Photography

Note to Readers:

I have not discovered any captioned picture gadgets yet. I would love to have one that could be inserted into actual blog entries so I could explain the photographs I use. So, this will have to do in the meantime. If anyone out there knows how to insert captions please enlighten me!

The photos I use are almost exclusively my own. I love taking pictures and nature is my primary focus for stills. My inclusion of photos in my entries is at least half random, though I do try to match the mood of the picture with the mood of the entry. There is something inviting about pictures and I hope you enjoy them.

All the best,
Jason

Favorite Bible Verses: Reader Input Required!

Normally I just state my case. Today I have decided to see who is out there and get your feedback. So, if you would be so kind to indulge the rest of us, please respond with one of your favorite Bible verses and the reason it means so much to you. Including the text of your verse would be helpful for those who do not have a Bible handy to look up your reference. One more thing: since some read on Facebook and some on Blogger, I intend to include all responses in Friday's blog for a real sense of community.

As for myself, Psalm 19:14 struck me today like it does every time I come across it. It is a request carefully written to summarize the life of an earnest God follower. I want that to be me. Here is the text: "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."

Blessings!

Jason

Beautiful Imagery (Exibit A)

Psalm 36:8-9
Powerful imagery is found within the best books. Take this passage from Tolkin for example:

Day came pale from the East. As the light grew it filtered through the yellow leaves of the mallorn, and it seemed to the hobbits that the early sun of a cool summer's morning was shining. Pale-blue sky peeped among the moving branches. Looking through an opening on the south side of the flet Frodo saw all the valley of the Silverlode lying like a sea of fallow gold tossing gently in the breeze.*

Sometimes there's nothing to say after reading a powerful text. This one in particular struck me this morning:

How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you  is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. (Psalm 36:8-9 NIV)

Dwell on these words for a while. Do you hear the flapping of powerful wings or perhaps the water of the fountain? How good it is that God has not left us his word in some industrial sterilized form. There is great artistry and imagery in Scripture--both wonderful and powerful. Yes, we can certainly come to the Scripture to receive all the advice we need, but those who stop running through pages long enough to smell a rose will find exquisite beauty. How satisfying!



*Tolkin, J.R.R., The Fellowship of the Ring, p337 This scene is rendered powerful by contrasting what the fellowship had just experienced: the darkness of Khazad-Dum.

Panorama of Grace

A lady in Church asked me to pray for a four year old girl yesterday. The girl's name is Charlotte, and she is lying at home with a terminal illness. I asked the lady who made the request how she was praying and she replied that she was not only praying for Charlotte, but that the rest of the family would cope with this hardship.

There is perhaps no human experience that rocks our faith more than the suffering of children. Why does God allow such evil to take place if he has the power to stop it? Explanations are many, and some of them do make me curious. There is one in particular I find intriguing. It is believed that the very brief lives of some children have been cut short by an all -loving, all-merciful and all-powerful God who knows the greater suffering they would have experienced had they lived to see adulthood.

Whatever the truth may be in these situations, it is safe to say that the hope we have as Christians is sometimes all that can sustain us through sorrow. In the Bible, King David comforted himself at the loss of his infant son by looking forward to seeing him again beyond the grave (2 Sam. 12:23). This hope should never be taken for granted, for it is not the hope of all mankind. A growing percentage of those who study philosophy and Evolutionary science do not believe anything awaits us after death. They say we must make the most of this life because it is the only one we shall have. How sad.

Christians refer to the Second Coming of Christ as the Blessed Hope. Indeed, without a living Savior any hope is a fools hope. But we have these words from Jesus in John 14 that push back the darkness of despair:

Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

I strongly believe that someday all our questions will be answered. Indeed, they will not just be answered, they will be answered in such a way that we will praise God for his infinite wisdom and mercy. We may not see it now, but that is to be expected with our limited perspective.  To be sure, it will be a wonderful day when at last we see the panorama of divine grace.