DOCSLIB.ORG

Parable of the Flood

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Parable of the Flood PARABLE OF THE FLOOD Noah’s Ark image courtesy of AdrianChesterman.com © 2017. All rights reserved. Introduction Stories about great floods are common throughout world cultures. The story of a flood that consumes the earth, in which humans save animal life from extinction with a boat, is almost universal in world legends. These stories have been documented in Mesopotamia, Greece, Europe, Africa, India, Australia, and the Americas. Many of these stories are remarkably similar. Probably the most popular, that of Noah and the ark, is documented in the Torah, the Bible, and the Koran. A comparable version is the legend of Utnapishtim (Assyrian), recorded in the Legend of Gilgamesh, which predates the Torah by more than a thousand years. The Maasai legend of Tumbainot, is another similar legend. For more information visit noahsnotes.org. ©2017 NOAH’S NOTES, INC. As we seek the underlying meaning of these legends, we are drawn to the conclusion that this is a story about preservation. Noah was only nine generations removed from Adam, whose mandate was to ‘tend the garden,’ or the earth that was his home. From this message of preservation comes the idea of stewardship - the moral responsibility to be a good caretaker of the environment. Legend Summaries: Assyrian (Mesapotamia): The gods, led by Enlil, agreed to cleanse the earth of an overpopulated humanity, but Utnapishtim was warned by the god Ea in a dream. He and some craftsmen built a large boat (one acre in area, seven decks) in a week. He then loaded it with his family, the craftsmen, and "the seed of all living creatures." The waters of the abyss rose up, and it stormed for six days. Even the gods were frightened by the flood's fury. Upon seeing all the people killed, the gods repented and wept. The waters covered everything but the top of the mountain Nisir, where the boat landed. Seven days later, Utnapishtim released a dove, but it returned finding nowhere else to land. He next released a sparrow, which also returned, and then a raven, which did not return. Thus, he knew the waters had receded enough for the people to emerge. Utnapishtim made a sacrifice to the gods. He and his wife were given immortality and lived at the end of the earth.1 Greek: The first race of people was destroyed because they were exceedingly wicked. The fountains of the deep opened, the rain fell in torrents, and the rivers and seas rose to cover the earth, killing all of them. Deucalion survived due to his prudence and piety and linked the first and second race of men. Onto a great ark, he loaded his wives and children and all animals. The animals came to him, and by God's help, remained friendly for the duration of the flood. The flood ended when water drained down a chasm opened in Hierapolis.1 Hebrew: God, upset at mankind's wickedness, resolved to destroy it, but Noah was righteous and found favor with Him. God told Noah to build an ark, 450 x 75 x 45 feet, with three decks. Noah did so, and took aboard his family (8 people in all) and pairs of all kinds of animals (7 of the clean ones). For 40 days and nights, floodwaters came from the heavens and from the deeps, until the highest mountains were covered. The waters flooded the earth for 150 days; then God sent a wind and the waters receded, and the ark came to rest in Ararat. After 40 days, Noah sent out a raven, which kept flying until the waters had dried up. He next sent out a dove, which returned without finding a perch. A week later he set out the dove again, and it returned with an olive leaf. The next week, the dove didn't return. After a year and 10 days from the start of the flood, everyone and everything emerged from the ark. Noah sacrificed some clean animals and birds to God, and God, pleased with this, promised never again to destroy all living creatures with a flood, giving the rainbow as a sign of this covenant.3 For more information visit noahsnotes.org. ©2017 NOAH’S NOTES, INC. Hindu (India): Manu and Matsya: The legend first appears in Shatapatha Brahmana (700–300 BCE), and is further detailed in Matsya Purana (250–500 CE). Matsya (the incarnation of Lord Vishnu as a fish) forewarns Manu (a human) about an impending catastrophic flood and orders him to collect all the grains of the world in a boat; in some forms of the story, all living creatures are also to be preserved in the boat. When the flood destroys the world, Manu – in some versions accompanied by the seven great sages – survives by boarding the ark, which Matsya pulls to safety.2 Islamic: Allah sent Nuh to warn the people to serve none but Allah, but most of them would not listen. They challenged Nuh to make good his threats and mocked him when, under Allah's inspiration, he built a ship. Allah told Nuh not to speak to Him on behalf of wrongdoers; they would be drowned. In time, water gushed from underground and fell from the sky. Nuh loaded onto his ship pairs of all kinds, his household, and those few who believed. One of Nuh's sons didn't believe and said he would seek safety in the mountains. He was among the drowned. The ship sailed amid great waves. Allah commanded the earth