Recently a friend texted me, “You’re my example and hero when it comes to trusting the Lord.” Wow that felt like a lot of pressure when I read it.
Well, what else are we going to do? To whom shall we go?
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:68 I tried to find the Vineyard song based on this verse, but could not. If you know the song, please send me a comment with the title?
All I can say is my life requires continuous total surrender. I am well aware that even when I think for a moment that I have it all together, things can crumble in an instant. Without the love and strength of my faithful Redeemer, I am nothing.
I wanted to post this song recently and had difficulty finding the You Tube version that had this sculptor in it. He portrays the human heart accurately according to experts. Well, without further ado, here it is! A song for my life and perhaps yours? The video is just amazing!
All I say is trust – t is a cross – the word asks the question ‘R U trusting Him?’ and ends with another t
About a week ago I awoke from an afternoon nap with portions of this song resounding in my head. It took me a while, but with the help of the internet I located the song. I have the CD from years ago and it had been a very long time since I heard it. I just love how the Holy Spirit can bring things back to our remembrance! I was greatly comforted by the lyrics.
Here is another recording of the same song from the Everglades correctional institution in Miami, FL. It has come familiar Christian refrains at the end.
Last week I went to a meeting. My friend who is 87 has recently had chemo and radiation. She just learned the cancer is not gone. Awaiting word from doctor if there is a medication she can take to mitigate the spread. There is a surgery, but doctor is afraid she would not survive that.
Then met a friend for lunch. Towards the end of our lunch she told me her husband is suffering again from the mental illness that plagued him earlier in life. He spent one week in a hospital and then checked himself out against doctors wishes. He has not adapted well to life at home. She cannot sleep as he roams the house all hours of the night.
Same day I saw a familiar face at the grocery. As we passed a second time I stopped and said I know I should know you but cannot think of your name. She said, “Me too!” We reminded each other of our names. She had recently suffered from breast cancer. Finished her treatments and was fine. Then last Easter she began vomiting and could not stop. At the hospital they did a CT Scan and found a mass on her pancreas. When I saw her at the store she was wearing a chemo head cover. My heart just sank. Her husband had a terrible mouth and tongue cancer a few years ago. He has recovered, but oh, now this!
Then my 81 year old cousin called to let me know she is at her daughter’s house recovering from a broken hip. At least a neighbor found her quickly and the neighbors are all taking care of her house and her mail while she is at the daughter’s house in another town.
I have told you about my illnesses and medical challenges. I also know we each have our own brokenness and sufferings. I learned years ago it is not good to compare my pain to someone else’s. We cannot know what goes on in another persons body and mind. It is not good to diminish our own problems by looking at other people and telling ourselves, “It’s not that bad,” when in fact for you personally, things can be bad.
Baby Francesca, you might remember, was born with a heart defect. I asked you to pray for her almost a year ago. She was in the hospital for almost a full year before a heart transplant came through. She had a very long surgery, but I am happy to report she is home now and doing well!
My friend’s husband was eventually readmitted to the hospital. Pray he cooperates with his treatment.
So what about your pain, my pain? Our personal pain and suffering is valid because it is ours. My pain does not compare to yours because only you can know what your pain does to you. We must learn to respect the suffering of others and also respect ourselves and what we suffer.
The revisionary surgery the doc wants to do on my toe sounds awful and painful, but the recovery of no weight bearing for 8 weeks is just as awful as the procedure itself. We do not struggle with cancer though I know a little bit about the pain of living with mental illness, but that is not in my marriage or my husband. I have never had a child with a life threatening heart condition. I can barely comprehend the joy of having that child healed, restored and released to my home. So far, Bob and I have not had to face cancer or its treatment in our later years of life. A hip fracture might be in my future or my husband’s, but not so far. Does that diminish what I might have to face?
Patience and empathy with one another is necessary. Kindness and offering help to others is what the Gospel calls us to do. How can you be Jesus with feet and hands to those around you who suffer?
