Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
10/4/2021

Noah’s Ark Experience in Kentucky

My lovely wife Dyan and I just got back from the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. The Ark is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, built to Biblical measurements. It is a modern engineering marvel. Questions on how Noah and his family fed, watered, and removed the waste exhibits showed plausible solutions to these challenges. It spoke of many animals that were brought into the Ark?

The Bible says that Noah brought representatives of every land-dependent and air-breathing animal kind. (Kind is a broader category than species which includes many species). Studies beginning in 2012 estimate that among land-dependent animals there are fewer than 1,400 known living kinds. So Noah and his family were responsible for about 6,700 animals.

When I walked in I felt like I had stepped back in time and it almost felt like I was on holy ground. We had a rich drive there, mostly talking with each other about our children, family, and our life together and how God was woven into each of the fabrics of our lives. We were tender-hearted when we arrived, and it helped set the tone for what we walked into. It was a solid three hours of “what if” and “could be” and insightful information of life back then. It made me think of how God must have communicated with Noah about all the intricacies of this monstrous project.

It was more of a reading and visual experience than a Disney thrill ride that takes your breath away. It was a learning experience of Noah being the world’s 2nd father and how he was obedient to God under the most extreme of circumstances.

So why did God choose Noah? Although Noah was surrounded by violence and all kinds of evil, Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9) by seeking to obey Him. Noah’s simple obedience is recorded five times in this story (6:22; 7:5, 9, 16; 8:17–18). God called this obedient man to build an ark and God saved Noah from the cleansing waters of the Flood so that with the past evils and sins washed away from the earth, Noah and his family could start anew (see 1 Pet. 3:21 for Peter’s analogy comparing baptism with the Flood).
​A righteous man, Noah “found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8).
They said it took at least 75 years to build the ark. 75 years for the world to repent but instead they sneered and taunted Noah and his family.

THE BIBLICAL STORY OF NOAH’S ARK TELLS US WHEN GOD GIVES A BIG ASSIGNMENT HE PROVIDES THE RESOURCES AND
WE PROVIDE FAITHFULNESS.
God could have delivered the ark to Noah assembled and ready to go. But it teaches us something else about God…
Not only does God love and provide for us. He invites us into His work.
Noah made a promise to God also. Noah committed to maintaining the relationship between his Creator and himself; whereby God promised never again to destroy the earth with a flood.

And Noah builds it all the while proclaiming the coming flood. Turn back or the Lord will destroy you! The first religious nutcase! Especially considering the word “flood” wasn’t even in the ancient parchment dictionary. Did you know the word dinosaur didn’t come into existence until the 1600s?

The point is, when you strive to honor God and pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ, you’ll stand out in the crowd. Push against the culture while the drivers of the popular culture may snub you in return…Ridicule you… Maybe worse.

And rather than assuring complete protection, Jesus simply says to deny yourself and follow him. No wonder the number of Jesus followers keeps dwindling even today. You see faith is never merely passive belief. As James says, it’s lived out through our actions.

We enjoyed our time walking through time but God spoke to us about us. As he often does he takes real-life experiences and questions us about life and family and exactly where he fits in. Or Not!
So what’s your ark? What massive spiritual assignment is God handing you? Think it’s too big for God and you to complete? Or is perhaps, your faithfulness to God and your view of God too small? Or maybe it’s something small. It’s ok but God is calling each of us to be obedient. Trust in God and move forward!

** Glorious Day-Kristian Stanfill/Passion
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s4UblPViiI