Ep 77: A Little Reminder of a Big God

0:00 Well, good morning and welcome to the show. I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for your Sunday morning drive, the short podcast with the goal of providing some motivation, some drive and encouragement on your way to worship and helping you recenter your mind on those spiritual things on a hectic Sunday morning. We are brought to you by the Ministry League network of podcasts. Check out ministryleague.com or download their app in order to find all of the great shows that they offer. Let's go ahead and get the show on the road this morning. This it says, episode 77, a little reminder of a big God. Let's go to church. Are we there yet?

0:55 Recently, I was vacationing with my family and some dear friends of ours in one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And we were on our way back from hiking up the Klingman's Dome, the highest point in the National Park. And we stopped at this scenic overlook to chow down on some sandwiches and continue that drive down the mountain. Well, during our lunch and while taking in the stunning view around us, my friend picked up something small off of the Rockwall behind us. It was this little rubber Jesus figurine, no bigger than an inch tall, with the words Jesus Loves You written across the front. Turns out you can get a pack of 100 of those on Amazon for like 20 bucks.

1:36 Who knew? I'll be sure to include a picture on the website and in our show art for today's episode. Anyway, what a great reminder of such a profound truth. Jesus loves you. And regardless of the historical inaccuracy of a tiny white plastic Jesus, an undeniable truth is found in the words Jesus loves you. Because here we were, surrounded in the midst of the beauty of God's creation. And I'm a little ashamed to say it, I still needed that reminder of his goodness. And aren't we blessed as God's people? So much so that sometimes, out of the sheer abundance of God's goodness, we forget we make mundane the goodness of God. This reminds me of Moses in his farewell speech to the people of Israel right before they enter into the Promised Land. He says the following in Deuteronomy chapter 811 through 14.

2:29 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God by failing to keep His commandments, His ordinances, and His statutes, which I am commanding you today. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied and you build good houses and you live in them, and when your herds and your flocks increase and your silver and your gold increase and everything that you have increases, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and out of the House of slavery. You see, even in the midst of the Promised Land, Moses warned them not to forget God because of the familiarity with the blessings that he bestowed. He warned them not to ascribe those blessings to their own efforts and not to succumb to pride. James 117 says every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of life with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. Yes indeed, God is so good.

3:32 And you know, I'm so thankful for the reminder. Even something as minuscule, as mundane and let's be honest, not entirely eco friendly. You know the abundant littering of small plastic Jesus figurines at a rest area on the side of a mountain. It still made a big and much needed impact. And I'm thankful not only for the reminder, but also for the one who left it because someone had to leave a little bit of Jesus behind them so that we could find it. What if we did that as the Lord's people? What if we left a little bit of Jesus behind, especially in those personal interactions that we have every day, the conversations we have, even the tense ones? What if in every interaction that we have with someone, we left just a little bit of Jesus behind for them so that they could be reminded of His goodness and the goodness of the Father?

4:24 Because I truly believe that we all need that reminder every now and again. That regardless of what is happening around us, even if we are in the pinnacle of the beauty of His creation or we are in the absolute depths of despair, that yes, He loves us and there is nothing that can compare to the beauty of His goodness. Well, those are my thoughts for your Sunday morning drive. Now it's time to hear yours. Our discussion questions for this week are, when do we find ourselves needing a reminder of the goodness of God? Are we actively showing His goodness to others? And what can we do this week to tell someone that Jesus loves them?