We are also taught to be gentle with ourselves. If I have no grace for my own suffering then how authentic will my compassion be for others? Scripture says to “Love your neighbor AS yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 19:19, 22:39, Mark, Luke, Romans, Galatians and James) James calls it the royal law. James 2:8 NIV
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
Here I add {We have not loved ourselves as You want us to.}
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.BCP Post Communion Prayer
God made you and He loves you;therefore who are you to not love and cherish yourself. I am not talking about selfishness here. I am stressing self-care.
How are you at this skill? I encourage you to pray for those around you who are suffering. I also challenge you to touch the deep places of your soul to make certain you are doing your best to recognize your own needs. If you need prayer ask for it. Spend time with the Lord of your heart to learn about areas you may have neglected. Make certain you are transparent with yourself and with God. He loves you dearly, and expects no less from you towards yourself and your various struggles.
Trust Him to lead you in all paths of righteousness.
Yesterday I pulled down a branch on our oak tree to get a better look at the acorn growing on a higher branch. Indeed, it is a burr oak acorn! So pleased. The story continues:
One little acorn speaking to me so loudly about “the site of your tent, the curtains of your habitation, stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.” This acorn calls to you also. Where are you holding back in your life? Who are you hiding your affection from? Those in your immediate family need and want to hear from you. Though you might never have been one to speak in the past, they need to know your heart. They are craving a word from you, an insight into your feelings, and how your actions relate to your emotions. They want to know you, beyond the superficial shell that you present. They are hungry to truly know and understand your deepest self. Those whom God has placed in your daily life are there for a purpose also. Examine the site of your tent. Is there a way you can stretch out the curtain and place of your habitation? Ask the Father for the courage to move forward. Pray He will show you how to lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. Joyce Meier says you are to “deposit yourself with God and let God use you to bless others.”
Isaiah 54 goes on in verses 4 and 5 to say:
Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth He is called.
Usually the greatest fear in becoming new is that people won’t like us. “People pleasing” quashes the move of God more often than the devil ever attempted. Here the Word assures us that if we will try, God will come alongside and help us to do what we could not do in our own strength. We “will NOT BE ASHAMED.” Powerful promise there; but first, we have to try.
Can we truly begin to comprehend the magnitude of “your Maker is your Husband?” That is an intimacy few of us reach in this lifetime, and here it is offered in the Old Testament. Now through the New Covenant we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to make this promise a reality. The hard little cap of humanity can hold back the power of God that rests within each true believer. When we choose to put aside the cap, like the one on the Bur Acorn, our lives can feed the hungry multitudes. Remember acorns used to be valuable to people as a food source.
The Internet yielded information on how to make them palatable today. “Native Americans made acorns much more palatable by first blanching the oak nuts (in boiling water) with wood ashes to remove a bitter taste associated with tannins.” The method involves boiling in water with ashes to leach away the tannins and make the nut meal sweeter.
You cannot receive what your Husband has for you as long as you are clutching your unfulfilled dreams in both hands. Take the ashes of your unfulfilled dreams and offer them to God.
your unfulfilled dreams
Living Water
Open your hands to Him. As Christians, we also need to be cleansed with water. Water is mentioned 79 times in 70 verses in the New Testament. Jesus promised that He would give us living water. Another set of instructions for the acorns says they need to be boiled or roasted or both to make them palatable. We are told in Scripture that we may have to go through fire. I have always thought that perhaps like Reynolds Wrap, we go through fire so that we are ‘oven tempered for flexible strength.’ Hebrews 12: 28-29 says
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
To use acorns as food we are to “collect the acorns in the fall, when ripe. Remove shells and caps. The shells will come off easier if you first slit with a sharp knife.” OUCH! That sounds an awful lot like death of the seed. Crucifixion. To offer myself according to Romans 12:1-2:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
It seems that nothing will do short of that sharp knife and taking off that shell. So that Bur Acorn led me to ponder. Then to pray. To look up Scripture and pray some more. To begin to risk moving out of where I was comfortable and risk giving parts of my life to others. I have not been ashamed! I am getting to know my Maker a little better as my Husband. In addition, my earthly husband concurs that this is a good thing.
