Mighty is our God in Creation: Part 1

The Might of God displayed in creation...Is something that anyone who believes in God will whole-heartily acknowledge, however do we really grasp the magnitude of His might?

Firstly, we need to arrive at a working definition of might. The greek word in the Bible for might is Dynamis, which is an awesome word meaning the power, strength, and ability that resides in a thing by virtue of its nature. With this in our minds we can now move forward and explore God's incredible might in creation.

This idea of the Might of God grasped me last week while I was at the beach. We went to the Atlantic coast of Florida, and for someone who normally goes to the Gulf Coast when he goes to the beach at all, I was awed at the powerful surf, waves, and undertow of the Atlantic. I was surprised as I waded out barely15-20 feet before I could feel the invisible currents begin to tug at my legs and the 3-5 foot waves would begin to batter me back towards the land. The farther I walked out into the water, the stronger the currents became. I reached a point where I had to essentially walk sideways up-current to keep my footing. I pushed my way out into the water until I reached a sandbar where I could at least hold my ground against the current's strong pull. I was far enough out that the waves had grown to 5-10 feet.

Wave after wave hit me and I was blown backwards time and time again. I was fighting one of those battles that I could never hope to win. Ten times out of ten the ocean's strength will overcome my own. I just stood there fighting the current and waves and gazing out at the endless ocean with the blinding sun reflecting off the beautiful white caps of the waves. As I stood there, it struck me how these very waves that battered me spoke literal volumes about the incredible might and power of God displayed in His creation; and in that moment I truly saw how inadequate my view of God actually was.

Maybe Success is Measured Best by Nothing Less than Our Obedience?

How do we measure our success in the moment? Over a life-time? It could be any number of things: wealth, education, knowledge, fame, prestige, power; or in the opposite direction: wife, kids, a family, serving others, helping the poor and desperate, giving to charity; or in some other direction altogether. We find meaning in so many things...but which actually lead to a life of success?
I was sitting at work at few days ago listening to some music when I heard this line in a song by Jimmy Needham:

"Maybe success is measured best by nothing less than obedience..."

This particular song “The Reason I Sing,” is about his journey and struggles as a musician. When I heard that line, it was as if a montage of life experiences, lessons, and Bible verses flashed before my eyes.

It was kind of like what happened to me the other night as I was watching The Usual Suspects.

Have you ever watched one of those confusing, suspense movies where you don't quite know what's going on until the credits roll? That’s how it was for me with The Usual Suspects. At the very end, one of the main characters, a police detective, finally pieced together the puzzle that the entire movie is centered around and the movie flashed through all of these images that were going through his mind, and I had an “aha” moment, I got it.


Well that is exactly what I experienced as that simple, poignant line was sung; everything at once came together and made sense. I am convinced that we have this awful habit of overcomplicating things that don't need to be overcomplicated. Ponder with Jimmy Needham and myself the definition of a successul life, maybe it's not as complicated as we make it...maybe it is incredibly simple.
 

Nightlights

Here is a powerful and convicting poem from Jimmy Needham called Nightlights:

Be Thou exalted over my reputation

Cause applause is a poor form of soul medication

And I've tried it for years but my symptoms remain

Still fretting the day that they'll misplace my name

Still selling my soul for American fame

Treating the promotion of Jesus like a well oiled machine

Advancing His kingdom just to snag some acclaim

Now, I'm both comforted and haunted that it isn't just me though

I see a nation of people needing to feed their own egos

Parading status like steeples

Do we not know it's evil to love ourselves more than both God and His people?

But see, here's where you turn this poem on it's head

Cause the greatest among us came as servant instead

And You humbled Yourself to the point of Your death

Apparently love for the Father's glory runs red

So friends, will we point to the Son till our own flames grow dim?

Will our bright lights become merely nightlights near Him?

Words echo once, let them echo again

Be Thou exalted over my reputation

Will we allow our bright lights to become merely nightlights near Him? Will we allow our desire for prestige and glory to fade while allowing His prestige and His glory to radiate through our lives?

Be thou exalted over my reputation