Let All the Earth Keep Silence

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Habakkuk 2:18-20 – What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! ¹⁹ Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. ²⁰ But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

Kentucky’s Natural Arch (not to be confused with Natural Bridge). Natural Arch Scenic Area, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky.

On this particular January day two years ago we were hiking the Buffalo Canyon Trail in the Natural Arch Scenic Area of the Daniel Boone National Forest. We saw a few other people around the arch, but pretty much had the entire five mile trail to ourselves. The silence was amazing and was interrupted only periodically by the sound of large icicles crashing down from the cliffs above.

One of the big reasons I enjoy getting out into the wilderness is the opportunity to get away from the cacophony of life in the modern world. With televisions, computers, cell phones, and countless other noise-making, electronic devices vying for our attention every day, we barely have time to hear our own thoughts, let alone time to listen to the voice of our God and Creator, and reflect on his greatness.

Not only does the wilderness give us a chance to see and experience the beauty of God’s creation, it also forces us to turn off the electronic devices we have all come to depend on, often to the point of idolatry. Do we trust the voices we hear through these creations of man, more than we trust the voice of God that we hear through his creation and through his words in the Bible? These devices are useful tools, but not worthy of the time and attention we give them.

Take some time away, even if only for a few hours, and put away these idols of glass, metal, and plastic. Get out into God’s creation, marvel at his amazing handiwork, listen to his voice, and “let all the earth keep silence before him.”

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The Sky Above Proclaims His Handiwork

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Psalm 19:1-6 – The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. ² Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. ³ There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. ⁴ Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, ⁵ which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. ⁶ Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The setting sun over the shores of Lake Erie proclaims God’s handiwork. Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pennsylvania.

Psalm 19 is one of those great passages of the Bible that stirs me deeply every time I read it. From the smallest grain of sand on a beach to the most distant star in the heavens God created it all. Through the beauty and power of his amazing creation he makes himself known throughout the earth. The magnificence of his world should leave no doubt in our minds that there is something greater than us, someone greater than us, our God and our Creator.

I weep for those who do not understand the glory of God, for those who actually believe this is all just random chance acting over time. If this is true, if we all are here just because of some great cosmic roll of the dice, then there is no real purpose or greater meaning to life than the here and now. If this is true, then how we live our lives makes no difference at all. If this is true, then there is no reason for us to value the lives of those around us, or really to care at all. After all, it is just survival of the fittest, right?

The Bible presents us with a much different view of human life, Genesis 1:27 tells us that, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We are all image bearers of God, and because of this every human life is of value. Psalm 139:13 reads, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” God knew us before we were born; in fact he created us, and because of this every human life is of value, yes, even those not yet born.

Not only does God’s creation proclaim his glory, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). We too, in our deepest being, know him and proclaim his glory, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14). And yet, we live in a fallen world, a world that rejects God and the truth of his word written in the Bible. In order to find our way back to him, in order to know his glory, we have but one path, and that is Christ, our Lord, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

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Before the Mountains Were Brought Forth

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Psalm 90:1-4 – Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. ² Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. ³ You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” ⁴ For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

The mountains rise above Dream Lake on the trail to Emerald Lake. Bear Lake Corridor, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

Hiking in the Rocky Mountains is awe inspiring! For me it is difficult to understand how anyone can gaze upon such a magnificent place and still doubt the existence of God, our Creator, the one who was there “before the mountains were brought forth,” the one who “formed the earth and the world,” the one who is our God “from everlasting to everlasting.”

This is exactly what Paul is telling us in Romans 1:19-20, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

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Praise the LORD from the Earth, You…Snow

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Psalm 148:7-13 – Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, ⁸ fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! ⁹ Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! ¹⁰ Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! ¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! ¹² Young men and maidens together, old men and children! ¹³ Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.

Freshly fallen snow blankets the trees in our back yard early this morning. Morrow, Ohio.

Here is another great passage from the book of Psalms where we read about all the earth praising the Lord, even the snow! It is not too difficult to see God’s handiwork in an enchanted scene like this. And yet, Psalm 148 tells us it is not just the majestic and beautiful parts of creation, but even the fire, hail, mist, and stormy winds that fulfill his word.

God in his sovereignty commands all of his creation; he can create storms (Jonah 1:4) and he can calm storms (Mark 4:39). With all of his magnificence on display in the world around us it should be evident, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

So, who is it that is without excuse? Not only does the psalmist tell us who it is, the “Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children!” He then goes on to tell us what it is that they should be doing and why, “Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.”

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