7-15-2015

  Good Morning All!!

            Psalm 29:3; “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters.”

      We are in the time of the year when enormous thunderhead clouds will appear.  The incredible power that is contained in these massive clouds just boggles the mind. 

We will see them build up, sometimes flashing with lightening, as they mushroom higher and higher in the air.  They dominate the scene as you see the size and then hear on the news that they are hundreds of miles away.  If they are approaching you, the rumble of the thunder gives you a hint to the might that will be unleashed.  A typical thunderstorm will hold in excess of 1,000,000 gallons of water; it takes a lot of energy to hold that in the air.  It takes even more energy to form hail stones and all this energy, power beyond our ability to calculate, is ready to be unleashed upon the land.  No wonder smart people fear and take care.    

    It was probably a scene similar to this that David was recalling as he wrote this psalm.  He was recalling the power of God displayed through nature.  He speaks of shattering cedars in Lebanon and stripping forests bare; sounds like quite a storm.  Yet he also notes the contrast the gentleness of the birth of a fawn or the playfulness of a skipping calf.  Yet it is God’s power that moves people to fear and have awe which is amazing because it is God’s love that moves him to care for the people of his creation.

     We are easily impressed by power.  We watch contests where power is saluted; the homer run contest, the dunk contest, who can drive the golf ball the farthest, arm wrestling contests.  It is about strength and the power.  Powerful people are the ones most easily respected.  It is easy to understand why the majesty and power of God brings us to our knees and gets our attention.  Yet it is not God’s power and majesty that moves him to save you.  It is his love that moves him to redeem you from your sinful ways.  God loves you and wants to have a loving, fatherly relationship with you. 

     It may be God’s power that moves mountains but it is his that moves his heart to claim you are his own.  So as we praise God we need to be keen to the fact that God’s love for us never fails.  His love is demonstrated for us every day as we look at the care which he bestows upon us.  As we see the needs supplied and as we see our sins forgiven.  We see that we have hope for today and hope for tomorrow.  Nothing can separate us from God’s love.  God’s power is greater than anything we can know or imagine and yet his love for us exceeds his power.

Loving Father, your mercies are new to us every day and your grace pours over us like a river.  Keep us secure in the knowledge of our salvation.  Guide as we go on paths unseen and journeys unplanned.  Help us to always remember that we are safe in your arms.  The evil foe cannot harm us.  We can rest in your peaceful arms knowing that you are always with us.  Be with those who do not know this peace.  Send your Spirit to fill them with your hope.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret