The Rainbow

A Lenten Series on the number 40!
Noah: 40 days and nights of rain
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 6:5-22; 9:8-17 

[Historically, Lent is a 40‑day period of preparation leading up to Easter. It involves reflection, repentance and readiness for the resurrection. Ultimately, it leads us to transformation. The number 40 is significant in the Bible as it is associated with multiple stories of preparation and testing. In this Lenten series, we will be looking at various Biblical stories that revolve around the number 40, and how that applies to us.]

  

During the fall of 2025, my wife and I took a trip to Maine to visit Acadia National Park. The scenery was beautiful, although the weather didn’t cooperate. We went up on Cadillac Mountain to see the sunset. Instead, the wind was howling and blowing so hard that I had to brace myself or be blown over.

 

Even though we couldn’t see the sunset on Cadillac Mountain, the next evening we did see it while driving around the park. Although it rained all day, as a result, we were treated not only to a beautiful sunset, but also to a rainbow.

 

There’s a lot that we can learn about God from the story of Noah. First, God hates sin! At the time of Noah, the world was flooded with wickedness. It was to the point that the Lord even regretted he had ever created humanity. If you’ve ever regretted something, you might be able to relate to how God felt.

 

⁶ So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. NLT

 

Therefore, God came to a decision. A decision on how to correct what he regretted.

 

⁷ And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”    NLT

 

Thankfully, the story didn’t end there. Despite the fact that since creation humanity has repeatedly sinned, God has repeatedly provided a way to be reconciled. This is the second thing that we learn about the Lord. He loves us so much that time and again he has provided a pathway back to him. In this case, Noah was the path.

 

⁹ Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.            NIV

 

The Lord told Noah his plans to destroy all of his creation by sending a flood. There would be forty days and forty nights of torrential downpour. But before that, Noah was to build an ark. He, his wife, his sons and their wives, and two of every animal would be safe in the ark.

 

Despite the fact that there was no body of water nearby, Noah did what God told him. You can imagine that people ridiculed him for building an ark so far from water. You can also imagine that Noah felt discouraged at times during the project.

 

Anyone who has worked on a building project knows the feeling. Murphy’s Law – “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” – was undoubtedly in play. Despite taking decades to build the ark, Noah persisted trusting God to be faithful.

 

After the flood, when the ground had dried, God made a covenant with Noah to never destroy his creation again. As a sign of this covenant, he gave Noah the rainbow. The same rainbow that we saw in Acadia.

 

What a wonderful reminder of God’s love, forgiveness and faithfulness.

 

¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”  NIV

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Power and Control

A series on the book of Micah
Week 2 – God's hatred of sin
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Micah 2-3 

[In the book “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Robert Louis Stevenson explores the struggle between good and evil in human nature. “Two sides of the same coin”, if you will. Similarly, Micah contrasts God’s hatred of sin but his love for sinners. In this series, we will look at both sides of God’s character and what that means for us today.]

  

Power and control! We all want control over our lives. One small way that you can see my desire for power and control is through how I keep my desk and office. They need to be well organized, not looking like a tornado had just blown through it. It helps me feel in control and I have the power to do it.

 

However, the problem with power is that it can corrupt. You’ve probably come across at least one person where that’s been true. Think of a mall security guard who is overzealous to enforce the rules; or a supervisor who micromanages; or a paper-pushing bureaucrat who enforces the rules capriciously.

 

Micah spoke out against those who were not only rich and powerful, but also used it to take advantage of the poor and downtrodden.

 

² When you want a piece of land,
    you find a way to seize it.
When you want someone’s house,
    you take it by fraud and violence.
You cheat a man of his property,
    stealing his family’s inheritance.       NLT   Micah 2

 

Also, in order to show how the leaders of Israel had no respect or compassion, Micah charged them, figuratively speaking, of cannibalism.

