Saturday's Best
July 25, 2010
Genesis 7:1
The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation." (NIV)
I can understand how an honest person of average intellect could have trouble taking this story literally: Really now, four men and their wives, along with pairs of every other living creature on earth, entered the ark before God closed it up from the outside and the rains began to wash the ground clean of human footprints? Are we actually to believe this vessel contained enough provisions to sustain such a menagerie for over 150 days while it floated upon the water? How big would such a ship have to be to accommodate the aggregate weight of all living things, and who could calculate its mass?
These are not heretical questions from the mind of a disbeliever, but a candid attempt to remain true to the power of reason. An argument can be made, logically, to accept this story as an early attempt by man to explain the fossilized record of fish and plants and animals. After all, the skeletal remains of prehistoric life lies buried in the rocks on every continent. Truth is we could dismiss this story about Noah and the ark as an elaborate fairytale, except that God has given us the grace to see the Big Picture:
We are all on mother ship earth, adrift on the universal sea and this tiny vessel supports mankind and every other living thing upon it. And just like Noah, we have been found to be righteous, by the blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
How this has come to pass is because God made it happen.
And we know why - because He loves us.
Love in Christ
Lou Lamothe
July 18, 2010
Psalm 29:2
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. (NIV)
Is not the Lord our God our strength, courage, hope, joy and peace? Are not His judgments righteous and merciful? Is not His voice appealing to our hearts? Has not His love for us broken the bonds of sin? Are not we His children upon this earth and have we not received the promise of eternal life in heaven? Is it not true that there is no one more powerful, more glorious and more majestic than our King?
Why, then, do we display such long faces when we gather together on Sunday morning?
Friends, our furrowed brows, cold stares, pursed lips, silent mouths, mannequin hands and stationary feet do not properly ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name in His house of worship.
The reason we assemble in His temple is to honor the splendor and holiness of our Father in heaven and to thank Him for the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.
The heart of the matter is that we have been saved! And is that not the most wonderful reason to celebrate: To shout for joy; To sing praises to His name; To lift our hands up to the throne of heaven; To dance in the aisles?
Oh, but for me, that’s all too flashy you say. And to that the Psalmists inquire: What reservation keeps you from putting a smile on your face?
Love in Christ
Lou Lamothe
July 11, 2010
Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. (NIV)
Swiftly will our Savior bring us
To our Father's heavenly chorus
Where, around His throne above,
We will raise our voices in songs of Love.
Love in Christ
Lou Lamothe
July 4, 2010
Titus 1:9
Hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that you can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (NIV)
The lesson we learned is the message we preach and the undisputable fact that gives encouragement to others is this: Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us the promise of being with Him throughout eternity.
The irrefutable evidence that this doctrine is sound and cannot be opposed is the ability Jesus gives us, by His grace and unconditional love, to hold firmly to the changes He makes in our lives here and now.
This is a trustworthy saying: "I have left my life of sin to live for Jesus because of Him."
Love in Christ
Lou Lamothe
June 27, 2010
Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. (NIV)
This is what I seek:
To be with Christ today in all my wants and needs;
To be with Christ today in all my thoughts and deeds;
To be with Christ today in the presence of His grace;
To be with Christ today in His temple place.
To see Jesus we must be conscience of His presence everywhere. Now where will He appear to us today?
Love in Christ
Lou Lamothe
June 20, 2010
Psalm 26:12
My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the LORD. (NIV)
Not one of us is blameless. Not one of us can be trusted to live continually in the truth without wavering in sin. Our hearts and minds are not up to the task of being perfect. Our lips are not always pure; our hands are not always clean; our thoughts are not always righteous. Not a day goes by where a little lie here, or a tiny slight there, does not reveal a flaw in the house in which we reside; but we need not despair, for the cracked walls and dirty windows will stand the test of time because the “Guest” within, Jesus Christ, will prove us worthy to receive the promise of eternal life on judgment day.
Even though our testimony may be weak and our witness might be fragile, we can be thankful that the foundation that upholds us is rock solid.
And this is the beauty of our Lord and Savior: In the very same dwelling that is falling apart all around us, the glory of His Presence lives.
Love in Christ
Lou Lamothe