Dragonflies
Psalm 117:1-2 to bring this beautiful Sabbath to a conclusion!
1 Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people of the earth.
2 For his unfailing love for us is powerful;
the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
The end of this past week we had a visitor poolside! To my understanding, there are over 5,000 species of dragonflies so to figure out which species is beyond my ability! Today’s picture is of one that I captured a few years ago on my phone. They may be a little creepy but they are also beautiful and fascinating!
A portion of the back of our property is a very low lying, swampy area, so we tend to have a lot of dragonflies and damselflies, as well. Dragonflies are plentiful around sources of water and the one we saw the other day was definitely attracted to the water in which we were swimming. But unfortunately, though I could find nothing to support my hypothesis, I would say that they need to be more careful around our pool.
On more than one occasion I have found a drowned dragonfly in the pool’s skimmer basket. I have surmised that they got a little too close to the water and got stuck when the water tension didn’t support them. I read somewhere that they aren’t ones to just land on the water but instead light on twigs or other vegetation to lay their eggs or eat their prey or what have you.
You would think that it would be a more regular occurrence but I’m glad that our great Creator wired their brains to avoid doing it – they are beautiful creatures and finding them drowned is distressing.
So, what about us? Why are we so drawn to things that will do us in if we get too close? I would say that God has wired our brains to avoid doing those things, too, but too often we succumb to the pull of temptation. Then we are stuck…and then we’re sunk!
Paul shared some encouraging words in his letter to the church in Corinth.
No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy]. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (AMP)
Lord Jesus, help us to go the way our brain is wired. We are wired to be drawn to You but sin has sure messed us up. May we rely on You to get us through all the many things that want to get us stuck and sink us! Amen.
June 30th, 2019, Sun, 9:32 pm
A One-two Punch
Today was an absolute gift, Father! Thank You for the blessing of a full day of time away with Karen – we had so much fun together! Also, we were about 40 minutes away from our home area and, of all things, I ran into 3 of the kids that were on my bus route! That was a blessing, too!
Mark 12:1-12 (<<click to read the passage)
I have never been one to enjoy boxing but the phrase “one-two punch” is one with which I am familiar. The yourdictionary.com definition in regards to boxing is: a sequence of two quick punches, especially a jab with the left hand followed at once by a hard blow with the right. But the second definition is: any sequence of two related actions for a specific result.
Well, I’ve never read of Jesus boxing in Scripture, but He most certainly gave the Jewish religious leaders a solid one-two punch! In yesterday’s passage, they asked Jesus a pointed question – not really wanting the truth but just seeking for another angle to get Him in trouble (which was never even a possibility!). And after backing them into a corner refused to answer their question – PUNCH ONE!
Then without giving them any chance to catch their breath, for it must have been knocked out of them, He launched into a parable about some evil tenant farmers – PUNCH TWO!
A quick explanation of who the characters in Jesus’ story represent. God is the man who planted the vineyard – which represents the nation of Israel. The tenant farmers are the religious leaders. The servants who are beaten and killed were the faithful priests and prophets whom God sent repeatedly to bring the nation back to Himself. The son, of course, is Jesus and the others would be the Gentiles. And with that, they were down for the count!
It’s one thing to just be after inflating your own ego and filling your own pockets but that wasn’t enough. Israel was God’s connection to saving the world but the religious leaders didn’t just hinder those efforts by standing in the way, they also killed anyone who did try to fulfill God’s will.
In short order, Jesus exposed them for who they were and what they were up to! He showed that they were out to take his life and that they would be held accountable for their evil deeds – their sins would be punished!
Lord Jesus, it is so easy to point fingers – to look with disgust at the antics and belligerence of the Jewish religious leaders. But so often we are no better than they. No matter how much we rationalize, we are often just as guilty stroking our own egos and seeking gain for ourselves whenever possible. To truly be Your children we must seek to bring glory to You and You alone. Guide and direct us, I pray. Amen.
June 27th, 2019, Thurs, 9:51 pm
Loving Darkness
Father, a couple of fingers on my right hand are still pretty numb from my cortisone shots earlier today. But I am grateful that You prompted me to get it and get them checked out. Hopefully getting in this early on will help keep things running smoothly for some time. Thank You, Father!
