April 23 devotion and announcement

You can watch today's devotion here.

Our sister in Christ, Mary Bearsley, has been called to her heavenly home.  Pastor Berg will hold a small, family only service tomorrow.  Blessed are those who die in Christ.

Overlooked blessings…the beauty of creation

Romans 1:20

4/23/20

Pastor John C. Berg

In fact, his invisible characteristics—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, because they are understood from the things he made.  As a result, people are without excuse.

This is your daily devotion for April 23^rd.  The weather right now is really cooperating with me as we talk about another often overlooked blessing—the beauty of creation.  The sun is shining, the temperature is comfortable and life is returning.  Charlie and I got out on one of our favorite trout streams yesterday.  We didn’t have a lot of luck with the fish, but it was just perfect out.

One of the reasons I love trout fishing is because it gets me into some amazing places that I otherwise would not experience.  Trout need really cold and clean water and so we trout fishermen can often be heard saying, “trout don’t live in ugly places.”  Here a few pictures I’ve taken on fishing trips over the years. 

Is it not amazing that God has given us such a beautiful world?  We don’t deserve such beauty.  And this is the world twisted by sin!  What it must have been like before mankind brought evil into God’s creation!  That’s hard for us to really comprehend.  We can better understand, and marvel that God’s creation is still so pleasing, so moving and so relaxing. 

I don’t commune with God while fishing.  The hunter who says his tree stand is his church is speaking like a pantheist rather than a Christian.  It’s through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament that God speaks to me.  And yet, there is something to learn about God from nature.  In Romans 1 Paul wrote, “In fact, his invisible characteristics—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, because they are understood from the things he made.  As a result, people are without excuse.”

This beautiful world did not come about by accident.  That’s preposterous.  Clearly a powerful God created it, a God who appreciates beauty.  Let the blessing of living in a stunning world move you to learn more about your creator in the Bible. 

We pray:  Almighty God, thank you for blessing us with the beauty of your creation. May we always see it as evidence of your power and love. Amen.