Creator God Revealed

Photo essay by Gail Smith

Psalm 36

5 Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

 

your justice like the ocean depths.

 

You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.

 

7     How precious is your unfailing love, O God!  All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.

8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house,

letting them drink from your river of delights.

 

9 For you are the fountain of life,

 

the light by which we see.

 

Five "Showers of Blessing" From a Late Summer Rain

This morning sitting on my "porch of praise" I was blessed by a big, loud, blowing thunderstorm.

1.  Rain, pouring down, sweeping in sheets across the avenue, darkening the sky, but brightening my day. 

I love thunderstorms.

2.  Thunder-- rolling, rumbling, crashing, electrifying the sky.

It is beautiful and powerful and awesome~

Just like the Lord God Almighty!

3.  Curb-side creeks flowing down, washing clean the streets and sidewalks.

4. Rain pitter-patter pounding, soaking flowers, fruits and veggies, bring life to dry ground.

5. The fragrance of  rain-washed freshness, fills my heart and lifts the spirit to the all powerful

Creator God

Who rains down all good gifts

Onto all His children

Simply 

Because 

He loves us

And just when you think it's all over

Ka-BOOM!

One last shout-out from God, the Rain-giver's exclamation point.

Thank you, Lord, for these showers of blessing! All creation is telling Your glory.

By Gail P. Smith

God Speaks in a Variety of Ways

As evangelical Christians, we have a firm commitment to the written Word of God. That is as it should be. However, we forget that the first revelation that God gave was through that which He created. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.”

I made my usual pilgrimage to the Black Hills of South Dakota this summer. The sacred beauty of that holy place never fails to strike me afresh each time I visit. The mountain grandeur: great hoary ponderosa pine, deep fresh water lakes teeming with life, cool moonlit nights filled by a galaxy of stars ebbing, twinkling and sparkling along the Milky Way. Here in the sacredness of God’s created order His voice wafts to me through the trees astride a gentle mountain breeze. God’s voice comes quietly, yet it is strikes me like thunder. My human spirit longs to be quelled by the Spirit of Creator God.

Perhaps you do not have the luxury of making a pilgrimage this summer to a favorite place filled with this kind of majestic certitude as I often do. Yet, you can afford to embrace the sacredness of God’s creation wherever you are. You can immerse yourself in its beauty and listen with the ear of your spirit to His still and thunderous voice. Perhaps connecting with the Holy through His created revelation will provide you with a fresh avenue of communion unlike any that you have experienced before.

Michael Elmore

Bettendorf, Iowa July 2011