They Are Without Excuse

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Romans 1:18-23 – For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ 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. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

“Fire and Ice” – The sun sets over the icy shores of Caesar Creek Lake on a cold January evening. Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio.

I cannot look at a sunset like the one I was blessed to watch earlier this evening without giving thanks and praise to God for his magnificent creation. And yet, there are many who would say God does not exist, that this incredible, complex, and beautiful world we live in is merely the result of time and chance. We as Christians are seen as fools for denying the likes of Darwin, and actually believing that there is a God and Creator who spoke all of this into existence, a God who is sovereign over the universe and all that is in it.

“Great thinkers” of yesterday and today are lauded, nee idolized, for their theories that explain everything from the origins of the cosmos to the origins of the amazing diversity of life found here on earth, especially if their theories do not require the Creator’s hand. It is considered the height of scientific achievement to devise a newer and better explanation for how we came to exist on this random ball of water and rock orbiting a minor star on the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy, but only if that explanation does not involve the God of the Bible.

They scoff at the notion of idols because they no longer bow down before carved images of stone, and yet their theories and reliance on their own supposed knowledge are no less idols than those of ancient man we now unearth on some archaeological dig. You see, anything that replaces the one true God as the sole object of our worship is an idol, whether a piece of wood or a prized scientific theory they are really no different.

Christian, take heart! They are the ones who “suppress the truth.” They are the ones who deny the overwhelming evidence that surrounds us, the evidence that cries out for no possible explanation other than our sovereign God and Creator. They are the ones who will be seen in the end as the fools and objects of God’s wrath, because the evidence is so obvious that there can be only one explanation, “So they are without excuse.”

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Break Forth Into Singing, O Mountains

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Isaiah 44:22-24 – I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. ²³ Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel. ²⁴ Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.”

Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall. Yosemite National Park, California.

God is our Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer and Lord. Take some time today to gaze at the magnificent beauty of the world around you and remember that the God who formed you in your mother’s womb is also the God who created the universe and all that is in it. But best of all, he is also the one who died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven!

“Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it!”

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Be Ready In Season and Out of Season

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

2 Timothy 4:1-4 – I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ³ For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

One of our favorite scenic spots to stop for lunch, somewhere off-trail along the Rough Trail. Red River Gorge Geological Area, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky.

Even though we do hike as often as possible in the winter, there are certainly less opportunities to get out hiking this time of year, especially with the extremely cold temperatures we have had recently, seven degrees Fahrenheit as I type this! There are rare times that the skies are sunny and the temperatures get into the 70s, like January 12^th, 2012, the day this photo was taken. When these “out of season” beautiful days arise, you need to be ready to go if you want to take advantage of them!

Likewise as followers of Christ we need to “be ready in season and out of season” to share the gospel with those around us, as opportunities can present themselves at any time. Part of the way we stay ready is to be committed in our private devotional life, going to God in prayer and studying his word daily; but, we also need to hear the word preached. Left to our own devices it is easier to be led astray into false teachings. As Christians we need the encouragement and reproof of fellow believers to properly grow in our knowledge and faith. It is also our duty to hold each other accountable, including our leaders, by testing the things that are taught against the written word of God found in the Holy Scriptures.

We certainly live in a time where the teachings of the Christian faith are less and less endured by the world around us. People are more and more inclined to listen to the false teachings of the secular world rather than the truths of the Bible. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). As redeemed followers of Christ we have “the word of the cross,” “the power of God” on our side, therefore we have no excuse, we should always “be ready in season and out of season.”

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Like a Flower of the Field

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Psalm 103:13-18 – As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. ¹⁴ For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. ¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; ¹⁶ for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. ¹⁷ But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, ¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

Woodland sunflowers backlit by the setting sun. Sugarcreek Metropark, Bellbrook, Ohio.

The wildflowers of late summer fade and die and soon get covered by the snows of winter. Today’s passage from Psalm 103 reminds us that we are “like a flower of the field,” flourishing for a time, but soon returning to the dust. Thankfully those who are in Christ, those who fear the Lord, are assured of “the steadfast love of the LORD [that] is from everlasting to everlasting.”

Life is short and uncertain, but to know and love Jesus has eternal significance. If you know him, then strive daily to draw closer to him through prayer, devotion, and study of his Word. If you are uncertain, or do not know him, I would challenge you to seek him out today.

Read more about my “God is Revealed…“ category of posts