Tree in the Air

Tree in the Air

Have you ever seen a tree growing high above your head -- roots and all?  This was a first for me.  

When I see something unusual or strange, I often wonder what spiritual truth God might be offering.  As I looked at this very unusually placed tree high above the atrium on the cruise ship, I started thinking of its roots.  Ahh, roots!  Just like a tree, whatever a person is rooted and grounded in -- that will determine how strong and healthy, or how weak that person will be.

I'm quite sure the gardeners on the Celebrity Eclipse fertilize and water this tree on a regular basis, making sure it gets the correct nutrients to grow well within that metal ball.  Otherwise, it would quickly become weak and unhealthy.

Like a parable, when we apply these pictures to our lives, we ask the question, who and what is fertilizing and watering our hearts so that we receive the proper nutrients to grow healthy and strong?  Here's one of the things God says about roots in the Bible:  "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built upon Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving" Colossians 2:6-7. 

Just like a tree, if a person is not rooted and built up with the correct nutrients and water, he or she is likely to wither when difficulties and hardships come their way.  Jesus was speaking of seeds falling on stony ground when He said, "But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away" Matthew 13:6.  It's so important to take to heart the words of God in the previous verse in Colossians -- that we be rooted and built upon Jesus; that we have our faith established by studying and meditating on His Word; that we water our relationship with the Lord with prayer and thanksgiving.  These are the nutrients that make us strong enough to withstand when tribulation comes.

Here's what the prophet Jeremiah told us:  "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit" 17:7-8.

Now, those words paint an encouraging picture.  If we put our hope and trust in the Lord, we'll be rooted in a place where we do not need to fear or be anxious - even when rough times come.  Plus, we have the added bonus of still yielding fruit that will not only bless our own hearts, but will bless others and bring glory to God.  That's one of those win-win situations we want in our lives.

I'm going to end with powerful words God gave to Paul about being rooted in Jesus Christ:  "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" Ephesians 3:16-10.

A Monochrome World?

A Monochrome World?

              

               Does the spot where Larry and I are sitting in this picture look like a warm and homey place to live?  What about the lack of color or softness?  Do we look happy?

               God could have given us a black and white world – everything monochrome and utilitarian.  He could have left the taste buds off our tongues so that we ate for nourishment only with no pleasure of taste and texture.  He could have made ten animals that behave like robots instead of vast varieties of fascinating creatures.

               He could have made humans compliant and obedient – a virtual Alexa, doing what we’re told to do, incapable of choice and self.  It would have been more efficient, more peaceful and less trouble.  It would have saved Him a whole lot of pain and grief.

               So why didn’t He choose to create His world to be a smoothly running place with no conflict and no back talk?

               God wanted more and since He has the ability to do anything and everything, He created a complex, colorful world teeming with variety, color – and yes, conflict.  Oh, it wasn’t actually created with conflict, but He knew it would come.  You can’t create “choice” without knowing its going to choose the wrong direction at some point.  

               God had a plan in place from the beginning -- and so, He created a magnificent, awesomely beautiful world.  And, He created two wonderful people in His own image.  God loved this man and woman dearly, and enjoyed walking and talking with them in the Garden of Eden.

              All along, relationship was high on God's agenda.  Even though the original plan was marred, a wonderful relationship with the Almighty Creator is still something He offers to us -- and the journey is so worth the effort!  It's a true privilege and joy!  As Beth Moore wrote in The Quest, "The whole earth is full of His glory, so keep your eyes wide open, Traveler."

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge" Psalm 19:1-2.

"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created" Revelation 4:11.

"Ah, Lord God!  Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.  There is nothing too hard for You" Jeremiah 32:17.

Photos:  (1)  We are sitting at the Salk Institute, founded in 1960 in La Jolla, California.
             (2)  A gorgeous sunset over the Outer Banks of NC.

The Story of the World

The Story of the World

      Times when I get a glimpse of God's workings in the world around us, I am overwhelmed with awe at the wonder of it all!  From before the beginning of the world, God's plan has played out like a perfect script, with clues for us to discover (or not) along the way.  
      This morning as I read a devotional, I discovered one of those revelations and I was stunned by its beauty.  
      The pictures, illustrations and foreshadowing God gives to us throughout history is amazing.  A single picture can sometimes span thousands of years before we see its completion.  Here is one example from a devotion written by Stephen Davey in Heart to Heart Magazine, June 2020 (yes, I read ahead).  The illustration begins after the flood, fast forwarding to the baptism of Jesus:

           "In Genesis 8, Noah sends out a dove from the ark, and the dove returns with an olive leaf.  Seven days later, Noah sends out the dove again and the bird does not return.  I find this deeply poetic.  In Mark 1:10, it is written 'And when He came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.'
            "Jesus passes through the symbolic floodwaters of God's judgment and, as He reemerges, God sends a dove, as it were, to rest on His shoulder.  It's as if for thousands of years, that anointed dove has been flying around, longing for a final resting place, hovering over Abraham and Moses and David, saying, 'Not this one, not yet, not quite.' Now, at long last, the dove can come to rest on Christ's almighty shoulders."

