Nature

If u have been to Bible college before you may be able to identify with what I am about to say. If you haven't then don't worry you can still sympathize anyway. Most of my studying days I spend my time going from one lecture to another and most of the time I don't find the time or the energy to digest or question what was said by my lectures until one day I may be in the shower, looking out of my window, on the bus, etc. It suddenly dawns on me that I don't agree with what was said or I just realize a greater significance to what was said.

One of these days I was looking out of my window after reading scripture when I realized that I didn't agree with a particular point a lecturer of mine made. We were having a lecture on Mission in the City. How the world is becoming increasingly urbanized and so on. It was good to know the statistics though. Apparently by 2050 and + more than a half of the globe will be taken by cities. How do we tackle fulfilling the great commission in an urban setting and all the challenges that comes with big cities? Now back to what the teacher said, he was trying to make the point that God is as much in the city as he is in the countryside. He showed us the cover page of many Christian books and how it usually depicted the countryside. To him it seemed wrong that the countryside should be mostly favored when it comes to God's presence since He is everywhere.

At first this seems to be a very valid point and I can't remember anybody in our class arguing otherwise at the time. Although it is true to say that God is everywhere, cities lack one element of God's presence that cities will never arrive at. Nature has the fingerprints of God all over whereas the city has the marks of men. Nature speaks of the greatness of the one who made it and points towards him. Psalm 19 puts it beautifully.

PSALM 19:1-4

 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.

 They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.

  Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.

There is something of irreplaceable value in nature. It's great fun and good exercise to ponder on what particular things in nature has too say about God. The Bible is brilliant at doing that. I absolutely love it.

Isaiah 61:11

The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world.
Everyone will praise him!
His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring,
with plants springing up everywhere.

God is indeed everywhere but his creation has far more to say about him than our boring square shaped buildings. If we destroy nature we seriously miss out on experiencing a live demonstration of the Creator's greatness. We replace the awesome work of his hand with the not so nice work of ours.

Is there anything you and I can do to make sure we carry on seeing God's fingerprint in our surroundings?

Holidays

I'm on holiday at the moment. These are the days when you realize how great and precious really life is. Well, I do anyway. Now I can finally be in the Lord's presence unhurried. I can make myself available to the Spirit of God to move in any ways he wants and I have the time to wait on him all day long if that's necessary. But I also do realize that this may also be a single person's privilege too. So you, single people, make the most of being able to be in His presence and experience wonderful communion with the Father. He longs for you to come and sit at his knees and be with him! He alone can fulfill the deepest desire of you soul for intimacy.

recently, I have been with a dear friend of mine in Switzerland and she told me that she was becoming addicted to the presence of Jesus. I thought that was beautiful and I wished I felt the same way. The good news is that I am beginning to :)

Anyway, whoever comes across this blog if you know Jesus personally be encouraged to be in the presence of Jesus even if you haven't had the time to pray properly in ages. Any given moment is eligible to get closer to Jesus. Begin today!

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."Jeremiah 23:13

Be blessed :)