CATHEDRAL GORGE IN NEVADA

Mother Nature is a term I don't like. It doesn't give credit for what God has done. Mother Nature didn't carve out this beautiful National Park. While she's as made up as the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny, more people seem to honor her or at least have a reverent feeling for her.

Is it possible to worship God in nature? I hear a lot of people say that. I hear them say, "I don't have to be in church on Sunday morning to worship God. I can do it by a stream, in the mountains, at the beach, on the golf course, etc., etc., etc."

My question is can they?

For those who take the attitude that they can worship God without being in church, well, it's like it's a chore for them to be corporate worship in a church. So, no I don't think that kind of person can.

But someone who is focused, who is aware that God created that beautiful nature, and that they don't replace that worship of God with the worship of nature, yes I think that kind of person can worship that way.

"Be still and know that I am God," we are told in scripture. Sometimes with that stillness, with that solitude we can reflect, we can meditate, we can have quiet time with the Creator.

To that kind of person, worship is enhanced in nature. But it's not a substitute. We are not to worship what God has created: we are to worship The Creator.