I am in Vienna-Austria, waiting for my dad and sister to arrive, so I have some time to myself. I was thinking about life these last few days and I have really been bored with life. To be honest, if I had the choice of being here or back at school I would choose the little, dinky town of Schladming (where school was). Here I have been living the “good life,†I have a hotel room all to myself with a nice view and I have a public transit pass to get me anywhere in this beautiful city. Yet compared to experiencing God, it does not even come close. I say this because I feel that too few Christians truly experience Christ. They go to Church on Sunday, going through the motions, and then live life pretty normally throughout the week. Life with Christ is an adventure and… read more
Inspiration
I love shooting snowscapes, beautiful light just seems to create itself as it leaps and bounces off the snow and trees. Snow is a such fascinating phenomenon of nature, something that never ceases to amaze me. The way it gently floats to the earth, yet over relatively short periods of time can cover whole cities and towns with many feet of its airy lightness.The Bible has much to say about snow. Here are a few of my favorites. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Psalm 148:7-8 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… read more
The past few days, something keeps coming to me. Eyes being opened, I thought of the eagle, the eagle has much wisdom. Much discernment and sees things other animals cannot see. The Eagle can see from great heights and depths below. So too can we, when the Lord reveals the spiritual things to His people. Something with the eyes being opened for those who wish to see, they shall see even more. Those who see more, shall receive the greater. For he who is faithful with the little, the Lord shall indeed bless with the much, because His word speaks divine truth. The Lord has been laying or placing deeply upon my heart the book of Daniel and the 70th week. I don’t watch tv/news, but I heard about the cyclone in England-level 5. I am again reminded of eyes being opened in these last days, to those whom are… read more
I found myself being still before the Lord today, seeking His face about something that took place and I was reminded of this scripture today as I sat still before the Lord. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” Amos 4:6 O my! The Bible is filled with so much, so much to learn, to inquire of the Lord and so much revealed to us in His word. My people perish and are destroyed, wow, those words alone are a mighty mouthful. They were once His people yet they are destroyed. Destroyed and perish without the knowledge of the Living God. The True knowledge of Who He is, God. A Mighty and Sovereign God, we are all called to serve in this earth. The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land–not a famine of food or a thirst for water,… read more
I read Acts 1 and 2 in my devotions recently and was struck by the timing of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Read with me in Acts 2:1-4. What struck me was the timing. Why now? The reason that struck a chord with me were the words right before the Holy Spirit suddenly came. Namely the words, “They were all together in one place.” This strikes me because they were called to be witnesses for Jesus across to the ends of the whole earth. How were they going to do this if they were all together in one place? When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one… read more
Last year was tough and this year is shaping up to be about the same, while I can’t speak to your specific need or heart ache, I know that there is a higher place to tread than this hard world we live in. Much like the deer in this image, our spirits are gaunt, barely able to survive on the scarce grass and leaves left over from the long, dry, and hot summer. Only the strongest have survived and they are weakening. What hope is there under such an aggressive hand as that of our God? So often it seems pressed upon us, it seems to crush us, even to death. Where is hope, where is strength, where is the green grass for our souls to feast upon? Truly the feast does not lie in the valley, but upon the mountain, on the heights, but alas, for how shall we… read more
We should remember our Creator, looking to Him for grace and strength. Not just in time of need, but we should see it as always a time of need, especially for Him and the things of Him and for Him, through the good and through the sad. Daily seeking Him for His will in our lives, with our whole heart and all that is within us, to make His desires become ours. We are not our own, we have no right to ourselves. God made you and I; He is our Creator. He made us that we may be happy, but we can be happy only in him. And as He created us, so Jesus preserves you and I. The Lord feeds, clothes, upholds us. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find… read more
Never forget who you are or what you’re called to. We are saved to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Think on this! Its stunning and terrifying! We are lights in a dark world. We are going to be offensive; seen as evildoers. Our actions may look awkward and silly, yet we are not called to popularity or to a better life here on earth. Indeed, we are called to suffer and we must fulfill our calling, though it brings pain from people, it reaps rewards from the Almighty, all knowing, awesome God. Live not as the world does, following their way of life and passions of the flesh, but rather living as honorable children of the King, ransomed and forgiven from all your sins, living as a sacrifice to show to the world how glorious God is. But you are… read more
