Devotions Archive Archive: 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Search Archive Print This Article Flash point Saturday, December 5, 2009 Isaiah 30:23-26 He will give rain for the seed that you sow in the ground, and the wheat that the soil produces will be rich and abundant ... Upon every high mountain and lofty hill there will be streams of running water ... The light of the moon will be like that of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times greater, like the light of seven days. Matthew 10:7 Jesus told his disciples, "Freely you have received, freely give." "The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him" (Isaiah 30:18) A hundred years ago it was said that the "sun never set on the British Empire." That sounds good to me. I miss the sun when it hides behind clouds for more than a day at a time. It is as central to life as breathing and blood. My friend Tim told me of a conversational prayer he had with God about work and personal effort. God pointed out that to produce the energy given by the sun we would work endless hours and give up much of what we take for granted. But God ... he just put it up there. It's for you, he says. Receive it. It's free. Our attempts to match God's handiwork, or compete with it, or replace it, often end badly. J. Robert Oppenheimer famously quoted the Hindu Scripture Bhagavad Gita after he successfully shepherded the first atomic bomb to its completion, "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." In 1986 the most powerful bomb ever built was detonated by the Soviet Union. Its mushroom cloud was 40 miles high, seven times higher than Mt. Everest. It yielded 10 times the destructive power of all the combined explosives used in World War II, including the two atomic bombs used at the end of the war. This bomb's power was equivalent to 1.4% of the energy produced by the sun. I might dither, and I might putz, and I might even feel efficient sometimes. But God is the one who provides for me, and my job is to honor Him, worship Him, and wait for Him. You are good, our Father, and gracious to us. You heal our broken hearts. You tend our wounds, and still you know the name of every star. How great is your wisdom, even as you sustain the breath of the smallest one. So I praise you, and praise you, and wait for you. (Psalm 147) "; Add      Edit    Delete