Seeds For Thinking

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* Rain
* Scripture: Jesus said, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." Mt. 5:44
Ezekiel 34:26b - I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. NKJV

There shall be showers of blessing:
O that today day they might fall
Nathan
The occasion of rain is a curious phenomena - Some people want it, some don't.
Granted, timing plays a large role in how rain is accepted. For some people, rain is an inconvenience, an interruption of life, a spoiler of fun:

"Rain, rain, go away;
Come again some other day."
Why?
"Little Johnnie wants to play."

On goes the scowls, out come the umbrellas, washed away goes the day.
Rain is a blessing for other people, however: The farmer needing moisture to sprout or sustain crops, people with cisterns, and - assuming that the shower is gentle and warm - children with obliging parents.
Ever notice? Children who have to be dragged into the tub/shower go joyfully and gleefully into the rain. Laughter, giggles, looking for puddles, maybe eyes closed, looking to the heavens. (Perhaps it's the absence of soap.)
So, some want (and need) rain, and rain will answer their prayers. Others, like Little Johnnie, are praying for sunshine.
Keep in mind the precepts of Matthew 5:45, that God makes the sun shine on the evil and the good He sends the rain on the just and the unjust. Everybody! No matter what, somebody is going to be unhappy.
Does it grieve you that blessings fall on the evil ones, perhaps those who hate you, or curse you? Are you discouraged to see bad things happen to good people?
There are - and must be - times that we do not readily see blessings in the answer that God gives us. Look closer; there may be blessings falling, blessings sent by God that you are turning away with your scowl and 'spiritual umbrella.' Look instead for ways you can collect, as in a spiritual cistern, these showers for times when you can draw upon them as needed. Times when love, blessing, and prayer bring seasons refreshing to your soul, or to another's.
Jesus, also, prayed for the "cup to pass," but accepted God's will.
He exemplified His teachings (Mt. 5:44) and, in so doing, brought salvation to the world.
November 19, 2006

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* Light
* Scripture: Paul wrote, “for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesian 5:14,NIV

The sunlight streaming through the window was warming and soothing, belying the fact that it was a bone-chilling -4º on the other side of the window pane. The mid-winter day brought into play an interesting paradox. The source of that intense light and warmth was over 93 million miles away, yet closer to the earth than in the scorching days of mid-summer. So it is not the distance to the sun that matters in terms of heating the earth. Something else is at work here.
Scientists tell us it is the angle at which the sun’s rays strike the earth which determines the amount of heating taking place. During the chilly winter months, the angle of incidence produces less heating, the sun hanging low in the heavens even at noon. Well, this is only a half-truth; what is true for one hemisphere of our global home, is just the opposite at the other extreme. Winter in the northern climes is summer “down under.”
Further, the polar regions of the earth experience either a midnight sun, or days where the sun hangs low, hugging the horizon, bringing almost perpetual night.
Another aspect of sunlight that is the seeming delight of physicists concerns what is seen and what we do not see. We are familiar with the unique display of colors in a rainbow, ranging from the reds through the blues to violet. The heating effects come not from what we do see, the bright, almost blinding illumination we call sunlight, but that portion of the energy spectrum called the infra-red region. It is felt, not seen.
As I enjoyed the warmth of that mid-winter sun penetrating into my aging bones, I thought of the many parallels to the One who created the sun. There is so much more unseen, and so much more unknown about our relationship with God, that it boggles the mind to contemplate it.
There are times when we seem to be the most distant from God, when He appears invisible to us, that prove to provide the deep warmth that our soul requires. We crave illumination, we want blinding insights, but, just like sunlight, that may not be what we need at that moment.
I noted that if I moved only a few inches from the direct sunlight into the shadow, I felt chilled by the contrast, even though the actual room temperature was the same. The sun didn’t move - I did, and the contrast was most evident. If I want the warmth, I have to stay in the sun light. I think the same is true of Son-light.
We have to awake, place our soul in the proper relationship to Christ if we want those deep, warming, rays of Son-light to deliver us from the shadows and bone-chilling darkness of the Godless world.
January 23, 2005

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Scripture: The Psalmist wrote, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Psalms 8:1, NIV

As I sat in the doctor’s office recently, my attention was drawn to a beam of sunlight streaming through a gap in the venetian blind. The morning sun painted a band of brilliant light downward across the northern wall, then made a ninety degree angle at the wall opposite the window, making an awesome pointer for a celestial clock. As I watched, the beam slowly moved, as I knew it would. Downward, ever downward, it crept past the doorstop, which provided a convenient reference point.
Sitting near the otherwise shaded window, I could also feel the heat gradually warming the glass and radiating through the blind. The building would occasionally “murmur” as the materials expanded from the sun's potent rays, though the source of that light and heat energy was ninety-three million miles away.
It had moved several inches by the time the doctor came in. I noted the position of the sunbeam again as I prepared to leave; it now pointed at the baseboard near the floor. How true, the words of the Teacher, “The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.” (Ecc. 1:5)
The newly created earth was formless and empty, according to Genesis, and darkness was over the waters. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. It is interesting that God did not create the “two great lights” until later. Read Genesis Chapter 1 and see whether you think the “greater light” that governed the day is the sun, and the “lesser light” that governed the night is the moon. (Genesis 1:16) If so, the source of the light on the first day must have been from God Himself. What do you think?
I turn often to the 8th Psalm, and read

“When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set into place,
what is man, that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that care for him?

