January through April 2020
Mr and Mrs Blue Jay perfectly at home in a world of frosty white!
The Daffys survived an April snowfall just fine (believe it or not!)
And lastly, springtime Lupine from last year for some cheer!
(I think they're Lupine, I may be making that up!)
(I think they're Lupine, I may be making that up!)
Thoughts from the other day...
The thing about evil is that it's limited by time. And it's fate has already been determined. We have no need to fear the present circumstances. Our lives are eternal. At least, part of who we are is eternal. Our bodies may fade, and pass away, but who we are inside lives on forever. Evil doesn't want you to recognize this and consider it. Evil doesn't want people to find comfort in God and what He tells us.
God sent Jesus to bruise the head of the Serpent. It's a funny picture to imagine in our minds, isn't it? If you look in Genesis, you'll see where this comes from. God very lovingly shares with us a story when the Bible begins - a story told from the very beginning. He made the earth and He made the sky, the sun and the stars. He made plants. He made animals. He made people. And He knew that if He gave us something very special - the freedom to think and make choices for ourselves - that people could not be perfect. We would mess up. We would make mistakes. The first mistake made was when Eve decided to listen to the voice of a nasty character called the Serpent. You know who this is? The old devil, Satan. She made a choice to eat something that would change the awareness of her mind - she would see and understand herself and everything else in a new way. She would be responsible now for the things she said and did. She was responsible in ways she was not when she could live in the innocence of her mind.
This is where that saying comes in. God promised the old Devil, that serpent, that He had a plan and it would bruise his head. Do you know something about God's promises? The always come true. When Jesus came to be born as a man, suffer and die for us, God's promise came true.
You see, Satan and evil is already defeated.
What lengths God has gone to show us how much He loves us. This is the truth. This is what evil doesn't want you to hear. It's all so simple! We know God is real and His tenderness toward His creation is real. Just look at the smiles of innocent children, or stop to think about all the beauty wrapped up in one little flower. God's attention and constant thoughts toward His creation is a precious gift to us. God sees and understand us. He anticipates trouble for us and makes a way for us to escape it.
If you're feeling defeated by all the bad things and bad news around you, take heart! Any evil that surrounds us at the present is temporary at best. Remember, God has already won the victory. The icing on the cake: God loves us and thinks of us to a degree we can't even imagine, and it's just a part of who He is!
