We were heading towards Milford
Sound in New Zealand, a place where rain is so abundant, that on some days, it
rains more than 537 mm. Although I was looking forward to discovering the beauty
associated with this rain, I sure did miss the sunshine!
As we were driving along Hwy 94, my heart suddenly
skipped a beat. To my left were fields full of millions of lupines in full
bloom, right along the creek! The mountains were visible in the distance, and
despite the rain that continued to spill onto our windshield, I started to
smile. Lupines are good at brightening a rainy day. At least for me!
We didn't realize at the time that lupines grow
abundantly all over New Zealand. In fact, the locals call them "nasty weeds".
All I knew was that they sure worked to beautify the surroundings!
I made a discovery
then. I realized that my passion for exploration is not so much to discover new
lands, but rather, to discover the depth and breadth of God's amazing love. No
matter where I go, I discover His presence. Although sin abounds everywhere, His
grace abounds even more. Just look at the splendors of His nature in our fallen
world. This is true grace! Wow! God is truly awesome!
Speaking of sin, we can discover a lot about ourselves
and about God in the middle of temptation. Jesus was not exempt from this, and
when we study his journey through temptation, the first thing we realize is that
we are going to hunger: "After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was
hungry." (Matt 4:2 NIV)
This is a completely normal part of life. Jesus'
hunger authenticates our own. We all are going to hunger sooner or later. The
evil one takes advantage of this hunger, and at our weakest moment, he
approaches us with the following message: "You don't have to stay hungry, there
are alternatives."
"The tempter came to him and said, 'If you are the Son
of God, tell these stones to become bread.'" (Matt 4:3 NIV)
Yes, there are alternatives, but these alternatives
sour when we stop trusting the Almighty! They will never ever provide us with
what we most profoundly want and need. They are fakes! They are frauds!
Jesus' response? "It is written: 'Man does not live on
bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matt 4:4
NIV) In other words, these alternatives are not real life! The sooner we realize
this, the sooner we are better off!
Would you like to go for a trek through the
mountainous regions of Milford Sound with me? Take your raincoat! You will most
certainly need it! Just imagine climbing the surrounding mountains for a couple
of days.
The good news is that we won't ever get thirsty! The
bad news is that I forgot to pack lunches! But don't worry. As soon as we are
back to civilization, why don't I treat you to a bag of Jaffes (candy coated
chocolate balls)!
What? Not interested? It may make you sick, you say?
Come on!
OK, then let's go to an all-we-can-eat ice-cream
parlor! My youngest son sure would like that!
Still not good enough? What's the matter? Are these
not tantalizing choices?
Not really, not when we are really starving for the
real thing. A good steak with fries would hit the spot for most of you, and I
would be satisfied with an plate of Thai vegetables and steamed rice. But the
nutritionally-deprived foods we would not be really interested in, as they would
most certainly make us sick. They do not satisfy our real cravings.
Knowing full well what we really desire, we will react
to any of these frauds with a hearty laugh, just as Jesus did.
"The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust
in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life
worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see." (Heb 11:1 The Message)
Will you help me plant some lupines in the backyard?
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.