Thoughts on Winter storms / God's Creation & God's Plan For Our Salvation.

Howdy folks; Well, here it is the 10th of January and snow is predicted for our afternoon forecast! I have to say I have had enough snow to last me a lifetime after all the years I spent in New England. The last year I lived in Northern Maine we had a season snowfall of 22 feet, yup, that's right, 22 feet! Most of that was still on the ground in April! We had to use a bucket loader, sometimes, just to clear our driveway and door yard. I can remember climbing out a second story window so I could shovel down to the back door to get out of the house. I loved it back then. I was a lot younger and I loved to cross country ski, snowshoe and go sledding and snow mobiling with friends. A buddy of mine and I also ran a trap line back then and we were out in it every day or at least every other day to check our traps. A very dear friend of our family used to call spring snow "God's fertilizer" because it would make the ground softer to plow and it seemed to give the spring planting a "boost" in it's sprouting and growth. As I got older I noticed it really did give things a bit of a head start, at times. The very best thing about it is that when the days  started to get longer and a bit warmer you could really tell that spring was just around the corner. Folks would say that "winters back is broken" and some of us would even have mid-winter parties to celebrate the death of winter and the new birth of spring. Having grown up in an agrarian community and living in small farming towns most of my life I could really see why the ancient prehistoric societies would have winter solstice celebrations. Native Americans also had such celebrations. The "circle of life" had a deep and rich meaning for all people, as it still should for us. As we have "progressed" into an industrial society we have lost the connection to the land. We have lost our connection to the "Circle of Life".  What has always amazed me is that ALL of the world's religions have creation stories (much like Adam and Eve), flood stories (like the Noah story), special "king" or leader stories (like the David story), and Savior stories (like our Jesus story) and many other similarities. My Honor's Thesis (which I got an A+ on, by the way) for my Philosophy degree was just that. It was based on the concept that God has revealed himself to many peoples in many different ways. I firmly believe that. We serve an awesome God! The Bible is God's revelation of Himself to His people and the story of the history of His creation's relationship to Him. I accept the Bible as the inspired word of a living God, and how God has revealed himself to many people, and how they wrote God's stories down after years of oral tradition, and finally when He saw just how far people had fallen from His path, and the Law, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to be the "perfect Lamb" sacrifice for all of His creation.

Romans 5:7-9 (King James Version)

7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.



 I also know in my heart that the God of Adam and Eve, Noah, and Abraham sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to die for us while we were yet sinners!   I know a lot of folks will say that it is narrow minded and not "politically correct" to say that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way for one to find salvation, but that is too bad. I have to stand on the truth! And the truth is, that God created all of the universe, the earth and all the things in and on it, and that looking down on it He saw how His creation had moved away from Him and His plan for us in the garden of Eden and through one man,Adam, sin entered the world.
  
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
 

 
          Psalm 14:1-3 (King James Version)


1The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

3They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 3:23 (King James Version)
23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

God wants ALL of us to be saved. He wants us to WANT Him! He wants us to be with Him through out all of eternity. The only way that He saw for His sinful and willful creation to find that salvation, and be worthy of a place in heaven was through the one PERFECT Lamb sacrifice. Jesus Christ! Time is growing short my friends. The time of Salvation is at hand. If you are born again then you are sealed in God's book of life and if you are NOT yet born again ask God NOW for Him to save you. Admit you are a sinner, tell Him you are sorry for your sinfulness and that you repent, Tell God you believe His Son Jesus was sent to be our savior and ask the Holy Spirit to come into your heart! That is all you need to do to be born again. Jesus is the path to your salvation!