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So, Spring is on its way, every year we go through these changes, and every year I am amazed at nature, and the world God has created for us.

It’s hard to imagine living in a place that doesn’t see the changes taking place. Sure I’ve visited a few, places where it is green all year round and the critters never hibernate or the weather is always warm, even hot for most of the year. But Michigan is my home, it’s were I’ve lived for all but a few years. (I lived in Kansas for a couple of years as a student in college, and later Sherri and I lived in Goshen, Indiana while I attended college there. Then again, Goshen is only about 20 miles south of the Michigan border, still the weather pattern was different.) So, what am I getting at? Well, it is so easy to see the beauty of God’s creation all around us, but there are others who experience the beauty of God through different means. Some see majestic mountains, some calm ocean fronts, others see beauty in endless plains and sweeping sands. Some see God in the storms while others see God in the quiet of the morning. How amazing is it that God can be found in any climate, any time of during the year, any hour during the day, but how often do we take time to notice and appreciate the world God has given? I’m sure that it isn’t often enough!

Currently we are in the midst of Holy Week, remembering all that Jesus experienced days before His sacrifice on the cross. Sunday we celebrate the resurrection—Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!—When Jesus overcame death, not only did He redeem the souls of all people, He also gave hope to all of creation. Paul in Romans states that:

19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of

God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration,

not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in

hope 21 that] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to

decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains

of childbirth right up to the present time. Romans 8:19-22

Creation has been waiting patiently for us. It was our decisions that caused the thorns to grow and the earth to age. We brought the drought the storms, the earthquakes, and the floods when we chose not to obey God. The garden of Eden was heaven on earth, God was pleased to walk with Adam in the garden and care for him in every way, but when we rejected God we were banned from His presence and forced into hard labor and our bodies to decay, and a curse was placed on the earth that has been waiting for Christ to redeem.

Jesus has given us a way to be redeemed. His sacrifice opened the gates of heaven to all who believe. The earth however is still under the curse, it is still waiting for the redemption to come. John tells us in Revelation 21:1

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first

earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 

Renewal is coming, but many things will transpire before that day comes. Are we in the end of days? How much longer will the earth have to wait? Only the father knows! We need to care for this world we have be entrusted with and keep our eyes focused on Christ, for change will not come, “until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at His heavenly banquet.” That day will come, imagine what the beauty of the new earth will look like, especially since what we experience today is a foreshadowing of things to come. God’s glory revealed, beauty beyond measure, peace, joy, and love, what an awesome day that will be. Enjoy creation now, but know that beyond this age, waiting in the wings, is one that blow our hearts and minds away, and all glory will go to God! Hallelujah and Amen!

Have a blessed Easter season.

In Christ,

Pastor Denny