Beauty Matters!

 

 

This Monday morning I want to urge you to find soul strength in beauty. Take some time to appreciate beauty – in music, in the natural world, in the soul of another, in a sunset, in a photograph, a work of art, or a flower.  Stop to think about it, appreciate it, and to thank God for the gift of beauty in the world in which you live. 

I saw a kind of ‘beauty’ yesterday during a funeral service. The US Marine honor guard played taps from the back of the church and the crowd rose to their feet. Then I noticed the shaking shoulders of some vets moved by the simple song and symbolism. Most beautiful, though, were the arms of those standing near those men that encircled them with an embrace.

 

I’m a country boy and love the beauty of back roads, winding lanes, sunlight streaming through the trees, a laughing brook.  While I wrote these words this morning, I looked out on my yard to see twins fawns, still spotted, running through the grass playfully.

What beauty renews you?

 

David writes of about an important aspect of our worship. He says, "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." (Psalm 27:4, NIV)  

Christian, do you love God’s Presence? Do you take time to see His beauty? I am afraid that our noisy hurried ‘worship’ experiences in modern buildings stripped of symbols makes us prone to miss the beauty that is found near His heart. He is always with us, near us, but I believe there can be a special beauty found in prayer pauses, in shared Communion, in looking on the cross and altar as we open our minds and hearts to God’s Presence.

 

When we learn to spend some time each day in quiet reflection, contemplating the Person of God, one of the benefits is the reminder that our lives are not just about eating, sleeping, and going to work. We remember we are Children of God, eternal beings destined for His home - what a beautiful thought.  Paul reminds us that contemplating the beauty of Jesus has a direct impact on our lives. It’s not just dreaming or escapism.  

Listen to the Spirit’s wisdom. "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:17-18, NIV)  Contemplating His beauty allows us to share in His ‘glory,’ His bright radiance, and we are changed, ‘with ever increasing glory,’ made brighter and brighter as we stand in the Light.

Do not think that I am incapable of seeing the ugly.  Sin mars God’s world. The Creation full of beauty can turn violent. Gardens quickly degenerate into weedy messes when left untended. The same human being that can love is capable of hatred. Even art becomes an expression of chaos when God’s order is removed from it. Much art produced by post-moderns, people who see the world as a product of chance and a place without over-arching purpose, is chaotic, full of noise and fury, and harsh - because that is the place from which the artist begins his work!

But, this I know, in Christ Jesus God is reconciling the world to Himself. His desire is not just to make it possible for us to go to Heaven someday, though that is wonderfully true. He desires to ‘make all things new,’ to restore beauty in us and through us in this world. 

Has life overwhelmed you, problems become many while resources have diminished?

Take a beauty break!   Go ponder the works of God in Creation. Or, listen to some beautiful music. Or, visit a garden. Or, enjoy a work of art... and do it with a prayerful invitation to the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to embrace you, to come close and to remind you that despite the destruction and chaos that the Evil One wreaks on this world, that He is the King of Kings, the Author of Life, the One who remains the Source of Hope, Life, and Beauty.

 

Here's a word from the Word to ponder today:  

"Let Your work appear to Your servants,

And Your glory to their children.

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,

And establish the work of our hands for us;

Yes, establish the work of our hands." (Psalm 90:16-17, NKJV)

____________

 

How Great Thou Art

 

O Lord my God

When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds

Thy hands have made

I see the stars

I hear the rolling thunder

Thy pow'r thru'out

The universe displayed

 

Then sings my soul

My Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art,How great Thou art

Then sings my soul

My Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, How great Thou art

 

And when I think

That God His Son not sparing

Sent Him to die

I scarce can take it in

That on the cross

My burden gladly bearing

He bled and died

To take away my sin

 

When Christ shall come

With shout of acclamation

And take me home

What joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow

In humble adoration

And there proclaim

My God how great Thou art

 

Stuart Wesley Keene Hine © Copyright 1949 and 1953 Stuart Hine Trust

CIO Stuart K. Hine Trust

 

CCLI License # 810055

Grimly Determined?

