Jump Start # 1730

Genesis 8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.

  This is Thanksgiving week. It’s a busy time. College students will be coming home. Plans will be made for cooking, traveling and family gatherings. It’s a great time. There will be feasting, football, fun and memories made. Some will use the time to rest. Others will use the time to find deals on black Friday. The moment of Thanksgiving will cause God’s people to count their blessings. We live in good times. There is much to be thankful for, especially spiritually. Where would we be without Jesus? What a scary thought that is.

Thankfulness begins with reflecting and remembering. So, for the next few days we will bring to your mind a few thoughts that helps us with our Thanksgiving. Today, we begin with remembering. What better place to begin than to see that God remembered Noah in the ark.

Our verse comes from the days within the ark. It’s hard for us to imagine what it would have been like to have been in that boat with all those animals for more than a year. I had a trip to the grocery store last night, my wife was cooking and needed something. My suggestion as to an replacement ingredient didn’t pass her test. So, off to the store I went. I passed a chicken house. I don’t know what they were doing, but it really smelled. It was so strong, I thought I was going to get sick in the car. I don’t know how Noah handled the smell in that boat. Noah was not at the helm. It seems the ark was floating about as God directed it. Our verse can leave the impression that God had forgotten Noah. We could see an angel tapping God on the shoulder and pointing down to the ark on earth and God saying, “Oh, I forgot about them.” That didn’t happen. God never forgot Noah. The expression, “God remembered” simply means God kept His promise. God was aware the entire time of Noah, and his family. That’s all that was left in the world. Why God didn’t have Noah save all the babies and children of the world is not explained to us. God is good. God is holy. His ways are much higher than our ways.

God remembered Noah. God remembered His promise to Abraham. Hundreds of years after Abraham, when the nation of Judah couldn’t make up it’s mind whether to bow to Jehovah or Baal, God remembered His promise to Abraham. Punishment. Captivity. Destruction of a city and the holy Temple. Yet, God remembered. A remnant would return. A bloodline would be preserved. God remembered.

The thankful heart begins by reflecting, realizing and remembering. I mentioned in a sermon yesterday, that all of us have had help and blessings through the years, that many of us never realized. Most of us are where we are today because someone gave us a chance, someone opened a door for us, someone believed in us. The first job, the first date, the first sermon, even the first Jump Start written. I just wonder how many prayers our parents prayed for us that we never realized. I wonder how often those first Bible class teachers thought about us and hoped that we would understand God’s word. I wonder how many times our mates, even our children have prayed for us and we never knew.

Our look in the Bible shows us that there has always been those who were there to help others. The eunuch had someone to answer his question which led to learning about Jesus. Cornelius had Peter. Down at the riverbank is Lydia and some women and there Paul comes and teaches them. The Jailer that Silas and Paul. Apollos had Priscilla and Aquila. Without Barnabas, the young convert, Paul, would have had trouble in Jerusalem. It seems that everyone had someone else to help them. They taught. They supported. They opened doors. They connected them to others. A fellowship was established. A brotherhood was experienced.

Not far from where I live is the heart of thoroughbred race horses. The bloodlines and the pedigree of those horses is not only worth millions of dollars, but also the beginnings of the next champions. We each have a spiritual pedigree, a bloodline that connects us to Christ. Most of us preachers remember those early days and those first sermons. They weren’t very good. Brethren were more than patient, they kept seeing something in us. They encouraged us. They bragged on us more than we deserved. They kept putting fuel in our hearts to go on. And we did. And we got better. And we moved on. And we preached and preached and preached. Hundreds of places. Thousands of faces. A lot of sermons. Hours and hours of study, research and digging into the word. We never quit. And here we are today, but it could not have happened had it not been for those first folks that rallied us on.

For you, it may have been your marriage. Maybe those first few years were tough. A career starting, school loans to pay off, getting use to each other, and stress and realizing “happily ever after” doesn’t look like this.  You may have had second thoughts. You may have thought about pulling the plug on the relationship. But someone older and wiser talked to you. They counseled you. They kicked you in the pants when you needed it. You hung in. You became the person of God that you were supposed to be. You stopped the selfish whining. Now, all these years later, people point to your marriage as the standard. People want a marriage like you have. Had it not been for some good people in your life a long time ago, you may have ended it.

All of us have had great people in our lives that pointed us to Jesus and reminded us of what we were supposed to do.

God remembered Noah. He never forgot about Noah. This Thanksgiving, take a trip down memory lane. Give some thought to those who have helped you in the past. Be thankful for them. Be thankful that God put them in your life. Be thankful for their trust, encouragement and love. For many of us, those early people in our lives are now gone. They have moved on into the next room with God. Their memory is sweet to us. You may have a note or a memento from them that serves that very purpose, a reminder. A reminder of someone who was special in your life. Someone who inspired you. Someone who wouldn’t let you quit. Someone who went above and beyond what they should have with you.

Remember—reflect—and thank the Lord. Then, you become that person for someone else. You get involved with a young couple, a young preacher, a young Christian and you be that influence, that guide, that help. You do it because they need it. You do it because it’s the right thing to do. And without realizing it, someday, down the road, around Thanksgiving time, your name will come up. It will bring a warm smile and a tear to their eye as they remember a kind person who made a difference to them.

It’s happened to us and now we need to do it to others.

Remember…

Roger