Written by: Van Yandell
Daniel 2:21 “And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.”
Being in my home state of Kentucky in October is a great blessing indeed. To see the changing of the seasons is a gift from God and a verification of His tremendous power.
When we feast our eyes upon the brilliant colors of the maple, sumac, oak and sassafras leaves, if we only see the colors, we miss the big picture. The power and design capability of our God is so overwhelmingly demonstrated, very few would miss the point.
The changing of the seasons demonstrates God’s ability to feed us. By the seasonal conditions, the farmers of the world produce food for the billions of us that reside on this earth. The varying temperatures and angle of the sun on the earth, both in the northern and southern hemisphere, enhance the growing conditions.
I’m appalled at those that think the perfect balance of the solar system and even the entire universe is by chance. The orbits of the planets and moons and even the orbit of the solar system in the galaxy were preset by our God to achieve this perfect, intricate balance.
Many of us have come to think, and believe in some cases, nothing is by accident. It appears to me, this balance is so perfect, there is no way it could have “just happened.”
My good friend, Pat and I rode mountain bikes back in the 80’s and 90’s. Our most memorable rides were in the fall of the year. Winter also offered a unique perspective on our surroundings, but fall was the most beautiful.
The trails we rode were mostly through woodlands which, of course, provided us with the splendor of colors and hues that only God could create. The wildlife we observed preparing for the coming cold of winter was obvious. Being present with nature is being present with our Creator.
In promoting and preaching the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, I have often asked groups/congregations to consider the evidence and make a decision as to what they believed. All I asked was to be fair and reasonable in making their decision.
A law enforcement philosophy is, “Follow the evidence and it will lead you to the truth.” The same is true in answering the two age-old questions, “Where did we come from and where are we going?” I often want to say to the non-believers, “Just open your eyes and see!”
The leaves changing also demonstrate to us, change is inevitable. We know the climate in our world is changing. The question is, why? To answer that question, one must look at the natural records of history. Tree growth rings, the rock formations and the layers of earth answer many questions. From these studies we see that over the decades and centuries, the climate has varied and man had no hand in it.
The changing leaves make us realize what a great artist, designer, architect and engineer our God actually is. The perfection of nature must be a grand arrangement. Chaos does not evolve into order. This is the second law of thermodynamics, also called entropy. This universe, in my thinking, could not have happened by accident.
The changing of the seasons also reminds us of the phenomenal change God can make in our lives. Second Corinthians 5: 17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Many have testified of how tremendous a change their belief in Christ Jesus made in their lives. When we prayed to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we experienced a supernatural change that only a higher power could have made.
Some things are simply not meant to be explained by man and this change is high on the list. The Apostle Paul does a fair job of explaining this change in Acts 19: 1-6. He explains to the people of Ephesus how when they believed they should have received the Holy Spirit.
This combining of the spirit of God and man’s spirit is based on Matthew 3: 11 when John the Baptist told us that Jesus would baptize the believer with the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 6: 19 further reinforces this combining. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
This combining of the human spirit and God’s spirit is the reasoning for Mark 3: 29, “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” We that believe must continually be aware that God lives in us and that is exactly where He wants to be.
John 3: 16, by many of us has been considered to be the entire Bible explained in one verse. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The word “whosoever” includes every one of us.
A key word in John 3: 16, is believe. The question to many may be, believe what? Essentially, that means to believe that Christ Jesus was crucified for the remission of sin and resurrected. Our salvation is a personal connection with Him and believing is an emotional response based on faith. We do not believe in Jesus in the same way we believed the facts in our high school history book.
Some believe that only a select few will be in Heaven but my Bible does not verify that. That one word “whosoever” destroys any argument for that opinion. Second Peter 3: 9 “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” The one word “all” includes every one of us.
To witness the colors of the changing of the leaves in the fall is a very powerful reminder of the change Christ Jesus can make in the life of a person. John 3: 3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” To be born again is change and a concept that the non-Christian world cannot comprehend.
Only those that have experienced being born again can relate to the awesome change that occurs. Only our creator is capable of this tremendous transformation.
He changes the seasons, the colors of the leaves and He changes us. Look at the trees, the leaves; feel the autumn breeze and watch the sun as its position and angle changes. You’ll see God’s creation and there will be no doubt. This did not happen by accident.