Month: Aug 2017

John 1:1-4 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

In my prayer time this morning, I was struck again by the thought that God created all matter. By a word. Out of nothing. The universe, the world, and all that is in it. And then I looked at my hands as they typed, and realised that every cell, every part, in amazing and awesome complexity, was created by God. But matter is something that is inert – think of dust, sand on the beach, something metallic. Inert. But is it? How amazing it is that God has taken inert matter and formed it into complex shapes and then given it life. And the living world was created. Everything animal and vegetable, in seemingly endless variety. And there’s more. Each lump of living matter has the capacity to generate more lumps of living matter, each recognisably the same, but individually unique. And there’s even more. The capacity to think and be creative has been granted to mankind. And God has set us into the middle of this beautiful creative explosion, perhaps as a foretaste of what is to come to those who love Him? Wow! But sin tries its hardest to spoil everything, egged on by the rebellious forces of darkness. And creation-deniers abound, pompously and arrogantly declaring it all happened by accident. But God won’t be mocked. He will have the last word. He is the Word!

Psalm 8:1 Lord, our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.

It had been a windy day, the seas whipped up by a strong Westerly breeze, blowing clouds across the sky, rustling through the reeds and ferns that make up much of the vegetation around us. Blue sky appeared during the afternoon and we were finally treated to another wonderful sunset over Jura, accompanied by increasing stillness as the wind died away. An atmosphere of peace and tranquility, though the agitation of the waves continued, as though unconvinced that the wind wasn’t still there, waiting to return and stir them up again. As the sun dipped over the Paps of Jura, the sky increasingly assumed wonderful hues of yellow, orange, red, merging from one colour to another, seamlessly changing to a light blue above me. A single star appeared to the South West, winking away, increasing the beauty of the scene. I stood there for a few moments, looking up at the heavens, experiencing the wonder that God lives above the Heavens, looking down at His creation. And showing us a glimpse of His glory. Wow!

Genesis 9:14-15 "When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life."
Hebrews 9:14b-15 "For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant."

A rainbow. To the West over Jura. Very bright, with one end resting on the Sound of Jura, the colours amplified and contrasted by the greyness of the sea. And it slowly drifted towards the East, finally coming ashore at Port Ban, slowly fading away, heralding another shower in this wet August. Such a striking display that people were stopping to look. Every time I see a rainbow, I'm reminded of God's promise to Noah, setting out a covenant between Him and mankind. But this morning I was also reminded of the New Covenant, established by Jesus. What a loving God He is! I am so blessed that I have a hope and a future, through an unbreakable promise given by God through Jesus.