Dear Church Family,
Spring is just around the corner! To be honest, I’ve been grateful for the colder temperatures and the moisture we’ve received this winter, but I also know I’m going to be really glad when it’s warm again. Knowing spring is coming, Rachel and I sat down and set some dates to go camping and began doing some garden planning. We bought all our garden seeds and I think we’ll try to get some starter plants going within the next month. I walked to my greenhouse this week as the wind had blown one of the windows open during one of the blustery days last week, and when I walked inside, I couldn’t believe how warm it was in; even with a window open.
A greenhouse reminds us of the power of the sun. Here is a building with thin walls, surrounded by cold temperatures, and yet it is warm inside. In some ways, this is similar to the power of God within us. Have you ever had those days when it seemed like life was trying to “freeze” you out? Maybe you woke up feeling stressed over a certain life circumstance or something happened in the middle of the day and you felt like a plant left out in the freezing cold. This is where the power of the “Son” kicks in. In John 10:28-29 Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Let’s look at this through the imagery of a greenhouse. According to a simple interpretation of this verse, we are in God’s hands. His hands are our greenhouse, so to speak. Jesus, God’s Son, is our Light and within this spiritual greenhouse, warmed by the Son, we will never have to fear what is happening outside. I know. It’s a cheesy illustration and every analogy breaks down somewhere, but to me, this is another way of looking at something common like a greenhouse and seeing something amazing: God’s love and grace.
My prayer is this next month you will try to do the same. Rather than seeing things through the eyes of the world, try to picture what you’re using or seeing as an example of what God has done and is doing for us. You might be amazed at what you discover!
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20
Pastor Daniel
It seems that old adage about the weather in Nebraska is trying hard to prove itself true. First, it’s cold and snowy, then it gets warm and melts, then there is freezing drizzle, and cold some more, then warmer again……and well, it feels like that little fat groundhog was wrong, But then it gets cold again and snows. I don’t know about the rest of you, but life often seems like this same kind of roller coaster ride, and like the weather forecasters, we really don’t know what is coming next. You get something great in life followed by something painful. For instance, you get a promotion at work but then your teenager gets suspended from school. Your best friend gets married but then your aunt gets diagnosed with cancer. Let’s be honest, when something good happens, we wait for the next shoe to drop. Or when bad things happen, we wait for the next bad thing, because they always come in threes, right? We don’t allow ourselves to really experience what is going on in the present because we are waiting for whatever is coming in the future. We spend hours, or even days, planning for possible futures, possible outcomes, or possible negative reactions to upcoming interactions, etc. We are looking into the future and do not allow ourselves to slow down and focus on the present and the blessings that God is giving us right now. Our human responses tend to be, “How can we focus on the good when so much bad is going on in the world around us? How can we not be worried about the future as we imagine it all falling down around us?” Those are good questions. But the answer is quite simple: because God says to trust Him. I love Psalm 46, especially the part in verse 10, “Be still and know that I am God.” We really need to read, believe in, and trust what the rest of the Psalm says though too. I encourage you to take a couple moments right now to read Psalm 46 in its entirety and think about what God has done, is doing, and has promised to do. Then be still and know (understand) that He is GOD.
Pastor Eric