Vistas

One of the things that I loved about the Northeast was the vistas. When we lived in New Jersey, once in awhile we would go to the Amish country of Pennsylvania and drive through the Poconos. This picture reminds me of some of those scenes and someday I hope go there once again. I immediately thought of this passage from Deuteronomy and I know that you will see its importance once you read it.


Deuteronomy 32:45-52 WEB (R)
(45) Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel;
(46) He said to them, Set your heart to all the words which I testify to you this day, which you shall command your children to observe to do, even all the words of this law.
(47) For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land, where you go over the Jordan to possess it.
(48) Yahweh spoke to Moses that same day, saying,
(49) Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel for a possession;
(50) and die on the mountain where you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people:
(51) because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn't sanctify me in the midst of the children of Israel.
(52) For you shall see the land before you; but you shall not go there into the land which I give the children of Israel.


Moses did something wrong and paid for it. How hard it must have been for him to see the "promised land" and know he would never enter! Fortunately, the Christian dispensation is more forgiving than that of the law; we have hope! Even if we do something wrong, we CAN BE FORGIVEN and our "promised land" of heaven is within our grasp. Oh, to be able to see the sight of it; knowing that I WILL BE ABLE TO ENTER!!!

Precious

I love these pictures of balloons! The colors are fantastic and the designs simply beautiful. I have been thinking a lot about color lately because of designing the new blog. When I saw this picture I thought of the colors of the heavenly city and how they represent how precious it is!

Revelation 21:18-23 Complete Apostles' Bible
(18) And the construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
(19) The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
(20) the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
(21) The twelve gates are twelve pearls: each one of the gates was made of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
(22) But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, also the Lamb.
Rev 21:23 The city had no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.


Gold, pearls, precious stones and above all the light of the glory of God as its light! Wow! Talk about a feast for the eyes!!! I wonder if the transparent glass of the gold streets would look something like the mica portal we used to have in our wood stoves? Probably a lot more honey colored, I imagine. And I bet the streets will reflect as well, something like the reflection of the balloons on the water. How will I describe heaven when I see it? I am not sure, but what will be on my mind will be the precious blood of the lamb and that is worth more than all the jewels in the world!

What??!!

Have you ever looked at something like this?  You just can't believe your eyes and sort of freeze. I have.  Unsure what to do next, you may do the wrong thing or nothing at all.  I love the story of a servant girl named Rhoda in the New Testament who did something like this.

Acts 12:11-16 Complete Apostles' Bible

(11) And Peter, having come to himself, said, "Now I know truly that the Lord has sent forth His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jews."

(12) And realizing this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where a considerable number were gathered together and were praying.

(13) And when Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a servant girl came to answer, named Rhoda.

(14) When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but running in, she announced that Peter stood before the gate.

(15) But they said to her, "You are mad!" Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, "It is his angel."

(16) But Peter was continuing knocking; and opening the door they saw him, and were astounded.

I always wondered if the writers of the "Mary Tyler Moore" show took inspiration from the Bible when they created the character of Rhoda Morgenstern (spelling???).  She was a bit of a ditz, but eventually her character spun off into her own show (Rhoda).  I always focused on the servant girl named Rhoda, because I think its funny, but now I see that she wasn't alone, for in verse 13 Peter is referred to as "having come to himself".  So, if it can happen to an apostle, it can happen to anybody.  By the way, don't stare too long, your face might freeze like that!

Hard to believe

You are driving along and suddenly you see a tire passing your vehicle; hard to believe isn't it? However, one day I was in my father's "plumbing truck" and as we were going down second avenue in Troy, N.Y. a tire suddenly appeared ahead of us on the passenger side. I wouldn't have believed this picture unless I had actually seen it myself; but it happened. A situation occurred in the New Testament that has some similarities. This passage from the book of John tells the story.


