It was beginning to SNOW

as I wrote the devo for this week and my first thought was, “Yuck.”

Who wants to move all that SNOW?
Who wants to get their car all dirty as a result of all that SNOW?
Who wants to deal with a New England Nor’easter?
Who wants to deal with SNOW drifts?
Who wants to be stranded by SNOW?
Who wants to have to clean all that SNOW off their car?
Who wants to deal with falling branches overloaded with SNOW?
Who wants to stand in long check-out lines at the supermarket because of a pending SNOW storm?
Who wants to drive at 40 MPH on the Mass Turnpike because of SNOW?
SNOW, SNOW, SNOW – I’m sure I could go on and on about SNOW!

(But just so you know that I am not a cry baby, you need to know that I do find some really positive things about SNOW.)

SNOW gives you the chance for a really good work out by shoveling, snow blowing, or walking.
SNOW is great for playing in, skiing, snowboarding, sledding, building a SNOW man, or SNOW fort, or having a good old SNOW ball fight (no ice balls or rocks in the SNOW balls though).
SNOW is beautiful when new fallen.
SNOW can allow you sleep in.
SNOW can let you spend more time with your family.
SNOW can actually help ease aches and pains.
SNOW can make great SNOW Ice Cream. (Disclaimer: If you are concerned about pollution then it can be made with shaved ice. Click here for a great recipe for SNOW Ice Cream).
SNOW stores up water supply for Spring.
SNOW is an excellent insulator of soil by limiting the depth of frozen soil.

But, the most positive thing about SNOW is found in God’s Word:

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. – Isaiah 1:18

To show us the degree that sin has stained our life, Isaiah compares it to a piece of clothing that has been dyed scarlet (deep red). In bible times, once a piece of cloth had been dyed scarlet it was impossible to bleach out.

So here are a couple of important takeaways about SNOW:

1. God invites all sinners to come to Him. For someone who has not yet trusted Christ as Savior, God has a way to make a deeply stained sinner pure or “as white as snow” in His sight. Our sin is cleansed when we place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and ask for His forgiveness.

It sounds pretty simple, but you know what? It is simple – so simple a child can come to faith in the Lord Jesus. There is nothing more beautiful than a life that has been redeemed by the blood of Christ, a life that is destined for heaven, a life that has been given purpose, a life that has been made “white as snow.”

Check out the lyrics to this simple yet profound chorus:
White as snow, white as snow, thought my sins were as scarlet,
Lord I know, Lord I know, that I’m clean and forgiven.
Through the power of Your blood, through the wonder of Your love,
through faith in you I know that I can be white as snow.
2. For those who have trusted Christ as their Savior: God intends that we live like a sin-cleansed follower of Christ, thank Him for making us “white as snow,” and share this amazing truth with others. One way we can do that is by asking God to help us share this biblical illustration with someone who does not yet have the assurance of where they are going to spend eternity. One who does not yet have the assurance that their sin has been forgiven. They deserve to hear that “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
SNOW
A truly amazing illustration of how God sees those who have trusted His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ (and it can provide for a lot of fun too).
Pastor Bryan