Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Flowers are beautiful but the interesting thing is that their beauty is a by-product of their purpose. Their colors and shapes help in pollination and the spreading of seeds. The real purpose of the flower is to convey the seed for new plants. A flower’s purpose is rooted in its connection to a plant without which it wouldn’t exist.
When our lives are connected to Christ he gives us a mission and purpose to fulfill. When we abide in that purpose, in the love of Jesus Christ, our lives become beautiful as a by-product of his love. It is that beauty that draws people to him and it is our purpose to share the love of Christ. Prayer Jesus Christ, Source of Our Being, Teach me to abide in you, to dwell in your presence. Open my eyes to the mission you have for me and remind me that I can only fulfill that purpose when I abide in you. Make my life a beautiful reflection of your glory. Amen
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Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. I was attending my first photography workshop which happened to be close to home in Cades Cove. After our instruction session we were to go and photograph some of the buildings, but I have been to the cove many times and already had those pictures. So I started looking around for something else and this clump of dandelions caught my eye. As I looked closer at them I saw something I had never seen before. It was rather chilly that spring morning and there was frost on the dandelion. I didn’t have my macro lens so I just took the image with my zoom lens that was on my camera. When I looked at the picture on the back of my camera I was amazed - small crystals of ice clung to the seed head. I squealed with delight and the other participants came running to see what I had found.
Something so small that many people see as a weed was beautiful that day. At one time or another I think that all of us have felt that we have no value, that we are just a weed. We fear that we don’t matter. But our Father loves us. He knows us - what we are now and what he see we will become. Just like I saw the beauty in that weed, God sees the beauty in us. As we follow him we become more like him and more able to see the beauty in people and all creation. Prayer Good Father, In those times when I feel like a failure and doubt if anything I do is any good, remind me that you value even the smallest thing about me. Open my eyes to see the beauty in all you created. Amen You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. There is something about seeing a beautiful sunset that just makes it easier to rest. We have seen the beauty of God’s world and sleep just seems to come much easier. Not every day has just the right amount of clouds in just the right places for that beautiful sunset. Even on days when the clouds cover the sun, if we put or trust in God we find a security that gives us peace and rest in even the most difficult circumstances.
Prayer Lord, Teach us to trust in you even when our circumstances seem to be filled with darkness. Show us your beauty and give our weary souls the rest that only your peace can give. Amen Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Psalm 133:1, ESV If you want to find wildflowers you must walk slowly and look carefully all along the trail, as all the other hikers pass you by. As I walked along the trail on my first wildflower hike of the spring, I saw these two little flowers, a trillium and a hepatica, growing so close together that they looked like they were one plant. Even though both species of these flowers can have different colors, both of these specific flowers were white. There they were both sharing the same ground and the same color, living in beautiful unity, unique and special because they were growing so close to each other.
I think these two little flowers are a picture of what it should be like for us as Christians to live in our world, a world filled with fear, isolation, and individualism. We have all been washed clean and white by the sacrifice of our resurrected Lord. We all take strength from the same soil, the word of God. Yet sometimes we seek our own way and fail to love each other. Living in unity means we will have to let go of “rugged individualism” that our society seems to value so much. We will have to take the focus off of ourselves and look hard for ways to meet the needs of our brothers. And when we do we our field of view will grow beyond ourselves and we will be filled with peace from the beauty we see. Prayer Loving Father, As we move through our world today open our eyes to the needs of our brothers and show us ways to meet those needs. Broader our field of view beyond ourselves so we can live in unity. Amen And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. Mark 14:3-6, ESV There they were, a beautiful hillside of coneflowers in downtown Knoxville. Who would expect to see such lavish beauty in the center of the city? No one expected the lavish gift of the woman at the dinner that night as she broke the flask and poured it over Jesus’s head. Some saw it as a waste and scolded her, but Jesus stopped them and thanked her for her beautiful act of love. What is in your alabaster flask? What will you give to Jesus who gave his life for you?
Prayer Beautiful Savior, We bow in amazement and gratitude for the lavish love you poured on us. Help us pour out the love we have received from you on those we see today. Amen For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Without the spring rains we would not have the beautiful flowers of spring - and after a long, dark winter we need the beauty of the flowers to bring joy and hope. Just like the rain that provides nourishment for the spring flowers, God’s word provides nourishment for our lives. The beauty of God’s word will bring forth beauty in our lives. Without a knowledge and love of God’s word we will not accomplish the purpose he has for us.
Prayer Giver of Rain, Water our lives with your word so that we will grow in you. Make our lives beautiful to those we meet today that need to see your beauty. Amen Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Flowers are truly beautiful whether they grow from the ground or on flowering trees as this dogwood. We plant them in our gardens; we give them as gifts. They delight our eyes, for they are but a small picture of the beauty of God. God can make all things beautiful. When we choose to take delight in the Lord, His desires become ours. Our lives filled with sin transform into lives filled with beauty. We find the desires of our heart in the Lord’s beauty.
Prayer Beautiful Lord, Teach me to delight in you. Come and fill my heart with your beauty. Make your desires for me the greatest desires of my heart. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. This is one of my favorite images. It is clear and sharp with no camera shake and the light is perfect. But actually the fact that I got this image is more due to luck than skill. I didn’t have my tripod with me that day; we were just doing a little hike from our campsite when we found this butterfly garden. It was the right time of year for the butterflies to be passing through for there were many there that day. It was the middle of the day and there was no wind. I shouldn’t have been able to get this picture and I have tried to take many pictures of butterflies since and none have been as beautiful as this one.
Unlike this accidentally beautiful image of the butterfly, God doesn’t create by accident. His workmanship is always purposeful. When we accept the grace of Christ, he will make us, create us, into new creatures. And because we are his workmanship, his creation, we can bring beauty to the world when we walk in him and do the good works for us to do along the way. Prayer O Great Creator God, May we accept your grace and be examples of your workmanship. As we walk with you show us the good works you have for us to do this day. Lord, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future. In east Tennessee, daffodils tell us that spring is coming. You see them everywhere in the mountains - in the fields, close to cabins or where cabins have been, or along the road. These daffodils are thriving along this fence row where they are secure, less likely to be trampled. They bring beauty and joy to our lives.
As I read David’s words in this Psalm, I image him looking back over all of his life and seeing God in both the easy and difficult times. He knows his security is in the boundary lines, the fences, given by a God who holds his future and he sees beauty in the place where God has put him. Sometimes it is hard to accept the circumstances we face in our lives. It is only when we look to a God that holds our future secure that we will see the beauty around us, the daffodils along our fence rows. Prayer God Of Our Boundary Lines, Open our eyes to the beauty around us, knowing that you hold our future secure. May we learn to give thanks with a grateful heart for the boundary lines in our lives. Scripture:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14 About This Image: Beautiful! Seeing a newborn baby is amazing, a beautiful new life. Today our first granddaughter was born and she is beautiful. Knit together and wonderfully made in the image of God. His "works are wonderful, I know that full well." Scripture:
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 About This Image: I enjoy cold weather and in this last blast of icy temperatures I was excited to get to the mountains to take images of icy rivers. Ice is intricate and beautiful, especially up close. This image was taken at Cataract Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains. I was excited to get to try out my new macro lens in these conditions. I use a camera that has interchangeable lens, so I can just have one camera body and can change the lens depending on what I want to photograph. Like my camera body with interchangeable lenses, the church is made up of people of many different types but all united in Christ. God gives us all different talents and it is when we put those talents with others that we can make the most beautiful images. |
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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