Thursday, July 30, 2009

Morning Light



The pond fishing pier is at rest in the morning mist.

John 21:4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
John 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
John 21:6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
John 21:8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
John 21:9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread
John 21:10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
John 21:11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
John 21:12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
John 21:13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
John 21:14 This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

Mist arises from the pond and soon the sun will shine with summer heat above 100 degrees. Morning is the best time to walk. The women in the Bible came for water in the cool of the morning.The outcast Samaritan woman was at the well in the heat of the day, when Jesus came to her. He came to seek and to save her.

John 4:6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
John 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
John 4:8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
John 4:9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
John 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
John 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
John 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
John 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.


The sunrise illuminates the teasles, growing on the far shore. The flower is a lilac color and the dried teasels are used in dried flower arrangements. The seeds are a favorite of the European Gold finch.

Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Isa 60:4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
Isa 60:5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A Closer Look



Three Jimson flowers reminded me of the three crosses on Calvary where Jesus and the two thieves were crucified. One thief repented and came close to Jesus and was saved, the other mocked him and was separated from him for all eternity. They all looked like men; men created in the image of God, but one was God in the man Jesus. Take a closer look at Jesus. If you have rejected him, reconsider your decision. I met two men on the trail, one was in his 60's the other was 86. They asked me what I did with the pictures. I told them I sent them out on the Internet, with Bible verses. Both said that they had left the church at the age of nineteen. I said that I had come to Jesus at the age nineteen. The oldest said,"they made us memorize Psalm 23." I asked him who the shepherd was in that Psalm. I don't know, he said. I said he was Jesus. Come and follow Jesus for eternal life. The other one scoffed, saying I never read the Bible. He said that there are all kinds of people. They need to take a closer look at Jesus.

Luke 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
Luke 23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
Luke 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
Luke 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Most every walk is along the same trails. Is there anything more to see? A voice spoke within me saying, slow down and take a closer look. Sure enough, I was standing next to a button bush that I had not noticed in the previous walks. I showed this digital image to the two men and one said, it reminds me of the tinker toys we used to play with. I can see Jesus, the center of our being; all things revolve around him. He keeps the planets in orbit and made the tiniest atom.

Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Looking still closer at the button flowers I see the beauty of his design, as firework flowers bursting forth to glorify the creator and to bring forth new seeds and new life. The Bible is our life giving seed; Jesus is the seed of David and the only begotten of the Father in Heaven.

Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Rom 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
Rom 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Rom 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
Rom 1:6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

A string instrument? Perhaps the old violin. One of the two men said, look there is the bow, could you give me a copy of this? I would give him Jesus, for like the old violin it has little worth until it is touched by the master's hand. We are His instruments for good or for evil. Let us be used by the LORD, and through him, bless others.

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Familiar Things



Along the trail is this old oak tree. I am always drawn to it's beauty. An older saint of God who has been faithful is like this old tree: admired and respected. There are still a few left, like Billy Graham who have weathered the storms of life.

Josh 14:10 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
Josh 14:11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
Josh 14:12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.
Josh 14:13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.
Josh 14:14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel.


The Green Heron is a loner, If I see one, he is alone by the water and he soon flies away.

Deu 32:9 For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
Deu 32:10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Deu 32:11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
Deu 32:12 So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
Deu 32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;
Deu 32:14 Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

The Blazing Star blooms in the heat of summer. They grow in stony places by the river.

Luke 11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
Luke 11:35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.
Luke 11:36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Shadow and Light



The hawks were crying one to another high in the shadows of the Valley Oak. Like the eagle they are swift and with sharp eye sight. Our national bird is the eagle, but God controls the eagles and will bless or curse a nation, depending on their behavior. We must worship God and obey Jesus, or we face his judgement.

Deu 28:49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
Deu 28:50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young.



The Jimson weed is a beautiful white, but poisonous to cows and people. Beware of the angels of light, try them by the word of God.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
James 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

The Chicory flowers bloom in the early mornings, but they close when the sun is high. Some things are best experienced early in the morning. Such beauty and design, even in the most common of God's creation.

Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Psa 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Psa 139:10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Psa 139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
Psa 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

His Glory In Nature


The Marsh reeds reflect in the early morning pond as a gentle breeze ripples the water. It is a quiet reminder of the glory of God.

Mark 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Mark 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?


A mother Mallard duck swims up the river to protect her young from this stranger. The ducklings struggle against the flow of water to keep up.

Psa 71:3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
Psa 71:4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
Psa 71:5 For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.

The young draw near to the mother. Notice the color on the back of the duck, pretty as a rainbow. They know they are safe near her protective wings.

Psa 63:7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Psa 63:8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
Psa 63:9 But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
Psa 63:10 They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.
Psa 63:11 But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

A majestic tiger swallowtail. Worship the majesty of God and His Son, by whose stripes, we are healed.

Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.