• When a thunderstorm comes, how do you find yourself:  intrigued or afraid?
• As the rain pours and the lightning strikes, where to you go:  outside to view the storm or down in the basement to escape the powerful sight?
• What is it about the sound of thunder that shakes the very earth below our feet?

If strength and authority of the LORD’S voice has such power, then do the words He utters contain the same power, and, more importantly, are we obedient when God speaks?

Thunder surpasses all other sounds.  A thunderbolt striking the ground booms with authority.  When lightning strikes, it effects the earth.  Scientists calculate that a typical thunderstorm releases almost 10,000,000 kilowatt-hours of energy.  Now, we might not be scientists, but we know the power a strike contains.  Personally, I have seen a 1200-pound cow fall dead when she was suddenly struck by a lightning bolt, as she stood in a field grazing.

To help us consider the might encased within a thunderbolt, scientists attribute the power to the equivalent of a 20-kiloton nuclear warhead.

Storms are nature’s examples of the LORD’S massive power.  Now, we might not be nuclear physicists, but we know the power of a lightning strike.  When we know a storm is coming, where to we place our bodies:  in sight of the storm or in the shelter provided?  You and I may choose different places, but the truth is:  We often are not given warning of an approaching storm; they just appear when everything seems eerily calm.  That’s how the day appeared back in 1989.  I was in the garden, hoeing and spreading manure. My beloved was in the house, recouping from knee surgery.  The world was calm; the air was arid and seemed to crackle with energy.  One moment I was scooping fertilizer from a bucket to side-dress the vegetables, and the next second, I was frightened and running toward the house door.

So, we wonder:  What is it about the power found within thunder that shakes the very earth below our feet?  & What is it about the sound of thunder that commands our hearts to listen?

If the authority of the LORD’S powerful voice commands our attention, then do the words He utters contain the same power?

More importantly, when we sense the Spirit of God speaking to us, are we obedient?

• The spiritual person can see the hand of God in all events of life.
• The faithful follower of Jesus can know the leadership of the LORD in all component of life.

Thus, our only response is to honor, glorify and worship HIM.

• Simple things are often solo, like a simple black dress that a girl keeps in her closet, appropriate for all occasions.
• Simple things are like directions with only one step.

Many of us buy objects that require assembly.  We may purchase a bookcase, a table, or even something much larger as a playground.  With assembly comes instructions, directions that if followed will lead to success.  When the church voted to purchase a playground for the children, we received not a small pamphlet but a one-inch-thick instruction manual necessary for assembly.  One person could have taken that manual, opened all the many pieces, and assembled them into the playground, but the necessary may have required two weeks or even a month of weeks.  Therefore, a team of assemblers were sought, and within two days’ time, a team of fifty individuals put together a playground that now sits behind the church.  Each time we look at the playground, we see the success of this team and the joy written across the children’s faces, and we hear the peals of their laughter as they climb, run, and swing.

Is that how we serve the LORD?