Trees

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

- Trees by Joyce Kilmer, 1886 -1918

Trees are amazing things. They produce oxygen for us to breathe. They give us shade to cool us in the summer. And birds nest in them, just as the poem says. Trees even power our cars. Bacteria and plants (trees) + time + pressure = oil. We refine oil into gasoline.

God also uses trees in the Bible to describe life and wisdom and knowledge. Trees existed before Adam and Eve - they were created on the third day (Genesis 1:11). Adam was created on the sixth day (Genesis 1:27).

Someone recently asked, "How God could send people to hell who have never heard about Him?" The answer to that question is found, of course, in the Bible. God's creation is the living evidence that He must exist. Somebody had to have made all this stuff!

"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." - Romans 1:19-20

Further tree thoughts: Did you ever notice how a trees' branches resemble the human lung? They both breathe air and live. Coincidence? God's creation is amazing. And tree's are only one example of God's handiwork.

The following link is to a website that contains many such stories about God's creation. Check it out and be amazed at all of the things that God has done.

Creation Moments

Postpartum Depression

I've been loving my new astronomy app. And I've noticed something. Something is about to happen.

When I first got the app a few weeks ago, I wrote a story about Venus and Virgo. You can read it here. Venus ("the bright morning star," aka Jesus) was in the constellation Virgo (from the Latin "virginus," aka virgin). Well Venus has been on the move since I wrote that story a few weeks ago. Venus is now in the birth canal.😳

Two weeks ago Venus was up by Virgo's shoulder and now.... well, it's about ready to leave Virgo's heavenly body. (FYI - this happens every fall)

After a mother gives birth there is a postpartum period that lasts an average of six weeks (according to my dictionary). Sometimes it lasts longer.

When Jesus returns to earth there will also be a "postpartum" period. The prophet Daniel wrote about this. It's referred to as "Daniel's 70th week." This 70th week is also referred to as The Great Tribulation, but for today's story I am calling it The Great Postpartum Depression. This Depression will last for seven years. Now that's some serious postpartum depression!

As I read my Bible and watch the things happening in Israel and the Middle East, then compound that with the signs in the heavens God told us about, I get very excited. And so should you be.

"The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." - Daniel 9:26

But there is good news for those who believe in The Messiah, Jesus.

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 5:9

We who believe will not be here.

"When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” - Luke 21:28

A Thanksgiving Onion

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time for families to get together and to eat way too much food. But underneath all of the turkey and stuffing, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, there is a concept that we often miss in all of our busyness. So today let us peel off the layers of this Thanksgiving onion and get down to the basics of the holiday.

Travel - Many people travel hundreds of miles just to arrive at their Thanksgiving destination. Why? The delays, cancellations, packing, unpacking and repacking can be overwhelming. Why do it?

Football - Football has certainly become a part of the Thanksgiving tradition. Thanksgiving meals are often planned around kickoffs and halftime shows.

Food - The Thanksgiving meal has certainly changed over the years. It used to be a turkey, corn and squash back in the day. Now we've added stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. 

If we removed all these things, what would be left? Okay, maybe leave in the travel. But if we removed all the layers of this Thanksgiving onion that we are dissecting today, what would be left?

Faith, family, and love.

It's possible to shrink the reason for Thanksgiving even further though. Think about it. Can't we reduce the reason for Thanksgiving into just one word?

God.

Thanksgiving IS really all about God. Or at least it used to be. Who are we giving thanks TO anyway? If we do not give thanks to God on Thanksgiving day, what are we even doing?

And why do we only designate a Thanksgiving Day? Yes, I know all about the Pilgrims. But I am quite sure they gave thanks EVERY day because  of their struggle just to survive. And so should we.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of love, and for Your grace and mercy. Thank you for Your creation and design of the family unit. Without You and what You've done, we wouldn't even be here. We give thanks and praise to the One True God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Amen.

"I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High." - Psalm 7:17

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" - Psalm 107:1

Innocent Blood

Do you remember this image? It was created for the 1968 movie 2001: A space Odyssey. Little did they know that 55 years later it would be a perfect fit for a pivotal issue of our time.