Psalm 74:16 also affirms the creator God;

“The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.”

Many peoples over time have worshiped the sun. Not so the followers of Jehovah God; rather, we must worship the creator, and not anything created. Revue Exodus 20, especially verse4:
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”
The Bible records that the sun once delayed going down for a full day as recorded in Joshua 10:13. See if you can find other Biblical miracles concerning the sun.
Enjoy the day that the Lord has made, and the night too! He did it for you.
October 12, 2003

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Scripture: Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Genesis 1:3, NKJV)

Light! Created by God, dividing Day from Night, and the light was good. But what is light, exactly? It is far easier to define darkness as the absence of light than to define how light works. Scientists and physicists still struggle to explain something that we take so much for granted.
A further reading of Genesis has intrigued scholars, as well. God created light during the first day, then turned it off at night. But the lights in the heavens, the sun, moon, and stars, were not created until the fourth day. Some have postulated that the original light came directly from God; God’s light will be part of the New Jerusalem: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” (Rev. 21:23, NKJV)
Vision is perhaps the most marvelous property of light. We see, because light is! It was once suggested that light originated in the eye, and illuminated the world. It was quickly pointed out that we should be able to see even at night, if that was the case. No, the eye has the property of using light from the sun, candles, lanterns and a multitude of electrical powered lamps to produce vision, the ability to see things.
So - what is the nature of light? Light is a form of radio wave, except we “tune it in” via our eyes, rather than on a radio or television receiver. (Physicists talk about a lot of things deeper than we will go.) We see the colors of a rainbow sort of like “different channels” for red and green and blue light. Marvelous!
Light does not travel instantaneously: the speed of light in a vacuum is presently defined to be about 186,282 miles per second, which is still pretty fast. The speed of light is a factor in Einstein’s famous equation E=mc^2.
Astronomers use a form of celestial measurement called a “Light Year” to calculate the vast distances to stars and galaxies. It takes light about four years to reach earth from the closest star, about 23,462,784,000,000 miles away. How many light years to the edge of the universe? A bunch! And yet God is there. Even the best scientists and physicists struggle with things too marvelous for us to comprehend, but every speck - every force - in the universe is there because God said so.
The use of a light bulb image in cartoon or comic strips symbolizes enlightenment, indicating greater knowledge and understanding about a subject or situation. Those who simply “don’t get it,” are in the dark.
In the New Testament, John equates anyone who hates his brother with darkness. “He walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2:11) However, “He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” (1 John 2:10)
Jesus spoke of the salt of the earth, and the light of the world in the Beatitudes. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
What is that light? “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5) “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us of all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
Let the glory of God illuminate your life. Don’t hide your light under a bushel (No!) as children sometimes sing. But walk as children of light.
Let Your Light Shine

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Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of his making. Proverbs 16:11, NIV
Here are some “New year’s” riddles for you:
How long is a piece of string?
How tall is a ladder?
How far can a deer run into a woods?
Yes, there is an answer to each of these!
A piece of string is twice the length of one end to the middle.
Substitute ‘ladder’ for ‘string’ in the above.
A deer can run half way into the woods; after that, it is running out of the woods.

I suppose you could say that time began the length of half way until now . . . whenever that was. Keeping accurate time is not easy. If you were to start from scratch, with no previous standards, how long would you make a year? (Ummm, do you mean a sun year or a moon year? Both methods are still in use.) And at what point would you begin your record of time/history? When would your New Year begin?
We take for granted that our calendar is! Always has been; always will be. But consider this: there have been numerous calendar changes throughout history, and wars have been fought to defend their basis. Jews calculate back to the supposed date of creation. Muslims count from the date of Muhammad’s pilgrimage. So when did our calendar begin? At Jesus birth?
Well, almost! Actually, the guy that first calculated the date of Jesus’ birth got it wrong, apparently, by about four or five years. Never-the-less, after Jesus’ birth is A.D.; before is B.C. . . . Right? Anno domini, Year of the Lord. But some people use C.E., and B.C.E., which means Christian Era, and Before Christian Era. That is an acknowledgment of the Christ-based calendar by non-Christian people. Still, the Christian Era calendar is so pervasive that most countries use it at least in part.
Once started, a calendar is hard to change. Nevertheless, the Romans played around with the calendar a lot. In Latin, September, October, November, and December represent the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months. Somewhere the calendar must have “slipped” by two months!
The first Christian calendar was called the Julian Calendar. By 1582 it was several days off by the sun, so Pope Gregory XIII called for a revision of the Julian calendar, (now called the Gregorian Calendar) adopted in Great Britain and the American colonies in 1752, marked by the suppression of 10 days (or after 1700 by 11 days) and having leap years in every year divisible by four with the restriction that centesimal years are leap years only when divisible by 400.
Would you have thought of that? Now consider that George Washington was born by the Julian calendar, and died by the Gregorian calendar. How many days did he live? And why doesn’t Easter fall on the same date each year, like Christmas does?
December 30, 2001

