You Just Can't Argue With A Mountain - February 24th, 2022

February 24, 2022

Pastor Ken Brown Jr

Hi this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…You Just Can’t Argue with A Mountain. This past weekend my wife Lynn and I availed ourselves of a unique opportunity and took to the hills to interrupt the long winter’s nap that out tiny mountain cottage usually enjoys. Normally we close our home there in October and don’t return to reopen it until mid-April. This year however, our schedules permitted, the weather cooperated, and our desire to return overcame us. With all of those particular stars aligned we packed the car, loaded up our two dogs and ran away. By the time we were in mountainous terrain on the way there last Thursday evening darkness had overtaken the landscape and there wasn’t much to see. On the ride home yesterday afternoon however, the situation was much different. The air was warm, the sun was shining, and the mountains…the mountains were glorious. As we drove, I noticed something interesting and made note of it to my wife. Though the winter trees remained stripped of their leaves, the distant mountain ridges were still blue. One of the things that make the Virginia mountains so beautiful is the blueish color of the ridges for which they are so named. For us they are usually viewed in the spring, summer and fall, all times the trees are sporting their leaves in various stages and colors. So, the fact that they were also blue in the dead of winter was somewhat of a surprise to me. I was curious enough about how that could be to ask Google. There I found that “The forests that cover those rocky protrusions are predominately made up of spruce and fir trees and they emit isoprene into the atmosphere creating the blue hue”. Since spruce and firs are evergreen trees, it stands to reason then that those beautiful ridges are blue during the winter months just as they are the rest of the year. What an amazing God! The wonder of His creation never stops giving me reason to be awestruck! Romans 1:20-21 in the New King James Version says: For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. God has some attributes that without creation we might not be able to understand. His ability to create with just a word the perpetual forward motion of nature gives us the ability to understand that He is eternal and has eternal power. The very fact that He is the creator of all things great and small makes Him more powerful than any of it. When one ponders that the Creator must be supreme to anything He creates and that we can experience, the only logical conclusion to draw is that He is God. When we add ourselves among the things He created, the fact that He is our God is all too obvious. Giving Him glory and being grateful to Him for all that we are, all that we have, and His loving supply of all that we need, should be automatic. So then why isn’t it? Because foolishly, we want to argue with a mountain! No matter where you hail from around the globe, God created your surroundings. If you live on a beach…God made that. If you live in the plains…God made that. If you live in the forest or if there isn’t a tree as far as your eyes can see…God made that. I am partial to the mountains; I won’t deny it. I believe the ones that make up the Appalachian mountain range to be the crème de la crème, and the Blue Ridge the most beautiful of them all. I am hard-pressed in spite of all of my travels to find anything more awe-inspiring or intriguing. I will go to heaven believing those particular hills to be left behind by the very thumbprint of God as He held and shaped the planet. You just can’t argue with a mountain. Scientist will tell you that those mountains were formed by anything but God. They will say the hills and valleys were pushed upward by earths tectonic plates smashing together. This supposedly sent the earth piling up into great mounds and as the winds and rain eroded the surface, lightening the gravitational load, the mountains were literally freed to rise even higher. That is what the science says…and we all know we should follow the science. The problem with that is that there was no one present when all this supposedly happened millions or billions of years ago to document the occurrence. When you think about it, it takes a lot of faith to follow the science. I would rather put my trust in the Lord. He was there when the mountains were formed and documented the occurrence through the inspiration of His Holy Spirit as He guided the thoughts and words being penned by men He Himself had created. Psalm 90:1-2 says of it; Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. Psalm 65:6 tells us that it was by the might of God that the mountains were formed. The point isn’t really how God created the mountains, but that He did, and that if you look at one through the eyes of wonder that God created you with, you will soon see that those mountains, that ocean beach, the woods, or the open plains, the deserts or the rain forests…all of it points to God. According to God’s word whatever nature is in your view is there to help you know more about Him. It is all designed to point to His majesty and cause you to be in awe of Him. It is purposed that you might submit to His authority and be grateful for all He has done. Give Him the glory that only He is deserving of. Don’t be found without an excuse because you were too busy arguing with a mountain. So now, giving thanks for all He has made and for the fact that He loves you so much that He wants to have an amazing life changing relationship with you forever…Go Be Awesome!