All of Creation

Isaiah 40:26 - Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.

I know I can be very simplistic in my view of God. (Come as  little children, Jesus said.) Yet there is a very deep understanding that wells up in my soul.

It is hard for some to understand that all of creation was made by the Lord. Not by His hands but by His very voice. He commanded and it was so. It's something we just have to take at His word. 

If we cannot fathom God creating, it may be that we have missed this point...that all we have, all we are, all we will be given is because of Him. 

Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest urges us to look beyond ourselves, our things, our own strengths and look up at Who is the Creator. We can do in our own strength but it is truly God who gives us what we really need. We may be missing out on many things in this life if we have not sought Him in all things.

Do we ask if this is what the Lord would want us to do? Is this the right decision to make? Is this the direction to go? Is this purchase the right one? Do we really need this? 

We can begin to understand God just by taking in all we see around us. Take a good hard look. Don't let another day go by without seriously contemplating just the things of nature. Chambers suggests we turn our imagination "aright:" If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in Nature. In every wind that blows, in every night and day of the year, in every sign in the sky, in every blossoming and every withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us if we will simply use our starved imagination to realize it.

Starved imagination. Wow. Have we come to a place where we have taken nature for granted? Do we look and think, ho hum, when we see something outside even the living room window? Or do we become excited again at even the most common occurrence? Can you quiet yourself at all during the day and think about Him and what He has done for you? Have the things of each day consumed your thoughts? Has something else become more interesting than a relationship with the God who created you and has a great plan for your life, one you cannot imagine? The simplicity of it all...the childlike faith...the enjoyment of the small things. 

If this is you, Chambers suggests we may be caught up in ourselves. Is your imagination looking on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Your work? Your conception of what a worker should be? ...when you are (finally) up against difficulties you have no power, you can only endure in darkness...do not look back to your own experience; it is God Whom you need.

Our lives should be consumed with thoughts of God. Where is He in this circumstance? Did He leave you or might you have left Him? When tragedy strikes where do you first turn? Do you call out to God for strength first? Do you ask for His guidance, peace, comfort? Or do you call on help from family, friends, or even internalize and attempt to draw from your own so-called wisdom or strengths. God will provide what you need but you need to seek Him above all things.

God is real. He is powerful to those who seek Him. He is always there for any need. He may not always answer in the way you would want, but He knows what's best, what we need most. 

Even in the throes of illness we need to focus on what His will is. He can heal if He so chooses, but if the choice is death, He is in that as well. The illness did not come as a surprise to Him. It is our attitude during this time that might be God's test for us. Do we still draw His strength for the moment or the day? If we are His children and in right relationship with Him our greatest assurance that no matter what we endure, we are His.

Are our imaginations starved for God as Chambers asks? Take the time to ask Him directly to help you get a grip on who He is and of what benefit He might be to your life. He is more than willing to listen if you are truly interested in knowing Him. You may not realize it but I think we are all starved for God at some time in our lives. That's when He begins to show up in little things in our lives that don't make sense...yet. The people who are put in your path, the things you begin to hear and might even be annoyed about. It happened to me; it can happen to you.

Let your imagination go and let it consider the truth of who He is, He who was and is and is to come. Start with taking the time to view nature. That's where He began before He created Man. Consider the intricacies of it all. Consider the depth of wisdom it took to create it (which is nearly impossible because of the enormity of it all) and then consider the intricacy of even your own creation, your birth. Nothing was made by accident. Not even you. Rejoice in the fact that being here, today, in this lifetime, can give you the opportunity to know this incredibly awesome God.

Psalm 102:25-28 - Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end. The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You.

Learning From Nature...a.k.a....Learning From God

Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. 

 

We can learn a lot from nature. God created all things and has an order to it. He is not a God of confusion. If we put our mind to it, we can learn a lot from nature and everyday things. Simplicity of His Word.

I was watching a Gambel quail family yesterday. It was wonderful to finally see four offspring running in line with their fast, little legs, after their mother. Where she went they were close behind. No doubt they were watching as she poked at the ground for bugs or seeds because they did the same.

Then papa flew up onto the wall. And mama followed. She would look down at the 3 1/2" babies. She came back down and they all ran to be behind her again. Then she would fly up on the wall again. 

