This week Lee, at Birdwatching Adventures Plus, has offered a challenge to do a post with a specific number of words for specific days, but to use only scripture. So I’m taking part as my schedule allows.
From Matthew 11:28-29
“Come unto Me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.”
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Jesus tells us in Matthew 11: 28 “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. And in Hebrews 4:9, the Lord says, “There remaineth, therefore, a Sabbath rest unto the people of God.” The only true rest comes from the Creator of all things, through His Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Sometimes, we get so busy that we forget to spend time with Him in order to absorb His rest. I’d like to do a series of posts that will help us focus on enjoying that rest He so lovingly wants us to have.
So this post is the first in a series of posts for Sundays. I don’t call it a challenge — rather an INVITATION. If you have a photo, a graphic, a favorite scripture passage, or a short quote that represents REST to you, please share it via this “Sabbath Rest” series.
Here’s How: Simply post your photo or scripture on your own site; then hop over here to my “Sabbath Rest” post each week and paste the link to yours in the “Comments” box. That’s it. We’ll all get a chance to visit other sites and benefit from the “Rest” offered on each one.
Here’s mine for this week:
This photo, as you see from the credits, is courtesy of free-extras.com. From the moment I first saw it, it has created a rest deep within me. I appreciate the photographer’s ability to capture the essence of peace and rest, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
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Again this week, as I have for all the other Lenten lessons, I am refraining from comment on the scriptures. I just want to share them and let the Lord speak to your hearts and bless you with what He has to say. The passages this week come from Psalm 1 and Psalm 2.
“Why are the nations in an uproar,
And the people’s devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand,
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed:
……..
He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
……..
Now therefore, O kings, show discernment:
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship the Lord with reverence,
And rejoice with trembling.”
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of the sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.”
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I love black and white photos, so I wanted to take part in Sonel’s challenge. This gorgeous Blue Spruce is in my front yard. I think it’s one of God’s most perfect creations.
If you’d like to participate, you can find out about the challenge on her site:
http://sonelcorner.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/black-and-white-photo-challenge-nature/
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The Creator of the whole universe loves you!
My goodness, you have friends in high places!
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So what are you doing down there, looking up? Ephesians 6:2 says we are “seated together with Christ Jesus in Heavenly places.” You should be looking DOWN at those problems and seeing them from God’s victorious perspective.
“And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also. … and God saw that it was good.” (Gen. 1:16-18).
I just could not resist that full moon last night. So for about an hour I played camera tag with the moon and the trees. I’ve generally not had much success with photos of the moon with my very old digital camera, but some of these weren’t too bad. The slide show shares the best 6 of the shots. It was interesting to see how everything changed as the sky grew darker and I captured the moon through different trees.
I have a Blue Spruce tree. And I love my Blue Spruce tree very much. Though I am a far cry from the type of person you’d call a “nature worshiper,” I have to admit that I have this deep connection to my tree. For one thing, I have always thought the Blue Spruce was one of the most beautiful trees on the planet, and I used to think that it was unlikely I would ever have one in my own yard. But about 12 years ago, shortly after my husband and I moved into my current home, a cousin asked me if I’d like to have a Blue Spruce.
It seems that this little tree – not much more than a baby, at 5 feet tall – was having a very hard time of it in his yard because it was sitting in an old barrel, beneath several other trees, which were robbing it of sun and seriously stunting its growth. It was leaning to one side, trying to stay alive, but my cousin said it wouldn’t last if he didn’t get it out of the barrel and give it a home in deep soil, with plenty of sunshine and moisture.
I jumped at the chance to have my own Blue Spruce, and I believed that, through care and a lot of prayer (I always pray for my pets and my plants), I could get it back to a state of good health. I was especially encouraged to learn that when he went to pick up the barrel and transfer it to my yard, he could not get the barrel to budge. Upon further investigation, he found that this persistent Blue Spruce had forced its roots down between some very small cracks in the bottom of the barrel and rooted itself in the solid ground, determined to live and grow.
So we planted it in the middle of my front yard, drove a metal stake into the yard against its trunk, and fastened it to that stake so that it would help it to grow straight again. It was barely 5 feet tall, and two people could reach around its circumference and touch hands. 12 years and much prayer later (due to drought, bagworms, and a couple big dogs who kept mistaking it for their bathroom), it is thriving. Standing straight and strong, it now reaches almost 20 feet into the air and would require about 7 people to encircle it if they wanted to touch hands. I used to decorate it every year at Christmas, but now it would take a truck with a bucket ladder to do the job.
I guess you could say that I have a love affair with this tree. And every spring, I get excited just thinking about how it will again put out thousands of little pods on the end of each branch and push from those pods the most delightful bright green fluffs which will become the new leaves for that year. I look forward to the experience every year, and each year I am thrilled all over again as I watch the brand new life spring forth and totally renew this giant friend. Part of that thrill, of course, is not just because my tree is growing. But that bursting forth of new life from my tree represents all the new life that God gives us each year in nature – and the new life He offers each of us through Jesus Christ and His resurrection.
This year, I got the bright idea that I would take pictures and record each step in the process of this renewal of life in my Spruce tree. And since WordPress so conveniently offers a slide show apparatus on our blogs, I have put those pictures into a slide show in order to share the beauty and the thrill with everyone who visits here. Enjoy.
Slideshow
I like the contrast in the five different shades of green in this photo, taken from my front porch. (Purple tree doesn’t count.) It’s a delight to see what all God can do with one color.
Hangin' Out With God 