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Scripture: Psalm 42: “As a hart pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (vss. 1, 2

Dehydration is not a pleasant experience for the body to undergo. Loss of fluids in the system triggers a survival reaction; we become thirsty, very, very thirsty. The body clamors for water, for restoration of the delicate balance that nature intended for proper functioning of life.
It is one thing to simply become thirsty, knowing that a supply of cooling, refreshing water is near at hand, and accessible. I can only imagine the longing, the panic that develops, when that survival urge kicks in, knowing not where water is to be found. Cartoonists often draw a picture of some bedraggled soul, crawling across the desert sands, often past the bones of some long departed, unfortunate creature, while the unforgiving sun boils down. Dry, very dry, and no relief in sight.
Oh, they may include a mirage, that image of a lake or well, off in the distance. Unobtainable, unreachable, but a vision of salvation, of a reality that does exist somewhere. Such is the image of the hart (deer) that I see in the Psalm 42:1.
We need to think beyond thirsty. The hart “pants” for water. Breathing comes in gasps, but sucking in the dry air only exacerbates the thirst. The search for water becomes frantic; the longing and the finding both unquenchable.
Thirsty? Sure, go get something to drink. Chances are, if you are reading this, you are near a source of refreshment. What a relief! Think of those times when you want to savor each and every drop, to roll it around on your tongue, to rejoice in the very feel of the cup or glass in your hand. How unlike the panic of an unrewarded longing for life-giving water is the ultimate reassurance that water is available, and in plenteous supply. May you ever find it so.
I have heard a story told of a ship, becalmed for many days, surrounded by water, undrinkable, salty sea water. The crew had exhausted their supply of drinkable water. They became every bit as thirsty as a man crawling across the desert. Drifting off the coast of South America, they spotted a ship in the distance. Oh! How they longed to catch up to that ship, to acquire that one thing they so desperately needed, but did not have. Coming into hailing distance, they called out for water. Back came the response, “Let down your buckets.”
“What!” they cried out. What fate was this, that fellow sailors could be so cruel.
“Let down your buckets,” again came the shout. “You are sailing in the Amazon river. You are surrounded by fresh water.”
How often we sail the oceans and deserts of life, bereft of the life-giving, thirst quenching “water of life,” knowing not that we are surrounded by a vast river of God’s saving grace. We cry out, “My soul pants for you, O God.” The desert sands of neglect and the mirages we chase of “the good life” lead to separation from the very thing that would sustain us. With the psalmist, we thirst for God, for the living God. “When can we go and meet with God, “ we moan. Jesus calls to us, ”Let down your buckets, and I will give you living water.”
(See John 4:13)
There is an oasis in the middle of the desert of life, a source of love. Rejoin the multitude, the procession to the house of God, “with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.” (Ps. 42:4) With the psalmist let us proclaim, “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God. (Ps. 42:11)

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Scripture: “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come; the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” Song of Songs, 2:11-12 NIV
*April showers will bring May flowers.*
We’ve had ‘em; We’ve got ‘em!!
What a beautiful time of year! A trinity of forces have combined to make the woods, lawn, and gardens bloom forth. Sure, it takes April showers to wash away the drabness of winter and soak the soil with the sustainer of life - water. As the length of the day increases, and the soil warms, the plants are triggered to once again thrust forth their leaves and buds. The force that leads all others is of course the position of the earth in relation to the sun. What a remarkable mechanism! The earth is actually the closest to the sun in the winter time, but in the northern hemisphere, the angle at which its rays hit the earth put us into the deep freeze. Our cousins south of the equator get their moment in the sunshine. The south polar region becomes the land of the midnight sun. The north pole barely sees the sun at all. Gradually, day by day, the earth moves in its orbit until that magic day arrives - the length of day and night are equal. The sun once again “crosses” the equator, and spring begins.
Nothing happens instantly, of course. It takes time. Only a minute or so every day, but the period of daylight lengthens for us northerners, and shortens for those south of the equator. Gradually, the temperature of our soil rises. So do our spirits. We cast off the winter blahs, and rejoice in the sunshine.
So it is the relationship to the sun that drives all the other forces. What a different world we would live in if that remarkable relationship did not exist. The life cycle of plants and animals would have to be different, because all life is dependent upon the forces engendered by that day to day relationship to the life-giver.
So, too, is our relationship to the One who gives life to even the mighty sun. God, in His Trinity - The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Are we close to the Son? Do we “orbit” Him? Are we in tune to His life-giving forces? Can we feel His power influencing our lives? I hope so!
Think about what a remarkable thing ‘life’ is. We can see the effects of life. We can tell if something is living or dead, but we can’t create life where life does not exist. We can nurture it, we can nourish it, we can destroy it, but only God creates life.
We need to also nurture and nourish the spirit, which God gave us. To do that, we need to be close to the Son. Is it springtime in your spiritual life? I hope so!
April 30, 2001, May Newsletter