God Can Always Repair The Brokenness Of Our Lives

A few days ago, my cat, Osha, was climbing an ornamental angel and it broke. (In fact, this angel was featured in a recent blog entry.) Osha was trying to get at another ornament that was too high off the ground for him to get, so he was climbing the angel to get to it. The angel became unbalanced by Osha's weight and crashed to the ground in pieces. Here is a picture of the end results:

The angel is unrepairable and, therefore, my house is now free of this false image of an angel. (I wonder if Osha reads my blogs.)

Fortunately, when we fall to the ground, with our hearts broken, and our lives in pieces, we are never unrepairable. God promises us in His Word that He heals the brokenhearted and binds their wounds.

"He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds."

Psalm 147:3 (NIV)

My ornamental angel may be in the trash can, but God will never put us there.

Taking Care Of Creation Comes With God's Blessings

A few days ago, I took a picture of a large nest high up in a deciduous tree. In the summer time, nests are difficult to spot because of the green foliage, but in the fall and winter when the trees are bare, they are very predominant.

Did you know that, in the Bible, God promises to prosper and give long life to those who respect wildlife? God gives us an example by instructing us that if we happen to find a bird's nest in a tree or on the ground, and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest, we are not to take the mother, but let her go so she is free to procreate. If we obey God by taking care of His creation, He promises to bless us with a long, prosperous life.

"If you happen to find a bird's nest in a tree or on the ground,

and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest,

do not take the mother with the young.

You may take the young,

but let the mother go,

so that you may prosper and enjoy a long life."

Deuteronomy 22:6-7 (NLT)

God's providence is upon even the small creatures of this world, and we are to fear God by respecting all that He created.

God Will Show You Which Path To Take

Yesterday was very warm and sunny. I went for a long walk with my dog Barney and my new camera. A few ducks and geese have already arrived from their long trip south. Below are a few of the pictures I took.

The male and female Mallard ducks are really beautiful creatures. They allowed me get close to take a picture. The ponds are still frozen, so they're standing on the ice waiting for it to thaw.

Below is the first Canada goose I have seen since winter. It was walking alone across the ice. There must be more, but I didn't see any.

Just as God directs the paths of ducks and geese to fly south for the winter and north for the summer, so also does God direct our paths.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek His will in all you do,

and He will show you which path to take."

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

It is God's will that we do not depend on our own understanding, but trust in Him with all of our heart. If we seek His will in all that we do, He will show us which path to take. Ducks and geese instinctively know which path to take, and when to take it, because God is the One who directs them. Likewise, God's children know which path to take, and when to take it, because God is the One who directs us through the guidance of His Holy Spirit, who resides in us, and of His Word.

They Shook And Became Like Dead Men

In the Bible, every time an angel appears to a person or to a group of people, their first reaction is almost always great fear.

For example, the Bible says that when Jesus was resurrected from the dead, there was a violent earthquake because an angel of the Lord had come down from Heaven and had rolled back the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb where Jesus' body was laid. It was as if the stone were made of styrofoam! And when the angel had finished moving the stone, he sat upon it. (Wouldn't you have loved to have been there?) When the guards who stood outside of the tomb saw the angel sitting there, they were so afraid of him they shook and became like dead men.

"There was a violent earthquake,

 for an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven

and, going to the tomb,

rolled back the stone and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning,

and his clothes were white as snow.

The guards were so afraid of him

that they shook and became like dead men."

Matthew 28:2-4 (NIV)

Movies, Christmas cards, and children's books usually portray angels as feminine, beautiful, fluffy, sweet, and delicate creatures, and sometimes even as infants. This is far from the truth!

Angels are very frightening to look upon, extremely strong, and large in stature. Not only that, whenever an angel appears in the Bible, he is always depicted as male, not female. A more accurate picture of an angel would be one who is large, powerful, muscular, masculine, authoritative-looking, bold, and confident — in other words, a warrior-type figure.

