June 21

Because I can drift. I can lose sight of what is real. I can get distracted by everything going on around me. And end up pretty bummed by it all. Short-sighted on my part.

Jeremiah 10:2 says, "Thus says the LORD: Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed by them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity."

"Vanity" = believing what we think we see; but what we see is not real, or at least not ultimately real.

If all we can know is what we can see, then we're all in trouble. So far, the culture around us is asking if not provoking questions flavored with frustrations and anger.

Psalm 2 says it well, "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain." The vanity? No real answers offered.

It seems the best response anyone has agreed to is broken windows and spray paint and a lot of yelling.

Sunday mornings represent another opportunity for a reset, a repositioning of my coordinates.

Jeremiah 10:6-7 tells me, "There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might. Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you."

In just an hour or so, I will attempt to lead our church through a sermon on the attributes of God. Impossible task on my part. He cannot be contained by my feeble attempt to "explain Him."

There is none like Him. His holiness, His grace, His ultimate and involved sovereignty is ultimate, and way beyond me.

Even if my eyes cannot see Him in the moment, our God remains the ultimate reality.

He is the only hope for the nations that rage against Him.

The acknowledgment of that very fact is the reset I need. Today, and everyday.

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church | Juneau