God Provides…

 God Provides….

Several years ago, my husband , a friend and I traveled to Salt Lake City to spend a few days with a filming crew…we were going to be background people for the filming of a series of short movies to be put out by Crown Financial on God’s Provision…”God Provides”…

Early one morning we headed out for a site southwest of Salt Lake City into the foothills where a whole crew of camp sites, trucks, trailers, sets, caterers, make up artists, costumes, etc.. we were costumed, made up, given instructions…we watched in awe of the crews as they did take after take of various scenes…we were placed in background places when needed, did our parts over and over again…

Times of the day were from early morning to late at night…

Another day we were on set in a studio with sets for indoor scenes…same  procedures…and we watched entranced by the directing, the action, the scenery, the hard work all of the players put into this production…

The late Dean Jones played Abraham…taking his son Isaac up the mountain with wood piled on a donkey to heed God’s call for sacrifice…

In the Bible, he (Abraham)did the walk only one time…while in the movie it was done over and over to get the right angles, the right light, the right face, the right structure…but, even then in one scene, outside, God provided the right beam of light, through broken clouds, at the right time for a scene the producers wanted to capture…

From the beginning to the end, the people working, writing , producing would say that in telling this Bible story of God’s provision thousands of years ago, He moved to provide in the present day telling as well..in the supply of costumes, writers, producers, people, studios, food…

It was fun while it lasted. We weren’t offered any further movie roles…we met some amazing people…the dozens of background people, the directors- the Erwin Brothers, the Jones, others who filled in…watched people who excelled in their craft of movie making, etc…gained a new appreciation of this art…it is not a walk in the park…it is hard work…

Reading of Abraham’s call to first send off his son, Ishmael, by Hagar into the desert to eventually become a leader of a nation must have been hard…and then to be called again to sacrifice his son of promise, Isaac, must have been hard as well….but there is nothing said  about him faltering, questioning…he obeyed because he knew God was faithful In providing….he tells his servants to wait and they will return…

Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 

He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 

So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. 

And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 

So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Genesis 22:5,8,12-19

I know I have written about this time in the past, but it still resonates…the Provision, the obedience…the example of faithful following…the example of waiting…the example of God’s call…His promises…God is still the same yesterday, today and tomorrow…His plan through the ages still stands…

Thank YOU…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcjOBagmat0

Shepherds…the Shepherd….

 Shepherds…and the Shepherd…

A couple of years ago, I had the privilege to go to Israel with a college group from Montana…parents and grandparents were invited to travel with the college students…I would have to say, that going there was not on my radar, as so much had been  (and still is)happening…didn’t “feel like a safe place to travel”…(so much for my faith)…but, I couldn’t pass this up….we arrived in the spring after a rainy season.   The hills were lush with grass, wild flowers bloomed profusely, the promised land…

We toured site after site of ancient civilizations, noting the architecture changes, the use of the stone, the places where Bible people walked and lived…streets covered with mosaics, huge columns upright and fallen, stadiums, palaces, tombs, gardens, synagogues, excavations, ordinary homes…

I remember when I first caught sight of a flock of sheep, I was so excited, something tangible, something about the Shepherd…then we were waiting on a hillside and up over the rise comes a young man followed by his flock…I walked to get a closer look  and was soon amongst the flock as they meandered here and there eating the tender grass, all the while watching their shepherd…

I know I have written about this earlier…but was watching a video about shepherds this morning…so decide to follow through the Bible…not just psalm 23…was so blessed by this concept again…

There are many references to “Shepherd”, both positive and negative…I chose the ones that point to God being our Shepherd…Joseph in the Old Testament recognized Him…and all throughout…David …until Jesus says it of Himself…ending in the book of Revelations…shepherding through the ages…and still does…we can claim the same words as David did in Psalm 23..

Thank YOU…

And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

Genesis 48:15 

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. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:1-6

The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalm 28:8-9

With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

Psalm 78:72 

The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.

Ecclesiastes 12:11

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Isaiah 40:11

 “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah 3:15 

I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:4 

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Ezekiel 34:15-16 

10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 

3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 

4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 

8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 10:1-4,7-8,11,14-15

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7:17

Apples..harvest…

 Apples…harvest…

The encyclopedia says there are over 7,500 varieties of apples…

“Types of Apples. There are over 7,500 varieties of apples worldwide. The United States grows 2,500 apple varieties, but just 100 of them are grown commercially.”

