All the Earth will sing

 When we lived in the Bush, we lived on a small Lake we called Paradise. It still does not have an official name on the topographical maps, but our house and outbuildings are clearly visible. It was living out there that I learned that, as the song says, Heaven and Nature Sing. Nor is it outside the realm of possibility that the stones would cry out in praise, as described in Luke 19.

In the winter, it got cold, really cold, for long periods of time; -20 for several days was common.   It must have been late in the season because I remember sitting in a snowbank like it was a recliner, just staring in awe. 

The Aurora, the Northern Lights were out. 

They were gliding across the inky black sky in shimmering greens, reds, and blues. Swirling around, first one way, then another in a beautiful waltz. The Lights were the brightest, most vivid display I had seen until that time or since. The colors! Green would flash to white, the red would suddenly be magenta, and blue was ribboned around Aurora as she danced in the night. 

What made this performance truly remarkable was that we could hear the song of the Aurora as she danced across the sky. We could hear hissing and popping as it kept time with the Lights, sometimes so soft it was barely audible, other times very clear, but never loud. It was not exactly static electricity or the radio being almost tuned, but that is the closest I can come to describing the music of the night sky. 

A more common song was sung by the lake in early winter, just after freeze-up. As the ice grew thicker and deeper, it would expand and icy fissures would explode onto the surface of the lake. The music would sound like the deep rumble of a guitar string humming across the surface of the lake. During break-up, the wind would push the rotten ice to and fro, and the tinkling of the ice sounded like God's wind chimes. 

As I contemplate Holy Week, what this week means to me, and indeed to all of history, I am reminded that Luke 19:40 tells us that if the people stop praising God, the stones that lined the path would shout, cry out, and cheer with praise. God created us to praise and worship Him. If we stop, other parts of His creation will take over the praise. Listen to the music God created. It is in the babbling brook, the roaring ocean, and the breeze through the leaves. 

Lord God, I will always praise You!
 I will praise you with music; I will praise You with voice and instrument. 
Thank You for reminding us that all of creation will sing Your praises. 
As we remember this, the Holiest week in history, 
may we never stop Praising You. 
This week ends with Your death for my sins. 
I praise You and Thank You for my salvation. 
In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.  

Frustration

I get frustrated way too easily.

There is a litmus test that is only a bit of a joke. To find the true character of a person, give them slow internet. 

My frustration today was not slow internet but my own faulty memory. Passwords! 

In the computer age, we have passwords for everything. Some of them must be updated periodically, others never need to be changed. They all need to conform to a specific combination of capital letters, numbers, and symbols.  Some have to be a certain length too. 

I have not needed this specific password in some time and naturally did not have it saved correctly. I knew I knew the password and did not need to change it. I must have typed and retyped for close to a half-hour before I accepted that I did not remember the correct combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.

I am so grateful that God does not require passwords. I can upload praises, thanksgiving, and requests by simply talking to Him, praying. Pray without ceasing! (1Thess 5:17). Paul is not telling the Thessalonians, or us, that we have to be in a constant state of head bowed, eyes closed, thee and thou praying. We should always be ready to talk to God though. Thank Him for the sunshine, snow, and Northern Lights. Praise Him for the uneventful trip to the grocery store. Ask Him for guidance, for help with the work issue, or homework that is plaguing you. 

Downloading from God is just as easy! Open the Bible, read what He has to say about any subject, any time. There are some fantastic apps that will help with systematic reading, devotionals geared toward specific topics, and different versions of God's Word. (I love YouVersion!)

Best of all, no passwords, no slow connection, no buffering, no waiting. God is always there, ready to hear from His beloved Child - You!

Lord God of the Universe. I thank You and praise You for always being available. You never make me wait, You never are too busy. Forgive me for not listening to You as quickly as I should, forgive me for repeatedly trying it on my own and only giving it to You when my frustration level peaks. Help me Lord, to remember to turn to You first, not last. In Jesus' precious name I pray, Amen. 

Sin is Forgiven

I am a sinner, saved by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone. When we become Christians our sins are forgiven and forgotten. Never again to be held over us.

John 8:44 tells us that Satan is a liar and is the father of lies. Satan will keep poking the bear, he will keep bringing up sins that have been forgiven and forgotten by God. 

He is a liar! Never forget - Satan is a liar. He cannot have your soul any longer so he wants your peace and joy. He glories in our misery. Satan will use our past to deaden our present and ruin our future if he can. 

Repentance is turning away, turning your back on your old nature, and being a new creation in Christ Jesus. 2 Cor. 5:17 tells us "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." Paul did not say this person will be a new creation, might be, should be, no - he said this person, you dear Christian, ARE a new creation. 

