Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
During my lifetime I’ve seen plenty of snow storms up here in our neck of the woods, but one of the most severe blizzards in American history happened back in March of 1888. It has become known as the Great White Hurricane, and like a giant tidal wave it washed over the East Coast, all the way from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine. Back then they didn’t have Doppler radar in order to warn the public of what was coming, and before they knew it, they were ensnared in the storm’s ferocious grip. Its been said that in New York, they had sustained winds around 40 miles per hour with gusts as high as 80, creating huge snow drifts that were approximately 50 ft high! This powerful storm continued to rage on for a day and a half, dumping several inches of snow each hour. When all was said and done, it had dropped anywhere from 10 to 58 inches of snow, shutting down railroads, and burying railway and telegraph lines. Boston and New York City were brought to a complete standstill, and many people were trapped in their homes for up to a week.
This reminds me of the Christian Life
Whenever volumes of snow are dumped on the ground, it can completely halt traffic, transportation, and any type of movement at all. It causes everything to slow down, and even stop for a period of time. Schools are closed and children are stuck at home. Roads are buried and you can’t get to work until they are plowed. The hustle and bustle of everyday life is suddenly put on hold, and when you become isolated at home, you find yourself with all kinds of free time that you never had before. But sometimes it takes a blizzard to make people stop and think for a week, and reflect on their relationship with God. Sometimes it takes a storm to stop everyone in their tracks and make them realize how far into the world that they have actually become. Sometimes it takes a snowstorm to make people think about what is most important in this life. Sometimes it takes an act of God to make people come to their senses, and understand that it is time to seek the Lord.
Hosea 10:12 …….break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
So many things in this world can come in between a close relationship between you and God. The mind can become completely engrossed in the temporal things of this world, suffocating one’s heart from what they need most of all, a sincere relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, he is our creator, who made men in His own image. He provided us with this entire world to sustain us and to enjoy. He even shed His own blood on the cross as a sacrifice unto God for our own sinfulness and shortcomings. But like a son who abandons his own dad, some people do the exact same thing to God each day, when they place the things of this world above a relationship with Him. We seek after what we love most in this world, and for a lot of people, they are the things that matter the least.
1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Have you ever been stuck at home during a storm? Because I grew up in a rural area, this happened quite a few times during the winter, and we were normally the last ones to be plowed out. During those times, we would pull out a deck of cards or a board game, and the family would enjoy many quality hours with each other. There was a certain closeness that was shared between everybody, as all of our earthly concerns were completely forgotten about for a brief period of time. But those kinds of things can’t happen when everyone goes off in their own separate directions, and become overly concerned with temporal things. It is the things of this world that pull relationships apart, especially one’s relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather than making the time to diligently seek Him with a pure heart, He is slowly forgotten about, as they lust after the things of this world instead.
1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
The schedules and itineraries of some people are so filled up with worldly concerns, that God is nowhere to be found. Some of them might show up very religiously at a public church service somewhere, but that doesn’t mean that they are actively seeking God during their day through their own private prayer and worship.
Matthew 6:5-8 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
The disciples were actively seeking the Lord Jesus Christ, insomuch that they walked away from their own jobs just to be near Him all the time. Some people were seeking Jesus so much, they were completely unconcerned about food.
Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
The Lord knows the hidden things of everyone’s heart, and He knows who is genuinely seeking Him. We need to prove the sincerity of our love, by seeking Him first above all other things.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Sometimes it takes a blizzard for people to come to the realization about how far their hearts truly are from God.
Sometimes it takes a blizzard for people to prioritize what is most important in their life.
Sometimes it takes a blizzard to cause people to reconsider what they are doing and repent.
Sometimes it takes a blizzard, just like…….
……The Great White Hurricane
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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