Sometimes I wonder why we have strayed in the complete opposite direction from the true image of angels. Is it because we like to imagine God as a wimp with a bunch of singing cheerleaders instead of a host of warriors who await His command? I'm not sure.

Jesus Didn't Want To, But He Did

Here is another one of my favourite pictures from the Christian Children's Book I recently bought.

Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully man. The Bible says that while Jesus was on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions to His Heavenly Father with loud cries and tears for God to save Him from dying a tortuous and agonizing death.

"During the days of Jesus' life on earth,

He offered up prayers and petitions

with loud cries and tears

to the One who could save Him from death,

and He was heard because of His reverent submission."

Hebrew 5:7 (NIV)

Jesus didn't go to the Cross without fear and trepidation. He went to the Cross with love for us and obedience to His Father in Heaven. Jesus didn't want to suffer the extreme pain and agony of being beaten, tortured, and crucified. It terrified Him and at times when He would think about what laid ahead of Him, He would cry out loudly with tears to His Father to stop it from happening. His Father heard His Son's prayers, but didn't stop it, however, and when the day came for Jesus to die, Jesus never fought the soldiers, cursed the people, or even whispered a complaint. He endured all of the pain and suffering because He focused His thoughts on us. In His mind and heart, we were worth every strike of the whip and every nail that penetrated through Him. He loves us that much! Jesus didn't want to, but He did!

We Are Now Alive With Him And Have God's Power!

Recently I bought a beautifully illustrated children's book at the Christian Book store in the city. Here is one of the many pictures that really touched my heart.

The young donkey in the story was weak and physically disabled. so he was never ridden. However, Jesus chose this donkey to ride on in His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem because the donkey became strong and healthy when God's power flowed through him.

"Although He was crucified in weakness,

He now lives by the power of God.

We, too, are weak, just as Christ was,

but when we deal with you we will be alive with Him

and will have God's power."

2 Corinthians 13:4 (NLT)

Jesus Christ was crucified in weakness, but He was resurrected from the dead by the power of God. God's children are the same: we too are weak, but when we accepted Jesus Christ into our lives and hearts, we immediately became alive with Him. We now have within us the power of God, the same power that Jesus has. By this same power, we can do the same things as Jesus did when He walked upon the earth. We can lay hands on the sick, the demon possessed, the blind, and the crippled; when we do, the power of God that has been given to us will flow through us to heal, deliver, and restore people's physical and mental health. But we need to believe God's Word and pray with the authority and power that God has given us through the resurrection power of His Son, Jesus Christ.

30 Pieces Of Silver — Do You Have A Price?

"'What are you willing to give me

if I hand Him over to you?'

So they counted out for him thirty silver coins."

Matthew 26:15 (NIV)

When the name Judas Iscariot is mentioned, we immediately think, "Ooooh, he was the traitor who betrayed Jesus for only thirty pieces of silver." We don't think, "Oh! He was one of Jesus' twelve disciples who had the honour to be one of His students." Judas got to walk beside, watch, listen to, and serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords for several years. We don't remember the good Judas must have accomplished being a disciple and servant of Jesus. Instead, we remember only the bad he did.

What about today? How many movie stars, singers, professional athletes, presidents of the United States, or even pastors or TV evangelists come to mind who are remembered for their evilness or sin and not for any of the good things they might have accomplished during their life before their evil sin was committed and made public?

People have the tendency to remember the evil others do far more than they remember the good, even long after those who committed the terrible sin have died.

Yes, Judas was willing to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. But how many of us would also sell Jesus out for a price? It may not necessarily be for money. It could be the temptation to have sexual relations outside of marriage, to accept a marriage proposal from a non-Christian mate, to fulfil a dream that will cause you to go against the holiness of God, to take illicit drugs, or to go to wild, alcohol-fueled parties.

It's easy to condem people like Judas, but we all need to be constantly on guard to not fall into the trap of trading Jesus for other things, which would ruin our relationship with God and our reputation as one of His servants, and cause us to be only remembered by others for our evil sins.