DEVO 10.31.23

DEVO. 10.31.23

“A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.” (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭7‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

- In Genesis 7:1 “ The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you with all your household, for you [alone] I have seen as righteous (doing what is right) before Me in this generation.” - That’s clearly an open door! - But then we have a closed door in Gen. 7:16, where it says, “Then the Lord closed the door behind them.” - This year is known as the year of the open door, and Revelation 3:7 says, “What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open” - God is both the One who opens and shuts doors. - So, it’s important for us to know God’s timing for both open and closed doors. - You can only know that if you are walking with Him in a relationship. - When God clearly opens a door for you it will be like the Ark, and all those who are walking with Him can hear and see the doors that He opens. - Noah and family came into the Ark through that open door but then there came a time for the Lord to close that door. - The anniversary of the day that the Lord sent sudden destruction, about 4,000 years ago, with the flood, was October 31st. We know this because the Lord was very specific about the day. - Genesis 7:11 it says, In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. - Our Calendar is different than the Hebrew calendar but the date lines up with October 31st. - This is the anniversary of that day. - So, let me ask you, “How important is it to walk with the Lord and to know His voice?” Its as important as life and death! - For Noah and his family, it was a day of Gods faithfulness and protection but for the wicked it was a day of destruction. - Genesis 6:9 says, “Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.” - Yesterday, I pointed out, Luke 17:26 which says, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the time of [the second coming of] the Son of Man.” - In describing the ‘Day of the Lord”, 1 Thessalonians 5:3 says, For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.” - The real origin of Halloween was to remember the flood. - God made a covenant with Noah and His family and the sign that He would not destroy the earth by flood, ever again, was the rainbow. - But is was a day to be remembered as a Hallowed- Eve. - Hallowed means, “Holy, consecrated and reverent” - It was a set apart day where they saw God’s awesome power and might. They also witnessed God’s amazing protection and provision! - God wanted us to remember this day. It was a day where he wiped out the sin but protected the faithful. - Don’t allow this day to become something fearful and frightening! - Let this be a day where you remember God’s provision in your life! - Make it a day where you recommit to walk in close fellowship with God. - Have a great Hallowed Eve!