Reflecting God’s Glory!

Thank the Lord for His Blessings…

… that He has showered on us!!

May God send us spiritual showers of blessing!! May His glory be seen on the earth.

“Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.” (Psalm 72:18-19, NKJ)

A glorious sunset the other day! I stopped along the side of the road on the way home from town. We’d had lots of rain over the past couple of weeks, and the paddocks were still covered with lakes of water. An added beauty for the sunset.

Golden Windows!

I’d often see this house on the way home from town, and loved how the windows would look like gold in the sunlight. And everytime I saw it, I would be reminded of a story about learning to be content with we have. The story goes like this:

A little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden and as she grew she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill – and this house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers.

And although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.

When she got to an age where she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother is she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she kept close to the house and didn’t wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.

As she dismounted her bike and lent it against the gate post, she focused on the path that lead to the house and then on the house itself and was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that stood derelict.

So sad she didn’t go any further and turned, heart broken as she remounted her bike. As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her, there across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden as the sun shone on her little home.

She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the golden house. Everything she dreamed was right there under her nose!

Let us appreciate all that God has given! Let’s count our blessings!! In God’s light, everything can seem golden!!

New from the Old.

Sometimes we like to hold on to old stuff … old stuff that no longer bears fruit. But God wants us let go so He can do a NEW thing in us. Let’s not limit Him.

“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
“Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.”
(Isaiah 43:18-19, ESV)

Ouch!! Pruning hurts!!

This is a shot of my once busy-blossom (grevillea) tree near our front step. This is the tree where I got many bee and lorikeet photos from.

Sadly, this past summer, our tree hasn’t had many blossoms, and the branches and limbs were looking pretty sad…

Time for a pruning!!

Now it has lots of new shoots coming up, and I’m looking forward to more great shots when it flowers again in a couple of months.

As I was pruning, I was reminded of the words of Jesus:

““I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”

(John 15:1-8, NLT)

My Sun and Shield

My Sun and Shield, originally uploaded by Jeanette’s Ozpix.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
(Psalm 84:11, NKJ)

Like a Tree Planted by the Waters…

Like a Tree Planted by the Waters…, originally uploaded by Jeanette’s Ozpix.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
(Jeremiah 17:7-8, NKJ)

I spotted this magnificent shot on my way home yesterday. I stopped the car in the middle of the bridge as I took the shot.

The New Birth…

The New Birth…, originally uploaded by Jeanette’s Ozpix.

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” (John 3:1-21, NLT)

Easter Blessings

Easter Blessings, originally uploaded by Jeanette’s Ozpix.

Have a blessed and happy Easter, my friend!!

May you discover even more how much God love you!

May His love set your heart on fire with passion for Him!!

I found this story on the web:

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THE STORY OF THE PASSION FLOWER

The Passion Flower has become a symbol of Christianity visually depicting the Crucifiction of Jesus Christ. Historically it has been associated with Jesuit priests in South America during the early 17th century. The legend of the Passion Flower originated with a Mexican Augustinian Friar, Emmanuel de Villegas, who reported it in Europe in the year 1610. It includes the following:

* The Spiraled Tendrils — The Lash of Christ’s Scourging

* The Central Flower Column — The Pillar of the Scourging

* The 72 Radial Filaments — The Crown of Thorns

* The Top 3 Stigma — The 3 Nails

* The Lower 5 Anthers — The 5 Wounds

* The Leaves — The Head of the Centurian’s Spear

* The Red Stains — Christ’s Blood Drops

* The Round Fruit — The World Christ Came to Save

The flower is said to be clearly designed by the Creator to represent Christ’s passion. It opens and closes both revealing and hiding it’s mystery. The edible fruit (some varieties) is sweet and the plant has medicinal qualities. The Star of Bethlehem (half-opened flower), the 30 pieces of silver (round spots underneath the leaves), the vinegar sponge (the style), the Apostles (10 petals i.e. Twelve less Judas who betrayed Christ and Peter who denied Him) and the burial spices (fragrance) can also be found.

www.radiantlifekeithville.com/legend.html

The Passion Flower, originally uploaded by Jeanette’s Ozpix.

Notice in this pic:

* The 72 Radial Filaments — The Crown of Thorns

* The Top 3 Stigma — The 3 Nails

* The Lower 5 Anthers — The 5 Wounds

* The Red Stains (but it is purple here) — Christ’s Blood Drops

In the Evening…

Evening, originally uploaded by Jeanette’s Ozpix.

You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
(Psalm 63:5-7, NLT)

Wee Thing!!

Wee Thing!!, originally uploaded by Jeanette’s Ozpix.

We found this this tiny froggy in our bathroom the other day!! Sweet thing!! The girls weren’t too impressed.