Highlighting God's Presence to Inspire Your Life!
In last week’s reflection, I shared thoughts about seeing the wind’s effects on Lake Ontario. Though we can’t see the wind, we see its effects and how it is under God’s command. Biblically, the wind, when positively portrayed, is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
While reflecting on the wind, I couldn’t help but think about two main Scripture references related to the word breath. Just like the wind, one cannot usually see breath, yet God used it powerfully for His purposes.
It was intriguing to me, as I sat observing the water at Lake Ontario for a few days, to see how the wind affected the water. At the lake, I noticed some days the wind caused slight ripples on the water, which made it go to the right and other days it made the water go to the left.
The wind causing water to flow to the right
The wind causing water to flow to the left
Isn’t the wind interesting? We cannot see the wind, yet we can sometimes see, feel, or hear its effects. At times, the wind can produce negative effects like the devastation caused by hurricane winds. Other times, the wind can have a positive effect like a gentle breeze on a summer day that cools and refreshes our skin. Continue reading “WINDY EFFECTS”
In last week’s reflection, I shared about the rough waters I observed while enjoying quiet time at a cottage on Lake Ontario. This week I want to reflect on the calm waters that I observed on two of the days.
Besides taking lots of pictures of sunsets while at the lake, the other highlight was trying to get the “perfect” pictures of seagulls! I managed to get a few that I was pretty proud of.
I began to think about the parallels between the water, waves, wind, and God in our lives.
Calm Lake Ontario
What can we learn from some Bible verses referencing calm waters?
You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas. You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength. You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations. Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy. –Psalm 65:5-8 (NLT)
What a beautiful psalm of praise to God. The psalmist shares how God is the One who silences the raging waters both with waters figuratively in our lives. He calms the waters! How important it is to continually praise the Lord, be in awe of His wonders, and declare His Lordship with shouts of joy.
“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor! Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation. –Psalm 107:28-32 (NLT)
How do we get “calm waters” in our lives? By crying out to the Lord in times of trouble. Yes, He can turn the storm into a whisper, and still the waves. We can trust Him to bring us to a place of safety as He guides our footsteps, being with us always. The psalmist reminds us to see God’s great love and to exalt Him in all things, even if the storm isn’t calmed the way we think it should be.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. –Psalm 23:1-3 (ESV)
Where does the Lord lead us? The Lord, being our Good Shepherd, leads us to the calm, still waters of our lives. Even in the raging storms, He is the One who supplies moments of refreshment, peace, and even joy, as we know He provides what we need.
Photo courtesy of Sapphire Dream Photography under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND-2.0)
Even in calm waters, boats still need anchors to provide stability to help steady the boat and stop it from drifting. It is the same in the calm waters of our lives. We still need our anchor, Jesus, and the hope He provides.
We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. –Psalm 33:20-23, 34:1 (NLT)
Our hope, Jesus, is our help and shield. He is the One who calms the waters of our lives. When we embrace His unfailing love that is always with us, we are able to trust Him more and praise Him at all times. What a mighty Lord and Savior we have.
Sunset over the calm waters
They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. –Isaiah 49:10 (NIV)
It was a wonderful blessing to spend this past weekend at a retreat at one of my Holy Places on Canandaigua Lake. God is so good and faithful, revealing His presence and love to us through His Word, the beauty of nature, and the people He puts in our path.
God’s masterpiece sky
The one afternoon and evening I enjoyed spending time alone outside viewing the beautiful scenery instead of being inside doing different activities. The lake was tranquil, the sun was out for a bit, and some darker clouds moved in at one part of the sky. Continue reading “RAINBOW REFLECTIONS”
It was the first thought, from a friend’s text message, that popped into my head when I awoke the next morning, after having received God-filled meaningful texts from him the day before.