We’re going to have to take this section slow, one awesome statement at a time. After Jesus had confronted the devil coming from the mouth of Peter he speaks these words in regard to setting our minds on the things of God. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.†Wow, and ouch and YES! I so want to come after Jesus, I want to share in his power, in his life, in his glory, but to do so I must die. I must be sacrificed, brutally, for the cross is no symbol at this point, it is a guillotine, a gallows, an axe used to whop off criminals heads. “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will… read more
In this world you will have tribulation, take it seriously. For just one second take only that. Jesus just promised all of His followers tribulation. That means we are going to get hurt, in our heart and in our life, that hurts. So back to the point, what is it that will bring peace? Why would Jesus promise tribulation? He says first that He has said these things.. what things? He has said that he will leave, die, and they will lament. Yet, he will return in a little while and they will rejoice and no one will be able to take away their joy. Even though they have trial and tribulation, their joy will be indestructible. Wow, is my joy like that? “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome… read more
This is without a doubt, one of the the most stunning sunsets I have ever had the chance to photograph. It only lasted about 5 minutes and if my brother Sam hadn’t grabbed me I never would have shot it. It was a great reminder to me of the shortness of the life and the great need to make the most of it, not living for myself in the futility of my mind, making idols of my possessions, but rather to prepare for an eternity in heaven. Our condition and status in heaven is greatly measured by what we do here on earth and it is worth it to lose this short life of fleeting pleasure in order that I might gain a better resurrection and standing in heaven. We are not saved by what we do, nor is anyone more saved by any works we can do, but there… read more
Facing hard times is something that most people around the world can easily relate with today, gas price is sky high, major companies and banks are failing, the world economy is on a downhill slide and the ripple effects go on and on. How will we respond when problems come to our doorstep? Our response can either be a way to grow in a positive direction or cause us to crumble. Depending on how hard you fall, it may be harder for you to look up; some may go to the extreme response of cursing God! We can take a tip from Job, he was a righteous man, but he had the worst economic crisis in his life, he lost it all, land, house, health, family and friends, basically he lost everything. In Job 23:2-12, Job hoped that he would see God working out his circumstances, but God seemed to… read more
If I could tell you one last thing before I died…, I would tell you about how I live life to the fullest. I would tell you about the great joy I have in my heart. I would tell you about a man who came from Heaven to earth, named Jesus. He came to give us life to the fullest. He told of two paths, one path is wide and there are many people on it. The other is narrow and few travel on it, yet it leads to life in the fullest. The wide path is easy to travel on; it is the path we are on from birth, our default path. The narrow path is a path that you have to choose to walk, it is not always easy, but it is the most rewarding. There is no middle path and each path leads to different places. The… read more
I want to explain a portion of scripture that some may find confusing. I had a friend (who isn’t a Christian) ask me about the Bible talking about it being wrong to have wealth. Jesus does mention that the poor are blessed and that the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. What we must understand is that religious people at that time thought that if you had wealth then you were blessed by God. That meant that anyone who did not have wealth would have been considered unholy and not someone who would be likely going to Heaven. We must also understand that when Jesus came, He really shook up the apple cart. He did not come to hang out with religious people and promote what they were doing. He came to show them how they should be truly living their lives, He came to reach out to those in need…. read more
Jesus said, I came to give life, not death, a life in Him. When we get our eyes off the flaws and set them on the real, true beauty, the face of Jesus, we begin to see in a whole new light. When we read His word, we begin to see another image, a reflection of Jesus- his precious Word begins to shine in our hearts. New life begins anew and a seed is planted, and another…. I can see beauty in a stick, yes… in the simplest of things. My mind and thoughts have been renewed, changed, because the word of God has renewed my wrong/dark thinking into a right/light/godly thinking…. I don’t see all the flaws in self, others, and things in this life as I once did. We know this world is passing away and will, however the Lord said, HIS Word shall never pass away!!! For… read more
This is a passion flower and quite frankly, it’s probably the most amazing flower I have ever seen. However, why add another flower picture to the plethora of  flower pictures out their? Because, this flower has a little story to tell. He knows he won’t last long, his time is short, so he was made bright and beautiful, so that he might catch my attention; which he obviously did, in order that I might preserve its story for all to read and learn from, as I have. The story he told was this. “Don’t waste your life!” Our life, though prolonged a bit longer then this flower, will eventually waste away like a vapor, and what will be left? Money? Photos? Friends? Broken dreams? Unconfessed sin? Time isn’t free, it will cost you your life, therefore spend every second wisely. Blow yourself out doing your very best, smile often, laugh… read more
