Sunday, January 6, 2002
|
Sunday, January 6, 2002 |
|
The covering of the just and the unjust By DR. KNOX HERNDON As I type this on Thursday morning, a gentle snow is falling in Fayetteville. Who would have thunk it? Snow in Fayetteville? Even my dog Bandit (we call him that because he steals our socks) couldn't figure it out as he went out this morning. He kept going around in circles in the white fluffy stuff, just like the people do in automobiles. I hope to get some photos later today of the beauty and how it "covers everything." I will never forget winters in Fairbanks Alaska. It can get down to minus 50 degrees below zero and colder. I would teach my family to go to the window and put their open palmed hands on the window and guess the temperature. With practice, we all got to within 4-5 degrees of the actual temperature. I did this to teach them how to dress in the Arctic because without the proper clothing, things could get serious. I will never forget driving 100 miles south of Fairbanks to Fort Greeley to visit one of our chaplains and his family. Fort Greeley was just outside of Delta Junction and one of the coldest inhabited U.S. military posts in the world. Ft. Greeley was where the military and U.S. industry would perform tests on the effects of cold on items. It was also where out gallant and brave soldiers went for cold weather training. We had gone to visit the chaplain and his family who were serving there and to dedicate his newly adopted son. He had invited Dee and me, Nikki and Robbie to a wonderful love-filled dinner. We all prayed, then ate, and joked about the weather and talked about God's work there at Fort Greeley. After dinner his wife served us some wonderful hot coffee. The chaplain then invited us to step outside on his back porch and then he smiled. Now it was 40 degrees below zero outside and I couldn't figure out why in the world we were going outside to drink our coffee. He again smiled at me and asked me to hold my cup and throw my hot steaming coffee straight up into the air. I looked at him with amazement but did as he said. I couldn't believe my eyes at what followed. My hot steaming coffee immediately exploded into a crystallized cloud of smoke and not a drop hit the ground. My family and I stood there in total amazement. Folks, that's cold! If you attended a "covered dish dinner" at the Post Chapel, you just might encounter "moose burgers" as one of the mystery meats. Or it could be Caribou, Bear, Ptarmigan, Grouse, Salmon, Burbot or Halibut. Don't knock it until you've tried it. They are all delicious. In fact, the Ft. Greeley Chapel is on the "moose kill list." When a 1500 pound moose gets killed by a car, they call some special men from the church and they go out at subzero temperatures at sometimes wee hours in the morning, and harvest the moose for the chapel and the poor in the community. That is dedication. I love all the seasons of the year and I have loved most of the seasons of my life but there are some interesting lessons about snow and rain. God's Word states that the "rain falls on the just and the unjust." As I mentioned earlier, what is to me amazing is the way that rain and snow covers everything absolutely everything and everyone, rich and poor, young and old, living and dead. There is a song that we do at our church entitled "Covered in Red" and it speaks of even "though Satan reminds you, God's Word has said, your sins are forgiven and covered in red" this, of course, being the blood of Christ. Then we sing "O The Blood of Jesus." After I finish this article, my wife Dee and I, and of course, Bandit, will walk down to the lake and take in all the beauty and see all the "covering" and thank God for his covering of forgiveness through his wonderful sacrifice of His Son. Receive your covering in a Christ-centered New Year. Dr. Knox Herndon is the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC). The Rev. Greg Mausz is senior associate pastor. The Rev. Dr. Lydia Herndon is the Sunday School superintendent, Bible study coordinator and teacher. The church is below Senoia on Ga. Highway 85 a mile south of Ga. Highway 16 on the right just below the fire station. Visitors welcome. Church office and prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail KHERN2365@aol.com.
|
||