Mark 11:27-33 (<<click to read the passage)
Before we delve into this passage let me put this one out there,
18 Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him]. 19 This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. John 3:18-19 (AMP)
In this passage from John, many will realize that these verses follow the well-known verses of John 3:16-17 when He was speaking to Nicodemus.
In today’s passage, the religious leaders weren’t really looking for the truth – it was all about position and power. My study Bible* points to John 19 as summing up their attitude towards Him – I think the proceeding verse and the Amplified Bible flesh it out even more.
A note from the Amplified Bible also expands our understanding of the word “darkness” (in verse 19) as well, saying that it is “the world immersed in sin: all that stands in opposition to God and biblical truth.” And that fits the religious leaders to a “t”.
Lord Jesus, their problem, and the problem of many today is not a problem of the mind – of acceptance – but is a problem of the heart -a flat out refusal to accept. I would pray that more people would have a “Damascus experience” as did Saul of Tarsus. (Read the story in Acts 9:1-31.) He refused to accept the truth until forced to have a head-on collision with You. It was still ultimately His choice but I am surely grateful he made the right one!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
June 26th, 2019, Wed, 9:48 pm
Open-ended Wish List?
Quite a bit of running today, Father, but a pretty productive day! Thank You for the wisdom and patience You provide. Thank You for being ever present and Your protection as well!
Mark 11:21-26 (<<click to read the passage)
Many years ago, when I was in Jr. High School my class traveled to the Great Smokie Mountains for a multi-day trip. I’m ashamed to admit it but I was not very wise or considerate at that time – though I guess many in that age bracket struggle with similar things.
I had exhausted the funds given me for the trip and on the last morning, a friend’s mother generously offered to buy me breakfast. I was a growing boy so I jumped at the opportunity! First of all, I was unwise in the use of the resources I had been given and I was inconsiderate in the fact that instead of ordering a moderate meal, I went over the top a little too much.
In this portion of Mark 11, Jesus says in verse 24, “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” From our worldly perspective that sounds like an open-ended wish list granter! But…not so fast!
Read the same verse from the Amplified Bible,
“For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.”
That first bracketed phrase – and I’ve highlighted it – sets the record straight. My study Bible* points out that “Jesus, our example, prayed, “Everything is possible for you…Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
That passage? It is from Mark 14:36 where Jesus is agonizing in the garden, knowing that pain, suffering, and death are soon to be upon Him. The entire verse reads,
“Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
God is gracious and He is generous as well but we need to make sure we check ourselves and focus on God’s interests and not ours. May we pray as Jesus prayed not just in the difficult times but all the time. “Everything is possible for you…Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
June 25th, 2019, Tues, 9:30 pm
Fruit for My Labors
A psalm of praise to start our time together, Father!
1 I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day;
yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness. Psalm 145
Mark 11:12-14, 20-26 (<<click to read the passage)
This is one of those part 1 / part 2 scenarios. On His way to Jerusalem where Jesus would clear the Temple, He came upon a “fig tree in full leaf a little way off…” He was looking for fruit but found none. Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!”
The next day when the passed the fig tree it had “withered from the roots up”!
We’ll look at what Jesus had to say about faith next time around but this evening, I’d like to look a little closer at the fig tree. My Life Application Study Bible states, “This incident occurred early in the spring when the leaves were beginning to bud. The figs normally grow as the leaves fill out, but this tree, though full of leaves, had no figs. The tree looked promising but offered no fruit. Jesus’ harsh words to the fig tree could be applied to the nation of Israel. Fruitful in appearance only, Israel was spiritually barren.”
Lord Jesus, I would pray that we would not be like this fig tree. So many of us, myself included, are so busy…and often we are busy with the work of Your kingdom but do we have fruit to show for our efforts? I realize that often we plant the seed or maybe we water the seed that has already been planted. But sometimes I struggle because I don’t seem to see much fruit for my labors. I also realize that there may be fruit born, but it just may be out of my range of sight.
But Jesus, please don’t let me be spiritually barren. I, like many of Your followers, am a work in progress. I struggle with things just as everyone does but I would pray that Your resurrection power would work through me to bring more and more victory and less and less failure. May I be a harvester of fruit as well as a planter of seeds. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear. May I share in Your sensitivity to accomplish what You have called me to accomplish. Amen.
You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I [Jesus] say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe [white] for harvest. John 4:35
June 24th, 2019, Mon, 9:25 pm