April Showers Bring May Flowers
By Bruce Cannon
Mitchell County
What a glorious time is Spring! Flowers are blooming. Temperatures rising. Gardens will be planted and these beautiful mountains turn green. Won’t that be a blessed time! Perhaps then we can finally see an end to the flu that has so plagued people across the nation.
My wife reminds me regularly to remember to look at God’s creation here in Western North Carolina. I hate to admit that I get so focused on the tasks at hand that the beauty around me gets lost in the details. She will direct my attention to a rock formation, a babbling stream cascading over rocks or a few deer grazing in a pasture. There is so much aesthetic value in beholding what God has created instead of focusing on the creations of my mind!
Take time to witness the unfolding of the amazing creativity of our Lord as Spring comes. Remember there is a God behind all of that who could have created a black-and-white world only. Revelation 4:11 states, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” He created all of this for His pleasure, but we get to take joy in it also.
While studying for a message to be delivered to students recently, I learned that CNN reported in May 2004 the universe is estimated to be 156 billion light-years wide. If accurate, the universe is HUGE! A light year is the speed light travels during a year (5.86 trillion miles) which must be multiplied by 156 billion years. You do the math.
A hermeneutical principle states, “that which is created is always less significant than its creator.” If God can create such a magnificent universe, as He has, surely He can take care of us….His greatest creation! Amen!
King David, in Psalm 19:1-6, spoke of the greatness of our God. Read what he wrote: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.”
What is David saying? Our God is amazing, incredible, and without end, and a limit to His power and presence!
My heart breaks for those who believe our God to be nothing more than a fairy tale and crutch for “those afraid of the dark”. How blind can one be to not be able to see God in all of His handiworks!
The next time you are driving around these mountains pause to reflect on the love and greatness of the God we serve. After all, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” (Psalm 24:1), and “The heavens declare the glory of God.” (Psalm 19:1)
Enjoy Spring. Remember there is a loving God who created it all and whose heart is for us. Remember also the depths of His love for us; that He would give His only begotten Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sins AND that the tomb is empty. Praise God! And, Happy Easter!
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Reverend Bruce Cannon recently retired as the Senior Pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church in Bakersville. Formerly he served as Director of Missions for the Bladen Baptist Association and he has served on the General Board of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
You can read more Good Christian News from Pastor Cannon HERE.
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