I wondered why she would do this. Obviously she felt they were safe. I was as still as could be so as not to chase them away and observe...perhaps learn myself. (That meant no photos! Bummer.) Then it dawned on me, and I'm not absolutely certain this is the answer, that she was teaching them by example. There's no way their little wings could be strong enough to carry them to that height but she was showing them before they yet could do it. In time they would be the right size and strength to do it themselves and they would just do it.
 

Like we do...children watch and learn. So...why shouldn't children be part of church services? They don't understand but they watch and see and learn. The Bible tells us that we are to train up the child in the way he should go. I understand the church having trained individuals teaching at certain age levels. When I was a child, however, it was common practice to have children in church. Why the change? Jesus specifically stated He did not want His disciples to shoo away the little children but rather, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:14)
 

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (‭2Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭14-15‬)

Oh, but things were different then. How much more? If we are more occupied with other things today because we have more things, is that a good reason to farm the kids off to someone else, to have more time for ourselves without the possibility of distraction from the kiddies?

And speaking of nature...We are also seeing man's struggle with the proper order of things...man's ideas of what is right or wrong. Birds and animals instinctively know how to do things and they pass that down to their offspring. So how is it that man struggles with the male-female issue? The order of things. Is it because man, with his ability to think differently from creatures, believes there can be another way, that God's way can't be the only way? Somewhere the lines of communication got bolluxed up. But God's Word is the truth. 

Just a thought...

Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭7 - You shall teach them [God's commandments] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 

This Is Your Nature

Psalm 19:1-3 - The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. 

At last. A hint of real spring! I filled the bird feeders, grabbed my Bible and sat outside to relish the warm breeze, hear the sound of a gentle water feature we have and listen to the birds as they eagerly munched away and proclaimed their delight in more food.

As I sat there I praised God for all of this. The colors, the textures, sounds, fragrances...even the anxious dog frantically barking somewhere nearby. 

Nature is defined in two ways: The characteristics of human life and the characteristics of those living things among us. Amazing.

We are told that all of creation glorifies God; it reveals God's creative nature. It exemplifies His vast imagination. All the colors and textures. All the variety of fragrances and sounds. All created by one powerful and sovereign God. Who can dismiss the existence of a Divine Creator? It's all too great and mysterious.

He has brought all this into existence for His own pleasure. But there's more. He brought us into existence for His own great pleasure, too. He loves us so much that He has given us His best. Can't you see it when you look out a window or walk in a park?

Speaking of which, He also gave us His best when He came down from His throne and lived on earth with us in the person of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! He gave us His best so that we might believe in Him and receive Him into our lives.

His human creation failed Him. And He knew He had to do something about that. He is holy and cannot be in the presence of our sinful nature. We were cut off from entering into His presence. 

Yet look at what He still does for us...He still provides us His nature in nature. We don't deserve all this. Just like He has given us His son that our sins might be forgiven. We don't deserve that either.

I hear the gurgling sound of the water nearby and think of Jesus as our Living Water. He is a wellspring of life. He is our refreshing...when we know Him as our own Lord and Savior. We cannot live without water. Neither can any living thing we see outside. 

Now go a step further, life is in the blood. Without blood we cannot exist. Just as we cannot exist without blood in the natural neither can we live without blood in the spiritual. We all need the cleansing power of Jesus' blood for our eternal life. Leviticus 17:11 tells us, For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. This may be Old Testament, God speaking to Moses, but consider it as Jesus' words to you. 

Nature has much to show us...and tell us. Our lives imitate nature. God is in control of all. We have our own seasons of life. He brings life in this world, He brings life to all living things and He causes all the seasons to rise and wane. Our lives come to an end as does nature. Can you grasp all this? It's amazing.

If He cares so much about us, why shouldn't we regard Him with the love that is due Him? How can we go a day without thinking of Him, seeking Him, seeing His nature in what we view as we live each day? His nature surrounds us in what we view and as we realize the Divine power of His creativity. When you take notice of a sunset or clouds, or storms and lightening, or flowers and trees, consider them as God's qualities, His nature. It's here all for us...that we might realize Him.

Psalm 36:5-7 - Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep. O LORD, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.