Just look!

This is a picture of Melbourne, Australia at night. I love the reflections of the city lights on the water; simply beautiful. However, that is NOT why I chose this picture; rather, it was the sky. Look at the clouds, nothing unusual, right? Right, but normally I don't even notice clouds at night because somehow it seems strange to focus on them. Sometimes, even ordinary things take on a new significance when cast in a different light, such as this passage from the book of Acts.


Acts 19:11-12 WEB (R)
(11) God worked special miracles by the hands of Paul,
(12) so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and the evil spirits went out.


God used handkerchiefs to demonstrate HIS POWER, so, suddenly the mundane becomes the focus of attention. Look around, and if you are a spiritual sort of person, you will see God throughout your day and maybe even at night... just look! Miracles are optional!

Careful is as careful does

When I saw these pictures, I was reminded of my former brother-in-law, who didn't use caution when he was lighting his grill and poured gasoline on it, "to get it going". He was burnt quite badly, but survived to learn a valuable lesson. It could have gone the other way, though; he could have died. If I could speak to this woman, I would tell her to be more careful, because you never know, a mistake like hers could cost her the only thing of real value... her existence. James puts it another way...


James 4:13-15 WEB (R)
(13) Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow let's go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit."
(14) Whereas you don't know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
(15) For you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that."


These pictures do something very valuable; they provide incentive to quit smoking and to appreciate this short life. When we really do this, the smart thing to do next is to seek guidance from God, and OH, yes, put out that cigarette!!!

When lonely is GOOD!

This lonely road reminded me of something important; that just because the road you may take in life is different from those about you, it doesn't mean that you are wrong for taking it. Being receptive to what God has in store for your life may seem a hard way to go, but ultimately the path is easier with God than without him. Listen to the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke.

Luke 8:5-15 WEB (R)
(5) "The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.
(6) Other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
(7) Other fell amid the thorns, and the thorns grew with it, and choked it.
(8) Other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit one hundred times." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
(9) Then his disciples asked him, "What does this parable mean?"
(10) He said, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables; that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'
(11) Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
(12) Those along the road are those who hear, then the devil comes, and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.
(13) Those on the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root, who believe for a while, then fall away in time of temptation.
(14) That which fell among the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
(15) That in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and bring forth fruit with patience.


There are all kinds of people out there; all sorts of shapes, sizes and backgrounds. What makes the difference in people is not really how much money they have or how smart they are, but rather their heart-attitude towards God and his word. I have always thought that it is not my job to force people to listen, but give them the opportunity to listen. What they do with it will largely depend upon their attitude towards God. When God shows you that something is wrong, don't do the wrong thing. Do what he has said, regardless of who else is doing something different. Cheer up, there is light at the end of the road; someday you will understand.

The unexpected duck

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...it must be a duck, right? Maybe and maybe not. Personally, I thinks this photo was manipulated. But, if not, what a picture! You just never would expect to see a duck on the wing of an airplane. This picture reminded me of a passage in the New Testament that I have used before, but this time for a different reason.


Acts 12:5-16 WEB (R)
(5) Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him.
(6) The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.
(7) And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side, and woke him up, saying, "Stand up quickly!" His chains fell off from his hands.
(8) The angel said to him, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." He did so. He said to him, "Put on your cloak, and follow me."
(9) And he went out and followed him. He didn't know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision.
(10) When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out, and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
(11) When Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting."
(12) Thinking about that, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
(13) When Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer.
(14) When she recognized Peter's voice, she didn't open the gate for joy, but ran in, and reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
(15) They said to her, "You are crazy!" But she insisted that it was so. They said, "It is his angel."
(16) But Peter continued knocking. When they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed.


Rhoda and the unidentified "they" couldn't believe their eyes (and ears)! Why, I wonder? They had been praying "constantly" for him and yet they were surprised to actually see him? Most of the time, God answers prayer in rather ordinary ways, but sometimes, just sometimes, we see his workings in ways that border on the miraculous. When this happens, don't be surprised, the duck right in front of you may be real after all!!!

Your life is...

This tombstone will surely stand out in any graveyard! Besides the obvious facts that Sal was an electrician and is buried here, what else does this monument say about him? He took pride in his work, wasn't bashful, and had a sense of uniqueness about him for openers. Beyond that, who knows? God does, because EVERYTHING this man did in his lifetime will be known at the judgement. I like what Paul says to young Timothy on the topic.


1 Timothy 5:24-25 WEB (R)
(24) Some men's sins are evident, preceding them to judgment, and some also follow later.
(25) In the same way also there are good works that are obvious, and those that are otherwise can't be hidden.


Truthfully, we only know a little about those around us. People do the most unusual, surprising things and sometimes we just never know why. But, someday we will. All things will be made evident, but not by the light bulb in this picture, rather by the omniscience of God! Besides, this bulb doesn't look like its screwed all the way in, anyway!

Too many brains, not enough sense!

This complicated looking machine is part of The Large Hadron Collider that went on line November 20. It is located near Geneva, Switzerland and has a circumference of 17 miles. At a cost of $10 BILLION dollars it is one very expensive machine indeed. Why do this? To find out what happened at the beginning of the universe, that's why. Scientists are looking for an explanation of how mass formed in the universe and specifically are looking for the Higgs Boson particle, commonly referred to as the "God particle". When I looked all this up on Wikipeda, I was astounded by the brilliance of the work, much of which is way beyond my little mind. But, what bothers me the most is the cost of all this!!! if they wanted to find out how the universe was created, all they had to do was to open to the first page of the Bible.


Genesis 1:1 WEB (R)
(1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.


Too many brains, not enough sense! Just think of how many Bibles could be bought with one tenth of the CERN project! But, as usual, that would be far too simple a solution, instead waste BILLIONS to get the details. Now if the other 9 BILLION was spent on something really valuable... say FOOD, for instance, our world would be a whole lot better off!!!

A different kind of Joy

Laughter is a wonderful thing; it helps make the heart light and eases almost any difficult time. Being sick is especially hard on the body and a weight to the spirit. That this bed-ridden woman can laugh is a testament to her friend's humor. But there is another kind of happiness a joy that occurs when the God of all the heavens dwells in your heart. Consider this passage from the Psalms for a moment.


Psalms 51:10-12 WEB (R)
(10) Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
(11) Don't throw me from your presence, and don't take your holy Spirit from me.
(12) Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.


There is a haunting song sung by the group Accapella which has the first phrase of verse 10 as its title. Every time I listen to it somehow a warm glow comes over me and I feel closer to God. Happiness is the result, because at those moments I feel closest to God. OH, it isn't rip-roaring, belly shaking laughter, but something more substantial, something wonderful! The only thing I can think of is the joy referred to in verse 12. Take a moment and go to Accapella's website; you will be glad you did. (http://www.acappella.org/)