Thursday, January 17

God's Beautiful Creation

Romans 1:19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

I love photography, and landscape photography is my favorite. I love to capture a moment in time of the beauty that is found in this world. It is my Father’s world, and I have been blessed to see much beauty in my lifetime. In my minds eye I can see a Colorado wildflower meadow with snow-capped mountains in the background. I can visualize the white sand beaches with emerald colored water in the Caribbean or Hawaiian Islands. I can remember the bumblebee collecting pollen in an azalea blossom. The view of the mountaintops from the top of Handies Peak is etched in my memory. The blue ice glaciers of Glacier Bay are magnificent to remember. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco from the air is awesome to recall. Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, Arches National Park, Monument Valley, The Natchez Trace, Callaway Gardens, and many more images are in my mind and in my photography collection. When I close my eyes to rest, I can select these images of my Father's world and praise God for the glory of his magnificent creation. How blessed I have been to experience and photograph so much beauty.

This is my Father’s World
Words: Maltbie D. Babcock

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done:
Jesus Who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and Heav’n be one.

This is my Father’s world, dreaming, I see His face.
I open my eyes, and in glad surprise cry, “The Lord is in this place.”
This is my Father’s world, from the shining courts above,
The Beloved One, His Only Son,
Came—a pledge of deathless love.

This is my Father’s world, should my heart be ever sad?
The lord is King—let the heavens ring. God reigns—let the earth be glad.
This is my Father’s world. Now closer to Heaven bound,
For dear to God is the earth Christ trod.
No place but is holy ground.

This is my Father’s world. I walk a desert lone.
In a bush ablaze to my wondering gaze God makes His glory known.
This is my Father’s world, a wanderer I may roam
Whate’er my lot, it matters not,
My heart is still at home.


23 comments:

jazzycat said...

Photo: view from Alaskan cruise ship of area known as Tracey's Arm.

donsands said...

Nice post. Nice hymn. We sang this a couple weeks ago in church, and it's very moving.

Photos can be such a blessing. I thank the Lord for inventing the camera.

jazzycat said...

Don,
Yes, I can look at the photographs of places I've been and refresh the memories of how beautiful they were.

jazzycat said...

Loren,
I am on a series of posts about the only peace and comfort that Christians can rely on and that is the spiritual peace that comes in the eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ and what he accomplished on the cross to pay the sin debt of sinners.

There never has been and will never be peace here on this fallen planet until Christ comes at the end of this age. This is not the thread for political discussions, so we will have to save a debate over your misguided political and world views for another time and place.

lorenzothellama said...

I left a comment here answering the question you left on my blog. The comment seems to have disappeared. Do you want me to re-answer?
Lorenzo.

jazzycat said...

No. The discussion was off topic.

lorenzothellama said...

So you did delete my comment? Was that because you didn't like what I said?
Lorenzo.

jazzycat said...

Yes, it was deleted. It was off topic and I told you we were not going to discuss on this thread.

lorenzothellama said...

It was not off topic. You asked me questions on my blog about the Iraq war and I answered them honestly. You obviously just didn't like the answer.

jazzycat said...

Loren,
You brought the off-topic subject up at Bluecollar. Bluecollar is not a political blog. I responded to your comment on your blog and you brought a response here to Jazzycat. Jazzycat is not a political blog, but will address other than Christian issues from time to time. However, I am not going to discuss this issue at this time on this blog. You do not want to discuss it at your blog and I do not want to discuss here. I accept your decision about your not wanting it on your blog. You will have to tolerate my decision as I have tolerated yours.

Halfmom, AKA, Susan said...

The photo is lovely and that is one of my favorite hymns too. I learned it as a child.

All of creation shouts His name if we only know how to listen.

jazzycat said...

Susan,
Thanks for the visit. It is one of my favorites as well.

mark pierson said...

I love how your mind works - always on the things of God.

Mark

jazzycat said...

Thanks Mark my good friend. Your encouragement continues to lift my spirits.

Susan said...

I constantly think about how very beautiful the Garden had to have been when what we behold with our eyes today, all these eons later, is so beautiful with the marks of sin upon it. Something to ponder. It is our Fathers World...we need to remember that more.
Susan

jazzycat said...

Thank you Susan. I hope you have recovered from that ice storm.

Halfmom, AKA, Susan said...

Jazzy - your point is well taken; the gospel cannot be sugar-coated and retain its true nature. I do not think anything about my blog will reveal any equivocation about the gospel, much less sugar-coating.

