Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” I don’t remember where I read about this trick of freezing a soap bubble. It has to be very cold and there has to be snow or ice already present. Where I live that doesn’t happen very often. I have tried this a couple of times before, not always with success. This past week the temperatures were way below freezing and snow, so I tried it again. When it works and I look at the images on my computer I am amazed. This time the images were even more special because I could see individual ice crystal shapes that I haven’t seen before. I was filled with amazement at the intricate beauty of the ice.
In our world of take-for-granted, technical wonders, we rush around so busily that we don’t take time for awe and wonder. We don't take the time to be amazed at the beauty in God's world. Sometimes we even read God’s word as a something to check off our list of things to do. We read the familiar stories and passages one more time without a sense of awe. We don’t take the time to just sit and be still in God’s presence. Think about those who first saw Jesus heal the paralyzed man, who first heard his teachings. They were filled with awe and wonder. Read the words of Jesus again and let them fill you with awe and wonder at his love for you. It will take some work. By the time I finished making the soap bubbles and taking the pictures I was freezing and my hands were red and sore; but I am so glad that I made the effort. Sit with God’s word this day and let it fill you with awe and wonder. Then sing your praise to God. Prayer Lord God We sit in your presence today with your Word in our laps. Help us be still in your presence. Fill us with awe and wonder so that our hearts sing your praise. Amen
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For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; On this summer morning walk I took my camera to take pictures of the passion flowers. I followed the suggestion from my photography books and “worked the scene” i.e,. changing my perspective to capture different images. I had to spend some time on my knees to capture this image of the dew on the passion flower. Only when I was up close and personal did I see how each drop of dew reflected its surroundings.
As the passion flower reveals its beauty when we look at it from different perspectives, so does our view of God reveal his care for us in the different times of our lives. Sometimes we see God as a majestic king, high and lifted up above us. In these times we praise him with great joy. There are other times when he is up close and personal. In our times of trouble we have this promise that God will come close enough to wipe away our tears. We will then reflect his love as the dew drop reflects it surroundings. Prayer Lord God, Up Close and Personal Draw us close to you this day. Wipe away our tears and lead us to your throne. Amen The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” There was a slight chill in the air as we watched the sun go down. Soon all the leaves would be gone leaving only the beautiful, graceful branches. The tree will remain through the winter waiting for the new leaves of spring. God’s word is like the tree that remains after the leaves are gone. It waits for us to come to read it again, especially in our darkest moments when everything around us seems to be falling down. Oftentimes we say this verse after the reading of scripture in worship as a rote response. May we never loose sight of how amazing this promise is and the gift we have of God’s word.
Prayer Lord God Open our hearts and minds to your word in a special way today. May it bring its glorious light into our darkness. Amen “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, There is something about fog that brings a quietness and stillness to the early morning. Everything seems to slow down. We need to take time to slow down for it is in the stillness that we will find God. Katharina A. von Schlegel wrote a beautiful hymn set to the tune Finlandia in 1752 that I share with you now as my prayer. (To hear a beautiful arrangement of this hymn go here)
Prayer Be Still, My Soul Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change, He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake To guide the future, as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below. Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord. When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored. Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past All safe and blessed we shall meet at last. Amen 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 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 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” After I go my first DSLR I had a lot to learn about aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. I remember the first time I learned that if you have a slow shutter speed when you take a picture of a waterfall the water will appear to be silky smooth in the image. I was amazed by this and I couldn’t wait to try it. My first couple of tries were terrible because I didn’t realize you had to have a way to keep the camera steady. I remember when I took this picture at one of my favorite places with my new tripod. This was the first time after many tries, I successfully had an image with smooth water and sharp detail. I have learned a lot in the eight years I have been taking images with my camera, yet I still have a lot to learn.
Even though the disciples had been with Jesus for three years, they, too, still had a lot to learn. The disciples knew the scriptures about a promised Messiah, yet Jesus was not the Messiah they had expected. He was still teaching them after his resurrection. He “opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." He showed them how he fulfilled the Scripture's promises of a Messiah. They now had a new way of understanding the promised Messiah. I wonder what it was like to hear Jesus teach them that day. I believe that Jesus will open our minds to understanding the Scriptures today. The Bible is a beautiful book but it isn’t always easy to understand. We must spend time learning to read it and when we do we will see how Jesus fulfilled God’s plan to love and redeem us. Prayer Lord Jesus, Open our minds to understanding the Scriptures. Give us a desire to study them so that we can see you and become your witnesses. Amen He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Most of the time Mount Washington in New Hampshire is covered in clouds. Even when the skies are clear below it is not unusual for there to be clouds and strong winds at the top of the mountain. On the first day we were in the White Mountains the skies looked clear, no rain in the forecast, so we decided that this was the day to try to get to the summit. We took the van ride to the top and were amazed at the clear skies. We could see for miles from the White Mountains to the mountains of Western Main. It was an amazing experience.