My wife and I have two kids and two grandkids. We love them all dearly. We remember when each one of them was born and holding them in our arms. There is nothing more beautiful and innocent than a newborn baby. God agrees.

"Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." - Psalm 127:3-5

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." - Matthew 19:14

If God loves the little children, why do the majority of Americans (62%) support the killing of them?

This is not a political issue. It is a moral and spiritual one. God's will is to not shed innocent blood, yet we are disobedient. As a result, it will not go well for us.

God's first and greatest commandment is to love, not to kill. There are no qualifiers to His command. Old, young, black, white, male female. We are to love EVERYBODY. Even those in the womb.

"Do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked." - Exodus 23:7

"They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death." - Psalm 94:21

"He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord." - Proverbs 17:15

"Let us love one another for love comes from God." - 1 John 4:7

Get Together

Do you remember what you were doing in 1971? Perhaps you were protesting the Vietnam war. Or fighting in it. Maybe you weren't even born yet.

For me, I was 18 and in my senior year at New Berlin High School (a suburb of Milwaukee). I was aware of all the anti-war protests going on. They were happening right downtown!

The following was an introduction to a protest song by Jimi Hendrix back in 1970:

"I'd like to dedicate this to the draggin' scene that's goin' on. All the soldiers fighting in Chicago and Milwaukee and New York. Oh yes, and all the soldiers fighting in Vietnam. I'd like to do this little thing called Machine Gun." - Jimi Hendrix

Music was a big part of my life back then. I was in a small rock band (we played one gig). Although I played guitar I never really paid too much attention to the lyrics.

In 1971 there was a song that encouraged everyone to just love one another. It was called Get Together by The Youngbloods. The chorus goes like this:

"Come on people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together, try to love one another right now."

I never made the connection - the connection to Jesus.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." - John 13:34

The song goes on to say this in the second verse:

"Some may come and some may go. He will surely pass. When the one that left us here, Returns for us at last. We are but a moment's sunlight, Fading in the grass."

I never made the Jesus connection back in 1971, even though I had sung the song many times. Only now do I see it.

The common need this generation of today has with the generation of my youth is this: LOVE. Perhaps we need to repeat the song lyrics over and over again until we get the concept stuck in our heads.

"Come on people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together, try to love one another right now."

Get Together - The Youngbloods

Machine Gun - Jimi Hendrix

Kindling

A cool, crisp fall day in Central Wisconsin. Perfect for gathering kindling for winter fires to come. My wife loves toasty fires in the wintertime.

We have a pile of dead oak branches in our backyard, gathered throughout the spring and summer. Fall is the time I choose to break them up and stuff them into 5-gallon pails.

It's kind of mindless work really. There's not a lot of thought involved in snapping a twig. So my mind is free to wander. And wander it does.

Thoughts of friends and family members come to mind. People who are struggling and are in need of help. Kindling it seems is good for starting prayers as well as fires.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The sun is getting low in the sky this time of year. It won't be long before there's a blanket of snow on the ground . . . and a fire in the fireplace.

Prayers are kindled by our compassion for others. Who shall we pray for today?

The Morning Star

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” - Revelation 22:16

Jesus tells us right there that He is "the bright morning star." There is also another bright morning "star," astronomically speaking - the planet Venus. Right now (at 5AM) it is very bright and can be seen in the eastern sky.

It was so bright this morning that I figured it was the moon at first, but then I put on my glasses and saw it was really a star or one of the planets. So I downloaded and installed an astronomy app. The screenshot above was from that app this morning. I got chills when I saw it. Why?

Venus, the morning star, is shown IN a certain constellation - Virgo. Virgo, as you can tell, is a woman. Virgo/virgin. If you have studied the Book of Revelation then perhaps this passage will be familiar to you.

“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth… She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” - Revelation 12:1-2,5

"Clothed in the sun" - could this be the morning sun to go along with the morning star? That's exactly what I was seeing!

