In the Midst of the Storm

A prayer for the day: You, O God, are Lord of heaven and earth. We pray for the Bahamas, our nation, and our state in the face of Hurricane Dorian. We thank you for your Spirit at work even in the midst of this storm. We pray for those in the path of the storm that they would have your protection, your help, and your healing. We pray for first responders who put themselves in harm's way to help others: for police, firefighters, the coast guard, physicians, nurses, all those who help and volunteer. We pray that you would raise up volunteers and care among your people as a witness to you and instruments of your peace and healing.
Lord we bow before your mercy, and ask for your grace, protection and help.

     Today, Hurricane Dorian is kind of hitting South Carolina.  At one point they were saying it would make landfall in our state, but we think not at this point.  In the midlands, we are getting just a little wind and a little rain, which is needed.
     There is an old song "God Moves in a Mysterious Way"  that says: "O fearful saints, fresh courage take.  The clouds you so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head."
There is much truth to be taught in this, but it is often truth we cannot hear because we leave God out.  Even Christians act as if God has nothing to do with creation, with the weather, with answered prayers or anything else.
      More people care about trying to diagnose the storm than to pray to the One who calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee.  Some just will not believe God can do that, or that God even wants to do that.   Part of this is we value this life so much, that if we lose our things or our stuff is destroyed then we think our lives are over.  This is a spiritually unhealthy way to look at life.  Why?  Because at some point we will ALL lose everything in this life- our stuff, our family, our great knowledge, our health, our beauty, our strength and handsomeness.
     I can remember having a house fire ruin much of my house, and having to move out.  If I had earnestly believed that my life was about stuff, then my life would have been destroyed and depression would have taken over.  Instead, I was glad to live through a dangerous situation.  God is not just here to bless us with safety and health.  In order to reach heaven we will lose both of these.  If we think God only exists to help us add stuff upon stuff in this life, then we are merely using God- like a Genie in a lamp.  Life is not just about what I can get and accumulate here.
     I am not afraid to trust in God and proclaim Him as the ruler of the wind and waves. I am not afraid to ask God for protection, or even to change the weather pattern.  God is not less powerful than our computers who simply try to diagnose (many times poorly) what He is doing.  These storms show the crisis of our faith in our day and culture.  Jesus, in the story below was asleep in the boat during the storm while the disciples panicked.  His rebuke to his disciples was perhaps more powerful than his rebuke to the wind and waves: "Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?"  In our world, we would rather choose to have no help than to believe we can call on God for help.  In doing so, we deny the help of the Almighty, and leave ourselves to the mercies of the wind and waves of life.  But if we do not recognize God's hand of protection then we will not thank Him.  If we do not believe that God can save us or help us then we will not draw close to Him or be grateful to Him.
    So today, if you have no hurricane blowing away your belongings- give thanks to God our deliverer, our shield, our protector, our refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble.

"Jesus was in the boat.  A furious squall came up and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.   Jesus was in the stern sleeping on a cushion.  The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Peace! Be still!  Then the wind dies down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith? "  They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey him!"  (Mark 4:37-41)

Sermon on God in the Storm

Thoughts on the Moonlanding Fiftieth anniversary,

The heavens are telling the glory of God; the earth proclaims the work of His hands.  (Psalm 19:1)

I watched in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the flight to the moon (July 20, 1969) a documentary "For All Mankind" with the astronaut's film footage and commentary.  I believe it was Neil Armstrong talking when the astronaut said, "In space I felt like an alien, but on the moon I felt at home even though the earth was a long ways away.  But I realized we were there by the grace of God.  I felt something other than what we could visually sense.  A spiritual presence was there.  Perhaps it was because so many people on the earth were focusing their attention on us- maybe sending signals to us somehow.  I sensed maybe like the first people on the earth- they were all alone but had a special communication.  We felt an unseen love.  We were not alone." 
    Buzz Aldrin was an elder at Webster Presbyterian church outside Houston.   He told his pastor that he wanted to convey that this event was more than electronics, computers, and rockets.  The pastor later told Guideposts magazine that "One of the principal symbols is that God reveals Himself in the common elements of everyday life." Aldrich poured grapejuice (with just enough gravity on the moon) into a chalice from his church.  He laid the elements out on a small table.  He asked the world listening in to take a few moments of silence and "to give thanks in his own individual way."  Then he read John 15:5 (one of my favorite verses): "I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit, for you can do nothing without me."  Aldrich partook after reading the verse and he said he felt a strong unity with his church back home and the church around the world. 
     Aldrich was a missionary of sorts.  He brought his faith with him to the moon.  Wherever we go, we need to do the same.  He did his work well and He was not embarrassed (despite pressure from Madeline Murray Ohaire) to speak a good word about the One who made the moon, the earth, and the heavens. 

Prayer: Lord, wherever I am may I remember you and your love for me.

[Part taken from "Nine things you should know About the Communion Service on the Moon" by Joe Carter on the GospelCoalition.com website. ]