to swallow the water and the sky to clear, and the ship came to rest on Al-Judi. Nuh complained to Allah for taking his son. Allah admonished that the son was an evildoer and not of Nuh's household, and Nuh prayed for forgiveness. Allah told Nuh to go with blessings on him and on some nations that will arise from those with him.1 Maasai (Africa): Tumbainot, a righteous man, had a wife named Naipande and three sons, Oshomo, Bartimaro, and Barmao. When his brother Lengerni died, Tumbainot, according to custom, married the widow Nahaba-logunja, who bore him three more sons, but they argued about her refusal to give him a drink of milk in the evening, and she set up her own homestead. The world was heavily populated in those days, but the people were sinful and not mindful of God. However, they refrained from murder, until at last a man named Nambija hit another named Suage on the head. At this, God resolved to destroy mankind, except Tumbainot who found grace in His eyes. God commanded Tumbainot to build an ark of wood and enter it with his two wives, six sons and their wives, and some of animals of every sort. When they were all aboard and provisioned, God caused a great long rain, which caused a flood, and all other men and beasts drowned. The ark drifted for a long time, and provisions began to run low. The rain finally stopped, and Tumbainot let loose a dove to ascertain the state of the flood. The dove returned tired, so Tumbainot knew it had found no place to rest. Several days later, he released a vulture, but first he attached an arrow to one of its tail feathers so that, if the bird landed, the arrow would hook on something and be lost. The vulture returned that evening without the arrow, so Tumbainot reasoned that it must have landed on carrion, and that the flood was receding. When the water ran away, the ark grounded on the steppe, and its occupants disembarked. Tumbainot saw four rainbows, one in each quarter of the sky, signifying that God's wrath was over.1 For more information visit noahsnotes.org. ©2017 NOAH’S NOTES, INC. Sumerian: The gods had decided to destroy mankind. The god Enlil warned the priest- king Ziusudra ("Long of Life") of the coming flood by speaking to a wall while Ziusudra listened at the side. He was instructed to build a great ship and carry beasts and birds upon it. Violent winds came, and a flood of rain covered the earth for seven days and nights. Then Ziusudra opened a window in the large boat, allowing sunlight to enter, and he prostrated himself before the sun-god Utu. After landing, he sacrificed a sheep and an ox and bowed before Anu and Enlil. For protecting the animals and the seed of mankind, he was granted eternal life and taken to the country of Dilmun, where the sun rises.1 Trique (Oaxaca, southern Mexico): Nexquiriac sent down a great flood to punish mankind for its very wicked ways. He instructed one good man to make a large box and to preserve himself in it, along with many animals and seeds of certain plants. When the flood was almost over, Nexquiriac told the man not to come out, but to bury the box, along with himself, until the face of the earth had been burned. After that was done, the man emerged and repopulated the earth.1 1 http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html 2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flood_myths 3 http://www.crystalinks.com/floodstories.html For more information visit noahsnotes.org. ©2017 NOAH’S NOTES, INC. Resources Carr, Cindy. (April 25, 2014). ‘Noah’ panelists address connection between faith and the environment. In Sierra Club.org blog. Retrieved from http://blogs.sierraclub.org/compass/2014/04/the-panelists-from-left-to-right-jack-jenkins- michael-brune-danielle-baussan-darren-aronofsky-ari-handel-and-chris-mo.html Flood Myth. (n.d.). In Brittanica Online.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Noah and the Ark (Genesis 6-9)
    Noah and the Ark (Genesis 6-9) There once was a man named Noah. Noah was a good man and he walked with God. The rest of the people on earth were bad. When God saw that everyone on the earth did only bad things, he said to Noah, "Because people are doing only bad things, I will destroy all of them. Build a boat out of gopher wood for you and your family. I will bring a flood of water on the earth to destroy all living things. But you and your family will all go into the boat. Also, you must bring into the boat two of every animal, male and female. Also, gather some of every kind of food and store it on the boat so you and the animals won’t be hungry. Noah did everything that God commanded him. Then God said to Noah, "I have seen that you are the only good person, so you and your family can go into the boat with all the animals. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth. It will rain forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe off from the earth every living thing that I have made.” When Noah was six hundred years old, the flood started and Noah and his family got on the ark and it rained for forty days and forty nights. But God remembered Noah, and he made a wind blow over the earth, and the water went down. Noah opened the window in the boat, and he sent out a raven.
