Glory

When this azalea begins to bloom each year, I confess to thinking it’s a bit ‘peely-wally’ as they say in Scotland. Washed out. But as the days go by, the colour comes out, more and more vibrantly, and now, as you can see, it reflects the very glory of God. It is stunning.

What you can’t see perhaps is that around its base there is a jungle of ground elder and buttercups and who knows what other insidious weeds, seeking to choke the life out of the azalea, or, at the very least, leach away its beauty. Despite the weeds (yes, I do intend to get out there and clear the space, one of these days ...) the azalea continues to amaze with its beauty.

Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting and praying with someone whose physical well-being is threatened. There is, however, no outward sign of the struggle going on within. Rather, she radiates the glory of God. Faith and love and grace drip from her every word. Peace emanates from deep within. We were there to minister to her, but she, in fact, ministered to us. 

The heavens declare the glory of God. All creation declares his glory. And so do many believers who shine like beacons; as the darkness deepens, their inner light intensifies, leading others to safety and faith. May God bless this dear lady today, and continue to heal and bless her.

Heavens declaration

The heavens declare the glory of God. The whole world sings praises to our amazing, awesome Lord.

Be lifted up today Jesus on the chorus of praise rising from the hearts.

Just back from an inspiring, powerful Dash-Away weekend in the beautiful Scottish mountains. The Lord spoke with power and love, through so many creative ways, I have returned home excited to see him restoring my joy, expanding my right-brain creativity, enabling my faith to take a great leap forward. Amazing worship led by Cathy Little. Prophetic prayer times. Laughter and tears.

If this humble team of beautiful servants of the Lord are anywhere near you, don’t miss the opportunity. May the Lord bless you today as you read this, with a new awareness of his presence and a renewed hope in his powerful love and touch.

God's glory revealed

Why is there suffering if God is a God of love? 

That must be the most frequently asked theological question, and the one which most stubbornly resists any completely satisfying answer. I do adhere to probably the most widely voiced answer given by believers, that because God created us to have free will and not be robots programmed to love him, we had the capacity right from the beginning to choose to follow him or reject him. As soon as we chose to reject his law, we invited in the darkness which seems to prevail in our world today.

Suffering is a product of that darkness. It was never God’s intention to have us suffering or even dying, but our choices led to such consequences.

I have been working on John 9 today, reading about the healing of the man born blind. Jesus tells his disciples, who erroneously thought that suffering was the result of particular sins in an individual’s life or that of his parents, that some suffering is allowed by God so that his glory can be more clearly revealed.

I have been watching open-mouthed as someone close to me has suffered, because I have seen God’s glory clearly revealed in her. As she and her husband have steadfastly held on to God through this time of trial, continuing to ask him for his blessing of healing and trusting him whether or not it was apparent, God’s glory has been revealed.

It reminds me of the story of the friends of Daniel who were thrown into the blazing furnace. Before they were forced into the furnace, they testified to their belief in the greatness and love of God and their conviction that he would save them from the fire, but that even if he didn’t, they still clung to him as a God of love.

I’ve just had word that the surgery which was to take place in a fortnight has been moved forward to tomorrow and will be less invasive than originally planned. I believe that God’s grace and favour is on this young woman as she heads into this frightening time, continuing to lean on the Lord who she knows and loves.

I wrote above that the darkness seems to prevail in our world today. Many times it ‘seems’ to prevail, but in fact John writes in his first chapter that the light is in the world, and the darkness hasn’t understood nor overcome it. 

The light of the world stepped down into darkness and he continues to shine out through beacons such as this young woman and her husband. Praise God.

Cloud Cover

Thick clouds continue to blanket the northeast of Scotland, plunging the temperatures below a seasonal norm.

But it is not a seamless blanket of gloom, thankfully. In fact, as I write it is as if a cotton wool covering is being torn apart in various places and the sunshine is penetrating, warming the air and encouraging growth and cheerfulness down here on the land.

I love the sky here, because it is always different, always changing. And the silver lining in the cloud cover is that when it breaks near the position of the sun in the sky, shafts of golden light beam down as if from heaven itself. To me it is the glory of God reminding me that he is there still, he is always there, whether or not I see him, whether or not I feel like he's active in my life or even with me at all. His promises never fail, that he is with me always right up until the end; his promises don't depend on my feeling him near, they depend on the faithfulness of his character. He keeps his promises.

Some countries in the world seem to be under a heavy blanket of unbelief. Violence is never far away in many countries, often predicated on religious intolerance and extremist views. This afternoon I'm thinking of Iraq and Syria, especially, and the Sudan and Nigeria, places where cruelty and despotism are never far away. I pray that God will break through that blanket of hatred and intolerance and shine his glory down on those beleaguered nations, that he will reach down and save those innocent people who are just trying to live their lives and who have very few choices.

Let your glory fall, Lord Jesus, and penetrate and dissolve the clouds of evil intent which cover so many nations.

Spectacular Sunsets and Northern Lights

Coming out of Aberdeen yesterday about 4 pm, the whole expanse of the sky was ablaze with rosey hues as the sun sank below the hilly horizon. The ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ emanating from Mom’s and my mouths were reminiscent of reactions to a fireworks display. It just seemed to get more glorious as we drove.

We were with the wider family for dinner after that and I remarked on the beautiful sunset. Someone in the family who lives in a beautiful house, remarked that because of the hills and trees that rise around them they can never actually see the sunset from their home.

How sad to be so close to something so beautiful, and not even realize it’s there!

It reminds me of the winter nights a few years ago when Don was regularly working late. Frequently he would dash in from the car about 11 pm and call me. “Come out and see the Northern Lights! They’re spectacular tonight!” 

We had friends from the States living here then who were desperate for a glimpse of the Northern Lights, and she finally asked me to phone her even if it was midnight so she could get outside and see this extraordinary phenomenon.

How often are we tantalizingly close to something or someone of great beauty, and we are totally oblivious to it? How often do we have our heads down as we concentrate on our work and miss a glimpse of glorious beauty? Probably more often than we want to admit.

‘The heavens declare the glory of God,’ the psalmist wrote. 

Can you see it? Maybe by shifting slightly to the right or the left, you will gain a whole new perspective on your surroundings.