Thought for May 22

 History:

• 1370: Jews are expelled and massacred in Brussels
• 1803: First public library in US--Connecticut
• 1807: First fruit flavored carbonated drinks sold
• 1819: Savannah leaves Georgia as the first steam-powered ship to cross the Atlantic
• 1843: First wagon train leaves Independence MO for Oregon
• 1849: Lincoln is the only President to receive a patent--device to lift a boat over shoals
• 1872: Amnesty Act restores civil rights to Southerners
• 1892: Dr. Sheffield invents toothpaste tube
• 1915: Lassen Peak erupts--Only volcano other than Mt St. Helens to erupt in continental US in the 20th century
• 1947: First US ballistic missile fired
• 1961: First revolving restaurant--Seattle
• 1964: LBJ presents the "Great Society"
• 1973: Nixon admits role in Watergate cover-up
• 1992: Johnny Carson's final appearance as host of the Tonight Show
• 2002: Jury convicts Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church that killed 4 young girls
• 2003: Annika Sorenstam is the first woman to play on the PGA tour in 58 years
• 2011: EF5 tornado hits Joplin MO killing 158
• 2017: Suicide bombing at Manchester Arena following Ariana Grande concert kills 22
• Born: Richard Wagner, Arthur Conan Doyle, Laurence Olivier, Horton Smith [twice Masters Champion], T Boone Pickens, Ted Kaczynski [Unabomber], Naomi Campbell, Apollo Anton Ono, Novak Djokovic
• Died: Constantine the Great, Martha Washington, Victor Hugo, Langston Hughes, Rocky Graziano, Marques Haynes [Globetrotter]

Thought:

I was looking at Romans 11:33 on Saturday--the depth of the riches of God's wisdom and knowledge. After quoting Isaiah in verses 34-35, Paul sums up why God's wisdom and knowledge are so deep, why His judgments and ways are unsearchable. "From Him and through Him and to Him are all things." In my margin I have written, He is the source, the force and the course. Think about that this morning. 

God's wisdom and knowledge is so deep, His ways so unsearchable because all things have their origin in Him--He is the creator. We can trust His wisdom and understanding of everything related to life because He created life and He is life. He spoke and worlds appeared. He made man and woman, formed in His image. It is His plan. It is His purpose. Paul says this again in 1 Corinthians 8:6--"One God the Father from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him." We can trust God's wisdom because He created everything.

We can trust His ways because we exist through Him--He is truly the force of our lives. He provides the strength, the energy for us to move and live. So we recall scripture--we can do all things THROUGH Christ. As we walk in His love, His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, we can love, forgive, and channel the grace and mercy He shows to us.

We can trust His wisdom and His ways because He directs our paths toward the future. All things are moving toward that day when He shall come again. What God began when He spoke and Jesus began when He created is moving toward its conclusion. We can have hope because we know where things are going and what awaits when we get there. He is truly the course for our lives. 

Today, rejoice for the Christ we serve is the source of all we need, He is the force powering us for the opportunities and challenges of today, and He is the course--fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith. Makes me sing, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

Blessings

Larry