Every Perfect Gift

Drifted trails lace across the high desert terrain. Packed crystals underfoot join the hush of rushing winds in this natural sanctuary. Looming mountain majesty rises to the east. Heavenly majesty rising higher still. 

While at my feet frozen shells of seed and stem bare spires of sculpted intricacies. Spires transformed through the ordained participation in the eco-bound living of earth rooted life. Living to completion through the Creator’s bounty. Life transformed, unexpected in its earliest germinal form, now boldly complete and visible to all the world. Transformed to perfection through the living and the grace filled hand.

May you linger a bit, 
gaze long at glinting crystals, 
breath crisp air deeply, 
and count God's gifts in winter's display of perfection.
Lisa

My meditation and thoughts were influenced by :
~James 1:17 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 1:4 Let perseverance finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 
~Telios (Greek) - Perfect, “that which has achieved of reached its goal, objective, purpose” and therefore, “full grown” and “fully developed”. Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible. 

               

Seeing God

My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

Job 42:5 NIV

I admit I once lived by rumors of you;

now I have it all firsthand -

from my own eyes and ears!

Job 42:5 The Message

I love the reflected image of green limbs against blue sky as seen in the aged glass panes of this window. Rather than stand in front of the window for the photograph, I stepped off-center then aimed the camera upward. A perceptively different view was revealed. The rippled character of the old glass, the angle of light careening the image back to the eye, created an additional unexpected, new way of seeing the window and it’s reflected foliage. 

I found Job’s story had elements similar to this photographic experience. Ultimately Job had to accept “seeing” God from an unfamiliar perspective. Grasping God’s omnipotent ways requires us to stand in a different place, accept the unexpected, and look at events from the unique vantage point of God’s lens. 

So grateful to have had you visit with me here and comment on your thinking.
Now join me as I wander on over to enjoy the the photos and musings of others at:

SUNDAY , Snapshot and Scripture, Still Saturday, God-Incidences  and

Welcome One Another - Christian Hospitality

A six week season of hospitality and celebration is fast approaching. As we prepare for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years the food has to be planned, the house must be readied, clothes, decorations, gifts; all must be attended to. Hospitality requires intentional orchestration, a point our pastor’s message brought to my attention today.

The sermon’s message was taken from Romans 15:7.

“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

Our Pastor spoke of hospitality, of being a warm welcoming congregation reflecting God’s love, inviting all who enter our sanctuary to be embraced by acceptance.

Whom do I welcome? Do I approach others with God’s acceptance? Do I greet and welcome folks who attend …sometimes or who always sit alone? Do I offer a hand in introduction to visitors in my pew or in my Sunday school class? Have I invited friends to attend church events with us? Have I participated in the church’s outreach missions to the un-churched?

But even more to the point of Paul’s words, do I live a Christian hospitality in my daily life? Did I give a smile and whispered support to the mother struggling with her teenager in a restaurant? Did I email a note to a woman who was absent from the week’s Bible Study class? Did I suggest a lunch date to an elderly person who I know is struggling? Did I greet walkers on the path that were not of my race or class?

Hospitality requires intentional orchestration.

As the Pastor closed the sermon he reminded us,

You may be the only Jesus some will ever see.

He Talked with Us on the Road

On the road heading west,
local Sunday morning church services on the radio, one each hour represents different Protestant denominations. I settle in [hands on the wheel, eyes on the road] anticipating with interest the teaching and music of three Christian congregations in one morning.

Congregations of real people! I hear bodies rise from pews, voices clear to join in the confession of faith, and hymnals open to song. These broadcasts cross our metroplex of two mega-cities and dozens of moderate to smaller ones. One must smile at the reality of thousands gathering to seek our Lord all along this highway I travel.

 Once the cities fade in the rearview mirror along with radio signals and the vast western prairie stretches to the horizon, favorite CD’s fill my ears with the gifts of musical praise.

And as the driving is done [still, hands on the wheel, eyes on the road],

Notice the slower moving vehicle of an elderly person; prayers for their safe arrival.

Notice several semis lining the roadside rest stop; prayers for their Sabbath rest.

Notice the acres of wild-fire ravaged grasslands; prayers for restored life.

Notice the beauty of God’s hill country; prayers of thanksgiving.

Notice an aging rural steeple and later, billboard evangelism: prayers that a heart will be called by either.


 

Billboard: You  are God's child.  Make Him proud!

 

Notice trailers piggy-backed on rails or rolling on 16 wheels; prayers for labor producing commerce.

Notice the miles yet to go and the miles safely traveled; prayers of gratitude.

Think too of Biblical travels:

Hagar in the wilderness, Moses leading the nation, or two traveling the road to Emmaus.

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

The Lord and His Angels have accompanied open hearts on journeys far and near, in all corners of the earth.

Thus, I humbly venture to claim His companionship as I travel today hoping that every journey offers an experience of revelation, reflection, and worship.

Simply listen for His leading and look for His face as the road is tread.