Amazing! Think on these concepts, on these fantastic truths. Our days are like grass, we flourish like a flower of the field and then are gone. We flourish! We were meant to flourish, to grow, to enjoy life, to enjoy the glory of God, however short our lives may be, we were meant for so much more then we are led to believe. Yet, we do pass away, we die and our place remembers us no more and life goes on for those we leave behind. “But…” O for the many wonderful things that come after the “buts” of the Bible, it is a study I highly recommend doing sometime. “The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear him.” Wow, that’s an awfully long time, way longer than my life, or your life, or all of everyone’s lives added together end to end…. read more
Some people say that it is contradictory that Christians claim to be free, Â when they are required to follow the guidelines in the Bible. What you need to understand is that we are all slaves to sin when we enter this world. It use to be perfect, our relationship with God, but when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, sin entered and we lost that perfect relationship with God. Having a relationship with Jesus frees us from the slavery to sin that we are born into and opens up a means of connection with God. Whether you like it or not, we are all born sinful and the only way to be free is to accept the one who defeated sin, Jesus. If you don’t believe me, that we are all naturally sinful, look at children; they naturally do things that are wrong and… read more
Jesus was being drawn by the Father to depart from the crowds, to go away and to pray and to be with the Father, God. I’ve often pondered about this, how Jesus had to refresh himself at the feet of His Father. He had to be strengthened to receive from the Heavenly Father so that He could continue onward. We, God’s people need to do the same, for Jesus set the example for all of us. We too, also need to go to the feet of Jesus and to receive from him and to be still as even Mary was still. She partook of the good and received from Jesus. Their truly are too many people laboring by their own works (of the flesh) and we all have been guilty of this. When we cease from our own labors and allow the Lord to lead, guide and speak we truly walk… read more
The Lord fills us with His word, the more we drink of the Living waters and eat of His word, the more in the likeness of His image we become…. for it is written to all who would hear and are thirsty and do hunger after Christ Jesus: Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. – Isaiah 55:1 You see, the invitation here is made to all. ‘Everyone’ is entreated to come. It is not offered to the elect only, or to the rich, the great, the noble; but it is made to all. He came for us, the sinner. Our best is filthy rags. It is impossible to conceive of language more universal in its nature than this, and while this stands in the Word of… read more
The impact of Facebook is far reaching, even surpassing the developers expectations, it has infiltrated the social media scene like a storm. When Facebook launched in 2004 it was strictly for college students to connect with each other and share information with friends. Facebook went public, but hardly anyone knew about it and it was competing heavily with other social networks like Myspace, today many people are connecting and meeting up with friends and family. Businesses are now using Facebook as a means to increase exposure with target advertising, increase traffic to their websites and develop credibility between customers and their brands. So how has Facebook impacted the Church? First we must clarify what “the Church” is. Most people understand the Church as a building but, the word “Church†comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is defined as “an assembly†or “called-out ones.†The root meaning of “Church†is… read more
Growing up, in my own strength, tall and high, fighting, struggling, wanting. Then cut down, short and flat, just like all the others around me. What am I to do? I want to be tall, like those trees. How’d they do it? So I grow again, taking in my nutrients from the world, taking it all in, just like everybody else. So we grow, big and tall, and I begin to think, “maybe, this time, I will grow tall like those trees”. Then, from behind, comes the sound, the whir, the growl, the blade, cutting all my competition down flat. It passes by, and still I stand, tall and proud. But O, horror, here it comes again, cutting, biting, throwing a cloud of my neighbors to the left of me. I am short and squat once again, and so I fall in despair I crumble, for I will never be… read more
The other day I was talking to a co-worker about faith and she asked the question what if nothing of what I believe is real? And to be honest, if that were the case, I would have no regrets. I lived an awesome, healthy life doing my best to make the world around me a better place. I think the question that people should really be worried about is what if Christianity is true? What if there is a God who is going to judge us when we die? It says in the Bible that our time on earth will seem like a blink of an eye compared to eternity. Is it really worth living life exactly how we want to for maybe 80 years or so and then spend the rest of eternity paying for it? However, it is so much more than a get out of jail free… read more
The gap is massive, the fall horrendous. We stand here, He stands there. We need to cross. We stand alone, about to fall. He stands there, tall and sure on the mountain. We need to cross. We are rooted, drinking up a dying stream. He needs no sustenance for He Himself is Life. We need to cross. How shall we cross, and where is the bridge for such a chasm? We cannot jump for we would fall. we cannot swim for we would drown. We cannot fly for we have no wings. We need to cross but we are rooted, dead and dying with no hope inside and no hope around. We need to cross but we are darkness and He is light so how could we cross? He must come and take us there, yet He must take us on a cross, He must pay the price for such… read more