The old things have passed away. Turn your back on your old nature. Confess and repent. Do not confess to me or any other person. No human has the power to forgive sin, that is God's area of expertise. 

Which sins can be forgiven? All of them.

• Were you an alcoholic? Forgiven
• Drug abuser? Forgiven
• Have an abortion (or have a girlfriend/wife who did) Forgiven
• Thief? Forgiven
• Murderer? Forgiven
• liar, disobedient to parents, ran the red light? All forgiven

Once God forgives sin, He forgets it as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). Think about that for a minute. One can measure the distance from the North to South Poles (12,436.12 miles) but can we measure how far it is between East and West? If we travel north to the pole and continue in a straight line, there is a place where we begin traveling south. But If we travel west, there is no point at which we begin traveling east.  

There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. He loves you with an everlasting love, nothing you do can change that, nothing you do can make Him love you more or less. 

Thank you, God, that you are the Father of truth and that You love me even when I stumble. Thank you for removing my sin as far as the East is from the West and that you remember it no more. We praise you for dying to save all those who will call on Your name. I know, Lord, there is nothing I can do to earn salvation and nothing I can do to lose salvation. I praise You for this free gift, available to anyone who asks. Set a hedge of protection around us to keep Satan and his lies from penetrating our hearts and minds. I love you Jesus, Amen. 

It is a balancing act

One of the fun things about living in the bush was traveling in small, single-engine airplanes. I have flow in everything from a two-seat Super Cub to a multi-passenger Beaver. I have more take-off and landings on water or ice than I do on paved runways.  Most of the time, I have been the only passenger and the rest of the area was taken up by supplies. The plane I flew in the most is a Cessna 206, the SUV of the flying world. It can carry six passengers and haul around 1500 lbs. 

One cold winter morning, I had a full load coming home. We always weighed our stuff because we did not have to leave anything behind. As was normal back then, the airstrip our favorite charter service was using at the time was gravel and uncontrolled. There is no such thing as baggage handlers. When I arrived with my truckload of supplies it was still dark, and well below zero.  The pilot was chatting with a couple of friends and enjoying a hot cup of coffee. I asked if I could do anything to help get my load ready.  Laughing, he said I could load the plane. 

Understand, I had handed supplies to the pilot as he loaded the plane for years. I had watched him and others seemingly play a game of Tetris fitting everything in the airplane as if in a jigsaw puzzle. I am a pro at packing boxes to get the most in and wasting the least space but had never loaded an airplane by myself.  I reminded the pilot I had not done that alone and asked if there was anything I needed to know. He said to distribute the load evenly and do not put anything on the rudder cables. OK, easy-peasy.

A half-hour later, the sun barely peeking over the horizon, I told the pilot I had loaded the plane and we were ready to go. He came out of the office, took one look at the 206, and asked what had I done! The 206 has a trike configuration in its gear, one ski at the nose and two under the wings.  The front ski was still on the ground, but barely, the tail was still off the ground, but the plane was not level. I told him I had loaded the plane, like he said, the weight distributed evenly. 

We both learned valuable lessons that morning. He learned to be clearer in his instructions and I learned that in the aviation world, even distribution means only over the wings, not nose to tail.  He quickly rearranged a few heavier items and soon we were airborne. The stall buzzer sounding the whole trip. 

Sometimes the stress and burdens in our lives can seem like a heavy load, too much to handle. We get wise counsel on how to carry the weight but sometimes the advice can be off, just a little, and everything is out of balance.  

Jesus invites us to come to Him, all who are weary and heavy burdened, He will give you rest, His burden is light (Matt. 11:28). Paul tells us in Galatians 6:2 to bear each other's burdens. 

So which is it, light burdens or so heavy someone else has to carry the load?

It is both. Sometimes our burdens are too much to bear, we are nearing the breaking point and one more thing will break us in half. When that happens, we are to go to our brothers and sisters and redistribute the load. 

The young mom just needs a couple of hours of quiet.....volunteer to babysit

The elder is not sure how they are going to make their SSA stretch this month....take them food

The teen has devastating news to tell their parents.....sit with them as they confess

If we do not know what the burden is, how can we help? Have accountability partners. Trusted mentors and friends who can come alongside you and give wise counsel and practical help. This is what sharing burdens look like. 

Lord, help me not to be too proud to seek help when the burden is too great

Help me to see those who you love, as You see them

Show me where I can ease another's burden

I praise You for the gift of Life. 

I love you Jesus, Amen