John 20:19-31 Complete Apostles' Bible
(19) Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace to you."
(20) And having said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
(21) Therefore Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! Just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
(22) And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
(23) If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."
(24) But Thomas, one of the twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
(25) The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will by no means believe."
(26) And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been closed, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"
(27) Then He said to Thomas, "Bring your finger here, and see My hands; and bring your hand here, and put it into My side. Be not unbelieving, but believing."
(28) And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
(29) Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
(30) And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;
(31) but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.


The concept of a bodily resurrection is a hard thing for some people to accept, but since there were many, many, witnesses, I say let the evidence speak for itself. There are so many things in this world we accept by faith, why not do the reasonable thing and accept the witness found in the Bible? Oh, I didn't tell you... the tire that passed my father's truck was HIS FRONT TIRE;He saw that immediately and VERY SLOWLY APPLIED THE BRAKES. I didn't argue with him, I just accepted it as fact. Good example to follow.

This picture sort of describes my current situation. The storm happened and now the clouds seem to be clearing (I think). Hopefully, this post will be OK and the new, simplified blogsite will be better. These computer problems made me think of a passage in the book of Romans.

Romans 8:28 Complete Apostles' Bible
(28) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.


So, maybe everything will work out fine. I just don't understand the "why" yet.

Transformed!

And you thought transformers were only in the movies; well, here is a real one. Transformers have been around for years, we just called them by a different name... convertibles. The concept of taking something and making it something else is found in the Bible too. John tells us...

John 2:1-11 Complete Apostles' Bible
(1) And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
(2) Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
(3) And when the wine had given out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."
(4) Jesus said to her, "Woman, what have I to do with you? My hour has not yet come."
(5) His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He may say to you, do."
(6) Now there were six stone water jars standing there, according to the purification rites of the Jews, each holding two or three measures.
(7) Jesus said to them, "Fill the water jars with water." And they filled them up to the top.
(8) And He said to them, "Draw out now, and carry some to the head steward." And they carried it.
(9) Now when the head steward tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the head steward called the bridegroom
(10) and said to him, "Every man first sets out the good wine, and when they have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!"
(11) This beginning of the signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

the difference between the wine mentioned in John chapter 2 and either "transformers" or convertibles is that Jesus fundamentally transformed water into something new... wine. He did this by his innate power, not clever manipulation. He wasn't showing off, for the text says his mother suggested that he do this. Small thought here... I wonder how she knew to ask Jesus?? The only thing I can think of is that she had seen him do such things before in private. So, we have a new view of Jesus, from a mere man into something more, something both miraculous and amazing at the same time. That new appreciation of who Jesus is will transform even the hardest heart, but first we have to really look in order to really see. When we do this, our lives will never really be the same again; zap, YOU ARE TRANSFORMED!!!

The desire for a little fire!

Now this is a car! What a fire breathing monster this must be! I doubt if it even gets 10 mph.. Although I love to look at it, its not exactly built for someone who has my round build, so I don't think it would do me any good to even THINK of owning this. But I bet this puppy would really go fast! When I saw this "flame of fire" corvette I thought of the following passage from the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 1:1-8 Complete Apostles' Bible
(1) God, who in various ways and in many ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
(2) has in these last days spoken to us by the Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
(3) who being the effulgence of His glory and the exact expression of His substance, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
(4) having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
(5) For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him for a Father, and He shall be to Me for a Son"?
(6) But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."
(7) And on the one hand he says to the angels, "He who makes His angels spirits and His ministers flames of fire."
(8) But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.

OK, I admit I am pushing the comparison of a corvette to an angel, but both really fly! Both are very powerful and do the will of their master. The context of verse 7 shows that Jesus is far greater in power than even the angels (who are awesome flames of fire). Jesus could have called legions of angels to bring him down from the cross, but he didn't because his sacrifice needed to be made in order that righteousness could be enjoyed by all those who follow him. I just thought of something.... will there be corvette's in heaven? Probably not, we can just hitch a ride with an angel in case we have the desire for a little fire!