Road Trip - Part Three: A REALLY BIG BOAT

There is a section of the Creation Museum that discusses and brings to life through an exhibit the depiction of Noah's Ark, the REALLY BIG BOAT that God told Noah to build when He decided that He was going to destroy the world via a massive, global flood.

The caption on the placard in the above photo says this:

The Testimony of the Ark

The Ark itself would have been like a billboard, a bold statemnt of Noah's faith, warning of the coming flood.  The huge ship built for the saving of Noah's household (Hebrews 11:7) would have been a constant reminder of the impending judgement to all who saw it.

The scenes show Noah and his sons working on building the boat.  

The height and size of what we saw was huge ... but that was nothing compared to the LIFE SIZE construction that is the ARK ENCOUNTER in Williamstown, Kentucky.  (click on that link to be taken to the official website where you can view a ton of information about the exhibits, the construction of, and the organization that pursued its existence.

There's the Ark ... in the photo below.

It is massive and beautiful and impressive and enormous!

Right off, I thought to myself that they really did a fantastic job in the placement of Ark on the property in relation to the entry to the park, the parking lot, and the direction of the Ark itself from those locations.  The only way you are going to get a photo at this tremendous view is after you've gone quite a distance via the shuttle that waits just outside the ticketing exits.

The stone monument in the photo below is to symbolize that there is a story to tell.  In the times of the events of the Bible, large stones were stood in spots where something significant happened, where God had acted on behalf of the people in a mighty way.

The example given below references when the Israelites were able to cross the Jordan River on dry ground and they were instructed to take a stone from the river to build a memorial as a reminder to coming generations of what God had done for them.

So, in these photos, I will try to do this mammoth boat some justice, but really, you just have to see it.  It is quite amazing and no wonder it took Noah and his family more than fifty years to build.  It didn't take that long for this one but it did take several years to complete.

There is a lot of information about Creation and the events that followed and led up to the time of the Great Flood.

There are several spots from inside the Ark where you can almost see from one end of the Ark to the other.  IT'S A REALLY LONG DISTANCE.

The Ark is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet high!!

The Ark has multiple levels and one level was devoted to the animals that would have been aboard the Ark.  The exhibits show various animals that we are familiar with and even those that we aren't ... but that may have been around at that time and are now extinct.

Despite the humorous parts (see below), it was depicted very realistically to show what it would have actually been like.  I didn't take photos of everything but there was even areas of food storage and a visual understanding about where all that animal waste went to.

This was the door of the Ark.  It was a HUGE door ... and think about it ... it really had to be in order to FIT the various sizes of animals (and dinosaurs) that would have boarded the Ark.  

The photo below provides an idea of just HOW BIG that door really is!!

There were exhibits of work areas and living quarters throughout the Ark as well.  

It all looked quite nice ... like, you know, maybe I could live on an Ark ...

... I mean, take a look ... pretty nicely arranged, isn't it?

Oh yeah, ... it would be pretty nice, I think ... if it weren't for the rocking and the swaying and the really deep water.  Yep, living on an Ark is NOT for me.

You know, they were on that REALLY BIG BOAT for a whole year.  

That's a long time.

I think about how tired I am every day but then when I try to comprehend what it was like for this family to build this boat and then to live on it and care for all the animals that were on it, day in and day out, for a whole year ... EEK!!!

No one outside the boat could escape the flood.  No One.  

It is a sad thought.  It might even seem harsh.

But all were welcome on that boat.

And they made their choice.  

When Noah and his family were finally able to leave the Ark, they praised the LORD for saving them and he promised them that He would never again destroy the world by a great flood.

The rainbow is the symbol He provided so that they would remember.

Guess what??

On our way back to where we were staying, there was a rainbow in the sky coming out of the clouds across the bridges.  I'm disappointed that it does not show up well in this photo ... but it is there (almost in the center of the photo).

That was a pretty cool sight to see after visiting the ARK ENCOUNTER!

Road Trip: Creation Museum - Part Two

The first thing we did when we entered the Creation Museum (after we got beyond the entry way that is) was go into the 4D theater.  It was literally right there at the beginning and there was a museum staffer who said, "Would you like to see the show?"

Well, sure!  Why not??

The show?  It was called IN SIX DAYS ...

(not my photo - taken from google search) 

... and it was a dramatic presentation of what it might have been like when God created the world.  The entire thing was narrated from the words in the Bible and the screen magnificently depicted the scenery corresponding to the different days of Creation.

(not my photo - taken from google search)

You guys ... it wasn't two minutes into it and ... 

I Started Doing THIS.

I. AM. NOT. EVEN. KIDDING. YOU!

I basically cried through the whole thing and, of course, my family was completely baffled.  Most of them didn't even know I was crying until after we left the theater and, at first, I couldn't even speak, but ... once I was able to speak ... I relayed to them that maybe it seemed silly and I'm sure that NO ONE on this earth can possibly come close to duplicating something that ONLY God can do ... 

"But what if it WAS like that and I just witnessed CREATION?" 

It was an overwhelming feeling.

