Nor anything else in creation

Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Being separated from someone you love dearly can be troubling. I think the ten dollar term for this is “separation anxiety”.  We miss the person we love, we are worried they will come to harm and we will not be there to help, comfort or rescue that person.  We yearn for the time when they return to us. Similarly they too may experience separation anxiety. Being apart from the one you love is just not all that great of an experience if you ask me.

We are jumping feet first into Lent 2012. Ash Wednesday has passed us by. (Did you celebrate Fat Tuesday?) I wanted to use the first four devotionals to put a bow around transfiguration Sunday and now we can talk about Lent 2012. Our theme is “A Light In The Darkness”. Obviously referring to Jesus as the light and the life. There is much in our world today that seeks to draw us away from Christ. When you stop and look around you, there barrage of temptations, distractions, and negative messages about Christ is phenomenal. And yet, when you also stop to look carefully, you can see many reminders and subtle hints that remind us and draw us closer to Christ. We can see the signs of the times in the headlines of the various media sources at our disposal. National debt, rising gas prices, human tragedy in many countries in the middle east, labor conditions in the far east all seek to draw our attention and they each seek to beg us to consider a question. The question being asked is, “Would a loving God really allow this kind of nasty stuff to exist?”  It is a question often asked, and often answered. Modern culture seeks to remove God from as many places as we possibly can. Others in society will seek to elevate their god above the One True God.  They offer the argument of “It’s the same god that you and I worship.”  That argument is one of the slickest, and probably the most dangerous one’s we will ever encounter. The apostle Paul was dead on with the words of Romans 8:38-39. There will be many attempts to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Satan has a vested interest in doing so. His methods are both subtle, and also quite obvious. We must be constantly vigilant and prepared. As we begin Lent 2012, let us all consider the promises made to us by God the Father. Let us take time to reflect upon the life, the love, and the light that is in Jesus Christ. I encourage all of us to spend time in the bible. Renew our relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  There is a bright light we are drawn to that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  And as the old saying goes, “Run to the light friend, run to the light.”

PRAYER: Lord and Giver Of Life, we ask that You would draw us close to You. We ask that You would shine the light that is Jesus into our lives. We ask that Your Spirit would fill us with the faith we need when circumstances in our lives attempt to steal away our faith in You. Help us to share the love and light of Christ with others, Amen. who do not have that light in their lives. This we ask in the name of Jesus, our light and our salvation, Amen.