Luke tells us of a time when two followers of Jesus had an amazing experience of seeing clearly like our day on Mount Washington. Cleopas and his friend, followers of Jesus, had been in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. As they were walking the seven miles to Emmaus, discouraged and confused, they talked about all that had happened and the stories that Jesus was alive. Jesus joined them as they walked, but as Luke tells us, they are kept from seeing who he was. It must have been amazing to hear the scriptures that you have heard all your life explained in a new way; a way to see that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah of all the scriptures. It wasn’t until they invited him to eat with them and Jesus gave thanks, like he had many times before, that they knew it was Jesus. They could see clearly now. They couldn’t even wait until morning so they headed back to Jerusalem to tell the others what they had seen. Prayer Lord Jesus, Open our eyes this day. Give us a clear vision of you as we study the scriptures. Amen View the post for February 27 for an explanation of my Lenten Project Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” Moses was going about his business watching the sheep. He could have just looked at the bush with the unusual light and thought, “Wonder what that is too bad I have to look after these sheep and get back to the tent before dark.” That isn’t what he did. He went to see that bush and it changed his life forever. He had an encounter with God and the bush and the ground become holy because he stopped to listen.
This is one of my favorite pictures. This tree stands almost at the entrance to the loop road in the horse pasture. The day I took this picture instead of hurriedly driving past to get to the place where I had planned to photograph, we were walking on the road. I noticed the tree for the first time. It was just so beautiful to me, serene and calm in the fog. While this wasn’t a burning bush, God used this tree to remind me of his beauty and his greatness. Now this tree has become something that I long to see because it reminds me so much of God. We can miss so much of God when we move through each day at breakneck speed. Notice that God did not speak to Moses until he stopped to investigate the burning bush. Prayer Lord God Teach us to take the time to notice your presence in the world. Open our hearts to hear your words and let them change us. Amen View the post for February 27 for an explanation of my Lenten Project Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked Lent is a time when we can plant ourselves more firmly in God’s word. It is a time for us to root ourselves in him and spend time doing the hard task of discerning God’s purpose for us.
Prayer Lord God, Draw us closer to you and help us to plant our roots in you our living water. Amen Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! I went out to rake a few leaves that early fall morning but I didn’t get many raked. Instead I ran to get my camera and my tripod because what I saw was intricate, beautiful, and amazing. There had been a frost that morning and the leaves were still covered. Looking at them through my macro lens took my breath away. Through my lens I could see the structure of each leaf and pattern of small frost particles, truly stunning. (Click on the picture to enlarge, detail gets lost on the web.)
As I read God’s word this morning and some wonderful commentaries, I thought about those frost-covered leaves. It took some work to see the intricacies of those leaves. I didn’t see it with my naked eye and it takes work to read God’s word. God’s word is intricate and beautiful, each part fitting together in amazing ways. The more we study it, the more we read it and make it a part of us, the more beauty we see in it. While you can find beauty and meaning by just reading you can find so much more the deeper you dig into its meaning. This is why God’s word is so amazing to me. I will always be able to see something new in this book that is thousands of years old. Prayer Great Creator God We stand in awe at your intricate, beautiful, and amazing words. Open our eyes and hearts to its beautiful story. Amen Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, This boardwalk makes it possible to walk through swampy land to see a beautiful lake. It forms a boundary line that keeps you safe. Every so often there is a place to stop and sit and just consider the beauty before you. God’s law, like this boardwalk, provides boundary lines for us. When we follow God’s law we find his blessing in the beauty he provides along the way. His law keeps us safe while leading us to his beauty.
Prayer Lord God Open our eyes to find the boundary lines in your Word that we need to make decisions and walk blamelessly with you this day. Amen Restore us, Lord God Almighty; I still remember the excitement I felt when I first saw this tree on the roadside close to my house. While I had passed by it countless times, this was the first time that I noticed the beauty in a tree without leaves. I couldn’t wait to get my camera and come back to try to take its picture. It was the first of many pictures that I have taken of this tree in all seasons at many times of the day.
