The Scenic View: What Do You See?

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 21:20:00 GMT

We were coming home to Mukilteo from Montana last month, during our state’s extended wildfire season. Driving along on I-90 was interesting, because the sky was more orange than usual. I say usual, because dust storms frequently whip up the forever-reaching farmlands of eastern Washington in late Summer, creating mini-tornadoes and that orangey tint to the sky. This trip, though, was different. The orange was all around us, almost like how I would picture the sky of Mars.

After hours of this unusual experience, we finally reached The Gorge, the Columbia River gorge. Before we descended down the 560-foot vertical drop to the river bridge below, we saw a blue sign: “Scenic View”. It pointed to an exit, or what I assumed was an exit, because we could not see anything beyond the sign itself! Scenic View?? All we could see was the thickest blanket of orange cloud you could imagine. At that moment, we had a weird sensation: we actually felt alone, surrounded by the smoke but also disconnected from the reality of what was around us, and requiring me to be all-the-more careful of my driving.

For the next half hour or so, I thought about how ironic The Scenic View That Wasn’t was. And then of course my brain went into sermon-building mode. The sermon title could be “You Are Never Alone”. Yeah, good topic to go along with this good imagery. The heroes of the story would be King David (of David and Goliath fame), Joseph (think coat of many colors), Elijah (rides a chariot of fire), and even Jesus Christ Himself.

David (future King) is pursued by Saul (current King) for 22 years while David waited to be crowned. His life was in constant peril; Saul wanted him dead. You bet David felt alone. Joseph was left in a pit by his own brothers, and later abandoned in a jail. HE sure felt alone. Jesus Christ called out from the cross in Matthew 27:46: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

And then there’s Elijah. Elijah, feeling pumped after tremendous victories of God over those who worshipped Baal, got a death sentence pronounced over him by Queen Jezebel. As quickly as his enthusiasm shot up, it crashed, and he took off for the desert to hide. Just like that, he was done. No more. Nope. Alone.

But was Elijah alone? Of course not! God never left; it’s just that Elijah forgot to listen for him. 1 Kings 19:12 says that God spoke to him “in a gentle whisper”. Well, yeah, gentle whispers are easy to miss, but they are there nonetheless. The punchline of this story is that even though Elijah forgot God, God had never forgotten Elijah.

Making this personal, I want to encourage you and give you a glass of cool water for your soul, especially if it is in anguish over any number of reasons. I say to you today, “You are not alone”. The Bible says in multiple places that Jesus will never leave you or forsake (fail, leave, abandon) you. God Himself says it in Joshua 1:5.

I’m going to quote and close with 3 passages that really drive home this Word of hope:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6)

“And surely I (Jesus) am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Feeling overwhelmed by XXXXXXXX (you fill in the blank)? Lift up your head and see your Savior standing right next to you. Call on him to save you with his love and grace. And listen for him; it may be from that still small voice. Big problems or small, God will always be there for you.

To Be-lieve or Not to Be-lieve; That is the Question

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 20:53:00 GMT

In the Bible, New Testament, Book of Luke, there’s a priest named Zechariah. He’s married to Elizabeth. The angel Gabriel (yeah, they really do exist) appeared to him while he was doing his duty at the altar. Zechariah was terrified… as most people were when they saw angels. The angel calmed him down because, basically, if you were met by an angel while performing your priestly duties, it usually meant something was wrong. But the angel reassured him that he had found favor with God, and God was going to bless his wife with a son, whom Zechariah should name John.

Nine verses later in the same chapter, Gabriel shows up again: this time to Mary, the future mother of Jesus. Mary, too, was “greatly troubled” that an angel had appeared. He reassures her that she, too, has found favor with God and that she will give birth to a son. She is to give him the name Jesus. Hmmm, interesting.

So, the similarities are stunning between Zechariah’s encounter with Gabriel and Mary’s, and not coincidental. Both come from the line of priest Aaron. Both were afraid when Gabriel appeared. Both had favor with God, both received good news, and both Elizabeth and Mary were going to have baby boys. And, for both, it was physically impossible for them to have a baby: Mary was a virgin, and Elizabeth was barren and “well along in years”. But there’s a difference in attitude between Mary and Zechariah, which exposes the level of faith in God each had.

Zechariah’s response to Gabriel’s good news was, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” Mary’s response was, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Do they sound the same to you? On the surface, maybe, but let’s dig deeper. What happens to Zechariah? The angel rightly calls out his disbelief that God will make it happen and he is struck dumb until the baby is born. Zechariah wasn’t asking how God was going to do this miracle; he was asking, “How can I know for sure that God will do it?” Doubt; skepticism; lack of faith. After all the years waiting and praying for a baby, Zechariah had given up on God.

Mary’s response could be rephrased to, “How do you plan to do this, Lord, since I have never slept with a man?” See the difference? Mary believes God will do exactly what He’s promising to do; she just wonders how He will do it. “What can I expect?” “How are you going to accomplish this amazing thing?”

In both stories, God made a promise through Gabriel: a promise of blessing to two people he favored. God’s promises never fail; know how I know? He says so: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Luke 21:33)

But the real star of this article is not Zechariah or Mary. It’s really about Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth! What’s so cool about Elizabeth? Whereas Zechariah (eventually) and Mary (immediately) believed God after they encountered Gabriel with their own eyes, Elizabeth believed God just based on the account she had been told! Jesus taught on this very topic: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) Remember “Doubting Thomas”? Jesus was declaring the special blessing on those who believe God simply from hearing the Good News. Elizabeth believed God, not because God showed himself to her or that she saw an angel. Elizabeth believed because she knew that God always made good on his promises.

Mary and Elizabeth are examples to us all, of people who just trusted God. Life for them was an adventure with God, not one of fear of man. When we believe God’s Word is a love letter to us, We can believe, because we know who we are to the promise-keeper. Don’t allow your head to resist him, just because your brain thinks it’s impossible.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (Jesus, John 16:33)

One Body, Many Parts

The Scenic View: What Do You See?

To Be-lieve or Not to Be-lieve; That is the Question