    [Show full text]
  • OLD TESTAMENT Bible Story
    OLD TESTAMENT Bible Story STORY TITLE: Noah Builds a Boat BIBLE PASSAGE: Genesis 6:9 - 8:22 KEY POINT: God protects His people COLORING PAGE: Noah's Ark (x6) ACTIVITY: Rockin' Ark; Two-by-Two; Rainbow of Promise Genesis 6:9 - 8:22 Noah Pleases God This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. The Ark Prepared And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.
    [Show full text]
  • Comm Class Teaches Students to Be 'Mindful'
    Features: On Page 3: Arts: & Entertainment On Page 5: Sports On Page 7: Theatre program seeks All-American honors Magoc wins national award donations for ‘Hurst lacrosse Read more inside & online HE EST. 1929 VTOL. 88 NO. 14 MerciadEDNESDAY EBRUARY MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY W , F 25, 2015 Student Union, Hirt flood is no certain date for when the By Nathan Turner restoration and repair is going News Editor to be finished, according to Sue Johnson, Director of A main water pipe in Her- Administraion and Executive rmann Student Union rup- Assistant to the President. tured on Feb. 21 as a result “It’s going to be an exten- of prolonged exposure to sive repair,” said Johnson. extreme cold, causing severe “We are hoping, and this is water damage to the middle at best case, that when kids and lower levels of the build- come back from spring break, ing. it will be done. That’s not a The building is currently guarantee. It could be another closed until further notice in week or so beyond that.” order to clean up the water Replacing the drywall in the and begin to restore the Union will be the most time damage. All offices based in intensive part of the resto- the Student Union have been ration because of the height moved to Egan and Warde. the water reached and the “When you walked in, there extent the water saturated the was already about an inch of wall, according to Johnson. water on the main floor,” said The computers used by the Erin Herschelman, a sopho- Student Activities Committee more Accounting major and and Mercyhurst Student Gov- the Student Activities Com- ernment to conduct business mittee Financial Secretary.
    [Show full text]
  • Journeyfl Feb 22.Pub
    February 22, 2015 EVENTS THIS WEEK DAYS TIMES Morning Worship Today 9:30 am & 11:15 am Journey Kidz Baby Zone (Infant - 24 months) Tot Zone (age 2-5) Live! Zone (K-6th grade) Bible Studies Today 9:30am Korean Fellowship Jr/Sr High (at the office) Prayer Ministry Today 6:30 pm in the Journey office REFUEL Student Ministry Wednesday 6:30 pm at the Pittman’s Ladies’ Coffee Break Thursday 10:00 am Teen Girls Bible Study Saturday 9:30 am At Grounded Coffee Life Groups Meet - check out the flyer on the welcome desk for Sun - Fri Various times specific days and times Love God … Love Others … Love the World! World! the Others … Love God … Love Love Upcoming Events Thank you for choosing to worship with us today! Please fill out a connection card and note any prayer requests and praises on the back. Thank You. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25: REFUEL Attention all Jr/Sr High! This Wednesday, Refuel is at the Pittman’s at 6:30pm-8:00pm. We will have our usual hang out time and activities, and continue our study in Basic Bible Doctrine. If you have questions, contact Adam Schuster at [email protected]. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28: JOURNEY OUTDOORS HIKE The Journey sponsors a monthly hike and this month Steve McDonald is heading it up. It will be a 5.4 mile hike in the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy. As usual, meet at the Journey at 9:00 am to carpool. Contact Steve with other questions at [email protected]. SUNDAY, MARCH 1: MISSIONS TEAM MEETING Join us in the back of the sanctuary right after the second service (about 12:45).
