The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. As I sat on the lakeshore in the early morning, I saw Mt. LeConte rising above the clouds. I have only climbed halfway up the mountain to Alum Cave. I want to climb all the way to the top one day. It will take work and the help and guidance of a friend who has climbed to the top.
“Further up and further in” these are the words of C. S. Lewis from the Last Battle book of the Narnia Chronicles. They are spoken as the children follow the great lion, Aslan, as he leads them into his country. In these beautiful stories Aslan is the character who represents Jesus. As the children follow him further up and further in they find and experience beauty all along the way. I have come to love these words as they have become a description of what I want my life to be - one who follows Christ further up and further in. Unlike my desire to climb Mt. LeConte, which might not happen, I know that the LORD is faithful and he will lead me further up and further in - and along the way I will see and experience his beauty. He hears me and he will bring me near to him. In your own way will you join me as we go further up and further in? Prayer Lord of All Things Lead me further up and further into your love. Amen
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For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. The beauty of the clouds and their reflection in the lake at sunrise filled me with awe and wonder at our God. As I watched the sun break through the clouds I felt as if I were seeing God’s glory. God’s love for us is so great that it goes beyond any barrier. Sometimes we just need to stop and remember this.
Prayer Great God We exalt you for your love and faithfulness. Help us to reflect your glorious love this day. Amen O LORD, you are my God; The Great Smoky Mountains, some of the oldest mountains in the world, have always been a part of my life from my earliest memories until now. I am grateful that something so old and so beautiful has always been there. They remind me of a God who has always been faithful and sure.
After the prophet Isaiah spoke words of judgement to the people of Israel and Judah, he spoke words of hope. He wanted the people of Israel to know that they had a God who was faithful and sure. Even though they had turned away from him many times, he had always had plans to bring Israel, and through Israel all people, back to him. Prayer Lord God We exalt and praise you for your plans formed of old, to bring us to you through Jesus Christ. Amen But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. There have been several times in my life, when for one reason or another, I couldn’t walk. I think this makes my morning walks even more special. Many days the morning light is golden and soft and the skies are filled with color. On days when I walk alone I find this a good time to just be quiet and listen to God. On days when I walk with a friend I am nourished by the fellowship of someone who listens and I have the opportunity to listen.
Walking with some one means that you go at the same pace. That isn’t always easy. Sometimes you have to speed up and walk faster to keep up. Sometimes you must slow down and walk a slower pace. Walking with Jesus means you keep his pace; you follow his lead. It isn’t always easy but when we do walk closely with him we find peace that we can then share with those who are walking alone. Prayer Lord of Light Help us to walk this day in the golden light of your love; keeping your pace. Give us sweet fellowship with one another. Amen He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” I stooped down to take a picture of this ordinary blade of grass, coved in dew, on my ordinary morning walk at the dam. On this morning this ordinary blade of grass, transformed by the dew and light, served the purpose of reminding me of the beauty of God’s world in even the smallest things.
Jesus was a storyteller of ordinary things - a mustard seed, sower of seeds, and shepherds of lost lambs. His used these stories, based on these ordinary things, to tell the world he was the Messiah, Son of God. We all have stories that seem ordinary. Most of us aren’t famous or well known for some great accomplishment. Yet still we have a story that is part of a bigger story of God’s story of love and grace. Each day we do ordinary things that, if we let him, God will use to tell the story of his love for his world. What ordinary thing can you do this day that will show God’s love? Prayer Extraordinary God Show us the small ordinary thing we can do this day to share your love with our ordinary world. Amen Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel. It was just an ordinary morning at the campground. The fishermen were putting in their boats and there was some color in the sky but mostly clouds. It wasn’t the kind of sunrise over water that a photographer hopes to capture. But I had still gotten up early just in case there was a chance for the spectacular. While I didn’t get the prize winning photograph I did see beauty and I had some time to just sit quietly in God’s presence.
I have come to see following Christ like this. Most days are just regular days with routine daily activities. The important thing is to just stand firm in all you do knowing that the standing firm is a way of sharing the gospel to all those who happen to see you even when you don’t see them. I have seen some spectacular sunrises and for those I am grateful; but I am also grateful for the ordinary days when I just walk quietly through my day trusting in Christ’s love for me. Prayer Lord of Ordinary Days Fill us with your Spirit so that we can simply stand firm whatever happens conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Amen View the post for February 22 for an explanation of my theme for Lent. As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” At 7,244 feet Black Elk Peak in Custer State Park South Dakota is the highest peak between the Rocky Mountains and the Pyrenees Mountains. As I planned our trip to the Dakotas I read about the hike to this mountain and decided that even though it would be a challenge that I wanted to try to climb it. There are several trails but I took the one that was supposed to be only 6 miles total with a 1,000 feet of elevation gain. It turns out that the trail I took was actually 8.5 miles total and the hike was much harder than I had expected. The trail traveled up to a point level with the peak and then back down to the canyon floor before climbing up again. There were several times when I considered turning around. After I arrived at the Harney Point Lookout Tower on the top of the mountain the view was amazing. I could see past the Black Hills all the way to the Badlands.
Like my hike to Black Elk Peak there will be times as we follow Christ that will be hard. Luke tells us about would be followers that came to Jesus and professed their desire to follow him. He made it clear to each one that following him was not easy. They would have to make it the highest priority in their lives. They would face hardship but in the end the view would be amazing for they would find life in Christ. Each day we must ask ourselves, “Will I follow Christ, no matter how hard the hike?” Prayer Lord Jesus Give us strength and the peace of your presence as we seek to follow you today. Amen When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Fog settled in making it hard to see the other end of the bridge. It just seemed to disappear. Even in the fog many cars that day trusted the bridge to continue their journey. Why did they trust?
There are many times in our lives we come places where we can’t see the way forward. We can only see a bridge draped in fog. What gives us the courage to drive forward, to trust the bridge. We know the Maker of the Bridge. God can be trusted. Many times he will ask us to go where we can’t see anything but fog. We make our way across the bridge knowing that he has been and will always be faithful. What are some times that you have trusted and found God faithful? Prayer Father God We put our trust in you. We walk forward unafraid and sing our praise to the Maker of Bridges. Amen Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. Last week when I got up early to catch this sunrise I wasn't sure how much color there would be or if I would be able to create a beautiful image. The only way to know was to just get up and go. The first step of any job, photographer, writer, or whatever, is to just show up.
This short story about Tabitha in Acts is a story of someone who just showed up. We only read about her here. She wasn’t famous or important in the world’s eyes. She just made sure that the poorest of people, the widows of Joppa, had clothes to wear. She was just an ordinary person showing up with her sewing skill. Sometimes I look back on my images and my writing and I am surprised that I could ever make a beautiful image or write thoughtful words. I didn’t intend to become a writer or a photographer. I struggle even to call myself those things but for right now I am just showing up. I study and practice and go to sunrises. Sometimes the images are beautiful but a lot of them I just discard. What I don’t discard is the experience of watching a new day begin. So today I write to encourage you to just show up, to be faithful, like Tablitha, with the abilities you have right now. God is always faithful to us. Prayer Lord God As you have always been faithful and shown up for me, help me to show up today in whatever task you have laid before me, trusting you to make it something of beauty. 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