So...... remember when the movie NOAH came out and everyone was protesting and warning everyone not to watch it ? Yeah, I watched it anyway and you will be happy to know that we came out relatively unscathed and Jesus still loves us. My husband and I watched it this past Sunday. Let me just say... it was stupid. It was a real downer and pretty dark. It would be a fair depiction of what the vibe would be if the world was so full of sin that God felt the need to kill man and start over. However, I do not regret watching it . Two things I got out of this movie, revelation and validation.
The Revelation
That night as I laid in bed I felt led to read the story of Noah again. Genesis 9:18-25 to be exact. I didn't really understand it at first. I read it so many times yet never really went deeper into it.
The next morning I got up made some coffee and read that scripture again. I went into my room and turned on my worship music and begin to worship God and focus on Him. Something happened or was happening. He began to speak to me in a way you can only understand by experience, it's not something you can really put into words . What He was sharing with me was just understood- it was intimate.
He reminded me of the floodwater I saw in the movie and how it swept over everything, covering all that was wicked and bad. I saw images of black hearts under the deep water but when they emerged from the water they were red hearts covered in the blood of Jesus. God reminded me of
1Peter 4:8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sin.
This went on for about 30 minutes. I studied Genesis 9:18-25 intensely for the next hour and was not disappointed. Jon Courson is one of my favorite teachers simply because I can understand him. He talked about how after the flood Noah became a farmer and grew a vineyard and partook of his harvest that led to some sort of sin- something happened.
It's a little long so bare with me .
Genesis 9:18-25 - 18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said:“Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.”
At first I didn't understand what Ham did wrong until I began to understand the heart behind the action. He was mocking his Father to his brothers. He was exposing his Fathers nakedness instead of covering it like Shem and Japheth did. The two even went as far as to walk backwards refusing to look at their Fathers sin. So when Noah awoke, instinctively he was aware of what Ham had done. Because he sinned as a son the punishment would fall on his son...Canaan, which turned out to be the worst culture in the world. Perverted and annihilated-they were cursed.
The revelation God gave me was exposing that very sin in my life. If we talk about each others weaknesses and expose the nakedness of others, the punishment will fall back on our children. I have seen how my negative talk about certain people to my children has tainted their opinion of that person or people because of what I said about them. If I look at or listen to someone else's shortcomings it poisons the way I view them in the future. It poisons my children's view of people. If I am listening to someone tear down or expose another I am just as guilty as the one doing the talking. No one should feel comfortable talking to you about others and if they do there's a problem within you.
For far too long I have partaken in this vicious cycle with family, friends, and just people in general and I'm ashamed of it. This is not the seed I want sown into my life and no matter how I try and justify it I'm not so insecure about myself that I have to find fault in other's. God ripped my heart out and put it in a blender and hit "frappe" when He brought this to light but I'm so grateful that He did. I cannot and will not participate in such venomous banter and if you are my friend please don't tempt me or involve me in any conversation about someone else's sin although talking about our own sin is fine.
Which brings me to Facebook. Never in my life have I seen such a plethora of vipers in a pit just waiting to strike with their ugly comments and sarcastic undertones ready to prey on the weak. Steadily tearing people down, name calling and so desperate for soapboxing that they pull out there inner grammar Nazi to make sure they can rest easy knowing they hopefully made someone feel stupid. (BTW, you'll have a field day on this post because I don't proofread JACK!) Facebook is an open invitation and temptation to participate in the verbal bullying of others in a public forum , it's also cowardly because everyone has testicular fortitude sitting behind a computer not facing their victims. Words are powerful and we are to use our words to build up not tear down.
I feel so strongly about this that I am extremely willing to weed people out of my life completely if that's what it takes. It's one thing to be a strong minded or opinionated person but I have no respect for mean. Mean is for bullies and grumpy old men, certainly not people of faith or people who call themselves Christians. I will choose my words carefully and pray that they will be uplifting and encouraging. What happened to me was extremely powerful and deeply affected me. I hear people say all the time that knowledge is power. BULL! His power is power . Sometimes we think way too highly of ourselves but that's a different post for a different day.
The Validation
Proof that God can use a worldly movie to work all things together for His good and to that I say Amen.
"Alright , Alright , Alright"
