Consider Noah

Genesis 7:1 - Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation."

Wow. God spoke to Noah. God told him He considered him righteous. God picked the right man for the right job.

Noah was brave. He was definitely a man of faith. He heard God speak, he listened and most importantly, he obeyed. He obeyed even though others thought he was out of his mind. And look where it took him...being righteous in God's eyes.

We are living in that perverse generation the Bible tells us about. Philippians 2:15-16 surprisingly says Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children  of  God above reproach in the midst of a crooked  and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights  in the world. 

Noah went ahead with the task set before him without questioning God, without grumbling about the amount of time it would take to build an ark, without really knowing what lay ahead. He just did it. He listened daily to the commands. He obeyed God despite the people around him. He told anyone and everyone the reason for the ark and that God had called him to do this. But they scoffed. 

No one wanted to listen to Noah speak the things God had told him to warn them about. They wanted to keep their heads in the sand. As Noah and his family gathered all the animals into the ark awaiting the great flood, the others, as later mentioned in Matthew:  were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark. When the waters rose and they realized their dilemma and their choice not to listen, they pleaded with Noah for safety. But it was too late. Too late.

I sort of see this with Glenn Beck! He's about as in your face about warnings as they come. The Church should be doing the same thing. We as Christians who believe we are seeing the signs, as in the days of Noah, should be vocal as well. We know what this will mean. It will mean we will be considered as nuts as Noah was. We've heard it all before...Christ says He's going to return, but I don't see it...Yeah, right!! If people don't want to hear or heed, another day will come that it, too, will be too late.

His return is a mystery to us. That's why the Bible tells us we are to be prepared now. We are not to wait until it's too late. We are to have faith and believe what God says...one being to believe in Him so you will not perish and have eternal life (John 3:16). There are few people who receive Christ and regret it later. Some walk away but I can't help but feel there is a nagging in their souls knowing they've turned their backs on God. Once you get a taste... 

We are told For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matthew 24:27). All I can hope is that there will be yet another sign of sorts that will stir people into just maybe believing that God is truly in control of all things. We might be seeing the signs right now.  He could be getting ready to return. The Bible, on the other hand, talks about needing to see signs instead of just having faith. Signs are what people desire. That thing we can put our fingers on. Matthew 16:4 says An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign... The Pharisees and Saducees wanted Jesus to give them divine signs from heaven as proof He was who He said. His answer was above and He refused their request. They'd seen his healings but they wanted more. Is that what's happening today?

For Noah and his family, they experienced the loss of all life but their own and the animals they gathered. God separated them, like He still does today. He separates believers and their beliefs from those who do not want to believe. Noah and his family saw the land God had given them destroyed. Oh, the days ahead for this family. Genesis 8:1 says "then God remembered Noah and every living thing within the ark." He remembered! Not that He really forgot. He knew just what He was doing. But it was finally time for a rebuilding of this earth. Imagine the faith Noah now had in this awesome God. How could one forget what He just did?

The great flood, the waters...we are cleansed by water. Although we are told God will never cause another flood to destroy this earth, it has been suggested that fire may be the next thing that consumes...2Peter 3:7: By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. God is known as a consuming fire. But if we consider Noah and heed God's warnings and obey and trust in the Lord, like Noah we will be considered righteous and saved.

If history repeats itself, and I think we all believe this, then maybe we should pay attention to the signs today. Take a step to believe what God has told us, how examples have been set before us to heed. Receive Christ, receive wisdom, receive truth and understanding. Let's not be counted among those Jude talks about:

Jude 1:18 - ... "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires."