Father, May I

Birds of the sky

don’t weep or sigh
or worry about tomorrow.
To worry brings only sorrow.

May the faith of a bird, have I.

The wind will blow,

either fade or grow,
in accord with the Lord’s commands;
following the flow of His hands.

May the will of the wind, have I.  

Throughout the night

the stars gleam bright;
heaven’s diamonds in the darkness;
their sheen made brighter by blackness.

May the radiance of the stars, have I,

to those surrounded by shadows.
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I don't know about you, but I truly believe that every thing created by God knows who He is and that all of nature worships Him. I believe that when Jesus returns, that even the leaves in the trees will applaud His coming!  Now, maybe you think that makes me crazy. Maybe, but let's look at a few Bible verses that I believe support my theory.

Psalms 147:4-5 says, "He counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by their names." Have you ever tried to count the stars? I know I did as a child. I bet that like me you didn't get very far before you lost count. Not God. He not only created them, He knows the exact number in the sky. He is the one who put each one in their place AND He has a name for each and every one of them! Now, that excites me! To me, that means that God has an intimate relationship with every, single star. He calls them by their name; just like He knows each of our names!

In Mark 4:39, Jesus rebukes the wind and says to the wind, "Peace, be still" and, unlike our children when we tell them to settle down, the wind ceased and the waves calmed. NATURE LISTENED to the Lord and obeyed His commands! This is not the only time nature responded to Jesus. Read Matthew 14:24-33 to see how Jesus walked on the water and once again calmed the wind and sea.

During his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's disciples were calling out, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord," and the Pharisees were outrageous enough to tell Jesus that He should rebuke his disciples.  Jesus informed them that even if they were silent, the stones would cry out (Luke 19:39-40). What does that tell you? I know what it tells me, that even simple stones know that Jesus is Lord of all and rejoice in His coming.

I will wrap up my point with Psalm 96:11-14 (even though I could list others), "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. FOR HE IS COMING . . ." (my emphasis).

Take a walk somewhere today and take in the beauty of nature. As you do, praise the Lord together with the trees, the birds, the wind and heavens and even the simple stones beneath your feet!
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Gardener of Eden and of all the Earth: I pray often for You to give me the eyes of love to see others as You do. Today, I pray that You open my eyes to see nature as You do as well. My Creator and my King, I know that man was given dominion over the earth. Unlike some cultures, I am not saying that man is equal with nature. But, I do believe that You intended us to not only care for the earth, and the creatures in it, but that we were meant to learn from nature as well. Teach me to hear the psalms nature sings and the praises that they raise to You - their Creator as well as mine. Oh! And when I am by Your side someday, will you teach me the names of the stars? You have my love forever, Lord. ~ Amen

Seek God

Seek God

If you seek Him

He will find you;

no matter how dark

the world that blinds you.

Through temptations

He will guide you.

Yet, know past phantoms

will try to bind you.

Clawing. Crawling.

Still –

      You seek Him!

Cling tight to courage.

Your hope will free you.

Lost you might be

but not misplaced.

No one is hidden

from the Savior’s face.

When you cry out

He will rush to

embrace you in grace

and never leave you.

Dark becomes light.

Loss becomes life.

If you seek Him

He will find you.

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Did you happen to catch the wording of the first and last two lines? " If you seek Him, HE will find YOU!" Now I know that Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." But I prefer to think that when we start seeking the Lord, that He is already on His way to meet us.

What makes me think that? Well, imagine this:

It is the middle of the night & an unexpected storm arrives. The wind moans and rattles the glass in the window panes. Thunder’s shockwaves make your home tremble. Then the rain begins pounding the rooftop like an angry person demanding to be let in. With the first lightning bolt, the power crashes. There is not a sliver of light shining in the inky blackness. You rise from your bed and start down the hall, listening. Then from the obscure darkness, your child wails in fear from the other room – the cry you knew was coming before it was heard.

Notice that the parent (you) in the story above was up and headed to the child before they even cried out? How many of us as parents have done that exact thing? Whether our children are infants, toddlers, elementary, high school or grown; if we know they need us; we are on our way to meet that need. THAT is how I know that if we are searching for God, HE WILL COME FIND US.  Why? Because just as a good earthly parent knows the needs of his child, God already knows our needs before we voice them. Matthew 7:11 plainly says, "If ye then . . . know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" The same applies to coming to their rescue.

No matter how dark our storm, our Heavenly Father is already headed toward  us, reaching out for us, before we cry out His name.  Isn’t it wonderful???

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Thank you, Heavenly Father, that before I even call out You have heard my cries. Before the echo ends, You are already by my side. I am comforted to know that no matter how dark the storm in my life might be, change will come and with it, the blackness will flee from Your Light. You are my Rescuer and my Salvation! ~ Amen