First Snow

The morning after Thanksgiving was marked by our first snow of the season. The weathermen had forecasted it, but I didn't really believe them. I was therefore quite surprised to wake up to a world washed white in snow. Surprised, and reminded . . .

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool" (Isaiah 1:18). 

Thanksgiving day was a gray, muddy day. It rained the entire day, and much of the day before. It was muddy. It was dirty. It was cloudy and dark. Not a pretty sight.

But when we woke up the next morning, the scene had changed: everything was sparkling white, fresh, and clean. What a picture! What a testimony creation gives to the glorious reality of the Gospel! What a portrayal of the transforming power of the cross of Jesus Christ!

This is the story of everyone who believes in Jesus Christ, accepting His sacrifice for sin. The dirt and grunge is removed, and all that remains is purity and holiness. That is the difference between the work of God and the work of the snow: snow just covers the dirt; God's grace obliterates it.

"I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins" (Isaiah 43:25). 

Freedom

"Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:34-36).

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Galatians 5:13). 

Thoughts

Our thoughts are with God, as Noah's dove was in the ark, kept up to Him a little against their inclinations and desire; but when once they can break away, they fly up and down over all the world to see (if it were possible) to find any rest out of God; but when we find that we seek in vain, and that the world is all covered with the waters of instable vanity and bitter vexation, and that there is no rest for the sole of our foot, or for the foot of our soul, no wonder then if we return to the ark again. 

(Baxter, Richard. The Saints' Everlasting Rest. 1650)

I have found Baxter's insight into the nature of human thoughts very accurate. Flitting about in search of a place to land is certainly the tendency of my mind. It often seems like I think about everything but that which I most need to think about: my God and His steadfast love. Scripture is very clear on the kinds of things we need to think about: "On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works, I will meditate" (Psalm 145:5. Also see Psalm 1, Philippians 4:8).

Like the dove in the photograph above, we must learn to content ourselves on the only Branch that can satisfy us. We may think that there's a better perch out there somewhere, but there isn't. There will be no rest for our minds until we settle upon that most wonderful Perch: God Himself.

Waiting

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust--there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.

For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.

Lamentations 3:25-32 

Waiting through the storms of life is never easy. But it is always worth it. So I'll join these birds and wait . . .

Blessing

I have just been blessed with a new camera. My 2 1/2-year-old camera has been growing gradually noisier. It served its purpose well, and remains a faithful piece of equipment--just a bit outdated.

It's not a DSLR. That's a bit beyond my interest and my budget :) But it is a top-of-the-line super-zoom, with an optical zoom of 35x (35mm equiv. = 840mm, which would be a very large DSLR lens). Here are some photograph and video examples of what this looks like:

I am extremely thankful for this new camera. By my rights, I deserve nothing but eternal wrath. Yet by God's grace through Jesus Christ, I receive not condemnation (Romans 8:1), but eternal spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3). Blessing is not deserved; it is given. What's neat is that, even though material blessing is not necessarily promised us (unlike spiritual blessing), God still gives it. Let us take care that these blessings do not distract us from the Blesser! He blesses us not that we might become wrapped up in the blessing, but that we might become wrapped up in Him.

Campaigning

The other day my brother and I were out getting some photographs. We were just about done, but before going back inside, we spotted these two (though there was a third) deer off in the distance.

You can't see them very well, for they were pretty far in the distance; but we saw them and they saw us. Immediately Tyler and I began to strategize. Prior to this campaign, I would have considered that Tyler and I were pretty reasonable strategists. We've had some practice in military tactics, but this was something else.

The video below demonstrates what happened. My brother and I split up to attempted to flank the deer. If the deer saw one of us, they (ideally) would run toward the other. We figured that the chances were favorable that at least one of us would be able to photograph them up close.

We were wrong. We flanked them, and I closed in, but then they started moving. So I tried to get around them and push them back to Tyler--but he had come up to my side! And the deer were gone. We had no idea where they went. They simply disappeared. We plunged into where we had seen them with our final hopes, but to no avail. They were gone.

The below video demonstrates what we think happened.

So much for military genius, huh. Don't guess I've got a future with the army (which I'm sure is just fine with Mom!) Still, I was astounded by the simple intelligence of these deer. They stayed put when they saw themselves being flanked, then backtracked and somehow escaped unnoticed. They acted upon observation rather than reason, which turned to their benefit.

It is truly amazing, the intelligent mind God built into these deer. By simple cunning they outwitted our attempts to outwit them.  God is such a creative Designer! He gave these beautiful animals such a defensive capacity. He knew they would be hunted, by animals and by men, and therefore engineered instincts of survival within them. No, they don't always succeed. But so far they have managed to evade me! Incredible creatures are deer. One day I'll actually get a good picture of one. But I'm going to have to get smarter!

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?" For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

Remembering

Well, summer's over and fall is upon us. In fact, fall is already about halfway through! Most of the leaves are down, temperatures are lowering, first flurries are falling . . . this is not my favorite season :) 

Already, though it's only been a month or two, I have forgotten what a green forest looks like, or what a warm day feels like, or what an evening thunderstorm sounds like. Already the experiences of summer fade away into mere memory, which isn't quite the same.

It is so easy to forget that which lies outside of our present experience. What we do not feel we can only remember. How often do we feel this when we go through trials and difficulties!

Things get tough, the road gets rough, and what do we do? Too easily we forget God, the One we most need to remember!

Psalm 105:4-5:

"Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He uttered." 

This is how we are to deal with difficulty: remember God! When problems arise and our strength fails, we must remember Him who's strength never fails. The trouble is that this is more often easier said than done. It's like fall: when we get into tribulation, all our past experience fades into memory. If we do not feel God's presence, we find it difficult to remember Him--and turn to Him!

But the psalm does not end here, in fact, the charge to remember God is not even the focus of the psalm:

"He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the word that He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that He made with Abraham, His sworn promise to Isaac . . ." (Psalm 105:7-9).

"For He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham, His servant" (Psalm 105:42).

This psalm is about something beyond the necessity to remember God. It is about God's remembrance of us! He remembers us! That is a glorious truth to cling to when times are tough. A glorious truth indeed!

When things are hard at home, at work, at school, or wherever, remember that God remembers you. Believe that He remembers You. He does!

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:10-11).