Missionary Renegade: "The Heavens Declare the Glory of God" Advent Devotion for Tuesday, 22 December 2015 from Society of St. Andrew of Big Island, Virginia, United States

"The Heavens Declare the Glory of God" Advent Devotion for Tuesday, 22 December 2015 from Society of St. Andrew of Big Island, Virginia, United States

"The Heavens Declare the Glory of God"
Tuesday, 22 December 2015 / Psalm 19: (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:

2 (1) The heavens declare the glory of God,

the dome of the sky speaks the work of his hands.

3 (2) Every day it utters speech,

every night it reveals knowledge.

4 (3) Without speech, without a word,

without their voices being heard,
[Complete Jewish Bible]
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In August 1976, I stepped off an LC-130 aircraft at Williams Field, on the Ross Ice Shelf near McMurdo Station, Antarctica. This was my third trip to “The Ice,” but this trip was special because I was participating in WINFLY, the winter fly-in of supplies to the men who had been isolated on the continent since the last LC-130 departed in early March. I had never seen the Antarctic at night.
I was not a believer at the time, but seeing the aurora australis for the first time brought the words of the psalmist to my heart. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1) I remember thinking that the heavenly host on the first Christmas morning could not have been more spectacular than the night sky in Antarctica. I believe my spiritual journey was renewed that night.
Since then I have been blessed to see the glory of God in mountains, glaciers, forests, and oceans on each of the seven continents. For those who choose to acknowledge the existence of God, there is no other possible explanation for the incredible beauty of this universe. The psalmist continues, “They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”(Psalm 19:3-4a) During Advent, the winter sky is spectacular; I love to look up and hear the heavens declaring the glory of God.
Prayer: Creator God, thank you for the infinite beauty of this world, and for the simple beauty of the Christ Child, born in a stable to bring salvation into a lost world. Open our eyes daily to the truth of your existence through the beauty we see all around us. Amen.[Johnnie Draughon, Virginia Beach, Virginia]
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Big Island, Virginia 24526, United States
The Society of St. Andrew is a national nonprofit hunger-relief ministry that rescues 25-30 million pounds of fresh, nutritious, excess produce each year that would otherwise go to waste for various marketing reasons. This food is then distributed to critical feeding agencies across the country at no cost to the agencies or the hungry people they serve. More information about the Society of St. Andrew and its hunger-relief programs - Gleaning Network, Potato & Produce Project, and Harvest of Hope is available online at EndHunger.org.