A long time ago the teacher’s advice during a gym class baseball game made an impression on me. Never an athlete, I wanted desperately to make a hit. I gripped the bat in grim determination, stared at the pitcher, and swung wildly at the pitch. You guessed it – I struck out yet again! The teacher told me I was trying too hard, over-thinking the game.  That advice never did help me with my baseball game, but it has stayed with me as a life lesson. When I allow myself to become a knot of tension, when I am overly focused on me, I am trying too hard and, if I’m wrapped up in myself, I am certain to fail to live as God desires.

The Scripture promises us that God is always at work, that He is greater than the situations that frustrate us, that He can and will accomplish His purpose in us and through us but we must be willing to let Him lead. Paul writes "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit." (Ephesians 3:16, NLT)  "Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope." (Ephesians 3:20, NLT)  That is not just for super-saints.  

I believe that sometimes we ‘try too hard’ on our own and end up getting in God’s way, that our unwillingness to wait, to trust, to pray actually hinders the work of God, the Spirit. A prime example are the wandering Israelites of the Exodus. When they chose their own wisdom, when they followed the ‘intelligence’ of the spies who declared the conquest of Promised Land would formidable, near impossible, God let them wander for a generation!  Only after they died did their children get to possess the promise of God.

I make no case for being passive or for resignation to ‘fate.’ Our faith must be robust, our hands engaged in the work to which He calls us. God Almighty has chosen to work with us, as amazing as that seems. He gives freedom to walk with Him, to know the joy of fulfilling His plans.  He also will let us rebel and resist, to doubt and delay, though not without consequence.  Sometimes I think that Christians who claim to be ‘waiting on the Lord’ or who delay action by saying ‘I’ll pray about it,’ are just avoiding making a tough decision or doing the hard thing that He asks.

A Psalm gives us an image to ponder about our constant response to our God. "I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy." (Psalm 123:1-2, NIV)  There is a submission, a surrender, that allows His perfect will to emerge. So we sing, “Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blest. Watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness; lost in His love.”  (Blessed Assurance)

Let the Lord lead you, alert to His ways, attentive to His word.  Instead of trying to wrestle a blessing from His hands, open yours to accept what He is ready to give.

Are you trying too hard? Pause, reflect, listen, give thanks, receive!

Here’s a word from the Word.  May your soul sing with the Psalmist about the glorious works of our God.

"You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. 

Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy. You care for the land and water it;  you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it." (Psalm 65:5-9, NIV)

__________________

Blessed Assurance
(Carrie Underwood’s simple presentation of the hymn

will help you to worship this day)

 

Blessed assurance Jesus is mine

O what a foretaste of glory divine

Heir of salvation purchase of God

Born of His Spirit washed in His blood

 

This is my story this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

This is my story this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

 

Perfect submission perfect delight

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy whispers of love

 

Perfect submission all is at rest

I in my Savior am happy and blest

Watching and waiting looking above

Filled with His goodness lost in His love

 

Fanny Jane Crosby

© Words: Public Domain

Anxious fears?

 

Sean, my son, is planning a trip through Montana and Wyoming this Summer with his family.  He sent me this note -“We are talking about grizzly and moose encounters  ... Landon (just finished 1^st grade) slaps his face and says, "OOOOOHHH NNOOOO! A moose can run 35 mph and I can only run like 5 mph. I'm done for!"   Yes, I know we should not make light of the fears of others even if we think they are unfounded. But, there is humor there because Landon’s chances of needing to outrun a hostile moose are close to non-existent. 

A pastor noted a visit to an adult Sunday School class where a frenzied discussion had overtaken the room. Everyone was talking about “abortion, gay marriage, transgender acceptance, hate crime laws, political shenanigans, the coming world government, the antichrist, the President, and the possibility of an armed uprising in America so everyone had better have plenty of ammunition. Also, blood moons, Armageddon and Joel Osteen.”  Fear ruled that moment! Quietly, he asked them what the study text for the day was, a gentle reminder of the importance of remaining anchored to the Word.