The preparation directions continue saying that “after boiling you may toast the acorns in a 350 degree oven for another hour. They can then be eaten as they are or ground into a flour.” Some people seem to get a harder Christian walk than others do. Looking at the comparative value of acorns as nuts to be eaten or acorns as ground into flour, I can see momentarily the sense in that harder walk. Flour can be used for many more products than nuts can. Of course, the Father will produce breads, cakes, pies, gravy thickeners, coatings for all sorts of products, an endless variety of things with flour. Nuts though have a limited use. Be encouraged if your walk is one where the grinding into flour seems to be the norm. Your flour will go further to spread the kingdom than the acorn that never let its shell be opened. Your flour will go further than the roasted nut that was simply eaten as a snack food. God knows the plans He has for you, as stated in Jeremiah 29:11-14a
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to You. You will seek me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD."
Now I am amused by my pronunciation of the American Indian name… u’tahu can…. perhaps it is something like “You Twah you can.” You saw you can do this. You saw it through months of prayer and preparation through the Scriptures. You saw it through the Holy Spirit opening your eyes to the Father’s desire. Open your heart in love to those around you. Move beyond the usual limited communications and surface talk. Get really intimate with God and then with others. Let the nourishment that your life can be help others to grow into something terrific for the Kingdom. You saw you can through this simple illustration. Now will you?
Next time you see an acorn, ponder how the cap is fitting that covers your acorn life and your rich innermost being. Are you ready to strip away the cap and expose and expand that life for the Lord to use? The old saying is still true, “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.”
When the tree first arrived to our property I made a point of picking off the galls that were attached to the leaves. We have fed this tree and watered it. The soil here is difficult for anything to grow in. The builders did not help by mixing in huge rocks! In spite of the odds the tree is beginning to thrive! I was thrilled when I realized (once again) that this is a Burr Oak tree.
In 2002, long before we lived here, I wrote a piece about the inspiration I gained from a Bur Oak acorn. I will post it over 2 days, giving you time to ponder the message and trying not to bore you with a LONG read!
Often while I am walking prayerfully, my attention will be drawn to something around me. I will pick up the object and continue on my prayer walk. So it was during the mild February of 2002 while I was on retreat and came across a Bur Oak acorn. As I held it in my hand, continuing my walk and praying, I knew it would unfold its mysteries to me in the days or months to come. As I left the retreat grounds, I placed the acorn on the console of my car. For many months it rode right next to me with this scripture ringing out from it’s hard, pointy cover:
“Enlarge the site of your tent and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.” Isaiah 54:2 NRSV
If you are not familiar with the Bur Oak (also at times spelled Burr oak) here is a short history taken from various Internet resources. The tree is tall, fairly slow growing, long-lived, and highly desirable for windbreaks, shelterbelts, and ornamental use. It has an impressive crown with a massive trunk and stout branches. The bur oak adapts to various soils where other oaks fail. The tree is tolerant of urban conditions. The bur will bear acorns in the nursery in ten years. It has strong wood and is good for timber.
The acorn itself is classified as a nut, because of its bony pericarp, and is actually the fruit of the oak tree. Particular to the genus Quercus, the stem broadens to the cupule or cap that holds the oak seed and fruit in place. The burr oak, so named because of its characteristic large seeds or acorns, was known as u’tahu can in the Native American tongue of the Lakota people, meaning acorn stem tree. More than half of the one-inch acorn is enclosed in a fringed, spiny cupule. Native Americans used them as an important dietary item with great storage capability and mobility. Wildlife, including turkeys, blue jays, squirrels, and deer also utilize acorns as a food source that is rich in carbohydrates and fats.
Today we like Bur Oaks for their adaptability to urban conditions. Indians and animals used them for food. What did God want me to see? I see an acorn with an almost impenetrable cover. Hard and dried and in it’s own way thorny. After months of looking at this Bur acorn, I began to realize that this acorn could be me. I could have my fruit “nearly completely covered by a rough, frilled cap.” Though I may ripen “in early to mid-autumn” the fruit would be unpalatable and inaccessible unless I let others have access to the fruit God has given to me.
