Nature Walk-Part 3

IRONMAN

Some of the earth's most cherished natural elements come in the form of silver, gold, diamonds, precious metals and gemstones of many varieties. All of these can teach us by their elemental design; from their beginning roughness to the end beauty, how to become more like the 'Master Designer'.

One such element is Iron.

“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
Proverbs 27:17

Have you ever been involved in an “intense time of fellowship” with another brother or sister in Christ?

I remember being concerned about whether or not this was a healthy pastime. There was one friend in particular that I seemed to butt heads often with on different topics. When we asked our pastor about this, he calmly told us that when iron and iron make contact, it causes friction, sparks and heat. It is not a smooth, calm or comfortable process that brings about a sharpening. Same goes for relationships. When we get into heated conversations or debates with others it is because we already have strong, pre-existing ideals. The stronger, more deeply rooted the ideal, the greater the conflict. With like metals, when these two surfaces come in contact with each other they generate friction, the harder and duller the surface of the metal, the greater the friction necessary to accomplish the end result. When the metals reach their peak sharpness, an amazing phenomenon takes place when they come together again; a pure, crystal clear ring can be heard. Likewise, when God’s children reach the peak point of sharpness in their relationships with each other, the most beautiful sounds to God’s ears can be heard; the ring of true brotherly love.

A Note of Caution:

Be sure the metals you wish to sharpen are of equal quality. If one is like hard steel and the other like a soft gold; the soft will be destroyed and the hard will continue to be dull.

Be careful of the one you sharpen yourself on.

Remember!

The one you are sharpening is suppose to be your friend!

Nature Walk-Part 2

Playing In the Dirt

"And the LORD God formed a man's body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person. "

Gen. 2:7 (NLT)

Man, the one creation that God physically involved Himself in the making of. He formed us with His hands; in His image. We have His DNA, we are like Him in everyway, though not God. We breathe because He gave us His very breath. His Spirit lives in us reminding us that we are His. He saw His creation and said, "It is good!"

"Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smoothed the mud over the blind man's eyes."

John 9:6 (NLT)

So that the glory of God would be revealed, a man who'd been blind from birth spent years waiting for the Finisher of his faith. God! Alpha and Omega! Author and Finisher! Jesus; the carpenter! "God With Us", finished the good work that He'd started in this man from his beginning. He took the original element we were begun with and His own DNA and finished the creation of an unfinished man, all for the glory of the Father.

And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.

Gen. 13:6 (NKJV)

He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. "For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, And He has set the world upon them.

I Sam. 2:8 (NKJV)

True to His "Potter" nature, God is in the forming business. He leaves nothing but beauty in His wake and it can be seen far into future generations. The lowliest creatures from the lowliest element, He has seen beauty, brought it out and multiplied it.

For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 103:13 (NKJV)

Consider this; when we think that we can not handle one more problem, one more test, one more trial, why is that when another straw is laid on the proverbial camel's back? It is because only God knows our frame, what we can and cannot handle, what it will take to break our will and yet not our spirit. He knows the substance He created us from. He cares more about making us perfect than leaving us in the unfinished state we are in. Trust Him, for He cares for you. Only He can know what you can take and what you can't. He even knows the strength of the struggle which He has allowed to test you.

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

I Cor. 15:47-49 (NKJV)

Walking on earth in the natural and walking with Christ in the spirit requires balance. True balance can only be found in faith. Remember Peter? When he stepped out of the boat in faith he began to walk on water? He was walking on that water! If we rely on our own understanding, we will surely revert to our original makeup. When dirt sinks in water, it becomes mud. We will return to our original form the moment we take our eyes off the hope that is before us. Be heavenly minded for we are made in the image of a heavenly Man!

Nature Walk-Part 1

Fountains and Rivers of Living Water

In the beginning there was water! All of creation can trace its beginning to water. Before the earth and all that was in it was formed, there was water. Each child is formed in water in the mother's womb. Jesus said we must be born of water and of fire. We are made up of over 70 % water, and the earth is covered in about 70 % of it. Water is considered the universal solvent. When Jesus told the woman at the well that if she were to drink from the living waters He offered, she would never thirst again, so, after all this, is it any wonder we should find life in it.

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

John 7:38
“And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.”

Revelation 21:6
Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
John 4:10

Being a visual person by nature, fountains and rivers of Living Water brings a very beautiful image to my mind of snow capped mountains, rushing creeks, waterfalls, and rainforests. A never ending, regenerating source of water that flows over mountains, hills and rocks, pooling in a deep well, feeding all of God’s creation. This water is always cool and pure; it never grows stagnant and never runs out. The sounds it makes as it travels down a predetermined path calms as it brings peace to everything within hearing distance. Its smell cleanses the soul as purely as it does the rocks and sand it flows through in its hurry to reach places long lain parched. The cascading water creates a mist that refreshes and quenches the surrounding tender growth, shrouding the dense forest in an ethereal covering. Everything about this visual picture speaks to us of God and His provision of sustenance, protection, cleansing and peace.

Memories from childhood. Longing for the smell of a summer rain that causes what was once brown with decay and ensuing death, to become fresh, green and alive again with renewed strength and hope?

How can we experience these wonders and not hunger and thirst for the latter rain of His Holy Presence to come and wash away the dryness of our souls and bring renewed, refreshed strength and hope that is everlasting?

Doesn't it stand to reason that our baptism into the faith should be in water, being born again and regenerated into a new man, washing away the old?

Stop on the dusty road you're traveling long enough to take a drink of this water of life and see how refreshing it is.

Taste and see that the Lord is good!

Be refreshed, renewed and restored with this Fountain, this River of Life! Jesus!

Nature Walk

“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:22-23

For the next few weeks, we are going to discover how God reveals Himself to us through nature and, by it, how He works His perfect will in our lives.

We must first understand that God is a God of pattern. Everything He has created and spoken lines up with the pattern of His divine nature. He is the same yesterday, today and forever and there is ‘nothing new’ under the sun. He does not go against His divine nature to accomplish anything. Although we may not always understand the things He does or has done, the reasons behind what He does, His timing, the answers He gives, etc.; it doesn’t negate the fact that He is always the same, always true to His nature. In turn, His creation follows the same rules of divine order. From one generation to the next generation, we are born, we live and we die according to the order He has established. Biblical evidence shows us that He can cause time to stand still or be prolonged. Rushing rivers can be held back and raging seas can be made calm. Hail, snow, earthquakes and tornadoes and all that we call natural disasters are held in reserve to do His bidding. He is not bound by the law of nature, nature is bound by His decrees. Creation was created for His glory and good pleasure and yet He has made us to be partakers of it with Him. The mysteries of nature are miraculous and awesome. We can discover His nature, He desires us to seek and know Him and to love Him.

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment."

Mark 12:30

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter”
Proverbs 25:2-3

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Jeremiah 33:3