Of course, the basis for the Creation Museum is the account of Creation that is provided in the Bible.  And, of course, I believe the Bible is accurate and true and non-compromising.

The sequence of what was projected within the museum was that first: God Created.  Then: Man Corrupted Creation.  Finally: God Restored Creation.

They called it the Seven "C"s of History.

Though there are many photos to these posts, there was SO MUCH MORE to see at the museum than I am providing.  It was the FIRST TIME I ever read pretty much everything that was in a museum.  There were exhibits explaining about archeology and paleontology and the debate between young earth and evolution and how even though Science is often what is used against Creation and the existence of God, there is plenty of scientific evidence to support the TRUTH of what the Bible shares.

In the beginning, God created ...

... and all that He created was good.

But then ... all that was good was thwarted in just one moment of weakness, one instance of doubt.  It seems like it was SO EASY to undo and ruin God's beautiful, perfect Creation.

(note the serpent is in the tree above the man and woman)

I'm not gonna lie.  There have been times when the concept of how quickly and seemingly simple it was to disobey God, while being surrounded by everything good and perfect and all that you could possibly need, threatens to completely dissuade me from my beliefs.  

I mean, I know how easy it is to disobey NOW.  I was born into an imperfect world, with imperfect people, and confusion and chaos and conflict all around me.  But I wonder what it must have been like to have been among all that is perfect and calm and peaceful ... and to act against that so quickly and so easily ... it's just disappointing.

If God is sovereign, and in control, 

Why would He even do it in the first place?

If He knew ahead of time, what was going to happen, ... why bother?

Why create something/someone and give them the ability to choose if you know ahead of time they are just going to make the wrong choice?

Ultimately, I think God "allowed" Satan to deceive Eve, who in turn coerced Adam.  (The "WHY?" to that statement, well, I just don't know.) Clearly, Satan held a pretty significant position when he lived among the heavens and was a friend to God.  But he became too prideful and jealous and wanted the glory for himself.  And he was cast out of heaven.

So why wasn't he just eliminated?

And why is he allowed such power - the power that keeps the earth and all its inhabitants grappling for position and struggling for survival?

God is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-seeing, all-present ... He knows it ALL.  He sees it ALL.  He's in ALL things.  And He can do ALL things.  

... And the questions begin to spin in my head ... 

Was God lonely or something so He made the angelic beings to keep Him company and, if so, why in heaven would they even ponder the thought to try to go against Him?

And was God really all by Himself (well, besides Jesus, that is - but technically They are the same) before all else?

AND just where did God HIMSELF come from????

The one that gets me the most ... He must have even known that Satan would betray Him prior to creating him as well ... so, then I'm back to my initial question, "Why do it in the first place?"  

It hurts people!

It hurts to try to figure it out!

(not my photo - taken from google search)

But I believe that is because I am not meant to figure it out.  For now, it's not for me to know.

Even though I have questions and I don't understand everything ... it doesn't mean that I do not believe.  I do not have to understand it all to believe.

Just like there are so many things in this life that I just do not understand ...

... like how my car starts when I turn the ignition thingy without a key in it.

... like how electricity is generated from those huge wind turbines.

... like how carbon, under immense heat and pressure, becomes a diamond.

... like how I can click the PUBLISH button at the end of this post and it is then transmitted via invisible lines, waves, or frequencies literally into all the world.  

The fact remains that it is so, whether I understand it or not.  

So, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and they were cast out of the perfect place that God had provided them to live.  Then everything was difficult and they had to work to survive.  They struggled because their sin (disobedience to God) severed the relationship they had with God. 

Because sin had entered the world, generation after generation continued to disobey and turn from God.  Finally, God decided to start over and he sent a great flood, a flood that covered the entire earth and destroyed everything that was not upon the ark, Noah's Ark.   

(But I'll tell you more about that in my next post (because we also visited the Ark Encounter ... shhh)

When all of Noah's descendents disobeyed God to inhabit the earth, 

he confused their language causing them to spread out into people groups all over the world.  

Guess what?  Then they were forced to obey, weren't they?

But God did not have it in mind to continue to allow sin to rule over our lives forever.  He had a plan!  He had a beautiful, powerful, redeeming plan to restore the severed relationship and to bring peace into the hearts of all people.  

Our sin prevents us from having a relationship with our Creator.  It causes us to struggle and suffer and stumble through this life.  But God sent His Own SON, ... knowing the penalty for sin and the payment required for that penalty and knowing that not one of us could make that payment, ... Jesus took our place, the ONLY acceptable payment ... and satisfied the debt on our behalf.

Though I don't always understand it and despite the fact that I continue to make mistakes (which is a gentle way to say "disobey" - as I will in this earthly body), I BELIEVE that Jesus died for MY sins so that I would not be separated from Him forever.  I will not live on this earth forever but I will be with Him in heaven one day.

Simply because ...

... and I BELIEVE.

One day, all will be right again.  All will be made new ... perfect and good, just the way that God intended it in the beginning.  

If you get a chance, go to the Creation Museum.  It is unforgettable and I am so glad we finally went.