 

^2b You skin my people alive
    and tear the flesh from their bones.
³ Yes, you eat my people’s flesh,
    strip off their skin,
    and break their bones.
You chop them up
    like meat for the cooking pot.  NLT   Micah 3

 

Is it any wonder that the Lord judged Israel and Judah. God declared that He was "devising disaster" against them; a disaster that they couldn’t escape. Micah prophesied God’s judgment which came true when they were invaded by foreign powers. The result? Israel and Judah were exiled from the Promised Land.

 

The Lord hates sin, but he loves the sinner. He always provides a way for redemption. Even with these abuses of power, he gave Israel the promise of a future deliverance and restoration.

 

¹² “Someday, O Israel, I will gather you;
    I will gather the remnant who are left.
I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen,
    like a flock in its pasture.
Yes, your land will again
    be filled with noisy crowds!      NLT   Micah 2

Today, he still provides a way for redemption. Despite our sinfulness he gave you and me the promise of deliverance and restoration through Jesus Christ. Paul put it like this.

 

²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!     NIV    Romans 7

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

It’s Mine!!!

A series on meeting God – Ruth
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Ruth 1 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

“It’s mine!!!” Children have no qualms about laying claim to a toy that’s theirs, or that they want. Often, it’s not even a matter of whether they want to play with the toy, they just don’t want another child to play with it.

 

Imagine though how you’d feel if the original owner of your home returned after many years and told you that they wanted their property back. You’d think they were crazy! After all, it’s your home, not theirs. They sold it! The name on the deed’s your name. They have no right to what you own. You might respond, “It’s mine!!!”

 

In a way, Ruth the Moabite was like that. She said, “It’s mine!!!”, but about something significantly more important. Her story started when Elimelek took his wife Naomi and two sons to live in Moab to flee a famine in Canaan.

 

While there, Elimelek died. As a result, Naomi was left with her two sons both of whom married Moabite women. One of them was Ruth. After living there for about ten years, tragically, both of Naomi’s sons died.

 

Sometime later, Naomi learned that the Lord had provided good crops again in Bethlehem, so she decided to return. She told both of her daughters-in-law that they should also return to their families. But Ruth refused by telling Naomi, “It’s mine”.

 

^16b “For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.             NIV   

 

Instead of returning to the stability of her own family, Ruth went with Naomi to Bethlehem where they had nothing. They were two women alone without husbands. Making it worse was the fact that Ruth was a Moabite who as a nation, had a contentious history with Israel. Their circumstance was dire.

 

However, the Lord had made provisions for the poor. According to Mosaic law, the Israelites were stewards of the land, not owners. Therefore, besides redeeming the land, Mosaic law provided the means to redeem a relative that was in need or danger. The role of kinsman-redeemer was established to fulfill these outcomes.

 

^23a “The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me (the Lord). ²⁴ “With every purchase of land you must grant the seller the right to buy it back (or redeem it). ²⁵ If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him.              NLT            Leviticus 25

 

Ruth began to glean the fields of barley for food. The field belonged to Boaz who was a close relative of Naomi. Realizing Naomi’s situation, Boaz acted as her kinsman-redeemer by purchasing her dead husband’s property. He also acted as Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer by marrying her.

 

The story about Ruth the Moabite is a story about her amazing willpower, loyalty and faith in God. It’s also a story about the redemption, sovereignty and faithfulness of God.

 

Ruth was the great grandmother of David. Which means that she was also a direct ancestor of Jesus… the ultimate kinsman-redeemer.

 

⁷ He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.              NLT   Ephesians 1

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Our Day of Atonement

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– Jesus on Mount Calvary (Golgotha)
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Mark 15:21-41 

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

  

In 2004, Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ was released. It was an epic drama about the final twelve hours of Jesus’ life focusing on his suffering and crucifixion. 

If you saw the movie, you know how graphic and violent it was. But living it for real must have been horrific.

 

Following Jesus’ arrest at Gethsemane, he was subjected to a kangaroo court, both from the Jewish religious leaders and the Romans. The result was a conviction that condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion. There was no death worse than this, and the Romans had become experts at it.

