wildfires

I Need A Little Handel’s Messiah

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I need a little Handel’s Messiah right about now.

I’m recalling a conversation with someone at my workplace revolving around the wildfires that raged through parts of East Tennessee, including Gatlinburg. The gist of the conversation is that the fires burned so hot that they literally melted the aluminum rims off the trucks and cars there.

That’s hot enough that any people caught up in it would have been incinerated.

That means that some of those missing people will never be found. There’s nothing left to find but possibly some ashes.

I can’t even begin to comprehend. I can’t begin to fathom how I’d cope if one of those missing people was one of my parents or my sister or any of my nephews or niece.

I need a little Handel’s Messiah right about now.

I need to be reminded that at the darkest point in human history, God intervened. He didn’t send a 12-step program (as good and useful as those are) or a self-help manual. He sent Himself. He sent Emmanuel, forever God is with us.

Handel’s Messiah is perhaps one of the few perfect pieces of music in existence. At times, it comes as close as these ears will ever get to heaven’s music. Plus, its straight Scripture set to music, so truly how bad can it be?

I remember a long time ago at Ridgeway Baptist Church, I was able to be a part of a choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus. I seriously doubt that it’s a mortal sin if you stay seated during that song, but once you really grasp that this Emmanuel will reign forever and ever, you just about can’t help but stand up.

The odds are very much against me making it through the entire Messiah, but I’ll get as far as I can before sleepiness takes over.

And yes, I know I am a major music nerd, but I can’t help that I love great works of art, particularly of the musical kind.

 

December Eve

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Tomorrow is officially the first day of the last month of the year. 2016 is rapidly drawing to a close. That means I’ll have to get used to writing 2017 on everything (including those rare checks that I write).

There has been so much tragedy lately, between the Gatlinburg wildfires and the tornadoes that have swept through parts of Tennessee and Alabama. It feels a bit like the apocalypse draweth nigh.

But December heralds the coming of Christmas, and with it the arrival of Emmanuel, the baby Prince of Peace born to be the Wonderful Counselor and Savior of us all.

Ever since the fall, nothing in creation has worked quite right. The Incarnation was the first step toward making it right and turning an upside down world right again.

I’m thankful for waking up this morning as usual. I’m thankful for my vintage Jeep that got me to my job this morning, for the clothes on my back and the food in my belly. I’m praying for all those families who lost everything in the wildfires and tornadoes. I’m praying especially for those families who lost loved ones.

Christmas is a time for generosity, and not just for family and friends. Perhaps God has stirred up your heart with compassion to help those in need who otherwise might not have much of a reason to celebrate this Christmas. One way is through DollywoodFoundation.org.

Not everyone may be able to give, but everyone can pray for these families. Everyone can hug their children and their parents a little tighter and breathe a prayer of gratitude and thanks for all they have.

On a lighter note, I started on my list of required holiday movie viewing, beginning with the original Christmas in Connecticut. That’s a classic that never gets old. I figured the world– or at least my world– needed a bit more levity on this last day in November.

 

 

 

Earthquakes, Fires, Tornadoes . . . . Oh My!

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This may be common knowledge to be filed under the file drawer labeled “DUH!”, but I felt it needed to be said (or more accurately, written down).

The same God who went before the Israelites as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night still reigns. The same God who took human flesh and stilled the waves of a storm in the person of Jesus still has authority over all storms.

This God is Lord over earthquakes and tornadoes and hurricanes and wildfires and any other catastrophic natural occurrences you can imagine. He still has the power to speak over storms and bid them be still.

That goes for the storms in your own life.

I don’t know why he allows storms to come. In the end, he is able to work good out of tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina or any of the devastating tornadoes or earthquakes that strike anywhere in the world.

I think that part of the reason for storms is that creation suffers under the effects of the fall. The Bible speaks of creation groaning and awaiting a time when Jesus will come and set things right again.

Creation and nature are out of balance and out of whack since Adam and Eve sinned (and don’t even get me started on who’s to blame on that one– they both messed up).

Sometimes, God causes storms. In the Old Testament, God stirs up wind and fire and other natural elements to do his bidding. Storms show that God is not only a God of love and mercy, but of power and justice.

The point is that God is still God in the midst of the storm as he is on a clear and sunny day. He has just as much power and He is just as able to rescue those who call on his name.

I love the quote that says that sometimes God calms the storm, but sometimes he allows the storm to rage and instead calms his child. I think that’s so very true.