          What a beautiful picture illustrating God's rescue of mankind "in the days of Noah" from worldwide judgment for sin.  The picture features a gentle dove who flew from that life-saving ark, and then returned, so to speak, to the new life-saving ark that is found in the work of Jesus Christ.  This ark of salvation represents the completion of God's rescue of mankind from the judgment of sin through the work of His perfect Son.
       This is such a vivid reminder that God is in control of every facet of everything, and He knows the future just as well as He knows the past and the present.  What might seem like an insignificant thing is a reminder that He is in control -- and He wants to share the wonder of what He is doing with His children through clues sprinkled throughout His Word.  The Bible is full of such gems -- many of which we have yet to discover.  
         The threads God weaves throughout history in this tapestry called life are full of deeper meaning - even from ancient times.  Especially from ancient times, because the past will continue to affect the future until the end of time.

Does your life sometimes seem to resemble the mass of threads in the picture above?  This is an embroidery on display in the house of Corrie ten Boom in Haarlem, Netherlands.  She would probably have considered this a good representation of the mess of her life during WWII when her family suffered, some even dying, in the concentration camps after helping save the lives of hundreds of Jewish people. 

When the mass of threads picture was flipped to the other side, this beautiful crown could be seen.  What appeared to be a tangled mess, full of pain and confusion, resulted in a thing of beauty.  As this picture illustrates life, we once again, see how God works in mysterious ways in the story of the world and the individual stories of His people.  He has a plan -- He always has a plan!

"You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God" Isaiah 62:3 ESV.

Photo:  the dove is part of a stained glass in the Sevilla Cathedral in Spain.

The World

The World

In the book of Romans, Paul writes, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time" 8:22.

We only have to look at the news to see that the whole of creation -- the whole world -- is groaning daily.  As I write this, there are riots flaring up all around the world.  Senseless violence and destruction, true anarchy is spreading, spurred on by wicked people with selfish agendas.  We shake our heads, hardly able to believe such craziness is happening on the heels of the world's worst pandemic.

Never before has the whole world ground to a halt as it has in the past three months, all because of a nearly invisible virus that has wrecked havoc among nations big and small.  With over six million cases, no one has been immune to the ravages of this disease.  Many people have died and many more are suffering in a number of ways.  The whole phenomenon has changed the way people view life like nothing else has since WWII.

Besides riots and a viral pandemic, many countries are battling the worst Desert Locust infestation in 70 years.  The upsurge remains critical in East Africa, Yemen and Southwest Asia, and also countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Indo-Pakistan, and the Sudan.  One news agency wrote, "East Africa is in the midst of a crisis that sounds like something out of the Book of Exodus: A plague of locusts is spreading across the region, threatening the food supply of tens of millions. City-sized swarms of the dreaded pests are wreaking havoc as they descend on crops and pasturelands, devouring everything in a matter of hours. The scale of the locust outbreak, which now affects seven East African countries, is like nothing in recent memory."

Just two weeks ago, massive hailstones fell in parts of Texas.  The news reported, "There’s hail, there’s big hail, and then there’s what fell on Burkburnett, Texas, about 10 miles north of Wichita Falls, on Friday afternoon. Hail topping five inches in diameter crashed like meteors on the town, punching holes through home roofs and leaving craters in the ground."

Why am I reciting all of these recent deadly events going on throughout our world?  I'll answer that with a quote from Sarah Young's devotional, Jesus Calling.  It's as if Jesus is saying to us, "Because the world is in a fallen condition, things always seem to be unraveling around the edges.  Expect to find trouble in this day.  At the same time, trust that My way is perfect, even in the midst of such messy imperfection."

The verse, so symbolically wrapped around the globe in the top picture, makes it plain:  "In this world, you will have trouble.  Take heart, I have overcome the world.  I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace" John 16:33.  

Ah, peace -- something we all long for.  Something that can only be found in God Almighty.  When we see the world around us groaning, our best response is to lay our distress and fears at the feet of Jesus.  He gave us a promise in the book of John, saying, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" 14:27.

Not only does Jesus promise to give us Peace, but He is also the giver of Joy.  He says to us, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full" John 15:11.  What better gifts of grace can we ask for than these that our Lord freely offers to His children.

In this chaotic world we are living in, praise God He is with us every step of the way, with liberal doses of peace and joy to sustain us on our journey.