    [Show full text]
  • Passing the Test 2017-03-05-Yeara-Lent1 Forty Days and Nights in the Desert with No Food and Jesus Was Famished. Actually, A
    Passing the Test 2017-03-05-YearA-Lent1 Forty days and nights in the desert with no food and Jesus was famished. Actually, a more literal translation would be that Jesus was hungry. Famished implies an intensification of the language that is not present in the original, except insofar as anyone who hadn’t eaten for forty days and nights would be famished—or perhaps more accurately, dead. Matthew doesn’t intensify the level of Jesus’ hunger because the point of saying forty days and nights wasn’t to describe the literal amount of time that Jesus went without food and his miraculous survival capacity. Instead it was to tie Jesus to an Old Testament legacy of wilderness waiting. 40 days and 40 nights is likely most intended to connect Jesus with the 40 years of wilderness waiting of the Israelites following their escape from Egypt. The connection with the 40 years in the wilderness is probably strongest because all of Jesus’ responses to the devil, which come from passages in Deuteronomy that describe that period in Israel’s history. But there are several other 40-unit periods of waiting in scripture. Noah and his family spent forty days on the ark, waiting for the rain to stop. Moses spent 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai waiting for the two tablets of the covenant. Elijah had a forty day- and forty-night journey through the wilderness to Mt. Horeb where he waited to hear from God. So, you might want to make a note, if you ever find yourself wandering in the desert for some forty-day or forty-year or forty-unit period of time, expect to hear from God.
    [Show full text]
  • Living Faith
    Living Faith Dear Faith Shapers, Even though Lent doesn’t start until March 6, I wanted to get you to start thinking and be prepared for the season of Lent. I hope these resources help you to have a mean- ingful Lenten journey as a family (or congregation). What is Lent All About? (you can find this on the synod website as well) I also included a few Lent is a 40-day liturgical season that begins on Ash things as we think about Wednesday and concludes on Easter. Sundays are not Valentine’s Day and loving included in the 40-day count because every Sunday is a joyful celebration of Jesus' resurrection. Though not not only the ones close to biblical, Lent has long been a tradition in the Christian us, but all of our neighbors Church, and it is thought that the tradition of the 40 days that we are called to love. recalls the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11), the 40 days and nights Noah and his family spent on the ark Deb Bachman and the 40 years of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness. Focused on the Easter promise of new life and renewed Director of Faith Formation faith, Lent invites us to look honestly at ourselves as we at St. Paul’s Lutheran seek to be strengthened in the call to be Christ’s disciples. Church & School Lent is considered a time of penance, discipline, almsgiving (sharing what we have), prayer (for ourselves and others), and fasting (special resolve to work on greater faithfulness).
    [Show full text]
  • Lent, Holy Week and Easter
    they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe PREPAREFASTGIVEPRAY and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. Mark 15:19-20 CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH March 2015 Lent, Holy Week and Easter We are currently in the midst of the sea- The culmination of Holy Week is our Inside son of LENT, journeying to the cross and celebration of Christ’s victory over ultimately to the empty grave. As Chris- death and the grave with our Easter this issue: tians, we use these forty days for a time Worship services: of reflection, repentance, prayer and Easter almsgiving. Our Wednesday Lenten wor- Saturday, April 4 at 5 pm ship services continue through March From the Pastor’s Study 2 Sunday, April 5 at 6:30 & 9 am 25th with our featured drama: Invited to the Banquet of the King. Did you know…? Church Family News 3 We encourage everyone to attend these Lent is tradition- mid-week opportunities to worship and ally described as reflect. If you missed a week and wish to lasting for forty Mission & Outreach 4 “catch up” on the continuing dramatic days, in com- series, visit our website to view a video. memoration of Each week’s drama is videoed with per- the forty days Youth Ministry 5 mission from the author, Rev. Steven E. which, according King, General Editor at Sola Publishing. to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus Beginning with Palm Sunday, our Holy spent, before beginning his public min- Ministry Opportunities 6-8 Week services remind us of the path of istry, fasting in the desert, where he suffering taken by our Lord and Savior, endured temptation by the Devil.