Fun facts….

Apple Facts - Apples and More - University of Illinois Extension

web.extension.illinois.edu › apples › facts

• The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.

• Apples come in all shades of reds, greens, and yellows.

• Two pounds of apples make one 9-inch pie.

• Apple blossom is the state flower of Michigan.”

•           And many more….

When  I built my present home, I planted 4 types…and I picked the last ones yesterday after several days of frosty mornings…they were ripe…

At literally every home we have lived in, we planted fruit trees of some kind…some made it, most didn’t…High desert Nevada is brutal on fruit trees…plus, if the trees make it, you average a crop every 7 years, because of the cold springs….here in Idaho, I have had a crop 3 of 4 years…what a treat!…

Several years ago, I got to go to the Apple festival in Hood River, Oregon…such fun…so many kinds of apple to taste and choose from…many for local use and not sent to the regular supermarkets…

Both my husband and I were brought up with various fruits and orchards…me , in central and Northern California…he, in the Willamette valley of Oregon…we valued fresh fruit for our family as they grew…and would visit relatives gathering fruit along the way, wherever we happened to be…he even found abandoned orchards in the back country of Nevada which we would visit and harvest or elderberries,  chokecherries or service berries which grew in abundance in canyons near where we lived.

The first mention of fruit is in the first book of Genesis…

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 

And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. 

The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. 

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” 

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 1:11-13,29,2:9,15-17,3:1-6,12-13 

I have always seen pictures of the serpent handing  over a huge juicy apple to Eve…but it really doesn’t say apple, it could have been  another fruit equally as lush…my mind’s eye really congers up  Snow White with the witchy looking woman enticing her with a beautiful polished red apple…saying “Come, my dear…”…. As she finally succumbs to the temptation as Eve does with Adam…thus  the Fall….a consequence we still reap…

But, God, in His infinite love, prepared, planned a solution to that Fall, Jesus…the redeemer for the world through His life, death and resurrection…if only we accept that gift of salvation… we can be numbered in that harvest as well…not in the thousands as the types apples, but in the multitudes…people from every nation and tribe…around the world…across the ages of time…what a Harvest…gathering…

Thank YOU….

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16-17 

Steps….

 Steps….

Seeing those steps at the prison the other day brought back memories of visiting Ellis Island nine years ago…

We rode across the river in a boat, entered the buildings used for immigration into the United States…people would process there before entering the States…they were checked for illnesses, paperwork, whatever then sent through a door leading to two sets of steps…one leading to a new life in the USA …another leading, if they were found ill,

 to quarters where they would receive medical treatment, until they could continue healthy…

I stood at the bottom of those worn stairs, thinking of the thousands who had walked them, thrilled to start a new life or discouraged in illness…my ancestors had probably walked them, leaving for the farms in the Midwest, escaping the lives they left behind…there were piles of old trunks displayed some exactly like one I have that made those journeys…

Decisions made that effected generations…just like those steps at the penitentiary, worn by men and women who made decisions to commit crimes against others…

Reading through the book of Malachi, there are calls to decisions as well, steps to renewed obedience of the Israelites …they had chosen wrong paths in several areas of life and He was confronting them to bring them back…

He lists wrongs done and entreats all the change their ways…

-polluted offerings

-faithlessness 

-oppression 

-robbing God in tithes and offerings

Just thinking of those worn steps…how God desires that those worn steps lead over and over to Him…not to paths away from Him..that we find our paths continually with Him…in Him… 

Are my steps leading me to wrong offerings…faithlessness…robbing God  of my tithes and offerings…oppression…correct words…..lack of graciousness?

Malachi writes near the end of the book..

Then those who feared the Lord  spoke with one another. 

The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 

“They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. 

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. 

You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 3:16-4:3

God proclaims…

…….For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. “

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Malachi 1:14b,3:6 

What an end to the Old Testament….a challenge to which steps we take…thank YOU….

On that day…

 On that day….

Looking back over life, there are many days that I can pinpoint as huge… they were events I could say, “on that day” a particular thing happened, important, catastrophic, life changing, memorable…

Or look forward on a calendar, writing down, “Lord willing” this or that will take place “on that day “…marriages, births, deaths, world changing events, life changing events…small things, big things…

Finishing Zechariah,  the phase kept coming up, “on that day” over and over…so I had to “rabbit trail” it…it is used the most in that book, and the most  times in the prophets, both major and minor…

But looking at the whole Bible…these are a few examples….

