Niagara Falls

Am I a Signpost or a Destination?

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6 NKJV

Imagine that you are headed for Niagara Falls. You can’t wait to get there, because, though you have never been there before, you have heard from others about its amazing beauty and power. Along the way you see a signpost ahead, “Niagara Falls, 30 miles.” Though, you get excited to see the sign, and grateful that your destination is close, you do not pull over, get out of your car and set up camp. No! You have not traveled to see the signpost. You want to see the real thing!

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That is a funny thought, but strange as it may sound, we who have been Christians for a while, can easily begin to think that we are the destination instead of the signpost, and we forget that our only job is to point the way to Jesus.

In today’s verse, the phrase, “The Lord is my helper,” is such a curious term that, since I didn’t understand it, I mentally filed it away under the heading, “Check back later.” It felt awkward because Jesus was certainly not under my command. I knew that He was far more than a good handyman to call when the kitchen sink springs a leak. But when I looked it up, I discovered that the Greek word here does not mean that God is our servant. Instead, it says that He is someone who shows up when I am in a fight with someone stronger than me and chases them off. But unfortunately, it is our tendency to take credit for what God has done, forgetting that we are just supposed to be the signpost. There is nothing amazing about a signpost. No one puts a parking area around a sign or builds a 5-star hotel for people to stay overnight there. As signposts we simply point to Jesus and His amazing power, love, and mercy. And He promises us that if we are faithful, one day we will do more than point the way to Him: We will arrive in Heaven, see Him face to face and worship at the feet of Jesus Christ!

The Niagara Falls of God’s Love

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

I would like to thank Rev James Laurence who writes the blog, My Pastoral Ponderings for inspiring me to write today about the unstoppable power of the love of Christ. His post on the Awe of God got my mind turning back to our time at Niagara Falls. I remember standing transfixed as I witnessed the power of the falls and think they are a clue that God has left us to remind us of Him.

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV

The Niagara River at just 38 miles in length is barely a creek in comparison to the 2,340 mile long Mississippi. But there is something about the Niagara that draws people from all around the world, and that is Niagara Falls. There that little river crashes 167 feet down to the rocks below in an astonishing display of raw power. It is an unforgettable sight but without it’s waterfall the Niagara would only be remembered as an obscure stream, marking the boundary between Canada and the United States.

Niagara reminds me of another short river that started with the man named Jesus. His early life in the village of Nazareth seemed uneventful to neighbors as he worked in a carpenter shop and played with His brothers and sisters in the streets. But His life picked up speed after he turned thirty years of age and was baptized by John. It flowed at a quickening pace as He healed a leper, ate dinner with sinners and gave sight to a blind beggar. Then what had been the gentle current of His life began to rush ahead as Jesus calmed a storm by his word and raised a man from the dead. Yet the most awesome display of all did not come till one dark afternoon as they nailed Jesus to a cross. There His final breath was swept over the edge of the waterfall of death. But the river of His life did not end there. Just like the Niagara River continues to flow past the falls so the love of Christ has rushed out of the grave and into our hearts. Now its depth and power compel us ahead because nothing – no nothing is more powerful than the waterfall of the love of Christ!

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