 

After being slapped, spat upon, scourged and ridiculed, Jesus carried his crossbar to Golgotha, which means “Place of the Skull”. It was a site known for crucifixions, with skulls possibly laying on the ground as a reminder. In a macabre scene, the Roman guards drove nails through his hands and feet and placed him on the cross.

 

From 9am until noon, Jesus hung there, possibly naked, or at best with only a loin cloth covering him. He was outside the city gates by a highway where passersby would taunt him. The sign that Pilate had insisted on placing above him mockingly read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews”.

 

Other than John, and a group of women who had helped during his ministry, Jesus had been abandoned by all of his disciples - his closest friends. The crowds who had welcomed him into Jerusalem as the Messiah had now deserted him. From noon until three, “darkness fell across the whole land”.

 

³⁴ Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”     NLT

 

According to scholars, it was at this point that Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world; our sins; yours and mine. His Heavenly Father, who was “holy, holy, holy”, abandoned his only Son, who he loved, because he had become sin. Both Father and Son must have experienced deep despair and heartache.

 

³⁷ Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.        NLT

 

The curtain in the Temple hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was considered the dwelling place of God. Because of that, only the High Priest could enter once a year, and then, only on the Day of Atonement to offer a sacrifice for the people’s sins.

 

Jesus’ death was our Day of Atonement. He entered the Holy of Holies, not only as our high priest, but also as the sacrifice for our sins once and for all. Nobody else could have done this. Only Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God.

 

¹² With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.                                   NLT    Hebrews 9

 

²¹ And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, ^22a let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.                NLT   Hebrews 10

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Now You’re Cooking with Gas!

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– Noah on the mountains of Ararat
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 8:20-9:17 

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

 

When doing homework during high school, there were times when I would get stuck, especially with math. But I didn’t worry about it because I’d ask my dad for help. The only thing is, he’d never just give me the answer.

 

Instead, he asked me questions that made me think through how to get the answer myself. And when I finally understood and the light would come on, my dad would always say, “Now you’re cooking with gas!” I had no idea what that meant, but I knew he was praising me, and I would beam with confidence and pride.

 

There was a time in ancient history when things got really, really bad. The Lord saw how wicked people had become. In fact, the world was full of evil and violence to the point that the Lord regretted that he ever created mankind.

 

Because of this, the Lord said that he was going to “destroy every living thing — all the people, the animals and even the birds of the sky”. But not Noah, because Noah “walked faithfully with God”.

 

Therefore, even though there was no large body of water within miles, the Lord instructed Noah to build an ark. The reason that an ark would be needed was that the Lord was going to bring a flood upon the land.

 

It took Noah decades to construct it. You can imagine the abuse that he received from the wicked people for building such a large boat out in the middle of nowhere. And the cost must have been staggering. Yet, by faith, he continued.

 

Finally, when it was done, he boarded the boat along with his family and all the animals that the Lord had told him to take. When it stopped raining, the water slowly receded, the land dried and the ark settled on the mountains of Ararat.

 

Can you imagine what it was like for Noah when he got off the ark? They had lived there for thirteen months and when they came out, everything was dead… including all the people. It must have been shocking!

 

Yet, Noah’s first response was to build an altar to the Lord and make a sacrifice to him. The Lord was pleased with his sacrifice. And maybe sensing that Noah needed some reassurance, he blessed Noah and made a covenant with him to never destroy all life on earth again by a flood.

 

On the mountains of Ararat, Noah had a personal encounter with the Lord. And like my dad’s praise of “Now you’re cooking with gas!”, the Lord blessed and praised Noah for his faithfulness and righteousness.

 

From this story, we can learn a great deal about the character of God. We can see his redemptive nature. That even when mankind is rebellious, evil and violent, he always provides a means for redemption and restoration.

 

That’s what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Now, all we need to do is to get on the boat and listen for our Heavenly Father to say, “Now you’re cooking with gas!”.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Whatever it Takes

A series on the story of redemption – Part II
The story of Abraham’s servant
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 24:1-27 

[Everybody has a story. Even God has one. His is a story about love and redemption and faithfulness. In this series we are going to take a closer look at God’s story through the lives of the people that He touched. How their story became His story of redemption. And how your story is also a part of it.]

