In Celebration of Creation

Sitting on my back patio relishing this utterly perfect day. The sky is the most beautiful shade of blue—more like a tropical sky than an Indiana one. Cotton candy clouds tempt me to reach up and pull off a bite.

Delicate chimes dangling from the porch eaves softly tingle in the light breeze. Their sonata, accompanied by the ever-soothing sound of water cascading down the bowls of the fountain, lull me into a brief nap.

How nature is arrayed with such a beautiful and varied palette of colors! The Artist could have painted our world in black and white. But instead, our Creator lavished the canvass of the earth with many shades of green in the grass and trees and brilliant colors in the boastful flowers.

God’s exquisite handiwork is applauded by the massive cottonwood trees, clapping their hands in the breeze. He is lauded by the enthusiastic bird songs and calls. Lord, let the gift of this day, and the celebration of Your creation, bring forth a doxology from my heart.

Isaiah 42:5A – “God, The Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth.

Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

God is our Refuge

Psalm 91 offers very audacious sounding promises of protection and deliverance to those who “dwell in the shelter of the Most High”, who trust him, who love him. He promises to save us, to cover and protect us, to take away our fears, to keep us from being defeated by harmful circumstances, to command his angels to guard and protect us.

The Hebrew term for “shelter” refers to a hiding place providing protection. God does not mean that we won’t experience storms and dangers, but that His presence with us in them will protect us through them. After all, in the absence of storms, we do not need to be sheltered.

We often turn to Psalm 91 during times of suffering. And while we do find comfort in these great and precious promises, there is often a question left begging in the recesses of our minds . . . Why, then, do godly people get sick and even die at a young age?

The Psalmist is describing a much deeper level of trust, one where we trust God in both life AND death.

It is a deep knowing that even death can not really harm the believer but can only usher him into his eternal reward. Here he will be with Christ face to face and with all his loved ones who were in Him. Here at last he will experience complete peace. No wars. No moral degradation of society. No sadness. No sorrow. No suffering. Only joy unspeakable.

Where is your place of refuge in God? Your prayer closet? Perhaps it’s a comfortable old chair in front of a fire, an empty church sanctuary, a hospital chapel, outside alone with God enjoying his creation? Let us run often to our refuge and delight in our God.

Wintertime

Winter can be a time that brings about a bit of melancholy as we feel stuck inside and see gray skies out the window most days, bare trees, and brown grass. We are reminded that God has purpose in each of the four seasons of climate, and also for the seasons of our souls, even wintertime.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,11 – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

A time to be born and a time to die,

A time to plant and a time to uproot,

A time to kill and a time to heal,

A time to tear down and a time to build,

A time to weep and a time to laugh,

A time to mourn and a time to dance,

A time to scatter tones and a time to gather them,

A time to embrace and a time to refrain,

A time to search and a time to give up,

A time to keep and a time to throw away,

A time to tear and  at time to mend,

A time to be silent and a time to speak,

A time to love and a time to hate,

A time for war and a time for peace.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

We must trust God with our winters, during the slow process of waiting for Spring. It has been said, “Do not forget in the night what God has shown you in the day.” We can recall the many times and ways God has brought us through our winter in the past, and have faith that he knows when and how to get us through any present winter of the soul.

We can ponder the reality that we are already living our eternal lives. When God indwelt us with the Holy Spirit, he imparted eternal life to us. It can help put into perspective the suffering of difficult circumstances in the present. And God blesses a heart set on eternity, on those who know they are mere pilgrims on this earth and who long to see their Savior Jesus Christ.

Psalm 84: 2,5,7 – My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. They go from strength to strength till each appears before God . . .

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The writer of Psalm 88 was in a winter of circumstances. Notice how he prays according to what he knows to be true of God, not according to what he sees God doing or not doing. In other words, he trusts in God’s word and not in his circumstances. And he pours out his heart to God in prayer.

Psalm 88: 1-3, 13 – Oh, Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cru out before you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. But I cry to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

As we look outside at the bare trees, there is more happening than meets the eye. Yes, outside it is void of fruit and leaves, but inside it is hard at work making a new ring each winter. These help build the core strength of the tree. Meanwhile, its roots are stretching and extending to absorb much needed nutrients for growth. Likewise, our souls can be fed during winter to produce spiritual growth and fruit as we spend extended time in prayer, The Word, fellowshipping with like-minded believers, and serving others.

Pruning of trees is best done in winter when the branches can be cut back without harming the tree or fruit. This makes for even stronger, lovelier trees come spring. In the same way, God prunes us more during winter-like circumstances than during easier, happier times.

John 15: 1,2 – I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful.

So let us pray for and encourage one another during this season to:

               *Trust God’s perfect timing for every season and circumstance.

