossible. We list our gratitudes, and then turn right around and lift up our worries concerning the same list! Genesis 5:32 says, “after Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” 500 years old?! Genesis 7:6 tells us Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Noah leaned into God for his strength. It had to be hard, and surely seemed impossible at times, but it didn’t stop him from starting the task. “Noah did everything just as God commanded him,” Genesis 6:22 and 7:5 read. One step at a time, Noah completed the Lord’s instructions. In our own lives, we can embrace the truth that God’s mercies are new every morning. He meets us each new day, to walk through that day’s challenges, battles, triumphs, and tasks. One thing at a time. One day at a time, He leads us on the path of His will for our lives. Small steps of obedience in our lives may not end in a completed ark with every species paired, but the gravity of God’s work in our lives will have no less effect on those He’s placed in our paths. One obedient step at a time, we bring glory to Him as we love others for Jesus through the seemingly impossible things He asked us to do.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>> 3) God Cares for Us<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>“The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” Genesis 6:6<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>God does not rejoice at human suffering. He does not cause bad things to happen to us, but He is holy and just, He is God! He could not allow evil to continue unaccounted for in the way it had saturated humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Paul wrote to the Philippians, “cast your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you.” God cares. He is concerned when we pray and deeply involved in the state of our hearts. My daughter has a bad habit of telling me what she thinks I want to hear, the good stuff, the positive reports. But her gauge is inaccurate. As her mom, I want to know all the bad, hard stuff, so I know how to go to battle for her in prayer . I care for her whole heart, as God cares for ours intently more so.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Genesis 6:8 reads, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of God.” Against all odds, we can put our hope in the Lord. We can pray for His favor in our lives. Amidst a world consumed in violence, God saw Noah. He called him faithful and righteous ( v6:9 ). After the earth-consuming flood, Genesis 8:1 reads, “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” God sees us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>> 4) Our Hope Is in Christ, Alone<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>“The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” Genesis 8:21<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>The flood didn’t fix humanity. We are still sinful in nature, living under the curse which began at the fall in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Nevertheless, because of who God is, not who we are, He chose to have compassion on us. Not only did He promise never to destroy all living creatures, but He made a way for us to stand in His presence, fully forgiven and redeemed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Jesus doesn’t pop onto the pages of Scripture at the nativity scene. He’s present in the entirety of it, as Scripture points to a problem only He could ever remedy for us. God’s love to send Jesus, and Jesus’ choice to sacrifice His life for us to glorify the Father, is beyond anything we deserve. We deserve the destruction and death our sin earns us. But God loved us too much to see us destitute and enslaved by sin. He made a way, through Jesus. There is no greater love than that of the Father, and of Jesus to lay His life down for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Prayer: y for all that You have done in my life. You are faithful even when I am faithless. Your love pursues me even when I am unlovable. Your forgiveness covers my sin and frees me from its penalty. I praise You for your love and faithfulness to me. Your presence in my life changes everything, empowering me to live each moment of every day, content in knowing You are in control. As I face today, Lord, remind me that no matter what happens, I can praise You! In Your Name, Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Subscribe to the Fresh Start Daily Devotion by sending a message to the e-mail address shown below with subscribe in the subject field.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:dan@jvillefreshstart.org"><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Segoe Print"'>dan@jvillefreshstart.org</span></b></a><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Segoe Print"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Unsubscribe from the Fresh Start Daily Devotion by sending a message to the e-mail address shown below with unsubscribe in the subject field.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:dan@jvillefreshstart.org"><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Segoe Print"'>dan@jvillefreshstart.org</span></b></a><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Segoe Print"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>“Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>(Proverbs 3:5,6 NIV)<span style='font-family:"Rockwell",serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:white'>_._,_._,_<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><hr size=2 width="100%" align=center></div><p class=MsoNormal>Groups.io Links: <o:p></o:p></p><p>You receive all messages sent to this group. <o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="https://groups.io/g/committed-walk-with-Christ/message/7394" target="_blank">View/Reply Online (#7394)</a> | <a href="mailto:committed-walk-with-Christ@groups.io?subject=Re:%20%5BCWWC%5D%204%20Hopeful%20Lessons%20from%20Noah%20and%20the%20Ark%3A%20-%20Fresh%20Start%20Devotion%20for%20Sunday%20mMarch%2028%202021" target="_blank">Reply To Group</a> | <a href="mailto:pinky14@abe.midco.net?subject=Private:%20Re:%20%5BCWWC%5D%204%20Hopeful%20Lessons%20from%20Noah%20and%20the%20Ark%3A%20-%20Fresh%20Start%20Devotion%20for%20Sunday%20mMarch%2028%202021" target="_blank">Reply To Sender</a> | <a href="https://groups.io/mt/81676473/21951" target="_blank">Mute This Topic</a> | <a href="https://groups.io/g/committed-walk-with-Christ/post">New Topic</a><o:p></o:p></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><hr size=2 width="25%" align=center></div><p class=MsoNormal>Questions, concerns, suggestions? 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