We are certainly having "birth pains" right now in this world. The "woman," is Israel. The "12 stars" are the 12 tribes of Israel. The "male child" is Jesus. And He will come "to rule all the nations." Soon!

"And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years," - Genesis 1:14

This celestial event has greatly encouraged me. My prayer is that you would be blessed by this story as well.

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! Keep your eyes on the skies!

Through The Window

Have you ever heard the Bible verse, "When one door closes, another one opens?" Well, forget about it. It's not a Bible verse. Alexander Graham Bell said it in 1935. Here's the full quote:

"When one door shuts, another one opens, but we sometimes stare at the closed door for so long and with such sadness that we fail to see the one that has opened for us."

Still the concept of God opening and closing doors is VERY Biblical. Here are a few examples.

Rahab let the Israelite spies down through a window to keep them from harm.

"Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall." - Joshua 2:15

Michal, David's wife, let him down through a window to prevent Saul from killing him.

"So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped." - 1 Samuel 19:12

Saul (Paul) was lowered down through a window by his disciples to keep the Jews from killing him.

"But his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket." - Acts 9:25

The point of all this is that God always provides a way out for us in our struggles. It might not be how we thought he'd do it but it happens, and for God's ultimate glory. Even in our sin He provides for us.

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." - 1 Corinthians 10:14

No go look at that Alexander Graham Bell quote again.

"We sometimes stare at the closed door for so long and with such sadness that we fail to see the one that has opened for us."

Finally . . .

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6

Look Through Any Window - Hollies

Churchianity

There is a new church in town called the Frisbee-terian church. We will be meeting Sunday mornings at the local disc golf course and learning all about God's creation. This Sunday's sermon is entitled, "Why God put trees where He did."

Just kidding of course, but why are there so many different "brands" of churches? Is one any better that the other? Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Mormon, Scientology. I'm so confused. Well....

All these various "religions" are all man-made, of course. If we don't like our church we leave it. Maybe we even start a new one. These facts alone should be red flags for us all.

Back in the day, when The Church first started, there was just one church. As the disciples spread the Gospel, churches began to spring up in different towns. Ephesus, Philadelphia, Corinth, Laodicea, Rome.

But then the teaching morphed in different directions. Today it is estimated that there are over 45,000 different denominations globally. Why so many? Isn't thete just one God? Isn't there just one truth?

The answer is simple: humans. We're like Burger King. We "like it our way."

There is a term for churches who believe the religion that they practise is the only true church. Only churches that adhere 100% to the Bible are worthy churches. Churches that make up stuff as they go are not worthy.

"For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough." - 2 Corinthians 11:4

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed." - Galatians 1:6-9

Churchianity - GotQuestions.org

Uni-versity

Are you looking for something positive to watch? Check out this video from a music school. You'll LOVE it.

Each of the students at this school has a unique story, I'm sure. And just by watching them we cannot tell what a student's political views are, their sexual orientation, or their religious beliefs. All we know is that they love to play beautiful music. Together.

And notice the respect they all have for their conductor. There is a lesson to be learned here.

I once heard someone describe a university as "unity from diversity." That's not necessarily true. At least not these days. In recent times, universities have encouraged just the opposite. They have become a breeding ground for dissent, protest and hatred.

Still, the 'unity from diversity' concept can be a good one, in the right context. Jesus taught it when He said this:

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." - John 15:7

"This is my command: Love each other." - John 15:12

Twice in six verses, Jesus commanded His disciples (a diverse group of fishermen, tax collectors, doctors) to love each other. It seems to me that Jesus was trying to stress something to them. Perhaps love?

If we obey that one command from Jesus, to love one another, won't we truly have 'unity from diversity?'

Example: If the Russians truly loved the Ukrainians, why would they be killing them? The answer is simple. They don't love them.

Love is the answer. And "God is love." - 1 John 4:8

The following is a link to a beautiful melody, performed by the kids pictured above. Enjoy.

