It is good to live in the middle of America. We’ve had a nice week in regard to the weather. We are still in need of some rain, but feel blessed that we haven’t had the wind and other nasty things that have occurred in other parts of the country. We need to pray for our northeast coast residents, as they recover from the storm.
A headline caught my attention this week. After all, that’s what headlines are supposed to do. It was just one word: “POWERLESS.” We are reminded when a storm like “Sandy” comes along, that puny humans are just that. Powerless.
When the storm comes, we are powerless to do anything except ride it out. We are powerless to control the wind and the water, and when the power lines blow down, we are literally powerless, having become so accustomed to having electric power at our fingertips.
In a similar fashion, in our own strength, we have no power over sin, we have no power to save ourselves from sin’s penalty, and we have no power to work our way to heaven. In spite of our human wit and wisdom we can do nothing but throw ourselves on God’s mercy. It is only by the grace of God and his power that we can overcome sin and it is only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross, that we are saved from the penalty of sin.
Very few of the people in the path of Hurricane Sandy thought they could withstand her fury in their own strength. Those who had that idea most certainly realized their weakness when the storm struck.
In Jeremiah 27:5, God says, “With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it…” And who controls the weather? “He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses” (Psalm 135:7).
Yet, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:29). The Lord told the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words, our weakness only magnifies God’s power. We are reminded in Ephesians 6:10 to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
Finally, this benediction from Jude: “To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more! Amen.
If you are in situation you are powerless to change, call on the Lord. He cares, and he will give you strength to make it through the storm.
In His strength,
Pastor Jerry
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