There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. What I have learned about finding beauty in nature is that sometimes you find it where you least expect it. On our road trip to Glacier National Park we were just going to use the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota as a place to rest from long days of just driving and do a little sightseeing. I pictured them as a place that was barren and desolate, lacking beauty. So there wasn’t much need in spending more than a couple of days there. While we were there, however, I found myself wishing that we could have stayed longer and given ourselves more time to search and find the beauty of the place.
Searching for God is like that; you have to be willing to stay longer and work at it. You have to be open to finding God in unexpected places. If we only seek the familiar, comfortable, and easy-to-get-to places we will miss the beauty God has for us. Before too long we just stop searching and settle for the God we want instead of the God that is. We make idols out of things that God made instead of God. Moses knew that the people he had led through the wilderness would be like that, searching for the comfortable. He had seen them make idols, things to worship rather than trust God. In his farewell address he warned them that there would come a time when seeking the comfortable and familiar would lead to exchanging the worship of God for the worship of idols of their own making. As a result they would miss the beauty and promise that God had for them. So he told them what to do when they found themselves in a place that was barren and desolate. Work at it! Seek God with everything that you are and have and the promise - there you will find him. We have this same promise, when we seek God with everything that we are and have, God promises to find us. Instead of bareness and desolation we will see beauty. We are going back to the Dakotas on our next road trip. I am sure that the beauty that God shows me there will teach me more about who he is and who I am. Prayer Lord God Give us the courage to seek you with all our hearts, to look for you in unexpected places. Show us your beauty in the places where we least expect to find it. Amen
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Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Lighthouses come in many sizes. Even though this lighthouse isn’t very tall, it was made to effectively provide light to the place where it sits. While most lighthouses have been replaced with new technologies, they still stand as sentries, beacons of light for those who travel upon dangerous waters. We live in dangerous times yet we are called shine as lights in the world. The only way we can be light is when we hold fast to the word of life, the light of the world. Be the light in someone's darkness today.
Prayer Father of Light, Teach us to walk with you, holding fast to the word of life. Make our lives be beacons of light that lead others to you. Amen Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. During the past 3 weeks spent with family and grandchildren, going on a walk was a cherished activity. After a splash in the rain puddles my granddaughter stands still for a moment contemplating her next move. I can almost hear her singing, “be kind and compassionate” from one of her children’s albums as she gets ready to run. My most favorite time to see her run, though, is after her bath and pajamas. She comes running into the den saying, “here comes the loving,” and gives the most wonderful, “squeezy hugs.”
When I told this simple little story to my friend she suggested that maybe that is what we all should be saying to everyone we meet. So as we go through our day as dearly loved children, walk in the way of love and be ready to say, maybe not aloud, “here comes the loving,” Prayer Loving Father Thank you for the love of children. Teach us to be kind and compassionate. Give us the courage to love others that we see this day in tangible ways. 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