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Monday, February 11, 2008

Sunrise over the Atlantic
Sunrise 2/11/08

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"Like A Mighty Sea"

"The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.  Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea-- the LORD on high is mighty" (Psalm 93:3,4).

This morning Brooksyne and I watched the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where we are staying for several days.    I was raised in the Midwest and didn't see the ocean till I was thirteen, right here in Myrtle Beach.  Brooksyne, who was raised in Oklahoma, didn't see the ocean till after we were married for several years. Ester, on the other hand, has seen the ocean regularly since she was four years old due to our years of ministry in New England.   Now that we live inland it's a special privilege to once again walk along the sandy shoreline, view the mighty ocean, and hear its crashing waves!

Though the calendar dictates that it's the winter season,  yesterday's 70 degree temperatures begged to differ. Families with young children were enjoying the pleasures that only an ocean setting can provide such as walking barefoot in the wet sand and collecting various kinds of sea shells washed up by the waves.  Ester has already collected a pile and plans to take them back to her friends.

As we were taking in the view of the mighty ocean and watching its pounding waves hit the shoreline the old hymn, "Like a Mighty Sea" came to mind.  In our first pastorate in Southern Missouri a dear older lady named Beulah often requested this song, as it was her favorite. What I find interesting is that she and her husband had never seen the ocean. Their only distant trip was as far as Illinois, one state to the east, where their daughter lived.  

The ocean has inspired quite a number of Scripture verses, hymns, and settings for writings; both fiction and nonfiction throughout the ages.  The above Psalm extols the might of God.  The sea referred to by the Psalmist was likely the Mediterranean Sea.  Israel is small geographically and Jerusalem is not far from the Mediterranean Sea.

I too am reminded of the awesomeness of God’s power when I look out over the vast ocean and watch the great breakers crash into the shore. The mysteries that lie below the sea only underscore the awesomeness of God's great power. Truly the waves are a great analogy of God’s ceaseless mighty power but the Lord on high is even mightier!  How mighty is God?  He's mighty enough to rule the great universe, yet small enough to live within my heart.


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer:  Lord, any words we speak or analogies we use cannot fully describe your infinite mighty power.  It miraculously reaches beyond the heavens, is visible throughout all the earth, and is resident within our own hearts.  It is only in experiencing a personal relationship with you that we begin to tap into the inexhaustible power and might that comes from You, Almighty God.  Even as the waves of the ocean are powerful and wash up on shore may You fill our lives to overflowing so that Your mighty presence is visible in our lives and spills out to those around us.  In Jesus’ mighty name we pray, Amen.



Like a Mighty Sea

Like a mighty sea, Like a mighty sea
Comes the love of Jesus sweeping over me
The waves of glory roll, the Savior to extol
Is the love of Jesus sweeping o'er my soul.

(The chorus of "Like a mighty Sea" – as best we can remember!)



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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."

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