God Made the Heavens

Bless the LORD, O my soul, O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain. Psalm 104:1-2

Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind. Psalm 104:3

He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. Psalm 104:19

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers, that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22

Not only do we need to look at Psalms 104:1-9 to see that God made the world, He went even higher as he made the heavens, the sun for light, the moon, the clouds, and the wind. He gave us those as a place to dwell in.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, thank you for the space you created for us to live in. You even gave us clouds to give us rain to water our crops and sun to make them grow so we can have food. Thank you for the farmers that work with the sun, the land, the wind, and the rain to provide food for us. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Friends

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Once I had a friend who could play Scrabble while she stitched.  She could also answer questions while doing the two of these things. I had another friend who insisted that I join her in water aerobics. In order to make sure I went, she was at my house each morning at 10 minutes of 8. I made a lot of friends and continue to go 21 years later. I also had a friend who would call and give me all the news of our other friends, never mentioning that her feet and legs were so swollen that she could hardly walk. She suffered from congestive heart failure.

Another friend lived to be 101. At 87, when she told me she was having her shoulder replaced, I questioned the wisdom of that surgery. She replied, if I don't have it replaced, I won't be able to work in my roses, and besides my mother lived to be 103. End of discussion.

I had a mother who "loved" the one she was near, but tried to be fair in her treatment of all of us. I have many friends who mourn the loss of a spouse or child but still manage to live full lives giving to many around them. 

All of these friends and family have one thing in common. They love the Lord with all their heart and certainly give of that love to all and each of their friends. Who are your friends? Are they near to you or far away? Do you speak or interact with them each day or only once in a while? Have you made a new friend? How and when did you do that?  Do you even want to?  Are you needed by someone or do you need someone?

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to think of others, to reach out to ones around us.  Remember there is no greater love than this!  Amen

Carolyn Olsen

God Made the World

God saw all that he had made and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Genesis 1:31

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. Exodus 20:11

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2:3

We have seen a lot of changes in our world. The computers, the microwave ovens and many more items were not available when the seniors of today were children. Even television was invented during my lifetime. Cell phones became popular long after television.

Yet I am amazed that God made the world and man in such a way that we could continue to discover what he put before us. There will be more new items each year. Have you thought about the fact that God made the week which the world still uses in the year 2021? And Sunday is a holy day when Christians worship. When I was a child, most stores were closed on Sunday.

It is also interesting to me that the world counted downwards before Jesus, the Son of God, was birthed by Mary. Since that time the world counts upwards from 1 to 2021. Jesus only lived for about 30 years but changed the world.

I can see God’s part in creation when I see a seed I plant turn into an exquisite flower. Look at and admire the leaves, the petals and the stamen. Then think how he makes humans with unbelievable brains.

Prayer: Dear father in heaven, thank you that we can discover new things about the world you created. Thank you for keeping the days and the nights the same. Thank you for keeping the seasons the same. Thank you for giving us the same number of hours in each day. We can trust you. Amen  

Sandra Hilsabeck                              

 

A New Perspective

And God said, “Behold I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.”  And it was so. Genesis 1:29-30  

For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant. Job 14:7

Each year our family looks forward to gathering for a week in Minnesota in the Canadian Boundary Waters. The historical camp where we stay features log and stone cabins, a big clear lake, fishing, boating, beautiful sunsets, and all the glory of the Superior National Forest. There are no outside world distractions. But this summer was different. The area was in severe drought. It had been a dry winter with little snowfall, the huge lake was down at least 2 feet, and a cloudy haze fell over the waters. There were 143 forest fires burning in Minnesota and Canada. Several were close to our camp. While in town, we passed numerous firefighting groups from the US Forest Service and neighboring states. We watched as helicopters and pontoon planes flew over our lake on fire scouting missions as well as hauling water to dump on the fires. There were no pretty sunsets, no evening campfires, the air left an acid taste in your mouth, and those with allergies suffered. A normal deep and cold lake felt warm, and the fishing was poor. I could not help but think that global warming was striking this beautiful place and that it would continue to dominate it for the future unless things changed.

