Tag Archives: God

First Snow


Posted by Elizabeth Ivory

First Snow.
White and Lovely
Still mostly untouched,
Not virgin, but innocent…
Because it is Saturday morning.
“O Night Divine” by skilled fingers played
While snow still falls…
Sleeping on barren limbs of trees,
Softly fluttering down from God to Earth.

“God thunders wondrously with His voice;
He does great things that we cannot comprehend.
For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth’; and the shower of rain,
His heavy shower of rain, serves as a sign on everyone’s hand,
so that all whom He has made may know it.” Job 37:5-7 NRSV


Hebrews 1


Posted by Elizabeth Ivory

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father ” ? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
 In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.”
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
 To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1 NIV


Home Again


Posted by Elizabeth Ivory
Ah.
Home again.
I’ve been in Montana for a week, and I enjoyed the time I was given there.
Time for God and myself…and a few new challenges.
I met new friends.
Refocused and refreshed.
Yet, I am glad to be home again.
To see familiar sights and smell comforting smells.
To be with those I love and miss…
And at the same time wish I had been given more time to know 
Those I had begun to understand and love.
But Papa knows when we will meet again. 
If not on Earth, 
Then one day in Heaven.

 


http://glacierbiblecamp.org/index.php?s=gl&nid=102371
The pictures are from http://glacierbiblecamp.org/index.php?nid=55677&s=hm

The back/kitchen entrance for the lodge I stayed in with the worship team.

 

The front side of the lodge I stayed at last week.

The side entrance of the Tabernacle, where the worship and teaching sessions are held.


The Heavens


Posted by Elizabeth Ivory
Nearest star to Earth

Image credit and copyright: David Malin, UK Schmidt Telescope, DSS, AAO

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.
They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.”
Psalm 19:1-6 NLT

Have you ever wondered at the night sky?
Or marveled at the beauty of the sun at dawn?
For me, when these moments come I feel so small…
It seems so unreal sometimes to look up at the moon, and realize that it is a rock, 3D…miles and miles…and miles away. My mind sometimes rebels.
Light travels at 299,792,458 metres per second (186,000 miles per second).
Ponder a moment.
The nearest star to our sun, Proxima Centauri, is 4.24 light years away or 270,000 times removed from us than our sun! Light from the star that Proxima orbits, Alpha Centauri, takes 4.4 years to reach Earth.
Those are just the neighbors.
And everyone seems to think that God is so small…
God made everything around us to show who He is. His name is written on every star and grain of sand. Observe the world around yourself and ask, “Is the impossible truly possible with Him? Have I made God too small in my mind? Or is He really the Great I AM that He says He is?”

“You are beautiful beyond description, too marvelous for words.
Too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing ever seen or heard.
Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the depths of Your love?
You are beautiful beyond description,
Majesty, enthroned above.
And I stand, I stand in awe of You.
I stand, I stand in awe of You.
Holy God, to whom all praise is due,
I stand in awe of You.” –I Stand In Awe of You ©Hillsong United

Image of Proxima Centauri is from http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020715.html


Protector


Posted by Elizabeth Ivory

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
Isaiah 43:2 NRSV

“If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up.”
Psalm 27:10 NRSV

“The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.’”
Psalm 91:14-16 NLT

God is our protector
Even when we feel abandoned and alone…
On our own.
But He is ever there,
Holding us, wiping our tears.
If we let Him, He is ready to defend us.
Ready to destroy that which seeks to destroy us.
But in our distress we don’t understand why it sometimes takes a while
Before breakthrough comes…
Or why there is pain and sorrow…in this fallen world…
Yet He never leaves us.
Never.
His tears of empathy are like a Warrior’s battle cry…
Our foes run at the sound of His voice!
Like a mother both enraged and saddened by her children’s wounding,
So our God rises up and justice comes swiftly…
A well-timed and wisely plotted attack, made by a Master General…
In the end, we look up from our troubles and see Him before us,
Sword in hand,
And we suddenly realize that our tormentors are no more…
Such is His love for you and me.