There are at least two ways we can view the acorn: as a nut/fruit to eat or as a seed to plant. Animals unwittingly spread the Bur oak trees by burying stashes of the nuts and then forgetting where they put them. These nut-seeds may germinate into new oak trees. Therefore, I have choices here! I can remain one tough acorn, almost completely covered with a hard facade, or I can risk opening and revealing what is within. Paul made the same challenge to the Corinthians.
We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you.There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return–I speak as to children–open wide your hearts also. 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 NRSV
Moreover, the Living Bible makes it a bit clearer:
Oh, my dear Corinthian friends! I have told you all my feelings; I love you with all my heart. Any coldness still between us is not because of any lack of love on my part, but because your love is too small and does not reach out to me and draw me in. I am talking to you now as if you truly were my very own children. Open your hearts to us! Return our love! 2 COR 6:11-13
My choice to open or remain closed to my Christian brothers and sisters around me is always my choice: daily, weekly, monthly.
The right choice was strongly recommended by our Lord in John 12. He is speaking here about a grain of wheat. An acorn, as the seed is not a far stretch. Thinking of the nut-seed as buried in the ground read John 12.
“I am telling you the truth: If one grain of wheat does not fall into the ground and die, it will always be just one grain of wheat, but if the grain dies, it will produce a large cluster.” And in Simple English “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. “ John 12:24-25 NRSV
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:24 New King James
It seems, through comparison of these three translations, that if I am to open to those around me I must fall into the ground, die to being just a nut seed, and live to becoming a tree plant. Truly a transfiguration! I may choose to remain just an acorn – alone – yet still an acorn. Alternatively, I may choose to move on to the next phase of living that God had in mind when He blew life into my being. Falling into the ground and dying will mean willingly removing my outer impenetrable cover, stripping away my surface persona to become the best that is within me. Hard and dried and in its own way thorny, the familiarity of the husk has become almost more desirable than the risk of the unknown I will face as a growing plant. The Gardener calls me on. (John 15:1)
Do we find this so surprising, that Jesus would ask us to die to our familiar ways and become something new with His help and guidance? Wasn’t He asked to die on our behalf and take on a new life form by our heavenly Father? Constantly, the Father left the task before Jesus as a choice. Jesus chose to become the firstborn from the dead. (Colossians 1:18) He leads the way for us.
Are you willing to yield yourself in surrender to His plans? Will you open wide your heart to His calling and the tasks God sets before you?
Last Sunday we drove down to Bernheim Forest in Kentucky to see the sculptures of Giants. We also saw a lovely purple flower I did not recognize. I thought I was saving the flower information to write about on this blog. I inadvertently posted it and most of you were likely scratching your head, asking, “What??”
Ruellia nudiflora, commonly known as Violet Ruellia, is a member of the Acanthaceae family and is native to several states in the United States, including Texas. This plant is also known as Common Wild Petunia, Violet Wild Petunia, or Wild Petunia. Violet Ruellia is a low-growing perennial that can reach heights of up to two feet tall.
It is known for its beautiful violet flowers that bloom in the summer and fall. Violet Ruellia can be found growing in a variety of habitats, including prairies, meadows, and open woods. It is also a popular plant for pollinators such as bees and butterflies.”
Violet Wild Petunia
What drew us to the Forest in the first place was these wooden sculptures of giants.
Entitled “The Boy”
as you can see he is a boy of great size!
Adults and children with “The Boy”
We had a nice turkey sandwich lunch with fruit at the Visitor Center and took off to fidn the Mother and Girl sculptures. We got lost in the maze of unmarked roads. Finally made it back to the visitor center area and asked a man if he was familiar with the park and could direct us to see the sculpture. He was quite helpful.
If you hike the main trail it is 2 miles and most of it through a meadow. Being a clear sunny day and considering our ages and my feet we opted to drive nearer to the other 2 sculptures. The woman was reclining under a tree and depicted as quite pregnant!
We heard many visitors comment on the giants toenails!
