Thursday, May 7
Genesis 6:9-22
9 This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[c] high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Devotional
“So make yourself an ark…”
There’s a popular meme of a cartoon dog calmly sipping coffee while the room around him is on fire. The caption reads, “This is fine.”
It doesn’t take much imagination to recognize that the world is not fine. In fact, there are moments when our lives don’t look all that different from what God saw in Noah’s day—chaotic, confused, and a little bit on fire.
One way to deal with that chaos would be to buy a boat. (Have you ever seen someone frown on a boat? Just kidding.)
But short of purchasing a vessel, I want to offer another way to ride the waves of our current cultural moment: stay connected to the community at Peace.
Here’s why: the next time you walk into our sanctuary, take a moment to look up. Notice the shape of the ceiling. It is intentionally designed to resemble the underside of a ship—an architectural reminder that the church is like an ark, carrying us through the troubled seas of life.
But this isn’t just an invitation to worship; it’s an invitation to community. The building may look like a ship, but the real ark is the people God gathers here. On this side of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit doesn’t dwell in structures—He dwells in us.
So if you’re searching for peace, you’ll find it not only in a place, but in the people of Peace. You may not always be able to say, “This is fine,” like the meme suggests. But with the help of your faith family, you might just be able to say, “It is well.”
Who are the people you can turn to for care and support during the stormy seasons of life?
– Pr. Jason
Let us pray: Jesus, thank you for the gift of your church. Thank you for the people who know my name, listen to my story, and accompany me each day. Amen.