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

Genesis 15:18

 On that day the Lord  exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.

Joshua 4:14 

And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 

So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”

Joshua 14:9,12

So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 

Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord!

Judges 4:23,5:1-2 

Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.

1 Chronicles 16:7 

On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,

Nehemiah 13:1 

On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. 

A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies.

Esther 8:1,13 

On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth.

Isaiah 24:21 

“On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel 29:21 

And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

Zechariah 14:9 

31 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back.

Luke 17:31

There are at least 18 times that the phase “on that day” is used in Zechariah…both good and bad things…

It was an interesting “rabbit trail”…God has a timeline, we are part of it…the whole world is a part of it…He has a plan…and that is comforting when we have doubts…He is in control through all of the days…

Thank YOU….

A week of contrasts….

 A week of contrasts…

Earlier this week, a tour of the old penitentiary was the activity for a day…rose gardens bloomed among the gray stone walls of captivity…the metal bars locking the small  dark cells…paint peeling away from the tons of concrete….hand hewn stones…a burned out chapel…”exercise areas”, history boards of numerous events, testimonies and timelines of various  captives held….creaking doors, isolation holes, fences, gardens, dairy barns, laundry and shower facilities, all open for a visitor’s perusal…

A sign saying , “if your were a resident here, tell us your story”…some went on the better lives while others did not…most were not

“lives well lived”…nor were the words “well done, good and faithful servant” used for most of these prisoners…

Leaving this dreary place was welcome…is was interesting, a story of lives, bit a place of darkness….

On the other hand, a contrast…attending a funeral a of man, freed from the prison of atheism and no God…who became, until his passing, a man sold out to his Lord…from darkness to light…from a captive to freedom in Christ, a shepherd to many…

Testimonies of this man, were those of love for others, a passion to win souls, history of doing good…loving son, husband, father, grandfather and friend…”living his life with the light of God always shining”…

His epitaph could read, “Well done, good and faithful servant”…

Finishing this memorial was a song lead by the servant himself through the help of video from past church services…”Great is Thy Faithfulness”…. A fitting end and beginning of his own story…and the lives he touched…

Thank YOU…

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:1-3 

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke 4:18-19

Song…. "Give Me Jesus"

In the morning, when I rise

In the morning, when I rise

In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus, 

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world,

Just give me Jesus.

When I am alone,

When I am alone, 

When I am alone,

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus, 

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world,

Just give me Jesus.

When I come to die,

When I come to die,

When I come to die,

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus, 

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world,

Just give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus, 

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world,

You can have all this world, 

You can have all this world, 

Just give me Jesus.

Armchair traveler…

Armchair traveler….

It is the first day of autumn…can’t believe this year has only three months left…summer was almost skipped…too smoky or too hot to walk outside, missed my “gardens along the way”…

I camped a couple of times, took two  one-week long trips, went to a local conference, not as many as usual…the world has changed…with one small exploding virus, world turmoil…not as many photos, comparatively speaking to past years…

Have found a few sites and I know there are many more…to travel from my armchair….

Several travel companies are adding videos to their sites to explore the world

National Geographic 

YouTube 

That the world may know …videos of the Holy Land

Wayne Stiles has a site for the Holy Land as well….

Samantha Browns places to love

Great Australian Railroads

Nature… explore.org

Places around our valleys and homes, museums, unique spots…

 Back alleys to see history of buildings…

The list goes on…

So instead I travelled through the Old Testament…from creation, a word spoke everything into being-quite the trip…to Abraham, Moses’,  Noah’s travels…through deserts, promised lands, wars, blessings, rise and fall of nation after nation, judgments, promises, drama, comforting, praises, curses….applications to current daily life from words written thousands of years ago…people, big and small, famous and behind the scenes…images of far away places, exotic and everyday life…ancient news/life that feels like today…

So much….most worthy of reading, delving into, traveling with, meditating upon…asking what does this have to do with now or what is God teaching me through these “travels”…

Are there favorite vistas along these travels? Each stopping spot has a view that is special…a time to sit and meditate…God’s 

Word is alive…and He speaks to each heart the lessons we need to hear…from the still small voice to the thunder and lightnings…reminds me of the vistas along the coast highways…pullouts that never cease to be amazing…smooth beaches to crashing waves, mesmerizing…contemplating…

Thank YOU for the trips of life…in Your Word…

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17