Being a hot and sunmy day I was glad she could rest in the shade!
We walked part of the way to the “girl.” Decided we were tired and as the trail went up and down hills we were finished for the day. If and when we visit again we will know just where to stop and likely begin with the girl next time. Overall, we were glad we made the trip and finally saw “The Giants.” There is supposed to be a similar exhibit in the Dayton, Ohio area. Hopefully we will venture there one day to compare the two parks.
Bob and I were eating dinner the other day and I noticed our kitchen counter top was littered with the color of summer! I took only a mental photo. A day or so later a neighbor gifted me with an Athena melon or as they are called locally an Indiana melon. Sweeter than cantaloupe, football shaped, in place of the round shape of the cantaloupe. Its flesh is drippy, lush orange.
When I noticed the bounty on the counter at lunch time the next day I did not get up to straighten the counter, just snapped these photos for the blog.
In the foreground are the zinnias Bob grew from seed. Only one plant came up, but what a beauty. The wind from a thunderstorm had knocked one branch to the ground. I picked that branch and a few other blooms to make a vaseful.
Almost in the background is the uncut Athena melon. The kitchen was redolent with its fragrance.
In the center of the photo are ripe peaches and a small vase with one zinnia and nasturtium blooms.
I stuck some nasturtium seeds in the ground this year hoping for the best! That means hoping for lots of flowers. When we were first married someone planted nasturtiums in the old fashioned driveway that had 2 cement tracks for tires. I have since thought of them as our newly wed flowers. Knowing my physical being is not what it used to be I comforted myself with the thought that as long as I can poke a hole in the ground (with a dandelion digger no less) and stick a seed in the ground, we can have nasturtiums well into our later golden years.
Nasturtiums do not fare well in fertile soil, as much as poor soil. The back hill has poor soil compared to the front flower bed. The nasturtiums I stuck in the ground out front are mostly large leaves, few flowers so far! I do love the round leaves that contrast so well with the feathery ferns! You might remember that my opening photo for the blog shows a snail within the flower of a nasturtium. Ah! treasure in plain sight! The leaves also remind me of the lily poem, “Perhaps I can ask you just to be a lily leaf, stand and tip.” https://wordpress.com/post/treasures-in-plain-sight.org/16894
Mom taught me to take hard peaches and ripen them in a brown paper bag. Wow are they sweet! On my calendar from Joan Chittister the August saying is, “What a gift it is to sit and let the juice of a peach run down your chin.”
So no, I did not straighten these photos or clear the counter, but I wanted to emphasize that each of us have treasures in plain sight. All about us, each day. Maybe you do not have flowers in a garden, but I bet there is something in your house or on your counter that gives you cause to praise.
I cannot sing this song enough. As I wait to see the doctor about “revisionary surgery” I still can praise. At times I just need to get loud with my praise. On film at one church I saw this performed during a worship service with prisoners at a prison in Ohio. If anyone needs to praise I would think, like Paula and Silas (Acts 16:25), those guys did. And praise they did!
In this video look at those young people willing to praise! If you cannot tolerate the tattoos or hairstyles just listen to the words and take them to heart. This is not just a rock concert, this in worship. “Praise is the water my enemies drown in!”
