October 2024 - Creation Beckons

You Are Valuable to God

Matthew 6:26 You Are Valuable to God

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (NIV)

God knows each of us much more thoroughly and intimately than this mother duck knows her chicks. And yet these baby ducklings trust their mother enough to follow her to a place they have never been, that blue stuff called water. Have you ever wondered how a duckling feels the first time it steps off solid ground onto something that moves, water? Is the duckling concerned or excited? Whichever it is, he trusts momma enough to follow her. He instinctively knows that she will not lead him into any danger. Our trust of our Lord has to become instinctive, making us willing to follow Him wherever He leads, without any concern, but with excitement for the journey He has prepared for us. We have to know in our “knowers” that He will not lead us into any danger that He is unable to guide us through. Life with our Lord is not necessarily always calm and quiet. He can and He does lead us into places where we need to stretch our wings and fly for the first time, to get our feet wet in the sharing of the Gospel with a stranger or perhaps a friend that is not a churchgoer. We need to trust Him enough to know that He knows that our wings can hold us in flight, and that we can speak His Word to others. We will never know unless we trust Him when He presents opportunities that we might think of as challenges. He will never put us in a position where He does not “have our backs.”

The ducklings also know that their momma will do everything in her power to protect them if anything threatens them. Is not our God more powerful that a mother duck? Does He not care for us more than the mother duck cares for her chicks? We need to take encouragement and comfort in knowing that the creator of the universe knows our situation every moment of every day, that He is watching out for us constantly. He does ask that we ask Him for help when we need it. We need to acknowledge that we need His help, that we are dependent upon Him. He is eager to give us all the good things He has in store for us, but we have to realize that we need them, that He is the source, and that we have to make our requests to Him.

Even His Shadow Is Mighty

Psalm 91:1 Even His Shadow Is Mighty

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (KJV).

Please disregard the name and the words in the picture above. I use the picture because of the sharpness of the shadow. Is the light shining from the lower left or from the upper right? Hard to tell, isn’t it? The shadow matches the original exactly and is just as sharp.

The verse above tells us that we are safe even in the shadow of the Almighty. His strength and protection are available wherever God sends them, even in a place where they are made up of nothing we can touch. That’s true of our God; we can’t physically touch Him, and that makes it difficult for some to believe that He even exists. Talk to someone who has had a personal touch from Him, someone who has been healed from a deadly disease, someone who has been set free from drugs, someone whose life and marriage have been restored, someone who has been brought safely out of a horrendous automobile or plane crash. I’m pretty sure that he will gladly tell you of the real existence and spiritual touch of Jesus Christ. A shadow proves that something real has caused the shadow; it exists, so if we can “abide in the shadow of the Almighty,” then He, the Almighty must exist. Thank you, dear God, for providing for us, the Shadow of the Almighty.

Bread of Eternal Life

Matthew 4:4 Bread of Eternal Life

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”’” (NIV).

My wife and I were fortunate one day while we were hiking, to see this butterfly feeding. God provided this plant for the butterfly for food, and he provided the process by which the butterfly turns this plant into vibrant animal life.

God has done the same for us. He provided all the food we need. And he provided the processes by which our bodies turn the food into vibrant life. But that speaks only of the physical food and the physical life. Satan tempted Jesus by telling Him to turn the stones into bread that He could eat. Jesus’ answer to satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” is the solid rock on which our spiritual lives grow. We can grow physically by eating the physical food provided around us, but that provides only for the physical life, the life we live here on earth. Our bodies can survive for a limited time on those foods. Then life is done—not really, we do live forever after we leave this earth. Where we live forever depends upon the spiritual food we have consumed during our physical lifetime. Jesus tells us in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (NIV). Jesus provides us a constant supply of spiritual food that is available through the written Word, through prayer, and through the Word taught by God’s ministers. The spiritual food we consume during a day provides for the spiritual needs of that day, but also for all the days of eternity to come.

I like to think of the spiritual food that I consume as ingredients for my daily spiritual bread. That daily spiritual bread can be “whole wheat,” “sourdough,” “rye,” “pumpernickel,” or even “cinnamon-raisin” bread.” Whatever it is, it is right for that day. I also like to think that all the spiritual food I consume is being gathered into one grand recipe that will be baked on the day I leave this earth and will be available for me when I reach heaven. I don’t know what that glorious food will look like, but I can’t wait to taste it. If it were a bagel, I suppose it could be called an “everything” bagel.

The Church United

Ephesians 2:19-22 The Church United

“You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God. You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone. Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord. And you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God’s own Spirit to live” (CEV).

