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Whiter than Snow

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Purge me with hyysop and I will be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow Psalm 51:7


Here at the tag end of summer even the concept of the first snow seems unreal. But God gently prepares us for that experience. First will come the bright reds and pinks of the maple leaves. Then the tomato plants will cease their harvest. Finally the frost will pass through like a silent thief and steal the last blush from the Rose. Then gray skies, cold winds and brown grass will be all that remain of the summer’s  memories. That is the moment when the blessed first snow comes to gently cover the hills with it’s white winter blanket.

 David reminds us in Psalm 51 that the sweet but temporary snow is nothing compared to the purest of whites found only in God’s mercy. When just as David did, we cry to our heavenly Father for forgiveness He sends a cleansing agent that does more than simply give us a fragile whiteness that can be blown away or melted in an hour. God sent us His only Son to die in our place. That Innocent blood alone has the power to wash me and make me forever whiter than snow!


Or gather into barns

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26

When we lived on the farm we always busily canned and pickled our way through the summers. Sometimes we picked blackberries to make jelly or we put up green beans in the freezer. With all the work it was easy to forget to enjoy the summer. We felt constantly pressed because in the back of our minds, long cold winter days waited. Though it is biblical  to store abundance with an eye to the days ahead, Jesus warned us against worry. He knew that no matter how big our barns, there was something in our heart that says, “It isn’t going to last the Winter!” 

So, the great Teacher takes our focus off our need and directs us to the birds. They have been flying by, singing their songs and living every thrilling momp1020288ent, as if it were their last. The robin didn’t lie awake in her nest last night worrying when the first frost would come. The barn owl didn’t redouble his efforts at catching prey because he imagined that leaner times lay ahead.

Then Jesus asked a question to which He was sure that we would know the answer.

“Are you not of more value than they?”

Sometimes we forget that when Jesus laid down His life for us He was making a value judgement about. As He carried the cross up the final rise to Calvary He was saying, “You are worth it all to me!” Knowing we are worth so much to Him in the midst of pressure and worry we can look to Him and smile because we know we are in His care. No matter how long our winter may be our Father’s barn will always be big enough to hold all we need!