Whenever I pass by the tree I remember all those times that I was so excited to take its picture. While I still see beauty in the tree I don’t have that same excitement that I had the times in the past when I rushed to take its picture. I think that I see the same thing in my walk with Christ sometimes. There are times when I loose my desire to spend time with Him. I let my mind become cluttered with all the trappings and worries of the world. Instead of thinking about the beauty of the world I give in to the temptation to think about some material thing. The only way that I will regain that joy of spending time with God is when I ask him to restore me - when I realize that I can’t save myself and turn to him for salvation. Show me the beauty of a tree without leaves again. Prayer Lord God Almighty Take away our sin and restore us so we may be saved. Amen But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. There was just something about those red chairs overlooking Rangeley Lake that drew me to them early that morning. There was no one else around and it was so quiet. It seemed the chairs were calling me to take time to be still, to stop and ponder. We all need times to stop and ponder. A short verse in Luke’s telling of the nativity that is often missed is this verse that tells us Mary’s reaction to all that happened. She saw these things as treasures. They were memories that somehow she knew she would need to keep so she pondered them in her heart. I am sure that there was a lot more pondering in her life as she grew in her understanding of who her son was. We, like Mary, need to take time to stop and ponder. We need to sit in quietness and treasure all that Jesus is. Take time this advent season to sit and ponder and allow that pondering to change your life. Jesus will do that.
Prayer Jesus In our pondering this season, deepen our understanding of who you are and break into our lives anew. Amen This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: I live close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the most visited national parks in our country with 11 million visitors in 2018. The interesting thing is that most visitors rarely venture more than a mile from their car. They miss so much of the beauty of the mountains just passing through. Oh, what they would see if they would only get out and take a hike or get up early to see a sunrise over the mountains.
Isaiah saw a time where God would establish his temple on a mountain, a mountain to which all people, not just 11 million, will stream. They will come not just to sit but to do the hard work of learning of God’s ways and take a hike on the paths of God. As much as I love my mountains I want to love God’s Mountain so much more. The good thing is that we don’t have to wait until some time in the future we can begin walking God’s paths now as we study his word. Go to the familiar places in scripture and see its beauty but don’t stop there. Take a hike to a new place in the Scriptures and let God teach you his ways. Prayer Great and Exalted God Teach us your ways as we walk toward the mountain of the Lord. Draw us a little closer each day. Amen Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! My eyes were drawn to the red building at the dock but I just couldn’t get to a place to capture it without some large object in the way. To create the image you see I had to use photoshop to take out a large pole. Photoshop makes removing unwanted objects as easy as dragging your mouse over the object.
Like those objects I wanted to remove from my image, I have distractions in my life that keep me from spending time with God in his word. While I don’t have a magic Photoshop tool, I do have a God who I can trust to draw me to him. I need only pray for him to pull me to him. It is something that I must do every day and when I do I see and learn wonderful things. Prayer Lord Remove distractions from my time with you and give me a clear vision of you this day. Amen May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. We have now taken three road trips to places that we had never been before. While not every trip was what we had planned or expected, there were something to be learned on every trip. We have seen many beautiful places and traveled many new roads, literally and figuratively. Two years ago this week I began a journey down a new road when I began this blog. When I started I really didn’t know what the blog would be or what purpose it would serve. Sometimes the pictures and words have come so easy and I am surprised that I wrote them. Other times I have struggled with finding any words or any pictures that would share God's beautiful world. I don’t know where the road will take the blog next I just want to walk closer to God, feel his presence, share some of his beautiful world, and trust in the steadfastness of Christ. I am grateful for you, my friends, for taking the time to read my blog over these two years. I pray that these words and pictures will continue to encourage you to see God in his world and in his word.
Prayer - Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians Loving God May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. Amen Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. New England is famous for its covered bridges; most built in the early 1800’s out of wooden trusses. Bridges were built to overcome the obstacle of crossing a river, connecting one side to the other. They were covered to protect the wooden trusses from the decay that comes from harsh weather. The covered bridges of New England were hard to build but once built they provided an easy way to face the obstacle of river crossing.
While river crossing is no longer an obstacle for most of us, we all face obstacles of different kinds. God’s word is the best way to face our obstacles. Like bridge building, understanding God’s word takes time and effort. The more we study it the more connections we will make not only between different passages but between God’s word and our lives. It becomes a part of us, of who we are. God’s word becomes a covering for us; protecting us from making poor decisions and giving us wisdom to face obstacles. Prayer Lord God, Give us insight from Your word. Help us make it a part of everything we do, of every connection that we make. Bring to mind the part of your word that we need to face the obstacles before us today. Amen The Lord is in his holy temple; Even though I don’t have a good voice or much musical training I still love to sing in my church choir. It is something that I have done for more than 40 years. It is special to me to worship in this way. There are songs that make me smile and songs whose beauty makes it hard to sing through the tears that fill my eyes. But there is another way that I have come to enjoy worship and that is in the stillness and quietness of morning. I stand in awe of God and worship in silence. We need these times of silence and in our very loud and noisy world it is getting harder and harder to find them. We must make the effort to find them and bow in silence before our Lord. For it is when we are silent that we are more able to listen.
Prayer Lord God Grant us time today to stand in silence and worship you in your holy temple, in the beauty you have created for us. 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