An old, iron, road-side cross in the countryside.

There was a time when cross-roads were commonly marked with a cross or, in some villages, a crucifix. At many an intersection, between field and hamlet, those crosses have stood the test of time and can still be found today.

Their placement has always struck me:
At a cross-road… a place of decision.

If there was ever a place where we needed to consider the cross, surely it is those times when we find ourselves at a cross-road, an intersection, a place of decision. Like those roadside crosses, considering the cross will help guide our choices.

When we don’t know what to do in a given situation, the Word of God gives us a hint:
Take whatever course of action will lift up Jesus and give him a place of preeminence.

He will use that moment, that decision to draw the hungry heart to himself; whether the hungry heart is your own or someone else’s.

Follow the cross!

Like this? 
Click below to share today’s image on Pinterest.

Save

Save

Save

Our kids out for an autumn bike ride around Châtellerault.

The whole of Isaiah 54 speaks of a hopeful promise… a time when the pain of the past would be left behind and the future would be brighter. In fact, it is in this same chapter, that we hear the very familiar quotation:

“No weapon formed against thee shall prosper” (v.17)

If you feel as though you are, or have been, weighed down by a very heavy past, I encourage you to go read Isaiah 54. All of the promises made in there are said to be the heritage of the servants of the Lord.

I want very much for my children to experience great peace, but that will not happen all by itself… the same verse states the prerequisite:

“Thy children shall be taught of the Lord”

Teach your children something of the Lord today…
you will build in them a recipe for peaceful living down the road.

Like this? 
Click below to share today’s image on Pinterest.

Save

Save

Save

This is the Henry the IV Bridge, in Châtellerault.

In the same way that a bridge “stands in the gap” between two shorelines, allowing pedestrian and car traffic to cross from one side to the other, so the Lord is looking for people to stand in the gap.

He wants to “cross the distance” between himself and an often hurting world or, more specifically, hurting individuals. While he could manifest himself to them in any number of ways, more often than not, he chooses to work through other human beings… like you and I.

Today, you can be a bridge to someone…
Possibly allowing God to cross over into their world, or helping them to cross over into his presence, here on Earth.

Like this? 
Click below to share today’s image on Pinterest.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Leaf of my zelkova bonsai (Japanese Elm).

Proverbs 11 goes into great detail distinguishing between what it refers to as “the righteous,” “the just” or “the merciful” and “the wicked,” “the fool” or “the cruel.” 

There are many benefits to doing one’s best to manifest righteousness:
not feigned righteousness
not self-righteousness
but righteousness for the purpose of pleasing God. Continue reading →

A stone wall and a humble iron gate in the countryside

I can never read this verse without remembering that it gave birth, through the pen of G.F. Handel, to one of the most beloved choruses in his unparalleled Oratorio, “The Messiah.”

Continue reading →

A heavy frost on leaves in the field

For many of you, particularly in the south, today’s image will seem out of place for an April post, yet it is not entirely impossible for parts of Canada, the northern or high-altitude USA and even northern Europe to experience frost at this time of year.
(I promise though… I won’t post any Frost-pics in July!)

Matthew 24 speaks about what is typically referred to as “the last days” or the time preceding Christ’s return.

The disciples ask Jesus when they might expect Christ’s return and rather than answer them using a calendar, he refers to what life on Earth will look like preceding those days.
(It bears a striking resemblance to the days we’re living in)

One of the signs of the end times will be that the love of many will grow cold, as a result of an abundance of iniquity or selfish thinking… thinking only of ourselves.

In this world, radical individualism is constantly being hammered into us and the more I think about myself, the less room I have in my head and in my heart to think about someone else…
to love as Christ loved.

So Lord, today, my prayer is … don’t let my love grow cold!

Like this? 
Click below to share today’s image on Pinterest.

Save

Save