This may not be the most photographic picture I have ever taken, but it has importance. First of all, it’s easy to see that the church is part of the community it serves. People’s homes are right next door. This church is unique in that it serves as the meeting place for the Catholic Church and the protestant church. They share the facility. There is an altar at each end, a pot belly stove in the middle, and pews whose backs can easily be switched so the congregants can face either the Catholic altar or the protestant altar. Since they share the building, they also share the costs and the upkeep, so cooperation is a must. What a good example this is of the Scripture quoted above. Each church and each congregation is built with “apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone.” We would do well to remember the common foundation and the common cornerstone we all share. The Scripture is a call for unity in the Spirit. I have been reading a book by David Jeremiah, “Belief That Behaves.” I was intrigued with a section that describes an international meeting of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. At one point the attendees gathered in small groups for prayer. The international group included students from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, entities not known for their friendly or even peaceful interaction. But these three groups came together for prayer, breaking the walls that separated them. One of the leaders said, “In Christ we are all one family. And Christ breaks down political boundaries. In Christ, we have the desire to make the first steps to connect.” Unity in Christ was paramount to these students.

Dr. Jeremiah also related the following story. A young American girl on a mission trip to Quito, Ecuador, was seriously injured. While she was swimming in deep water, a boat didn’t see her and rode right over her. The propellor caught her on the lower back. Several young Ecuadorean men swam to her and carried her back to shore where an ambulance took her to the hospital. Over the next few weeks, her Christian friends in the U.S. contacted people they knew in Ecuador, who began to visit her and offer help. A retired missionary doctor took personal responsibility for her care, and she received many cards, letters, emails, flowers, and gifts. She said, “I just can’t believe it . These people loved me for no other reason than that I needed to be loved.” Her father responded, “It’s the church, When the church is functioning at its best, there is simply no community on earth that can rival it.”

God calls us to Christian unity, and it is to our advantage to do what we can to foster unity. If someone says, “Jesus is Lord,” he is my brother.

Sing His Praise

Psalm 96:12 Sing His Praise

“Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy” (MIV).

This Psalm is a song of praise, and, to me, these beautiful flowers are singing praises to our Lord and to their creator. I had lots of ideas for this posting, but I think David says it best, so here is the totality of Psalm 96.

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord, glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord, the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound and all that is in it.

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.”

AMEN!

Persevere and Shine

Hebrews 12:1-3 Persevere and Shine

“Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne! So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up” (CEV).

The desert is a hard, dry, rocky, inhospitable place, but grand beauty can be found there in the plants that endure and persist until beautiful blossoms appear. They endure times of immense heat with sporadic rainfall that may come in cloudbursts one day and white-hot skies for extended times after the rainfall. It is interesting to note that the beauty of these flowers stands out in stark contrast to the land around them. They are easy to spot. The eye is drawn to them.

Jesus appeared on the scene two thousand years ago with a message that disturbed the existing religious leaders. The leaders had drifted from the belief they had on the day that the walls of Jerico fell. Jesus reminded them of that strong faith and pointed them to the Holy Scriptures that prophesied the appearance of the Messiah. He announced that He was that Messiah, and He showed it by the miracles He performed, by the words of peace and love that He spoke, and by the words written in the Holy Scriptures that He, and He alone, fulfilled. He certainly stood out from the crowd. It wasn’t hard to see Him and to follow His journey. The religious leaders wanted to kill Him, but several times while He was in their midst, He walked right through the crowd, escaping their murderous plots. He endured opposition from the religious leaders; He endured being ignored by the people from His home town; He endured betrayal from one of His closest associates; and He endured being hung on a Roman cross. On resurrection day He shined brighter than anyone ever did throughout history. His beauty was amazing, and it remains so today.

As for us, we can learn from the cactus flowers and from Jesus. We have been battered by sin, some that continue to attack even after we have accepted Jesus as Lord. Even now, even here, we endure implied, if not actual, persecution. Our statements about our Lord are derided by many, and some people even think we are deluded fools for the trust and faith we have in our Lord. Our stands on many aspects of life are derided, and we are marginalized in some parts of the communities where we live. But, we, like Christ, must persevere and run our race to its completion, and then like Him, we will shine brightly with His beauty for eternity.

Peace

John 14:27 Peace

“Peace I leave with you, My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge]” (AMP).

Jesus was speaking with His disciples at the last supper. By this time, He had told them that one of them would betray Him, and Judas had left to commit the betrayal. His disciples certainly sensed that something serious was about to happen, although they did not know how serious. He had also told them the Father would be sending them the Holy Spirit, who would remind them of all the things that Jesus had said to them. It wasn’t long until they needed this peace, for when they left, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed. They scattered, and Peter was soon to deny that he even knew Jesus. The crucifixion was just a few days away. The disciples had good reason to be afraid, for their leader had been arrested and crucified. They could be next. A reading of the Scriptures leads me to believe that Jesus’ disciples did not have the peace He had left them until after they saw Him after His resurrection. Some might say, “But they should have had peace because they had been with Jesus for three years, had seen Him perform many miracles, and had heard Him preach the Gospel.” If I had witnessed, what they had witnessed at Calvary, would I have had peace? Would you have had peace?