               *Recall God’s faithfulness in the past.

               *Keep our minds and hearts focused on our glorious eternity.

               *Patiently cooperate with His pruning until we see its fruit.

Hebrews 10:25B – Let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Resurrection Love

My small group members would likely accuse me of having a morbid fascination with the subject of death, since each time we meet to select our next study topic, I suggest this one. And each time I am soundly outvoted by majority rule. Perhaps I need to reposition my pitch in more palatable terms like “Life in Heaven”.

The truth is I love to read the glimpses in God’s word of Heaven, and yet they are just that, glimpses. Ever wonder why he didn’t give us more specifics, or why he chose to share what he did? Like for example, I love what he says about my new, imperishable body, particularly when I struggle with unwanted pounds and arthritis pain in this present one!

Then there is that passage about their being no marriage in Heaven. Have you ever read that and felt a little less eager for the hastening of our Lord’s return? Could it be that our great reward and glorious hope will be juxtaposed against a sacrifice of family as we know and love it? After all, paradoxes abound in the Christian faith.

“A mother’s love” is an expression used to signify a depth and intimacy far surpassing most other relationships. The highlights of my life were the moments my children were born and placed into my arms for the first time. The reliving of those memories can bring tears to my eyes in a moment. I can even recall the sweet smell and feel of their soft baby skin against my face and fingers . . . ah, surely a little bit of Heaven on earth.

And what about that treasured husband relationship? Friend, lover, confidant, companion, co-parent, moral, financial and spiritual support, the other half of me. Will the reward of heaven require this great personal sacrifice of my most intimate earthly relationship? How can I reconcile these seemingly paradoxical ideas?

Could it be that God has given us this beautiful family on earth to serve as a picture of our Heavenly family? And might we find that this enrapturing family love will be felt with equal, even greater intensity for each and every brother and sister in Heaven with us? Will I love my Haitian sister, whom I’ve never even met on earth, with at least as much love as I felt when I first held my babies?

The answer for me lies in the character of God, who is love and lavishes love upon us, who alone can be entrusted with our eternities. God has prepared a place for us so amazingly beautiful and perfect, that we are not even able to fathom it.

The resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is the most fundamental tenant of our faith, and is supported with overwhelming evidence which has withstood the test of time and scrutiny. Without this historical fact, Christianity would be relegated to just one more alternative on the menu of world religions.

But Christianity is radically different. The living Christ does offer us a glorious hope in our eternal home with him as well as with those we love. During corporate worship this Sunday, let us look at one another not just through the eyes of brotherly love, but through eyes filled with joyful anticipation of that Resurrection Love which awaits us in Christ. Maranatha!

Donkeys, Dogs, and Other Delights

I relished the book, Flash, by Rachel Anne Ridge. The tale of a stray donkey who wandered into their lives as an undesirable inconvenience and eventually became a quirky yet beloved member of their family. This hapless creature, much like Balaam’s donkey, was used by God to teach spiritual lessons to his owners, increasing their capacity for joy and delight.

So now, I want a donkey. Like how I wanted a giraffe after meticulously following April the Giraffe’s very long pregnancy through the birth of her calf, Tajiri. And like how I wanted an otter after observing the volunteers bottle feed the babies at the Tampa Aquarium. And like how I wanted a kangaroo after getting to scratch one behind the ears at Busch Gardens, its form leaning in to receive the affection and relief of the itch. And like how I want every dog I see frolicking in the waves on Pet Beach at Honeymoon Island State Park.

Okay, you get the drift of an obvious pattern here. God made me to be a lover of His animals, and He supplies me with ceaseless opportunities to delight in them. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) He created some animals to be of service to men in hunting, farming, and assisting those with disabilities. And some to make the ultimate sacrifice in nature’s food chain. And still others to be simply vessels of receiving and giving love (think of the self-entitled Shih Tzu).

While owning my own little zoo is a delightful fantasy, it is of course practically prohibitive. So thank you, Father, for allowing me to enjoy your wondrous animals vicariously in so many ways. And thank you for the promise of a new heaven and earth, restored to Eden-like perfection. The animals’ instinct to fear man after The Fall will be no more. “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them all.” (Isaiah 11:6)

I can only imagine lying down in a verdant field snuggled up with a majestic lion, or taking a giraffe’s sweet face in my hands as I place lettuce leaves on his long, scratchy tongue.  I eagerly anticipate a rowdy welcome into Heaven by all my beloved dogs I have had to part with on earth, with no small grief . . . Chi Chi, Ollie, Rocky.

Thank you, God, for the unceasing delights of your amazing gift of animals!

“The righteous care for the needs of their animals . . .” (Proverbs 12:10)

My sweet granddaughter, Claire, who shares her Gaga’s love for animals!