The earth is being flooded with misery, filth, and violence. Many, especially our youth, are drowning in the world-wide flood. We need Noahs to build arks and fill them with survivors.
We build an ark for people when we lead them to Jesus and baptism. "They had disobeyed as long ago as Noah's day, while God patiently waited until the ark was built. At that time, a few persons, eight in all, escaped in the ark through the water. You are now saved by a baptismal bath which corresponds to this exactly" (1 Pt 3:20-21).
We build an ark when we lead people to holiness in the midst of a twisted and depraved generation (Phil 2:15). "He preserved Noah as a preacher of holiness, with seven others, when He brought down the flood on that godless earth" (2 Pt 2:5).
We build an ark when we walk by faith in a world of fear. "By faith Noah, warned about things not yet seen, revered God and built an ark that his household might be saved. He thereby condemned the world and inherited the justice which comes through faith" (Heb 11:7).
In our world some are going under and are desperately gasping for breath. Others are holding on to floating debris. So many can say: "The flood enveloped me; all your breakers and your billows passed over me" (Jon 2:4). Build an ark, and lead them to Jesus.
| PRAYER: | "Save me, O God, for the waters threaten my life" (Ps 69:2). |
| PROMISE: | "Do you remember when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets of fragments you gathered up? They answered, 'Twelve.' " –Mk 8:19 |
| PRAISE: | Roger lost his wife and children in a flood, but now ministers God's mercy to other families. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College