Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)
Snow
Today (January 21, 2012) the Northeast U.S. is getting a good snowfall. We're expecting about five inches. It does occasionally snow in Israel, so we should not be surprised to find references to snow and ice in the Bible. Because of its whiteness, the Bible uses snow figuratively to describe the white color of various things like wool and milk. Probably most importantly is the symbolic use of snow to describe God and purity.
In the Prophet Daniel we read: "I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames. Its wheels were a burning fire (Daniel 7:9).1
And in John's Apocalypse we read: "In the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire (Revelation 1:13-14)." 2
The Bible describes snow as a picture of purity. In the book of Psalms we read: "Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7)." And the prophet Isaiah says, "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18)."
God is pure and he wants us to be pure. He wants to wash us and make us as pure as snow. As you watch the snow fall and later as you shovel the snow, think about God's purity and his offer of forgiveness. Ask him to forgive you and you have His promise that He will "cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)."
Your Servant in Messiah Jesus,
Pastor Steve
January 21, 2012
Footnotes
1 Daniel 7:9, NASB (New American Standard Bible). Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the NASB.
2 Note: Notice the affinity between the description of God in Daniel 7 and Jesus in Revelation 1. For a more complete picture read Daniel 7: 9-14 and Revelation 1:10-20.
Jesus is the greatest teacher who ever lived. One of Jesus' techniques was to relate spiritual ideas to common everyday life. Pensamientos (afterthought) is an attempt to follow Jesus' method of teaching. Its title is in Spanish because we recognize the importance of multi-culturalism. We hope to translate some of these messages into Spanish soon.
Find more afterthoughts at Pensamientos (afterthoughts).
You can read recent sermons by Pastor Lorenz at Featured Sermon.