I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, These two vessels are docked in the harbor at the same time. Although we are not sure of their journey we do know they ended up in this harbor on this day. Depending on the ship on which you travel your experience will be different. So even though vessels ended up at the same place, the journey for the passengers was surely different.
In my journey of Bible study I have used many different vessels. Recently I have learned a new way to study the Bible, a new way to see what the God is trying to tell me through his word, called Biblical Theology. The name is confusing because it seems to imply that it is the only theology that is based on the Bible and that all other theologies are not, but that is not what it means at all. Instead Biblical Theology is a way of looking at the Bible as telling one story, through various kinds of literature over many years, of how God is redeeming the world through Christ. For me it is a way to see the Bible as a whole from Genesis to Revelation that leads to Christ. It has given more purpose to my study and it has developed in me an even greater sense of awe in the amazing word of God in scriptures and the steadfast love that the Scriptures portray. I want to share a wonderful resource that I have found that provides resources that look at the Bible with a Biblical Theology perspective called the Bible Project. This free resource has many videos, podcasts, and study guides that are wonderful examples of seeing the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. Prayer Great God Thank you for so many ways of studying your word. Open the eyes or our hearts to see in your word the hope we have in Christ. Amen
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Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. After many months of not going to the mountains, we slipped away to the cove this week. We went late in the day and easily social distanced from everyone. I went directly to the great oak tree at the Lawson place. It was still there, a symbol of strength and perseverance for me. I set up my tripod and waited for sunset. I have taken so many pictures of this tree, yet each time I go I learn something new about photography and about God.
One definition of a master is someone who has practiced the same art for many years and has developed a web of connections that she uses without thinking. It takes time, there is no shortcut; and the greater the time the greater the knowledge and joy of creating. As you can see from the image, I still have some growing to do. I was discouraged when I saw the images on my computer and realized what settings I could have changed to make the picture I wanted. Yet I will still go back again, I hope many more times, and use what I learn each time to get closer to an image that captures the way I feel when I look at this tree. This experience made me think about reading the Bible. It is sometimes so hard to understand. It is easy to get discouraged and just read the same favorite verses again skipping the hard passages. But I don’t want the Bible to become a collection of favorite verses. I want to learn from the hard verses. I want God's word to be so present in my life that it influences everything I do. It will take time and I will have to “meditate on it all day long.” The Bible is designed for a lifetime of reading and re-reading. It is in all the re-reading that you make connections between the passages and stories that you have read. And it is the rich connections that you make that weaves the lessons of God’s love in the Bible throughout every thing you do. Prayer Author, Creator God Thank you for making your Word so amazing, intricate, and beautiful. Give us the perseverance to keep reading again and again each time learning more of you so that it influences everything we do. Amen The unfolding of Your words gives light; As the light of late afternoon sun made the green leaves on the trees shine like gold, the light of God’s word shines light into our darkness. God’s word changes us as we take the time to unfold it. The poet of Psalm 119 had a passion for the wonders of God’s word as he crafted this long and intricate acrostic poem. He didn’t see knowing God’s word and following God’s law as a burden but as something he joyously longed for.
Prayer Loving God Awake in us a passion for your word. Make your word shine golden in our lives and light our darkness. Amen When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” When I see the sun rays shinning through the clouds I think of heaven. Like the sun, we know heaven is there but it is mysterious, unknown. One of the early sources for my understanding of heaven comes from the story of Jacob’s dream described in the song, “We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder.” I never really thought much about what it meant. I just knew that Jacob had this dream of a ladder going from earth to heaven with angels going back and forth. The pictures impressed on my memory from my childhood Sunday School class show winged beings dressed white.
Now as I read this story again I see that it was a pivotal time for Jacob and his understanding of who he was and his purpose. He describes his emotions of fear and amazement. Like Jacob we are often unaware of the presence of God in our lives. Then he breaks through the clouds and we see him. We experience the awesomeness of God and here at the Gate of Heaven we worship God and find our identity in him. Prayer Great God Break into our lives this day and bring us to the gate of Heaven. Show us your purpose for our lives. Amen The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; I love the small, intricate blooms of Queen Anne’s Lace, daucus carota. The common name was said to have come from Queen Anne of England who loved to wear lace. When I think of queens and kings I think of crowns, robes, and golden light.
On my morning walk I saw this flower with the golden light of the sun illuminating the bloom making it shine like a crown glittering with diamonds. I thought about the majesty and glory of the God who created Queen Anne’s Lace. Like this flower God is robed with light and majesty; but unlike this flower his majesty will never fade. He is our King, established firm and secure. May Queen Anne’s Lace remind us to worship you as King. Prayer Majestic King We bow before you and worship you. Thank you for the beautiful world you have created. Amen In their hearts humans plan their course, I am a planner - of lesson plans, road trips, and photography outings. Planning is my way of bringing order out of chaos. Things in our world right now seem disordered and chaotic. We don’t know what will happen next. Planning is almost impossible. It is like we are walking down an unknown path not sure of where we are going or what will be around the next curve. What we do know is that the Lord is there to establish our steps. He knows what is around the next corner. His light will show us the way. When we can't plan we can trust God bring order to our chaos.
Prayer Lord, We are plan-less right now. Shine your light on our path this day and bring order from the chaos that we face. Calm our fears and help us to walk in the confidence of your love. Show us your purpose and direction for this day. Amen |
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Soli Deo Gloria,
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan