New Year's Post

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered!" Matthew 10:29-30
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-7
As we enter a new decade I find it appropriate to offer my Cedar County friends some encouragement and a little admonition for the coming days. While the temptation is to dazzle you with the wisdom drawn from my seemingly endless fount (only rivaling my humility), I will instead enter reality and offer you something much better... God’s Sovereignty. God knows all and is intimately involved in all. While I realize this is Christianity101, not some sort of new revelation, it is clearly a matter we have lost sight of as a church culture. Need proof? Allow me to refresh your memory:
-Millions of dollars are spent annually by experienced laborers to take ladder training classes so as to qualify to bid for federal contracts.
-Cars are being built with four or more airbags, roll cages, steel beams, and genuine “force fields” (OK...I added that, but the day is coming!).
-We are forced to practically disrobe in the airport screening line, a fact sure to increase in scope given the recent attempted bombing. I pity the fool that accidentally brings fingernail clippers onto the plane...the HORROR of it all!
-Hundreds of millions were screened/vaccinated from the latest plague guaranteed to kill us all. (If you are curious, there will be another new crisis next year).
-Because of our SUVs, air conditioners and light bulbs the earth is heating so rapidly that our former VP promised the end of the polar ice caps within a few years. (Editor’s note: It warmed this week so much that the writer of this article, with his wife on the couch under her leopard print Snuggie, actually turned off his space heater...I am nothing if not green).
-Our government debt is projected to be approximately twenty quintillion dollars by July...or was it quadrillion? Sure I have an MBA, but even I can’t count that high.
-Nearly everything will cure or cause cancer depending on what group performed the test.
What is the bottom line of today’s rambling? The world is spinning out of control! We need to run for cover! Repack your Y2K kits; we’re in for the long haul this time! Sigh...
If I could speak for God (and I surely don’t presume to be worthy of such using my own words), I must remind you “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered!”. God is a God of organization and detail. Can you imagine a God so large to speak the world into existence (Gen 1) having your eyebrows catalogued? The same God that owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50) knows when you plunk a pigeon with your Prius. Just look at Creation! Look closely at a simple leaf, if you can find one under the global warming-induced snow. They are made of amazing cells with “veins” that carry the stuff around the skin to the other spots (Another editor note: We will certainly talk with the writer about his use of complex botanical jargon). God has created everything and nothing surprises Him. Bad things happen, but all the effort, stress, and heavy-handed management we can muster will not change this fact. In fact we will all die one of these days. The odds are 100%. We should live responsibly and prudently. We should look both ways before we cross the street...especially RB highway...crazy drivers! We should NOT worry about life. Join me in focusing in 2010 on things that matter: God, family, church and friends. Worrying is futile and, frankly, pointless. Rest on the fact that, if you are a believer, you have the promise of Romans 8:28 to stand on. Our God is good and knows and does what’s best for us. If you are not a believer, we really need to talk. Email me at markapplegate@windstream.net. 2010 will be a great year! Will it be easy? Doubtful. Will it be better that we deserve? Certainly so. Please remember this fact if nothing else: Nothing surprises our amazing and loving God. Happy New Year!