He was referring to reading the next devotion in my book and seeing how God will make the message come alive for him. What a blessing to learn of the ripple effect of God’s goodness in our daily interactions. This man, a Deacon, ministers to the residents of a nursing home daily, sharing Scripture, along with a devotion from one of my books. He has taken time to share with me how different devotions have related to a current day event in his and his wife’s life. Those God moments continue to make me smile and be in awe of God’s orchestrations. Continue reading “JOYFUL EXPECTATION”
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. –Romans 8:28 (NLT)
Does that verse sound familiar? It might, if you were paying close attention to last week’s reflection as it was a verse I shared. I recently watched a short video, which I find so powerful, that mentioned this verse. Truth be told, I keep listening to the video because it inspires and encourages me. I want to live this out daily in my life. Continue reading “GOD’S PROMISES”
Recently my mailbox contained an unexpected gift from a woman in Tennessee who I have never met in person. We connected through social media, and then she started reading my weekly reflections. We quickly became prayer warriors for each other, which has been a great blessing for us both. It seems at just the right time, one of us will email to say we are thinking of the other and lifting her in prayer. Prayer is a wonderful gift God has given us to share!
The note with the gift said she was doing art therapy with some rocks she was doodling with. “When I finished this one, I noticed it was in the shape of a heart and thought of you and God whispered…’that’s who I wanted you to paint it for!!’ Ain’t He so good?” Her note also mentioned I could use this heart rock as a paper weight when writing “your NEXT book.” Continue reading “A BEAUTIFUL BLESSING”
Hello, my fellow pilgrims! Are you excited to see where our adventures on day 8 of our Holy Land pilgrimage, our final day, will take us? I continue to pray the places and scriptures come alive so you personally experience the fifth gospel. Try to take a few minutes to pause, think about, and answer the reflection questions you will find along the way. Enjoy these final sights of the Holy Land, my dear reader~
Our first stop today is to the Old City of Jerusalem which consists of four quarters: the Armenian, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian. Some of the most ancient structures in Jerusalem, the walls, or at least their outlines dating back to Biblical times, are in this area.
Location of the Four Quarters in Jerusalem’s Old City
The Christian Quarter is where the Holy Sepulchre that we visited two days ago is located. The Muslim Quarter is the largest and most populous of the Quarters. The Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the Quarters.
Walking through the Muslim Quarter
A major landmark in the Jewish Quarter is the Western Wall where we are now. It is the last remnant of the original retaining wall around the Second Temple, which was built over 2000 years ago. It is considered the holiest of places where the Jewish people can pray. Herod the Great had it built. The left section is where the men go to pray and the ladies go to the right. It was a unique experience to be standing and praying at such a sacred Jewish spot. Continue reading “THE FINAL PILGRIMAGE DAY”
Hello, my fellow pilgrims! Are you excited to see where our adventures on day 7 of our Holy Land pilgrimage will take us? I continue to pray the places and scriptures come alive so you personally experience the fifth gospel. Try to take a few minutes to pause, think about, and answer the reflection questions you will find along the way. Enjoy today’s sights, my dear reader, as we will conclude our pilgrimage next week~
We ended last week with hearing Mary Magdalene, the first person who saw the Risen Christ, proclaim:
Come experience a couple more Risen Jesus sightings.
Our first stop today is to the Church of the Resurrection in Abu Ghosh, one of four possible sites believed to have been referenced in the Bible story of “On the Road to Emmaus.” The exact location became lost in the early Christian era and was made more difficult from conflicting distance calculations mentioned in Luke’s gospel. This is a 12th century, echo-like sounding church that has wall and ceiling paintings (frescoes) remaining from the Crusaders. Notice that there are no faces on the people in the paintings. The Muslims who took over the region had a strict rule of depicting no images of humans in their art. It was seen as a violation of the commandment to not make any graven images. Continue reading “RESURRECTION APPEARANCES”
Hello, my fellow pilgrims! Are you excited to see where our adventures on day 5 of our Holy Land pilgrimage will take us? I continue to pray the places and scriptures come alive so you personally experience the fifth gospel. Try to take a few minutes to pause, think about, and answer the reflection questions you will find along the way. Enjoy today’s sights which will complete our time in Galilee, my dear reader~
Our first stop today is at the Mount of Beatitudes area. These first pictures are from the guesthouse in Galilee where we stayed. Walking the grounds you can also see the beautiful landscape of the area, the Sea of Galilee, and the Mount of Beatitudes church. Continue reading “LAST DAY IN GALILEE”