ETERNITY IN OUR HEARTS

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."  (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NKJV)

Have you looked at God’s stars and marveled as they lit the velvet-dark sky? Watched a sunset in which the sky is tinted in reds and oranges on the horizon to a deep tone of blue above and delighted in God’s paintbrush? Then you’ve seen Him make things beautiful in their time.

Though we appreciate our changing world, we only understand so much of it. Even the best scientists cannot describe every detail of our world, from its first day to the present. And if they could, they still couldn’t so combine it with beauty that we could appreciate both simultaneously. God is so much greater than we can be. None of us can fully aspire to His greatness.

Though we’re not up to the task of full understanding all He does, this glorious God still wants us near Him. We can’t meet Him on His own terms, yet He wants us so much that He offered us – through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross -- the great blessing of eternity in our hearts. Even the beauty of a magnificent world can’t fill our hearts and souls. God has given us the desire to spend all eternity with Him.  Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3 NKJV)

So while you’re gazing at the beautiful sky, don’t forget to praise the One who created it and you – and be thankful that you were one He decided to share eternity with. 

– Adapted from “Daily Wisdom to Satisfy the Soul,” published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.

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A RESPONSE OF PRAISE

https://davidt-wilkinson.pixels.com/featured/door-county-sunset-2-david-t-wilkinson.html

“From the rising of the sun to its setting

the name of the LORD is to be praised.”  (Psalm 113:3 NRSV)

Praising God has not come naturally to me.  Studying praise in the Scriptures has challenged me to increase my praise life and to be more aware of the Creator and His creation.  I remember a particular time in my life when I was deeply moved to write a psalm of praise to God.  I was on an airplane that had been circling the Denver airport for at least half an hour.  Tired and frustrated, I kept staring at the thick cloud cover responsible for our delay.  As the plane turned, I was startled to see the most beautiful oranges, yellows, and pinks brilliantly scrolled across the sky.  Tears sprang to my eyes as for the first time I witnessed a sunset over the mountains from thirty thousand feet up in the sky.  I was so deeply moved by this bold reminder from God that I wrote the following response of praise:

            Etched into the sunset,

            The signature of God.

            In radiant script

            He signs

            “I am.”

-- Cynthia Heald in “Intimacy with God”

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APPLAUDING THE CREATOR

Last Friday I shared a quote of mine entitled WALK THE TALK, TALK THE WALK. Today I want to share with you an application of that.

Have you ever watched a sunset at a public beach with a group of people and, when the sun was completely out of sight, you all spontaneously applauded? That happens to me when I'm photographing sunsets like the one above taken in Ephraim, Door County, Wisconsin.

What about after a beautiful snowfall when it is still silent and a blanket of pure white covers everything, do you applaud the Creator? Or when you see a stunning flower close up or walk through a breathtaking garden, do you applaud the Creator? Or when you come across an extraordinary rock formation or canyon, do you applaud the Creator? Or when you see the unique markings of a bird close up, do you applaud the Creator?

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting." I would add, "and never lose an opportunity to applaud the Creator for His handiwork."

As a way of TALKING MY WALK I have established a photography website with a number of galleries that focus on the wonder and beauty and uniqueness of God's creation in its many forms. When you need a break from a busy day, click on the photo above to go directly to it or on the link below to go to the home page of the website where you can explore over 100 images I have captured and placed in galleries by subject. And then bookmark it, because I will be continuing to add to the selections.

And next time you see a beautiful sunset, don't forget to applaud the creator.

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson 
David T Wilkinson Photography


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