A large tower is being constructed, financed by Ronald Chump, and BNN is on the scene!
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17: A Colorful Covenant
They’re BACK! After more than a year since the earth was covered with water, the BNN crew reports on the end of the flood, as the ark lands on dry land. But has Brad Bartelloni survived?
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Season 2: Behind the Scenes, Part 3
Check out all the action and fun that goes on behind the scenes of some recent episodes of BNN!
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Life with Lively: Confessions of a ROCK
I have something in common with Tad Schultz… I can’t swim. I wish I could swim; I’ve had lessons, but the moment the water hits me in the face, I panic. It sucks. I love splashing around in the pool during the hot 100 degree summer days, but there is something about the water in my face that just ends all the fun.
A couple of years ago, my wife (Lela) and the kids talked me into taking them to a local lake for the day. I dreaded the entire drive down there. We got to the swimming area, the wife and kids went straight to the water, and I sat on a towel and watched. It looked like fun. They were enjoying themselves and I was stuck in the hot sand.
“It wouldn’t hurt to just get my feet wet would it?” So I sat down at the water’s edge. It felt good, so I waded out a little further. Now I’m waist deep and throwing the football with the boys. The girls are lounging in their float rafts, Lela is swimming around, and we are having a good time. I waded out a little farther. Now I was pushing it. Courtney had called me over and I walked over to her. She was laying on a float raft, and I was standing beside her talking, the water level was striking me right at my neck.
Then it happened. The ground I was standing on disappeared from underneath me. I slipped in a hole and now, this 6 foot tall oaf, was standing in 7 foot deep water. I jumped up breaking the water’s surface and gasped for air. I realized Courtney’s raft was close enough for me to grab, but if I grabbed it chances are I’d tip her over and bring her under with me, making the situation worse. I hit the bottom and jumped up again. This time when I broke the surface, I saw Lela, about 30 yards away. “LELA!” I called, gasped for a breath and went back under, this time waving with my arms to get her attention.
My next trip to the surface I saw her swimming towards me. The final time I went under she grabbed my arm and drug me back to shallow water. Then she escorted me to the beach, sat me down, beat on my back to help me cough up the gallons of water I had swallowed; then she looked me in the eye and told me, “Don’t go back in the water.”
I spent the rest of the day reading a book.
Sin is a lot like that story. We all know we shouldn’t sin. But we sit on the proverbial beach and see people who live in sin every day, and seem to enjoy it. We know what they are doing is something we should not be a part of but it just looks like so much fun! Maybe if we just get our feet wet, that won’t hurt anything would it? So we dip our toe and realize it doesn’t feel so bad. So we wade in deeper. Soon we are up to our neck in it, just splashing away having a good time, and then it happens. Suddenly we are in over our head and can’t get out.
Our first reaction is to grab hold of the nearest thing that looks like it can save us. But quick fixes more or less make a bad situation worse. What we need is someone to come pull us from the sin, drag us to shore, and tell us: “Don’t go back in.”
Here’s the best part. Jesus is such a savior. His life, death and resurrection was all for the sole purpose of pulling YOU out of the water and saving YOU from sin.
This week’s devotional is being specifically written for someone. I don’t know your name, or your circumstances, but I know you are out there. You are in over your head in sin, you know it’s not where you should be in your life, but you can’t find a way out. I’ve been there, both physically as you have read above, and spiritually. But there is a Savior waiting to pull you to safety.
Accepting Jesus as your savior is simple. At my church we teach that salvation is as simple as ABC.
A is for Admit that you are a sinner and repent from those sins. Romans 3:23 says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The first step toward treating any kind of problem is to admit that you actually have a problem. You cannot accept that God is offering you salvation, until you realize you have a need for salvation.
B is for Believe. Acts 16:31 says “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved, you and your household.” John 3:16 says “Whosoever believes in me shall not perish but have everlasting life!” Salvation is that simple. Believe that Jesus died for you.
C is for Confess. This one confuses some people. It’s not about confessing your sins. You have already done that by admitting your sins. Confess in this context is simply this: “HEY WORLD! JESUS CHRIST IS MY LORD AND SAVIOR!” Romans 10:9 says “if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”
When we got home from our lake outing my dad called to see if we had a good time. The first thing I told him was how Lela has saved me from drowning. I was so grateful for what she had done I wanted to share it with everyone. This is the context we are using confession here. We should be so happy and grateful for Jesus salvation we should be ready to proclaim it to everyone we encounter.
Now, I’m sure that most of the people who watch the videos and read these devotionals have already accepted Jesus as their savior. This week God has laid salvation on my heart, and after 15 devotionals, I realized I’ve yet to cover the first and most important base. So those who are already Christians, just enjoy the story and tune in next week, this week may not be for you.
I just can’t help shaking a nagging feeling that somewhere out in the world-wide-web, someone is reading this who feels like they are in over their head. If you are that person, this message is for you: Jesus is waiting for you. He is there with open arms ready to pull you out of the water and radically change your life. Know that there are people praying for you, and there are churches full of people who have been exactly where you are right now, and would love to share their story with you, and help you grow closer to the Lord.
…And no Ray, I can’t even dog paddle, not even a little bit.
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16: Water, Water, Everywhere
BNN Reports on the flooded Earth.
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Life with Lively: Stepping Out Of The Boat
My step-daughter, Steph, is your typical teenage girl. She’s always putting a new and funky coat of paint on her nails, wants to wear the latest fashions, and her cell phone has grafted itself to her hand. She has that typical “the world should revolve around me” attitude that everyone has during those teenage years.
However, something spectacular happens whenever she is around people who are mentally challenged. The phone is put away, and the moody teenager is replaced by someone more loving and caring than Mary Poppins, and a smile even comes to her face.
