"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." (Issaiah 55:12)

Dear Friends and Members of IBC, From Hayden's Creation, we hear "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the work of His hands shows the firmament (creation)." What an amazing thing to consider. Similarly, Isaiah 55:12 says, "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. The Bible tells us that God's creation praises Him just as He designed it. Have you ever listened (eyes closed) to trees in the wind and thought, "they do sound like a cheering crowd or applause of thousands of hands"? These words attribute human behavior to God's creation–but maybe that just helps us understand what we already know in our hearts to be true. We, too, are the work of His hands. Do we declare His glory? Do we reflect His creation? The beautiful thing is this: We are designed for this very purpose. To live any other way is to "forget" that we are His creation. To "remember" this enables us to live in the way the Creator designed. More than that, in such a way that we flourish. Question. What is the chief end of man? Answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. This is the opening question to the Westminster Catechism. I am sure I've quoted this before...but I love it because of just how it connects us with our creator. We glorify Him and also we can enjoy Him...forever. What if God were to demand that we glorify Him? Instead, He implores us. He invites us (see the rest of Isaiah 55). Through his one and only son, He made a way for us where there was no way. Even if you don't usually listen to classical music, I encourage you to take just under four minutes to listen to Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes. While you listen, consider how you can declare the glory of God through your life; how you can reflect His creation. I pray that we each ask God to "make your will my desire". His will is for us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. His will is for us to reflect His creation. God Bless you, IBC. May He make His will your desire. Karl