But I wasn’t in their situation. I know that He arose. I should have the peace that Jesus has given us. Right? Sometimes it takes us a while to receive the peace that Jesus has given. Sometimes I have to reread this passage before I truly have peace. And when I reread it and contemplate it and remember that Jesus said it and remember that Jesus never told a lie, then I receive His peace. Then His peace calms me as I thank Him and praise Him. Thank you, Jesus, for giving us your peace, and thank you, Father God, for sending Jesus and for sending the Holy Spirit.

Gentle and Majestic

Isaiah 40:11 Gentle and majestic

“He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; He will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young” (ESV).

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all” (ESV).

I am drawn to this picture and to the two verses above. Together the verses describe the gentleness and the majesty of our God, the Lord of all, the Creator, the one who proves His strength and His gentleness by his love. The picture shows the grass-covered meadow with grazing cattle in the foreground, while the background literally shouts of the majesty and grandeur of the mountains and spires. In one picture we see the extremes of landscape and in the Scriptures quoted above, we see the extremes of the personality of our God.

Our Lord is our gentle shepherd that gathers us in His arms and gently holds us in peace. He is also the grand God of creation, who created all we can see and all we cannot see by His Word, His spoken Word. He owns all of it. He rules all of it. Yet, with all of His grandeur, He knows you and He knows me. He not only knows who we are, he knows all about us, our needs, our desires, our wants, our problems, our shortcomings, our sins, and our love for Him. I am overcome by the knowledge that the King of the universe wants to hold me in His arms and listen to what I have to say. He is honestly interested in my interests, but most of all, He wants me to know that He wants to spend eternity with me and with you. Each of us is His favorite, for “God shows no partiality (Romans 2:11 ESV).

Harvest the Continuous Crop

Proverbs 27:25 Harvest the Continuous Crop

“After the hay is cut and the new growth appears and the harvest is over” (CEV).

It’s a long time since this hay rake has been used, but the process is still important. Hay that has been cut and is lying flat on the ground is hard for the hay baler to pick up, so the rake lifts it into rows that are easier for the baler to collect. Hay that is left flat on the ground is susceptible to rot if it is not fluffed up. This hay rake was drawn by two horses, and the operator sat on a seat on the rake with the reins in his hands. The mechanism may be old, but I am sure if it were oiled, it could still do the job. Today’s machinery, the tractor, pulls a similar piece of equipment to accomplish the same task, but fuels used are different. It makes me wonder about a comparison of the cost of feed for the horses, and the feed, excuse me, gasoline for the tractor. And the horses are quieter. There are some things to be said for the old methods—just ask some of the most successful farmers in America, the Amish.

Hay is a continuous crop. Once it is cut, it grows again, and it can be cut again. The harvest we are to work for as Christians is also a continuous crop. What is our harvest? Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19,20 and again in Mark 16:15,16 that the harvest is the souls of men for salvation. Every year, millions of new souls are born on the earth, and as they mature, they become ripe for salvation’s harvest. And there are millions already here who have never heard the Good News of salvation. There are similarities between the harvest of hay and the harvest of souls. A new soul, once he (she) has heard the Gospel, needs to be “fluffed up,” that is, taught so he can live as Christ would have him live, and so that he can be joined with others who have received the Good News of salvation. Those in the Church who walk beside and teach new believers are important to the harvest, just as the hay rake is important to the harvest of hay. There are many functions in fulfillment of the Great Commission, and you and I will probably perform one or more of those functions as we grow in Christ. Be encouraged, for we are doing what Jesus asked of us.

Am I in Camouflage?

Matthew 5:14-16 Am I in Camouflage?

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (NIV).

Do you see the roadrunner in the picture above? God created them with colors that blend into the desert surroundings so that they are difficult to see. It often takes some degree of concentration to discover a roadrunner in its surroundings. God did this for their safety.

God asks those who have accepted Jesus as Savior to do the opposite. As the verse above says, “…let your light shine before others….” No camouflage for us. We are to stand out by doing good deeds. We are not to be hidden for our safety. We are to shine for His glory. The result of our good deeds will be the glorification of our Heavenly Father. So I have to ask myself the question, “Am I easy to pick out as a Christian in a crowd?” God asks us to, not only be easy to spot, but also asks us to shine forth so that God is glorified and so that others may be drawn to Him. There’s a saying, “Don’t do as I do. Do as I say.” Jesus doesn’t live by that saying. Instead He says, “Do as I Do and do as I say.”