Tag Archives: trees

Stumbling Tumbling Water

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Tumbling Water

Water tumbling down the Icicle River

If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.  Psalm 37:23

This morning I stumbled through prayer. Constantly distracted I behaved more like a four year old stuck in a pew at church. That is why I take heart with this verse. It tells me when I try to follow Him that even when I stumble, the Lord upholds me with His right hand. He won’t hold my stumbling against me, instead He loves me as His child in need of help.

Glory

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balasomroot glory

Glorious

This flower is one among hundreds on this hillside. Hardly worth taking its picture, until you get the early morning sun behind it and then — Oh my, it is glorious.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Colossians 1:27

Come Let Us Worship

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Lifting Hands in Worship

All nature worships

Psalm 95

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.

Everyone worships something. Some worship nature, some wealth, some humanity. It is important to ask yourself what you worship for you will become like what you worship (Psalm 115, Rom. 1:25). With this in mind there is only one worthy of worship — the creator of all things.

Worship of God starts with bowing before Jesus, bowing in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). In other words humbling myself and calling Him Lord of all. This act of worship involves offering my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This holiness can only happen by God’s grace given to me through Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1). Thus, I begin worship by bowing before the Shepherd of my soul and end being made into His likeness. Jesus becomes for me the Alpha and Omega of worship.

The Line Between Light and Dark

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Sun Mountain-1

Light meets dark

This picture is difficult to understand because there is nothing to help you align yourself as to the scene. Life is like this picture, we need something to help us in making sense of what is happening. A passage in Isaiah speaks to God meeting our need:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;” Isaiah 28:16-17

Isaiah is prophesying about a coming Messiah, who will be our foundation and cornerstone. Through the Messiah, life will not dismay us, but in Him we will gain understanding and meaning for all that happens. I desperately need help, to know up from down, right from wrong, and good from bad. In Jesus, God has given me a cornerstone for measuring and understanding life.

I have provided two additional photographs below for better orientation. They are from the same scene, but a slightly different direction to provide context.

Sun Mountain-2

Shades of snow

Sun Mountain-3

Valley fog and snow covered ridge

These photographs were taken near Sun Mountain Lodge in Winthrop WA. The first is looking up at a snow covered ridge, shrouded by a cloud. The second includes the side hill and a snow covered pine tree, and the third a view of the mountain in the distance as the cloud lifted.

Light of Life

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morning light
The right light makes this photograph beautiful. It is the same for our life.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Later in the chapter Jesus explains what He means by, “I am the light of the world.”

“Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. John 8:14

I struggle with that fact all the time. When traveling I hate to ask for directions, because then I have to admit I do not know what way is right. It is the same for the right way to go in life.

With all the debate about how to stop the mass killings, how to deal with immigration, what to do with millions of refugees, we need to admit we don’t know where we are going, and follow the light of the world.

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8