Posted in Faith, General, Grace, Guidance, Poem, Work of Jesus, tagged Faith, Grace, Help, Jesus, Poem on May 24, 2019|
Leave a Comment »
During prayer time this morning I was convicted about the extent of my failure in relationships over the years. Rather than mope I asked God to heal relationships and continue to change me. After a short season my prayer was interrupted by the words of the first verse of the following poem. Over the next hour, as I began planning for my students, I came back to the poem until two more verses appeared.
I am not who I will become
Or who I should be
But I am not who I once was
Jesus changes me
Each day I choose for right or wrong
Reaping what you see
By His grace I can do what’s right
Jesus sets me free
Today I’m here, tomorrow there
God knows where I’ll be
Best not fret or scheme or worry
Jesus directs me
Read Full Post »
The book of Jeremiah describes dark and somber scenes because God’s judgments are determined for a people who simply will not repent. We in America and the American church seem to think sin is not a problem, either because we think that we haven’t committed anything worthy of death, we have a free pass to sin, or God doesn’t exist or isn’t paying attention or is powerless to respond or has a character which is some version of twisted love that does not include justice.
As my Sunday School Class looked at the 2nd and 4th chapters of Jeremiah yesterday morning, I was struck by the ongoing recalcitrant refusal on the part of Judah to repent. God extended warning and offers of mercy numerous times before and during Jeremiah’s ministry, but the people and the leaders refused. For example, consider the last minute offer of mercy that God extends to Zedekiah when the Babylonians are outside the wall besieging the city: “Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Hosts, the God of Israel, “If you will indeed go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive. But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape from their hand.”‘” (Jeremiah 38:17-18) He did not surrender.
And it wasn’t as if God hadn’t proven that He could and would punish Judah. Jeremiah’s ministry extended from approximately 650 BC until the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, well after the Assyrians destroyed Samaria in 722 BC and resettled Israel’s inhabitants for years afterwards as God had warned through His prophets.
How had these people gotten into such a state of failure to repent. I saw from the early chapters of Jeremiah that Judah had many failures to repent though no lack of opportunity from a merciful God.
Judah had
1) Forgotten God’s mercy and grace (“I brought”, “forgotten Me” 2:6-7,32)
2) Failed to call on God in their difficulties . (“They did not say” 2:6,8)
3) Forsaken God and His Law (“did not know Me”, “transgressed against Me”, “changed their glory” 2:8,11)
4) Forged their own way . (“hew for themselves cisterns”, “drink the waters of the Nile…Euphrates” 2:13,18)
5) Fallen from God’s favor . (“you will not prosper” 2:37)
If these warnings were just historical notes, then we might not need to pay close attention. But judgments are certainly determined for U.S. as well, if we do not repent. And the longer we resist God’s offers of mercy in the Gospel which is preached, taught, and lived out before us in this country, the less God will listen: “…I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.” (Jeremiah 11:14)
Read Full Post »
Posted in Beauty, Blessing, Delights, General, Photo, Random thoughts, tagged Art, Beauty, Delights, Nature, Photos, Random thoughts on May 12, 2019|
1 Comment »
I like big adventures as much as the next person: A trip to an exotic, far off place; a expedition into an unknown place of exploration; a purpose driven service for others. But daily life rarely presents such big adventures unless you can re-orient your perspective to sum all of the small discoveries and opportunities into the whole. Following are a few very small joys in which I partook in the last week. They are neither big nor even the best of the week, but they are the ones for which I had a camera and the appropriate occasion to use it.
I walked out in the yard on a pleasant Spring evening, beyond the large hedge bush, where I had forgotten that I had transplanted a daylily last fall because of crowding where it was formerly. There was a bright surprise on the other side of the bush. Spruce or forest green is my favorite color, but a light golden yellow is a close second. (I never know what to call this color. It’s not gold leaf; it’s too orange to be yellow and too yellow to be orange; it doesn’t quite seem like amber.)
- Twin Beauties
My wife is a particularly good cook and all the better because she tries new dishes. My palate is never bored. After a new and good dinner the other evening, I pushed back from the table a bit to savor the moment, noticing the patterns of pinewood, stainless wear, and Corelleware. Oak grain is perhaps my favorite and most interesting grain though admittedly curly maple is quite intricate. Walnut grain is rich. Pine knots are the most interesting part pine grain. When placed in pairs on a veneer such as a plywood, the parallel knots can may interesting pictures of faces. Patterns on forks and plates can be gaudy for my taste but French curves are tasteful if not overdone. For instance, consider the persistence of Paisley’s, a French curve derivative.
- Unity and Contrast of patterns, colors, and materials
Mallard Ducks are common and “garden variety”, but have you ever looked closely at the decorations on a male Mallard? I reminds me of the verse: “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.” (Luke 12:27) Conversely, I only saw two Mallard’s paddling upstream against the current. Where are the thousands of birds and the teaming fish in the river? Once migrating flocks blackened the skies. What have we done?
- From orange, webbed feet to yellow, dabbling bill, he’s a well decorated flier
One of the activities my wife and I do most consistently beyond chores is walking on our local Greenway. This is where we saw the ducks. Only a few moments later, my wife was asking me what kind of tree was beside the way. This got me to looking up a little more than usual. Though I do like to look up in the trees, I usually do it more when sitting or lying. As the picture reveals I saw a little different variety on a large oak trunk near the path, a few feet above usual line of sight. I told my wife to come back and see it. She exclaimed and gave it wider berth. I stayed behind to snap a few pictures. I had more close up pictures but black is black and the context of trunk and path seemed more informative.
- For perspective: approximately 4 1/2 feet Black Snake
I am thankful to God for occasional brushes with small joys in nature and relationships and comforts to keep life interesting. Catalog your small joys like the old hymn says: “Count your blessings; name them one by one. Count your many blessings; see what God hath done.”
Read Full Post »
The weekend after Resurrection Celebration my wife and I went the opposite direction from Knoxville, to Concord, VA, to visit our daughter, her husband, and two grandchildren. We enjoyed much good conversation and a very relaxed time. Some of the pictures below are not the best, but well record the joy of the time together. In two weekends we had the privilege of seeing all five of our children and all six of our grandchildren, along with some 30 extended family members. It wasn’t even a planned family reunion time.
Little Ewok with his magic jewel
Mealtime
Doting Big Sister
Not really wanting to eat just now
Watching the little man
Mamaw’s favorite thing
Firelight and Family
Enjoying a Spring evening
Feeding time again
A nearby scene; living in the country is nice.
Oak-Hickory stand at the rest area
Crimson Clover in a neighbor’s field
Read Full Post »
CreatorWorship 