"The Hawk Knows the Way"

Job 39:26  Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?


This photo was taken by me one winter day when our hawk friend showed up and decided to sit in this big, old maple tree in front of our yard.    
He is definitely a local resident, for we see him on occasions.  Then again, there are times that we know that he is around, because there is no birds around to be seen or heard.  Our little bird friends are weary of our hawk because he looks for little prey.  


As he sat there, this day, he appeared to be taking a break and I believe he almost knew that I was trying to get a good photo of him.  I've seen him swoop by before, but he is so fast, he catches me off guard without my camera.  


We are lovers of animals and birds....it brightens our day when we get a glimpse of our hawk.


We can be like our mighty hawk.........Job 39:26  Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?............    the hawk flies by the wisdom of our God and the mere stretching of her wings and the direction that she takes is only because of God's greatness.  We can choose to live our lives and take the right path that the Lord wants us to take.  We can spread our wings and fly by the Lord's will....or we can live by our flesh and take the path of unrighteousness, which leads to total despair.


Open your hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him and in what He has done on the cross to save us from eternal agony.  The choice is yours.


If you choose to trust in Christ and let Him be Lord of your life, you will be given the Holy Spirit to indwell in you and guide you.....to take that path which God has provided for you.


You can start by reading the Lord's Word...the Bible....Psalms and Proverbs are an easier place to start....open you heart and pray to the Lord and He will hear you.....ask Him to lead you to the right Church and the right teachers and believers to help you along your new path.


You can also get information from here:


http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com
http://www.youtube.com/settledinheaven
http://www.intouch.org

The One Material Thing That Brings Us Closer With God

Whether you call it the "Bible" or the "Word," it is the one material thing that brings us closer to God.  It is the one material thing that teaches us how to become a Christian through faith in Jesus Christ and what our "new life" and "salvation" mean.  It teaches us how to live our new life in trying to be more "Christ-like."  We learn about our roots in the history of God's Creation and the Jewish faith.  We also learn of the first coming of Christ in the writings of the prophets.  In the Gospels, we learn about Christ's birth, life on earth, His apostles and followers, His crucfiction on the cross, His resurrection, and His acsension into Heaven.  In Revelation, we, His saved people, learn to look for the signs of Christ's second coming and events to happen after then. 

Did you know that the Bible is the one best selling book of all time with over one billion copies sold, translated into many, many languages?  In my belief, the Bible is the one book most debated about and died for throughout history.

If you are saved, you should know the value of the Bible.  It's not the monetary value that I speak of, it's the spiritual value that no one can put a price on.  If you are not saved, now is the time for you to start reading....the time left is getting shorter day by day.  Start reading the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.  The New Testament is a bit easier to start reading.  If you know a Christian, who can help you or a good Bible teaching church, you can get help learning and guidance on how to learn from God's Word.  You can also get help for learning how to become a Christian. 

Once you start, as you continue to read the Bible, you will begin to let God into your life, you will begin to see the purpose for you life, you will let Christ into your heart, and you will begin to enjoy reading.

My husband Rob, has a wonderful Bible teaching blog called Settled In Heaven Blog.  He also has his vlog on youtube called  Settled In Heaven Vlog.  You can go to his blog and read, or go to his vlog and listen...whichever works better for you.


Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.


Psalms 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Acts 12:24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.


John 3:14-18 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.




To God be the Glory for All!

Wisdom is Found in the Bible

2 Timothy 3:14-17 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; (15) And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

This is a picture of my watercolor painting of the Great Horned Owl.  When you think of owls, you think of the wise old owl....an icon for wisdom.  What is wisdom and how can we obtain it?  According to Wikipedia, "Wisdom is a deep understanding and realizing of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to choose or act to consistently produce the optimum results with a minimum of time and energy. Wisdom is the ability to optimally (effectively and efficiently) apply perceptions and knowledge and so produce the desired results. Wisdom is comprehension of what is true or right coupled with optimum judgment as to action."  ....as God's children we need to obtain wisdom from God's Word, the Bible.  In 2Timothy3:15, we are to know the holy scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  The Bible is where we learn that we must have faith in Jesus as Savior and Redeemer.  Faith in Jesus is what gives us salvation.  Keeping in the Word is what gives us Godly instruction of how we are to live our lives.  With the application of what God teaches us in the Bible, we can obtain a righteous life lived in wisdom of that which we learn in the scripture.  In James 3:17,18 we learn about the kind of wisdom that we must have.

James 3:17-18 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. (18) And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Consider the Work of God...

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? (14) In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.


 
This watercolor painting is called "Day Is Done."  While I was going through my art and photos, I came across my painting and thought...this painting was painted with peace in mind...a good feeling of accomplishment, yet tired, the Amish father walks with his young son in the final light of the day with a sense of joy, which he shares with his young one, guiding and teaching him the value of a good hardworking day and demonstrating some of the values needed for growing into a  man who serves the Lord.  Whether prosperity or adversity, find a sense of joy in both...our God is in control.
 
 
Ecclesiastes is a very good book to read in the Bible.  The word "Ecclesiastes" means "preacher" which also means "teacher."  King Solomon wrote this book with "teaching" in mind.  If you get a chance, take a look at some of the words of wisdom he writes about in this book.