Up the Sunbeam

-- " Then Jesus said,  'What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it?   It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches. '”   Luke 13:18-19 NLT The variety of mustard that grows here in Northern California may not be quite the same as the kind Jesus used as an object lesson, but it does grow awfully tall. It doesn't grow to be tree-like, but the red-winged blackbirds find it sturdy enough to sit in, especially when it is thick with ladybugs this time of year! It must be the bird's equivalent of a fast food restaurant, complete with fly-thru service! The Kingdom of God . . . like a mustard seed. Seeing fields splashed glorious in yellow, I wonder what that means. Jesus also used the mustard seed to illustrate the familiar subject of faith, and much is taught about growing faith and the power of faith even as small as a mustard seed.  We know quite a bit ab...

--  "Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise." So go the first lines of one of my favorite hymns. It rightly characterizes my Heavenly Father as the "Fount of every blessing." A fountain . . . a  constant, gushing, rushing flow of water under enough pressure to launch it high into the air, making the beautiful arcing patterns we so enjoy watching. What is known, but isn't so easily noticed, is that the flow of a fountain is made up of millions of individual drops, all directed by the design of the fountain. Blessing. I like blessings! Blessings never ceasing? Yes, please! I am so conditioned by my very BLESSED Western culture, and by the desires of my own flesh, to want a constant, gushing, rushing flow of blessings. Whether they be spiritual, physical, financial, emotional, personal, I love to be in a state of obvious blessing. Sometimes, when ch...

-- Love letters are the stuff of story books, fairy tales, movies and songs. Kept and treasured for years, worn with frequent handling, love letters are more precious to the loved one than gold or jewels or riches. Read and reread, pored over and memorized, love letters pour love from one heart to another. I find love letters from God all the time! He has this endearing habit of designing hearts into His creation, and then He waits and watches to see if I'll find them . . . and notice. Here are a couple of the recent love letters I've found: There is another love letter that is my favorite one of all. This one is filled with so much love it is sixty-six books long, detailing a love like no other, and written just for me . . . and you . . . and anyone willing to be loved. This love letter is the passionate expression of a completely sacrificial, nothing-held-back, all or nothing, utterly incomprehensible love to outshine all loves! This letter lays bare th...

To follow--in Greek, to be in the same way with, i.e. To accompany (specially, as a disciple) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You se e them every time you go to the mall. Brightly lit kiosks heavy-laden with their wares. They're like little mini-stores with pizzazzy products, usually lending themselves to a hype-filled demonstration. The gizmos and gadgets all have some kind of "wow factor" that the proprietor hopes is significant enough to get shoppers to stop and say "Oooh . . . Ahhh . . . Wow! I want one!" Lots of people don't stop. Others stop and watch, only to walk away empty-handed. The prized few stop . . . watch . . . and believe in the product enough to m ake the purchase. No one in the history of earth had more of a genuine wow factor than Jesus did as He went around the countryside doing miracle after miracle. He had a timeless message and could back up all His claims. He gave none of His energy to hype, but He c...

--  "Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise." So go the first lines of one of my favorite hymns. It rightly characterizes my Heavenly Father as the " Fount of every blessing ." A fountain . . . a constant, gushing, rushing flow of water under enough pressure to launch it high into the air, making the beautiful arcing patterns we so enjoy watching. What is known, but isn't so easily noticed, is t hat the flow of a fountain is made up of millions of individual drops, all directed by the design of the fountain. Blessing. I like blessings! Blessings never ceasing? Yes, please! I am so conditioned by my very BLESSED Western culture, and by the desires of my own flesh, to want a constant, gushing, rushing flow of blessings. Whether they be spiritual, physical, financial, emotional, personal, I love to be in a state of obvious blessing. Sometimes, esp...