Lookin Up At The Stars

Do you ever gaze up at the stars at night? I’m sure all of us have. As I look up into the sky, I am amazed at what I see. Not only is it beautiful, it is massive. We live in an incredibly large Universe. It is estimated to be as much as 20 billion light-years in diameter. There are an estimated 350,000,000,000 galaxies in the Universe. The Milky Way galaxy in which we live contains over 100 billion stars, and is so large that even traveling at the speed of light would require 100,000 years to cross it. Without a doubt, this is a rather impressive Universe. And to think, the God of Heaven created it all by simply speaking it into existence! What power! I am humbled by the thought of how small I am, when I contrast myself with the majesty of God. At the same time I am struck by how much God cares and loves me. I mean think about it, God created the sun, moon, stars and all that I see, for His greatest and most beloved creation, mankind. God made all the stars in the universe, He made the beautiful waterfalls of Yosemite, the breathtaking mountains of the Rockies and the hills and hollers of Tennessee…And He loves me more than all of these. He loves me so much that He chose to watch His only begotten Son mocked…mutilated…murdered for sins He did not commit, than to see me get what I deserve. He loves me so much He wants me to live with Him forever. WOW!

Falling Into The Arms Of A Loving God

When Kristie and I first started to get to know each other, one of our favorite places to go was the river. It was there that we built a great relationship by talking, getting to know each other and enjoying the beautiful work of the hands of God. I remember one of the first few times we went down there, while walking along the riverbank, Kristie backed up to the water and fell backwards. I instinctively reached down and caught her just inches away from the cold water. She would later tell me that the reason she fell was just to see if I would catch her. She wanted to trust me so bad that she was willing to fall head first in the nearly freezing water of the Elk River.

God is not satisfied with us just fitting Him into our lives or giving Him what is left over. The God who gave us life demands that we totally surrender our lives to Him.

“When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it’.” (Mark 8:34-35)

“…submit to God…” (James 4:7)

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

If you are struggling with life on this earth, it could be that you have not been willing to fully give God your life. Oh that we all would have the desire to trust God, that Kristie had for me to trust her. I pray that we would let go. Let go of our sins, worries, stress, cares and fears. Stop trying to control our lives. Just let go. Leap out over the water and fall head first into the arms of a loving, caring God!

A Moment Of Humility

Almighty Father in Heaven,
As I stand surrounded by the beauty and majesty of Your creation, I am brought to my knees by the awe of Your greatness. I struggle to find words to express the gratitude and praise You deserve and I am overwhelmed by thoughts of living in Your presence forever.