I’ll praise in the valley, praise on the mountain (Yeah) I’ll praise when I’m sure, praise when I’m doubting I’ll praise when outnumbered, praise when surrounded ‘Cause praise is the waters my enemies drown in
As long as I’m breathing I’ve got a reason to Praise the Lord, oh my soul (C’mon) Praise the Lord, oh my soul
I’ll praise when I feel it, and I’ll praise when I don’t (Yeah) I’ll praise ’cause I know You’re still in control ‘Cause my praise is a weapon, it’s more than a sound (More than a sound) Oh, my praise is the shout that brings Jericho down (Yeah) As long as I’m breathing I’ve got a reason to Praise the Lord (C’mon), oh my soul Praise the Lord, oh my soul I won’t be quiet, my God is alive So how could I keep it inside? (I gotta) Praise the Lord, oh my soul (Yeah, praise the Lord)
I’ll praise ’cause You’re sovereign, praise ’cause You reign Praise ’cause You rose and defeated the grave I’ll praise ’cause You’re faithful, praise ’cause You’re true Praise ’cause there’s nobody greater than You I’ll praise ’cause You’re sovereign, praise ’cause You reign (You reign) Praise ’cause You rose and defeated the grave I’ll praise ’cause You’re faithful, praise ’cause You’re true Praise ’cause there’s nobody greater than You
I won’t be quiet, my God is alive How could I keep it inside? (How could I) I won’t be quiet, my God is alive How could I keep it inside? (I won’t keep quiet) I won’t be quiet, my God is alive How could I keep it inside? (I gotta) Praise the Lord, oh my soul Let everything that has breath (Hey, hey) Praise the Lord (Hey, hey), praise the Lord Let everything, let everything that has breath (C’mon, c’mon, c’mon) Praise the Lord (C’mon, c’mon) Praise the Lord (C’mon, c’mon)
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Psalm 103:1 NIV
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6 NIV
I must remember that each sighting and experience of wildlife out my window is a gift from the Father. I am always amazed at those who hold up traffic at Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains because they see a white-tailed deer. We have them at home I declare! And then I realize that not everyone if that fortunate.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Who brings the buck and the doe to flower and field. May they find nourishment and Your peace in this place. Amen.
I saw this great blue heron fly over our house, then down towards the retention pond. There are no fish there but plenty of frogs! Grabbed the leash and the dog. Called a neighbor and off we galloped. Had to be stealthy as we got to the pond. And yep, the heron was still there!
Now granted the video is not terrific as I only had my iPhone, but the frog scampering across the water was pretty funny. Watch the ending of the video for the jumping frog! Poor heron walked almost the entire perimeter of the pond and never got a thing to eat.
I was in hysterics watching this. Sent it to most of my friends. Hilarious!! Click on the link. You can ignore the sign in for Facebook and just watch the video. Don’t bother with the sound. The subtitles are so funny!
On the national news the same night was this clip. One of our Grandgirls is fluent in sign language, so, of course, I had to send it to her with the suggestion that she train her 2 Corgis this way! You do want the sound on for this one, unless of course, you know sign language!
Lizzie and Drew’s Corgis, like in the first video, live with several cats!
Regardless of your denomination in Christianity you have likely been exposed to the Creeds. Part of the Apostles Creed says, “He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.”
In Lectio Divina we are told to read the Scriptures repeatedly, meditatively and picture ourselves in the scene described. How do you see the Ascension of Christ? The celebration is generally held 40 days after the resurrection. The Word says
So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” Acts 1:6-11 New Living Testament
One website says that in Lectio Divina we are to take a step of meditation. “The second element is meditation (meditatio). By using your imagination enter into the Biblical scene in order to “see” the setting, the people, and the unfolding action. It is through this mediation that you encounter the text and discover its meaning for your life.”
So what do you imagine they saw “as He was taken up into a cloud while they were watching”?
I was startled recently to come across the photo of this depiction in a church.
It took me a second to actually see the ceiling fixture above. It is evidently based upon some Medieval art such as below.
Well, I never! Never thought of this – never imagined this. Would love to see Kelly Latimore write an icon on this passage!
Here are a few more images. I hope you will use your imagination and sit with this verse for a time of prayer.
Not certain I would have been this calm and peaceful had I been present to see His ascension.
“Whaaat?”asked the balding man with long white mustache and beard. in the gray robe.
And a depiction in stained glass
It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. 1 Peter 3:21b-22 NIV
If Christ came to earth, taught, died, rose again from the dead but never rose to take His place at the right hand of the Father we would not have the power available to us in our faith – the same power that raised Jesus from the dead – the gift that is given to each of us.
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. Ephesians 1:17-21
Jesus promised to send the Gift of the Father, the Holy Spirit, to dwell within us, to walk with us and guide us. And His promise was not in vain.
Ask for this gift with a sincere heart and you will receive.
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 