    [Show full text]
  • Noach Artscroll P.30 | Haftarah P.1131 Hertz P.26 | Haftarah P.41 Soncino P.34 | Haftarah P.56
    13 October 2018 4 Cheshvan 5779 Shabbat ends London 6.59pm Jerusalem 6.46pm Volume 31 No. 6 Noach Artscroll p.30 | Haftarah p.1131 Hertz p.26 | Haftarah p.41 Soncino p.34 | Haftarah p.56 In loving memory of Yaacov ben Shmuel “…On that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth; and the windows of the heavens were opened” (Bereishit 7:11). 1 Sidrah Summary: Noach 1st Aliya (Kohen) – Bereishit 6:9-22 6th Aliya (Shishi) – 9:18-10:32 Noach is introduced as a righteous man who Noach plants a vineyard, eventually drinking its “walked with God”. He had three sons, Shem, wine and becoming drunk. Cham enters Noach’s Ham and Yefet. The people have become tent and disgraces his father; Shem and Yefet thieving and corrupt. Noach is told by God that then protect Noach’s dignity. After Noach wakes He will destroy the world with a flood and up, he realises what has happened and curses commands him to build a wooden Ark with Cham and his descendants, but blesses Shem specific dimensions. Noach and his family are to and Yefet. Noach dies at the age of 950. Cham enter the Ark, as well as a male and female of and Yefet’s descendants are listed, including every non-kosher species of animal and bird (see Cham’s great grandson Nimrod, a mighty warrior p.3 article). and conqueror. Point to Consider: How were Shem’s 2nd Aliya (Levi) – 7:1-16 descendants rewarded for the honour that In addition, seven males and females from each Shem showed his father? (see Rashi to 9:23) species of kosher animal and bird are to enter the Ark.
    [Show full text]
  • Genesis 7:1-16 ~ Commanded 1. the Building of the Ark Has Been
    Genesis 7:1-16 ~ Commanded 1. The building of the ark has been commissioned by the Lord a. Noah has found favor from the Lord, and his family is to be saved b. Now, Noah and his family had to build and prepare i. Gathering supplies and laying their hands to the long hours of labor that would be needed to build the ark ii. No one knows for sure how long the building of the ark took 1. Certainly, using only the tools available, it would have taken decades c. We also don’t know how long the ark had been completed when Chapter 7 opens with the Lord’s command… 2. It’s Time ~ Genesis 7:1-5 a. Pack up and load up i. The ark is ready—completed and prepared to house Noah, his family, and the animals that the Lord will send to board the ark ii. The reason Noah and his family are to be saved is once again repeated by the Lord 1. Noah’s “righteousness” a. Noah has been obedient to the Lord—not sinless, yet obedience has predominated b. Noah has not sought after the evil that the rest of the world has been seeking b. Load the animals into the ark i. Of the unclean animals—only a single pair, male and female ii. Of the clean animals—seven pairs, male and female 1. There is some debate over the exact number intended in the Hebrew a. It could be seven pairs b. It could be seven times seven iii.