Barber's Adagio - Stanislaw Moniuszko School of Music Symphony Orchestra

Pass It On

Memories of my childhood are getting farther away these days. Still, a few of them rise to the surface now and again, not unlike a trout rising to partake of an early-evening fly or two.

Our grandson came over for a visit this past weekend. He's 11 now so I thought it might be time to teach him a few things, like how to tie a fly.

My dad taught me how to tie flies. I guess it's one of those things that gets passed from generation to generation. Or watched on YouTube. Lol!

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

I explained to my grandson that going to the bait shop and buying worms is okay, but there's something special when you can catch a fish using something you made yourself. A sense of accomplishment instilled in a young man's heart.

Then we dropped the fish hook on the floor. It took us five minutes to find it. None of us could get the bobbin threaded, then the ancient feather broke. It was a struggle.

But then, when his dad came to pick him up, he held up the finished fly to show him, with a big smile on his face.

Perhaps my grandson will never use the fly he tied with me, but who knows. Perhaps it will be the first of many. God knows.

"As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him." - Mark 1:16-18

Never pass up an opportunity to teach someone lessons from the heart. They just may become memories that will last a lifetime.

It's Alive!

No, this story isn't about Frankenstein. But it IS about someone who was raised from the dead.

"The bible was inscribed over a period of 2000 years. In times of war and in days of peace. By kings, physicians, tax collectors, farmers, fishermen, singers and shepherds. The marvel is that a library so perfectly cohesive could have been produced by such a diverse crowd, over a period of time which stagers the imagination. Jesus is it's grand subject, our good its design, and the Glory of God is its end."

Think about it. The Bible was written from 1900-1700 BC to 54-68 AD. Yet the first book speaks of the last book and last book, the first.

In Genesis 5 we read the story of Noah - a picture of Christ. And in Revelation 1 Jesus says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."

And the weird thing is, you and I can be changed just by reading its words. Some seemingly random verse finds a home in our hearts and it really sinks in. It changes us.

The more we read and study the Bible's contents, the more we become amazed by its construction, design, and beauty.

The song link at the bottom has a line in it that couldn't be more true.

"The Word is alive. And it cuts like a sword through the darkness, with a message of life for the hopeless, and the frail. Breathing life into all who believe."

The Bible, also known as God's Word, has another interesting twist when we read the first verse of John.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." - John 1:1-2

What? Now I'm confused.

Maybe this will help. Jesus is the Word.

The Bible is just men writing down what they heard from God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. It's not so much the written text as it is the meaning of the text. Does than make sense?

When we place of faith in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes God's very words and impresses them on our hearts. We begin to see as we begin to understand. And then WE begin to live! Born again, alive in Christ!

The Bible is truly a miracle, available to anyone. Pick one up today. The rest of your life is waiting to be changed.

The Word Is Alive - Casting Crowns

The War Inside

It's easy to figure out what war looks like by watching the evening news these days. We see horrifying images, from Ukraine and Israel, but most of us have no idea what a war is REALLY like.

Those who have experienced war know only too well what it is truly like. Unimaginable evil, excruciating pain and suffering. Both physical and mental.

However, there IS a battle that wages within each one of us. That is the personal war we wage within ourselves every single day. The war.... inside.

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight." - James 4:1-2

A lot of people struggle just to break even in their fight against evil. People succumb to addictions and suicides every day. People need help. Guidance. And love.

There are counseling organizations and support groups that try to help. Some people try to struggle through on their own. But no one can help like Jesus can.

James goes on to tell us this in verse three of the text above.

"And when you do ask you do not receive because you ask with the wrong motives." - James 4:3

Our first prayer should be a prayer of submission, not a prayer for removal from a situation. We should acknowledge God for who He is in our lives, THEN make our requests.

Remember the Lord's prayer? First comes acknowledgement....

"Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be they name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

THEN comes the request....

"Give us this day our daily bread...."

Do you remember when Jesus healed people in the Bible? His healing was often accompanied by words similar to these:

"Your faith has made you well."

The most difficult of wars are often won with the help of the most powerful of allies. You can't do any better than to have God on your side.

The War Inside - Switchfoot