In Genesis, God gives us all of nature. It is up to us to preserve it. Think about the trees, the birds, the lakes, the wildlife, the wildflowers and the beauty of the earth. Pray for those brave firefighters who willingly work to save the forests and the towns. Check the internet for “Ten ways you can fight global warming”. Consider the ways you can change to help save our planet.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you have given us more than we can ever thank you for. Help us as we try to turn things around and return the glory of nature before it is too late. Give us the strength to change, to challenge our ways of thinking about our resources, and to glorify you in everything we do. Amen

Nancy Hall

God Poured It

Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire; Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou has founded for them. Psalm 104:1-9

In this age of fear, I take comfort in knowing God controls where the water goes, and He promised to never flood the earth again after the great flood of Noah’s time.

This is condensed of a story in the new June/July 2021 copy of Guideposts called Childlike Wonder. The mother is busy running errands by Lake Michigan. Something made her glance in the rearview mirror; she heard her younger daughter who was pointing at the lake say, “Who poured that?” The water went as far as one could see. The mother said, “God did.” They didn’t ask any more questions. The story says, “I felt a wave of satisfaction and assurance, and, yes, even pride. Somehow in all the messiness of everyday life, I had instilled in my girls enough faith to understand the simple response, ‘God did,’. I silently gave thanks for the reminder to slow down and take in the wonders all around me—from the Great Lake to my growing girls.”

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, please remind us every day that you made the earth for us to live on and that you are in control. You keep the sun shining and the night coming. You keep the seasons on schedule. You keep the temperature at the level we need it to live and are listening to our prayers. If we need to be more protective of Your world, please guide us to do our part in conjunction with Your mighty hand. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Words from Matthew 8

 

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Matthew 8:34-37

A God Who Watches Over Us

May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4

Vacation. With family. And extended family. And friends we only see once a year.  Our annual trek to the Northwoods with our boat has had its share of bad luck; a great uncle diagnosed with terminal cancer, a dog bite, a broken elbow, a broken foot, a great uncle diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gering’s disease), a terrible storm, a broken windshield, a damaged boat, a torn hamstring, another broken foot.  Even though we experience these misadventures we always go back for time with family and to disconnect from all the electronic interference in our lives. 

This year we had a rash of bad luck with tires. We had a low tire on the car on the way up, which developed into an unrepairable flat that had to be replaced in a different town 2 hours away. Some of the people that we were with felt bad that we had to experience these things.  But I felt lucky. Our car tire didn’t have to be replaced until after we arrived. We drove through several storms on the way up and we didn’t blow a tire or end up stranded on the side of the road. Even though we were inconvenienced we were safe and we made it to the lake. Waiting for AAA in a safe place with a book and nice cup of coffee beats being stranded among semi’s barreling down the road at 80 miles an hour every day of the week. 

On the way home we stopped for lunch and noticed that one of our boat trailer tires looked funny, on further examination we had lost at least 6 of the 10 layers of tread on the tire. We called AAA again. Even though we were frustrated (and, ok, annoyed) that it took them 3 times as long as they estimated to arrive, again, we were safe. We noticed the issue when we stopped at a safe place. We had access to air conditioning, bathrooms and an ice cream cone (if we needed one).  We weren’t stuck along the road, we didn’t blow a tire, our vehicle and boat were not damaged and we were not injured in anyway.

As we experienced these inconveniences I had to thank God for watching over and blessing us.  Even though this wasn’t ideal the other scenarios were so much worse.  We needed a break and we love where we go. These problems along the way didn’t destroy our vacation. Didn’t harm our family. Didn’t irreparably damage material possessions.  We were able to get what we needed, with a few unexpected delays along the way. 

Prayer: God who watches over and protects us, thank you for recognizing my hearts desires, thank you for protecting us on our journey. Amen   

Christi Moock