Unique Amongst the Millions!
Many may frown but though it is spring snow is a beautiful blanket over Your creation, Father. Thank You for the reminder that though we control so much, that You are sovereign overall!
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As I drove my route this morning, I saw field after field of white, it got me thinking. Now there may be some very technically detailed people who would disagree but all in all, pretty much every single flake that made it to the ground was unique! And that got me to thinking, how many snowflakes would it take to add up to what we got last night? That involves quite a bit of math, but I found an interesting video clip put out about a year ago by COSI, officially the Center of Science and Industry. It is a science museum and research center in Columbus, Ohio (just down the road a bit from home!) The video clip was entitled, “How Many Snowflakes Make an Inch of Snow?” (<<Click on the title to watch it. It’s geared toward kids, so it’s about 3½ minutes long.)
Director of Science Content, Marci Howdyshell, greatly simplified the math but it works well enough to give us an idea of how many snowflakes make up a snowfall. She, for comprehension’s sake, guesstimated that one square inch of snow would comprise 1,000 snowflakes. I did the calculations and discovered that if we had 4¼ inches of snow last night on our 5.1-acre lot alone, that would add up to 136 billion snowflakes! (136 with 9 zeros!) That’s just crazy!
I put about 40 miles on my bus this morning! Just think, there were probably billions upon billions of snowflakes on the ground just within my sight! And to realize that for the most part, every single one of them was unique!
You…and I…we are unique – every single one of us! It is easy to get it in our heads that we are just one of millions. We are, but we are unique! God made us – each of us – to be exactly who we were made to be. There are no mistakes. We are special. He made us to love Him. And He made us to live out our lives on this old earth with a purpose! Besides loving Him, we are to love one another. There are so many people who need love – many don’t feel loved at all.
We are called to point others to God by how we live. If we are devoted to following God with everything we have – loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength – that love will radiate out from us drawing people to God. And just like snowflakes, if we joined our efforts for God’s Kingdom, we could cover the whole world with His love! Amen! (And that means “so be it”!)
For You formed my innermost parts;
….You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
….Wonderful are Your works,
……..And my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13-14 AMP
Apr 21st, 2021, Wed, 12:45 pm
An Apples to Oranges Comparison
Father, as we anticipate another wintery blast tonight after so many days enjoying the beauty of spring may we not be dependent on warmth anywhere but in Your presence. We find security in Your love and the sacrifice that enabled us to embrace it. Amen.
John 3:22-30 (<<click here to read the passage)
There is a pastoral acquaintance of mine whom I hold in the highest regard. He has been serving at a nice size church not too awful far away from where I am. He is young. He is creative. He has a charisma about him that makes people want to get on board and follow him wherever he may lead. He is inspirational in the way he leads his parish and to his fellow pastors…at least to me.
I would guess that I am 15 to 20 years his senior and though I have faithfully served my one church for almost twenty years, I’ve seen nothing take place as he has. In a lot of ways, it’s an apples to oranges comparison, and really it is not fair to even begin comparing them to each other.
He and I are different people with different gifts and abilities. Our congregations differ as well. It would be so easy to feel downhearted or, even worse, jealous of what he has accomplished in just a few years. But I don’t feel that way.
If anything, it brings me great joy to see him at his calling (I’ve watched a few of his virtual services). He is exuberant and in reality, it is contagious! It is exceedingly obvious that the Lord is with him. The genuineness of his faith in Christ exudes a glorious life that one cannot help but be drawn, too. I pray the Lord continues to fill and bless his ministry for years to come!
John was first on the scene, as well. At this point in his life, Jesus was moving forward with His calling and John’s ministry was shifting. Unbeknownst to him, very soon his life would be forfeit much in part because of his obedience to his calling.
But, please note, he most definitely was not discouraged and the green tinge of envy coloring nothing of his persona whatsoever. John’s reply when Jesus’ success was brought to his attention?
“No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John 3:27-30 AMP
Lord Jesus, may we avoid feeding jealousy in our lives. May we instead focus on the calling You have given us and be filled with joy at the success You give to others. Each of us has our callings to fulfill! Amen.
Apr 20th, 2021, 7:55 pm
Light Needed
A beautiful day, oh Father, Creator of all! And to think I am so blessed as to be able to take part in it these moments – walking through Your vastly intricate handiwork! All praise to You!
John 3:19-21 (<<click here to read the passage)
I would really struggle at being the school bus driver I need to be if I attempted to do my job without a good flashlight. You may have never thought about it, but school bus drivers are at it way before the crack of dawn.
I don’t know if my schedule is typical, but I am up most mornings a little after 4:00 a.m., which is time enough to wake up, get ready, have a bite of breakfast, and then be at the bus compound by 5:30 or so. Even on the students’ last day of school this year, sunrise still won’t take place until 6:04 a.m.
So, when we go to prep our buses for the day (we call it a pre-trip) it is still dark. And we have to see all kinds of things under the hood alone. Without light, I can’t tell if the wiring is in good shape or if something has burned or broken. I can’t read the oil level on my dipstick. I can’t make sure steering fluid is at the correct level…just to name a couple of things we check every day before we take students anywhere!