There is, however, quite a bit of difference in speaking with grace and sugar-coating. I am referencing Eph 4;29 in particular, where we are instructed that our words need to be according to the moment and edifying for all those who hear - not just the person addressed. This is the point I was trying to address with my WWJD comment.

I do thank you again for your very clear presentation of the gospel to Maalie and to any other "lurkers" that have been reading along.

jazzycat said...

Susan,
Thanks. These are indeed difficult calls to make and understand your view. There is a tension sometimes to balance and discern the best course of action between the verse you quote and those such as Matthew 7:6. I posted some excerpts from a sermon by Dr. Ligon Duncan on Mt. 7:6 over at Bluecollar. I think he makes some excellent points about this passage and how to apply it. Thanks again.

Halfmom, AKA, Susan said...

Yes, I just read Dr. Duncan's comments and they are quite good - and go along well with JD's last post, which I appreciated as well.

It is difficult - always - to make the call. I think my experience is probably far different than most people too in that I have spent the last almost 30 years at church working with troubled teens and adults. Some are the most foul and agressive right before they give up the fight and come to Christ. If we had pushed them aside because the non-christian behavior of a non-christian so offended us surely God would have sent someone else or found another way to draw them to Himself - but I don't knwo that I have ever truly regreted waiting it out. So, now you see why my tendency is to err on the side of grace and mercy, especially when I know other non or weaker believers are watching closely.

I think we have Maalie safely corraled back on my blog where he he maintains a reasonably civil tone. I think he will tire soon of the same old gentle answers, but I will continue to give them until he does if I can. Part of my patience has to do with his sister Jill, know to you as Lorenzo - she is asking some questions of real significance that I am gently and slowly trying to answer. You might pray for her as you think of it. I have just ordered a wonderful little book to have delivered to her in the UK - it is called "The God I thought I Knew; my experience growing up Catholic". The author does the most wonderful job of presenting the true gospel through scenerios of his life with the nuns - who sounds as though they may not have been quite as bad as Lorenzo's - but close. His wit and humor make the differences in catholic and protestant theology quite clear in an inoffensive manner - so it is my hope that this will begin to straighten out some of her theology.

Halfmom, AKA, Susan said...

Yes, I just read Dr. Duncan's comments and they are quite good - and go along well with JD's last post, which I appreciated as well.

It is difficult - always - to make the call. I think my experience is probably far different than most people too in that I have spent the last almost 30 years at church working with troubled teens and adults. Some are the most foul and agressive right before they give up the fight and come to Christ. If we had pushed them aside because the non-christian behavior of a non-christian so offended us surely God would have sent someone else or found another way to draw them to Himself - but I don't knwo that I have ever truly regreted waiting it out. So, now you see why my tendency is to err on the side of grace and mercy, especially when I know other non or weaker believers are watching closely.

I think we have Maalie safely corraled back on my blog where he he maintains a reasonably civil tone. I think he will tire soon of the same old gentle answers, but I will continue to give them until he does if I can. Part of my patience has to do with his sister Jill, know to you as Lorenzo - she is asking some questions of real significance that I am gently and slowly trying to answer. You might pray for her as you think of it. I have just ordered a wonderful little book to have delivered to her in the UK - it is called "The God I thought I Knew; my experience growing up Catholic". The author does the most wonderful job of presenting the true gospel through scenerios of his life with the nuns - who sounds as though they may not have been quite as bad as Lorenzo's - but close. His wit and humor make the differences in catholic and protestant theology quite clear in an inoffensive manner - so it is my hope that this will begin to straighten out some of her theology.

jazzycat said...

Susan,
I certainly admire your ministry and patience. The body of Christ is made up of many parts and we all can be used in different ways. I will keep those prayer requests and certainly wish you the best with the Brits. It was obvious that Loren was confused and I tried very hard on one thread to take her straight to Scripture where she could see the answer for herself as I knew she would not like me answering it directly. That was the Isaiah 53 and Romans 3 passages that I led her to. Again, I admire your efforts and ministry.
wayne

Halfmom, AKA, Susan said...

Yes, I am in hopes that we will be able to go back to those same passages in the future - Lorenzo is a potter; she understands so many things of a spiritual nature just from that but the bloody false Catholic theology and other things she has picked up on her searching get in the way of understanding the true character of God and His provision for her. The enemy does want to rob, kill and destroy!

Baptist Girl said...

jazz, I just love the words in this song. His creation is Glorious! A friend sent me an e-mail tonight with pictures of nature and animals and the pictures were so beautiful and I thought as I looked at those picture what a wonderful creator we serve.

Cristina