Steph has a talent and a calling to work with people with special needs. I don’t know what it is, but it’s almost magical. It all started about three years ago. We have a little girl in our church who suffers from Down syndrome. Steph was asked to follow her around during Vacation Bible School that year, and when things got a little intense, she would take the girl for a walk, and find a quiet place to calm her down. The next year, Steph asked if the church would buy the special needs curriculum so she could teach this girl in a one-on-one setting. By the time school started this fall, Steph was teaching our first special needs class, and was already deep into a science project to discover how different foods affect kids who suffer from Autism Spectrum Disorders. While most of her friends were shopping or “hanging out,” she was locked in her room, nose into a text book, reading about the latest research. The big “she’s serious” moment came when she asked us to take her to Lubbock and let her spend the afternoon at the Texas Tech Medical Library. I tried to break it to her that they might not let high school students into the Library, and she quickly responded with, “Oh, I’ve already called and made sure I can get a card there and everything, I’ve even filled out the application already.”
While all this was going on, her friends were trying to get her to do “high school” stuff. One even complained that Steph was “going to the darkside into complete Nerdville.” She never wavered. Her science fair entry went over the head of the judges, and she didn’t advance, but she kept her chin up. She moved on, and began looking into plans for after high school. Her goal is to become a Pediatric Autism Specialist, and truth be told, as long as she keeps her focus, she’s well on her way to being one.
It’s a lot like the situation we find Noah in. God gave him a calling, and the talent to accomplish the task. People kept questioning him, making fun of him, and challenging him. But he kept his focus and finished the task, not letting the distractions bother him.
I’m reminded of the story of Jesus walking on water. A lot of people focus on Peter not having faith, but I look at this differently. Peter had the guts to get out of the boat.
Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me! (Matthew 14:28-30)
I’m sure the others in the boat tried to talk Peter out of stepping on the water. But he did it anyway. He was well on his way to Jesus until the A.D.D. set in. The wind blew by and he took his eyes off of Jesus and he began to sink. Jesus came to his rescue and pulled him up. But until he lost his focus, he was walking on water!
God calls us to serve him in many different ways. He has given us the talent and abilities to do what he asks, and as long as we keep our focus on God, we will excel at whatever it is God has for us. We just have to learn to ignore the wind; to not let the naysayers and party poopers distract us from serving as God has commanded. Our job as God’s servants leads us in many different directions; some that others may not quite understand. We have to be able sort through the confusion and see God’s plan.
My prayer this week is that we have the guts to step out of the boat, no matter how strange and over our heads it seems. That we put our faith and focus on God’s will, and never waiver from God’s master plan.
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15: Quirky Local Builds Ark
Tad Schultz interviews a local man, who’s built a giant structure. EweTube speaks out on how God might destroy the Earth.
The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.
Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
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Life with Lively: Finding Grace
When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Then the Lord said, “I will wipe off the face of the earth: man, whom I created, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them” (Genesis 6:5-8)
That’s a pretty heavy passage to read right after you watch or read the news. It seems not a day goes by without hearing a story about abuse, neglect, or perversion. Just today, I read a story about a school secretary who was caught making adult movies in her free time; how a local man was found guilty for beating his roommate to death, and of course all the latest news from the Libyan front. One could easily say that those verses in Genesis could easily apply today. There are days that it just seems hopeless.
But read on.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8)
Noah, one single man, found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah, one single man, was enough for God to rethink his plan to destroy man. What was it about Noah that was so amazing?
These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9)
Noah was righteous, he was a believer. He grew up with a great-grandfather whose faith and relationship with God was legendary. But not only was he familiar with God, he grew that into a deep relationship with God.
Noah was blameless among his contemporaries. Notice the bible doesn’t say Noah was sinless. But he was blameless. That means that among his peers, they could not find fault with him. He lived a relatively clean cut life.
Most importantly, Noah walked with God. This is the keystone of Noah’s life. Onethe one side, you have Noah’s legacy. He was raised in a family that believed in God. He took that knowledge and grew a relationship with God. And through that relationship, he lived a blameless life. Thereby, finding grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Salvation is really that simple. And through Jesus, it is available to us all. But the trick is it’s not a multiple choice test. You cannot achieve salvation through righteousness and living blameless. You cannot claim to walk with God, but live a wicked life. The three things go hand in hand. Finding grace in the eyes of the Lord, takes a full effort. Living righteous/blameless and walking with God go hand in hand.
I will admit it is difficult to do. Daily there are temptations to lead us into wickedness, but through having a relationship with God, we can overcome the wickedness.
And once we find favor with God, amazing things happen.
By faith Noah, after being warned about what was not yet seen, in reverence built an ark to deliver his family. By this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)
Because of his relationship with God, Noah had the faith to do what God commanded, even when it seemed strange and unfathomable.
God isn’t going to come to us and tell us to build an ark, but he does come and ask us to follow him. Maybe it is to reach out to your neighbor, or someone who is suffering. Maybe it is to pack up your bags and move to a new place to serve where God needs you.
Faith is a powerful thing; when God knows that he can count on you, he can lead you to amazing things.
And it all starts by living righteous, blameless and walking with God.
I’ve got some work to do….
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14: Evil Abounds
Tad Schultz reports on the increased evil, while Brad Bartelloni interviews an eccentric local who might be the last godly man on Earth.
Apologies to Chris Quandt and Paul Clayton, who respectively played Brad Bartelloni and Noah, but were accidentally omitted from the credits.
This is the written account of Adam’s family line.
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created.
When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.
When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.
When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.
When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.
When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.
When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.” After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters.
When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. 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. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 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. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 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. 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. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 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. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
Noah did everything just as God commanded him. (Genesis 5, New International Version, ©2011,Genesis 6, New International Version, ©2011)
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