  

During spring break of my sophomore year in college, my girlfriend unceremoniously dumped me for another guy. After three years of dating, we had been very serious and planned to get married. But it wasn’t meant to be.

 

Before returning to school, I decided to take a few days off, even though it meant that I had to hitch hike the 445 miles back to school. If you were driving, that would be at least an eight hour drive. Also, it was still winter time in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with plenty of snow on the ground. But, I had to get back to school.

 

When something is really important, you’re willing to do whatever it takes. Such was the case for Abraham as he considered making arrangements for a wife for his son Isaac.

 

The Lord had made a covenant with Abraham that included his descendants, so it was critical that both Isaac and his wife believed in the same God. There would be no Canaanite wife for Isaac.

 

However, a trip to Abraham’s native land would mean traveling almost 500 miles by camel. Because Abraham was a very old man, he sent his most trusted servant to find a wife for Isaac. The servant was up to the task and swore an oath to do it.

 

On the evening that he arrived, he went to the well outside of town where all the young women would soon be coming to draw water. He had a plan for how he would determine which one the Lord had chosen for Isaac, and asked the Lord for help.

 

¹² “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. ¹⁴ This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”         NLT

 

Even before he had finished praying, Rebekah approached the well. The servant then asked her for water which she willingly gave to him. She then offered to draw water for his ten camels. Seeing that the Lord had given him success in his mission, he prayed again.

 

²⁶ The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”        NLT

 

The servant believed in the Living God who was personal, not some celestial being that didn’t care. He believed that the Lord had chosen someone for Isaac and that He would bring her to him. He believed that the Lord was faithful and loving.

 

Even though the servant wasn’t mentioned by name, because of his faith, he was willing to do whatever it took. Because of his faith, he played a critical role in God’s plan of redemption. Because of his faith, the Lord’s covenant was continued.

 

He was a common man doing uncommon acts of faith. Anyone can do that right? Whatever it takes!

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

Too Good to be True

A series on the story of redemption – Part II
The story of Abraham
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 12:1-9 

[Everybody has a story. Even God has one. His is a story about love and redemption and faithfulness. In this series we are going to take a closer look at God’s story through the lives of the people that He touched. How their story became His story of redemption. And how your story is also a part of it.]

  

There have been several times when my wife and I have been suckered by a sales pitch for a travel program that sounded too good to be true. Each time, after several hours of high-pressure sales, we would leave exhausted from the experience and promising to never do it again.

 

As a young man, my Dad told me that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Our experience confirms that my Dad knew what he was talking about. However, there is a story where it’s not true. Consider Abraham.

 

¹ The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”         NLT

 

Later the Lord reaffirmed his promise when he told Abraham to look into the sky. 

“Your descendants will be as many as the stars above… The only problem is that your wife can’t get pregnant. And look here. This is the land that I’m giving your descendants... The only problem is that the land is already inhabited.”

 

Problems or opportunities? Either way it sounds too good to be true!

 

But Abraham followed the Lord’s call to a land he had never seen. Even though it seemed impossible, he believed the Lord’s promise of descendants. For sure there were times of doubt; times when he and Sarah would try to take things into their own hands. But for the most part, Abraham trusted the Lord.

 

⁶ And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.        NLT          Genesis 15

 

Although Abraham didn’t know all the details, the Lord had a plan. It was a plan to provide a way for His creation to return to a relationship with Him. It was an impossible plan of redemption that would span generations over thousands of years.

 

And the Lord’s plan comes with a cost. The cost was for the Lord to sacrifice His one and only son who He loved. Only then is it possible for us to personally know our Heavenly Father, who loves us and longs to be in relationship with us.

 

⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.           NLT   1 John 4

 

The Lord’s promise to Abraham sounded too good to be true. Even His plan of redemption sounds so impossible that it can’t be true. But it is. Abraham gave us the blueprint for righteousness… faith. Jesus is the person to put our faith in.

 

²⁹ And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.             NLT           Galatians 3                                                       

 Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com