Remember when we looked at John 1:4-5? And don’t forget the “Him” John is talking about, the Light he is referring to, is Jesus.
In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it]. AMP
If a bus were a person, it would probably not like to be examined so closely on a regular basis. When something is found, it is poked and prodded until the issue is resolved. Just this year alone a few things on my bus have needed addressed – low coolant, wear on my fan belt, and seeing a consistent small decrease in oil level led our mechanics to find out that I need an O-ring replaced.
We don’t like it when others see our faults and our issues. It’s bad enough when they’re physical issues but most of us don’t volunteer to have a light brightly shone on our spiritual lives…but that is what Jesus, as the Light, does.
Here John helps us understand why we have issues
This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. vs19-20 AMP
Then on the flip side, when we yield to Light shining on our lives, we accomplish what He wants for His Kingdom.
But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].” v21 AMP
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Apr 19th, 2021, Mon, 7:09 pm
Flowers Along the Road
Father, what a blessing Sundays are. Time spent with family revitalizes and refreshes the soul. Thank You for being our companion and guide.
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Earlier this evening on our way home from Columbus, I veered off the direct route home to check out some wildflowers growing along the roadside that I had seen the last few days from my bus. I didn’t immediately recognize them from that high vantage point of my bus, and even when I stopped this evening to take a picture, it didn’t register what they were.
When I sat to write, I searched and found that they were wild phlox. They’re beautiful, aren’t they? Like most wildflowers, to my knowledge, no one planted them. No one has tended them. No one spread their seed or caused their root systems to spread. But wait…I stand corrected! No human being has done those things, but someone did set all of those things into motion.
Our magnificent Creator God did it all! Did we see Him do it? No. Did He tell us His plans? No. It all began before the human race had even come into existence!
The Old Testament Book of Job is considered one of the first written and no author is named. It is the story of a man wholly devoted to God. Satan, referred to as the Accuser, comes to God saying that the only reason Job is faithful is that he is abundantly blessed. God knows better but allows Job to be tested. Job loses his children, his riches, and his health…but he never loses his faith!
His “friends” try to accuse Job of some wrongdoing, for why else would he be allowed to suffer so? But he denies it and gives testimony to his faithfulness. He does cry out to God in his loss and hurt.
After the accusations are complete and Job has done his best to rebut them and has called out to God, God gives His response. Here is a portion of it but I would encourage you to read the entire 38th chapter of Job. (<<click the link to do so)
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
….Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions
….and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations,
….and who laid its cornerstone
as the morning stars sang together
….and all the angels shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7NLT
This passage is but one example of the mighty works of our God! Our finite minds cannot begin to fathom the greatness and glory of who He is and all that He has done.
A casual glance around us and it is obvious that all we see could not have happened by happenstance. As I searched for the name of these flowers, I saw picture after picture of the many wildflowers in the state of Ohio alone! And the world is replete with them! Every size, shape, color, and fragrance. There was no chance involved in their coming to be but there was the hand and mind of a great Creator! Give praise to Him this and every day! Not just for the flowers of the field but for His far-reaching love for you and me! Amen and amen!
Apr 18th, 2021, 8:07 pm
Perfect Timing
Father, thank You for Your presence that never leaves me. There is immeasurable comfort in that firmly established fact alone. I am grateful, too, for those who reached out with words of comfort and support. Please, bless them for their sensitivity to my needs and for acting on Your prompting to do so. Amen.
John 3:17-18 (<<click here to read the passage)
Do you ever question God’s timing? When we do, especially in our modern “instant gratification” culture, we seem to find Him acting too slowly for our expectations. But in truth His timing is perfect!
The Apostle Peter wrote in his second epistle,
Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9 AMP
God “delays” or is “slow” to act because He loves us! And because of that love, He is [extraordinarily] patient toward us. Another word for patient is long-suffering. God has suffered for millennia because He holds us in the highest esteem despite our rebellion and wandering hearts. His greatest desire is not for us to perish because of those things but that in response to our repentance, He can enjoy an eternal relationship with us.
Today’s passage speaks of Jesus being sent into the world not as Judge but as Savior. At this point in time, we bring judgment upon ourselves by rejecting His salvation. But there will come a time in the not-too-distant future when Jesus will fulfill His appointed duty as judge of all—the living and the dead as Luke shares Peter’s proclamation in Acts 10:38-42.
And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
“And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. NLT
God’s timing, as always, is perfect. We may think of eternity as some “thing” of the future, but we all make the beginnings of eternity here and now. And as Scripture makes abundantly clear the choice is ours. Whether we will be welcomed into eternal life with God or cast into eternal death apart from Him is totally up to us. We bring judgment upon ourselves based upon our decisions in the here-and-now.
Lord Jesus, first and foremost thank You for the salvation which You have purchased for us with Your very life. May we see ourselves for who we truly are and turn from our wicked ways to follow You with all that we are. Amen!
Apr 15th, 2021, Thurs, 9:04 pm