    [Show full text]
  • Noach Beresheet (Genesis) 6:9 - 11.32
    Noach Beresheet (Genesis) 6:9 - 11.32 Noah is a righteous individual, unusual in his generation. Our Rabbis devoted a great deal of commentary to this opening statement of the Parshah, wondering if Noah was to be considered righteous only by the low standards of the time, or would he have been considered righteous by other generations as well. The rest of humanity, however, is corrupt and G-d decides to destroy it. G-d commands Noah to build an ark and to bring into it seven pairs (male and female) of all clean animals and one pair of all unclean animals found on earth. Noah also takes along his wife, their three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their sons’ wives. A great flood, lasting 40 days and nights, covers the earth, destroying all living creatures save Noah, his family, and the paired animals on the ark. Once the flood subsides, Noah and his family inhabit the earth and multiply. G-d’s promise to not destroy the earth again becomes a covenant with the people and is symbolized by the rainbow. Another important event in this Parshah is the story of the tower of Babel. When all the inhabitants of the earth spoke the same language, they decided to build a city and a tower which would reach to the sky in order to make a name for themselves. It was another challenge to G-d’s authority. In response, G-d confounds their speech and scatters them all over the earth. The portion ends with Terach, his son Abram, daughter-in-law Sarai, and grandson Lot settling in Haran.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparative Study of the Biblical Deluge Myth in Film
    religions Article “Not Your Grandmother’s Bible”—A Comparative Study of the Biblical Deluge Myth in Film Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro * and Lila Moore Department of Mysticism and Spirituality, Zefat Academic College, Safed 1320611, Israel; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 13 August 2019; Accepted: 11 September 2019; Published: 21 September 2019 Abstract: The biblical story of the Flood, which portrays a humanity worthy of annihilation, is the fundamental myth used by generations of interpreters as they radically criticized the society and culture in which they lived. Accordingly, the Deluge myth’s various versions and interpretations over the years mirror ever-changing cultural dilemmas and values. Our comparative–historic study observes this mirror and how changes in modern Western culture are reflected in it through the analysis of selected films. It exemplifies the representation and evolution of the Deluge myth in cinema from its inception to the present day, and demonstrates that the myth’s cinematic adaptation and its infusion with current interpretations turn it into an imminent apocalyptic threat. Apparently, the Flood becomes a relevant concern involving a wide scope of cultural, theological, and ethical issues, e.g., the problem of evil, ecology, the treatment of animals, family values, feminism, the Other, and deification of science and technology. Keywords: popular culture; deluge; flood; apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic films; bible films; ecology; theodicy; ecofeminism; science-fiction; feminism; comparative study 1. “The Myth as Consisting of All Its Versions” (Lévi-Strauss) Several ancient books mention the “Book of Noah”, which fiercely criticizes humanity. However, since this criticism is expressed in varied and contradictory ways, some scholars believe that this book never truly existed, but was rather an imaginary object used to make religious–social criticism (Werman 1999).
    [Show full text]
  • Doubling Gap Church of God Beacon 50 Mccrea Road Newville, PA 17241 717-776-6092
    Doubling Gap Church of God Beacon 50 McCrea Road Newville, PA 17241 717-776-6092 www.doublinggap.org Standing in the GAP with the Gospel FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR DON March 2019 “Time of Preparation” Volume 19, Issue 3 Luke 4:1-14 This month we will observe Ash Wednesday and in so doing begin a time of preparation, what some call Lent, leading up to Holy Week. The symbolism Inside this Issue: of the 40 days was not lost on the early Church as they would have been very familiar with the ‘40’ of scripture; 40 days and nights of rain in the days Pastor Don’s Info 1 of Noah, 40 days that Moses spent on the mountaintop with the Lord, 40 days that the spies explored the promised land, 40 years of wondering in the wilderness for Israel under Moses, the 40 days of temptation in the wilder- Pastor Brian’s Info 3 ness for our Lord as he prepared for the intensifying of his ministry, and 40 days of walking the earth in His resurrected body. So the number 40 has taken on a deeper meaning among the faith community. During Lent, many Schedules 4-5 people decide to give up something as a way of increasing their focus and attention on prayer and/or personal devotions. Often this ‘giving up’ involves Women’s Ministries 6 food and there is nothing wrong with that. But in the past several years I have been challenged and have extended that challenge to the body here at Financial 7 the GAP, to not give something up for Lent but to give something over to the Lord for Lent.
    [Show full text]