Do you feed your fears? 

If you watch the endless loop of ‘news’ on your television, you will soon become convinced that the ‘end of the world as we know it’ is right around the corner.

If your Bible reading and study focuses on a steady diet of apocalyptic texts you will likely become consumed with conspiracy theories, seeing evidence of ‘the end’ in every headline.

If your conversations with friends slips often into observations about how quickly the world is falling apart, you are going to begin to believe that all is lost!

 Choosing to be wise- cultivating good habits, eating a healthy diet, limiting exposure to risk – is good.

It is a tragedy that so many Americans are convinced that it is possible to create a totally safe and predictable world by writing endless regulations, observing scrupulous hygiene,  and/or do all the ‘right’ things, whatever they may that to be.  When an accident interrupts their plans, when a cancer diagnosis threatens their future, or when they can no longer pretend that they are masters of their fate because of events beyond their control; they are shocked, dismayed even, ready to conclude that hope is lost! It isn’t.

Life goes on, flowing around the odd, the awful, the unpredictable; even death itself.  Attempting to eliminate all risk by avoiding every possibility of harm or danger will lock us into a very small life without the joy of discovery or creativity or the knowledge of the goodness of God. 

Christian, we can choose to live fully, reducing fear’s control over us, by exercising real faith.
Faith is not a choice to live in a fake world, nor does faith require us to be eternally optimistic. Too much of what passes for ‘faith’ is just happy talk, an attempt to ignore reality with spiritual cliches.  Jeremiah’s example inspires me.  He had lived through an awful invasion, witnessing the horror of brutal war, and was left reeling with confusion and fear. 

But, he chose faith. He wrote: "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." (Lamentations 3:21-26, NIV)  His faith grew out of the choice to anchor himself in the eternal reality of God that envelopes the present mysteries of life that can make us afraid.

Faith is not an abstract concept! It is relational, the pursuit of God.  When fear leaves us frenzied, He invites us to the quiet, one of the most difficult choices for many of us, me included. Our natural response to anxiety is to run around looking for someone or something to ‘make it better.’  The Lord says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10, NIV)  Be intentional. Look up. Wait.

Ann Voscamp wrote of finding healing as she emerged from the stress of life in the era of COVID isolation as she watched her little flock of newly shorn sheep in a pasture. “When the heart is full of trouble, step outside to see that the whole earth isn’t only full of trouble, but ultimately is full of His glory. The way to navigate loss is to lose all that distracts from the glory of God. Step outside and watch the Maker of clouds overhead, lift the clouds within.  He who breaks the clouds can heal our heartbreak, and the Maker of a million stars can heal every kind of broken heart.”  (https://annvoskamp.com/2021/07/how-to-heal-find-a-way-through-loss-a-journey-part-1/)   She uses a phrase that caught my attention:  “Adoration of God’s glory short circuits rumination of our problems.”  This, she says, is ‘glory soaking.’   

You don’t have to go somewhere exotic, take a long pilgrimage, or escape for days on end.  We can ‘glory soak’ and find faith’s renewal by taking a walk in the woods with eyes wide open, by sitting cross-legged on the floor with a toddler and entering into her world of wonder, by listening the sounds of a summer thunderstorm rolling overhead, by sitting in an empty church meditating on a Psalm, by holding a friend close for a moment reminded of care and love.  God is here now, with us, if only we will perceive His Presence.

Are you feeding your fears? Step back and remind yourself – “The Lord is my portion … Great is your faithfulness!”

Here is a word from the Word.  I pray it will be an inspiration of renewed faith for this day.

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:16-21, NIV)

______________

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

(Elenyi sings this anthem beautifully – enjoy!)

 You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep my faith will stand

 And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

 Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sov'reign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

 Oh and You are mine oh

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

 I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

 

Joel Houston | Matt Crocker | Salomon Ligthelm© 2012 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055