Lord of the Cold

As I write this we are in the midst of another arctic blast. Cold air and wind driving the perceived temperature down below the -30° C mark. Working outside, especially clearing snow, is possible but it is also difficult. Taking a break to warm fingers, toes, or cheeks is as important as getting the work done. Having a wife who will have a hot beverage ready when you come back in is a blessing from God. As the snow banks start to reach a height you cannot throw snow over, January becomes a bit discouraging.

With this background I found my devotional time starting in Psalm 147. I should have read this psalm over a dozen times, but it never really sank in until today. I know that God is the Lord of all creation: sunsets and sunrises, the torrential downpours and gentle rains, the crashing waves and the babbling brook. I have had the tendency to think of the cold in terms of the blessings God has given that we might endure. The cold is merely a trial and difficulty in life, but by the blessings of God we are able to live this far north in a sense of normalcy. The blessing of God in the terms of clever people to make the equipment we need to function outside enables us to overcome the cold. How narrow this is. Consider the following:

He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

Psalm 147:15-18 (ESV)

Certainly with the line, “who can stand before His cold,” reinforces how small we are and in need of divine blessings. He commands the snow to fly. The reality is that the surrounding farms are dry and need some snow melt for the spring. It is the casualness of the psalm that I find remarkable. Ice spread like crumbs, frost as ashes, snow like wool. It seems so minor that which can shut a city down and threaten the lives of the unwary. This is nothing new theologically, but my realization that this is another clear demonstration of God’s transcendence, being more than creation.

Realizations like this show us why we should read our Bibles daily. This is the Word of God for us and shows us the truth. There is so much that we cannot hope to comprehend the riches of God’s wisdom or perceive just how mighty He is in one go. Moreover, in reading a bit each day we have the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see in a fresh way how the Bible informs our understanding of the world. God is always at work in our lives and in reading our Bibles we might understand that better.

May God bless you as you spend time in his word.

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

New Year’s Solutions

The new year has begun. There is nothing special about the day, except the need to change calendars and maybe purchase a new planner, but we invest some meaning to it. So people engage in New Year’s resolutions, ways to help us to grow and become better people. This could be thinner, healthier, richer, better read or any number of ways to grow by any number of strategies. Sadly, most resolutions lead to failure. The resolution of January is often dead half way to February.

The resolutions, in a pre-COVID year, are a good thing for gyms and such places, which see a surge in memberships taken out only to rarely see such members after one or two months. There are all kinds of lessons involved here, but one important one is that people realize they are not perfect. They are neither perfect in their lives, nor perfect in executing these goals. This is significant. In a society that wants to stress the lie of being happy as who you are, realizing that many, if not most, want to grow as a person is important. It opens the door for many Christian discussions, I want to focus on two in particular. First, it is a basis for realizing that sin active in every life. There is a significant step from realizing the need for minor improvement to seeing that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Yet, the direction is there naturally, a sign post of what people need. Second, it is also a point that we can be better humans than we are, we can become more like Jesus.

First, if we need to change that implies that we are not good enough. The question is good enough for what or against what measure, therein lies the rub. That need to change shows us that we understand that we all have problems in life. It points to our sin and with sin everything starts to make more sense. Some might object that personal problems are not a sin. This is simply wrong. Everything we do affects the people around us, even if indirectly. Minor drug use is often held up as a harmless crime, but the lives of family affected, even if it is just parents is huge. The worries and nagging doubts in their minds are negative. The effects produce in the long term health-wise impact everyone, especially healthcare providers. Any other “minor” sin is the same if you bother to look closely at how it changes even the ways you react to people. So sin is not merely between a person and God, but the wider society as well. Correction may be personal but the effects of sin are always much larger than ourselves. Sin is real and it is a recurrent problem. Building from here, New Year’s resolutions are notoriously hard to keep, because sin is woven into our being (Proverbs 20:9). Indeed that pull towards sin is why resolutions fail. Sometimes resolutions stick but no one has a perfect track record here. This, of course, is the opening to the gospel and forgiveness of sin in the sacrifice of Jesus. The real hope for overcoming sin is in the cross.

The second way we approach New Year’s resolutions is to ask, “what does it mean to get better?” This is another point where the church has been active over the years. It is basic discipleship. So many of the resolutions fail because we are trying to be something by ourselves. We are trying to make ourselves more holy, if the resolution is good, which is a failing proposition. It is by the work of the Holy Spirit we become holy. This is often worked out in the context of others, especially a church family. This is why being part of a church is important: it is the best way to grow. We are able to grow because we are part of God’s Church and this is what God has designed the church to do. Be part of a church where people can get to know you, and you can be helped and help others. The worst of COVID is that people are being to believe the lie of the adversary that being together in a church is not necessary. Nothing could be farther from the truth!

New Years day is another day, with nothing terribly special about it. A simple modification to the calendar could change when we start a new year. God, however, is not contained or restrained by a calendar. Simply looking at the calendar we can even find ways to see God in these days. Even if it is a purely secular day, God is still there and it is good to remember that as we walk the windy road of life.

Photo by Michael Fousert on Unsplash