Posts Tagged ‘ Beauty ’
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30, ESV
The Church is not supposed to be merely a place of entertainment and feel-good messages. The Church is the Bride of Christ who draws others to herself by her devotion to and worship of God our Savior.
One thing have I asked of the Lord , that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
Psalm 27:4, ESV
Is our heart’s desire to be with God? Trials, troubles, and challenges should draw us closer to Him, for He is our only hope and strength.
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
Psalm 27:4, ESV
God’s Temple today is the Church: the living, biological, spiritual Body of Christ.
Seek the beauty of God amongst His People, Christians, who point this world to Christ and the eternal life He offers.
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
Psalm 27:4, ESV
To seek the face and presence of the Lord is to seek the truth of Christ.
To seek Christ is to change your life, your thinking, and your actions by the help of the Holy Spirit.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11, ESV
We appreciate beauty, for God has made beautiful things. He also gave us a desire for perfection and eternity, but it can only be attained through Christ, our hope and beautiful Savior.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8, ESV
It is so easy to get distracted by and focused on the bad things in life and this world.
Ask God to help you see the good, beautiful, just, true things in each moment. (It helps a lot with stress and cynicism!)
Sometimes theology is more than attempting to describe attributes of God and the Christian life. In fact, all of the time it is important to praise God for who He is and what He has done.
The poem for today is just that, a celebration of what He has made. As some friends and I were watching a sunset from the side of a mountain over a beautiful glade in the northern part of Arizona, I said, “I wish I had a camera to catch this beauty.” My friend exclaimed quietly, “You do! Mister poet, use your words!” So I did:
Sunset Point
Purple mountain majesty does not begin explain
the sunlight pouring over mountains and shining through the rain.
The darkness of the east encroaching on the horizon,
with impossible rainbows reminding of promises of God.
The mountainsides glistening in the refreshing drizzle,
and the setting sunlight refracting through each sprinkle.
The sun glowing red as it sinks lower in the sky;
The blues, reds, and purples of clouds reflecting the shine.
With the edge of the clouds nearing the far off peaks,
and rain leaking from them making it hard to speak.
The curl towards the sunset seems as an eyelid closing
and the sun going down beneath make it look as if God were dozing;
closing His eyes at the end of another beautiful day,
revealing His majesty in the blues, oranges, reds, and grays.
The hills beneath the sky rolling under the searing light
with the gently falling rain creating the most amazing sight.
The greens and browns temporarily alit with rainbows
make the scene shine all the more wonderful.
Towering mountains and cumulonimbus
overwhelming all of the senses;
the smell of the rain, the sounds of the wind in the trees,
the feel and sight of creation moving mightily.
Catching a sunset over the prominent mountains
and seeing God in the masterpiece of His Creation,
moving the hardest heart to stop and ponder
the beauty of this amazing natural wonder.
No human paintbrush could ever invent
the colorful palate of this environment.
No human mind would ever conceive
the rays sifting through rain and trees,
changing the landscape each passing moment
into a more breathtaking wonderment.
God barely trying in His fanciful play,
moving light through the falling spray
makes a more picturesque scene
than any man could ever hope to dream.
His creation proving to be far superior
to anything man has tried to manufacture.
The jutting peaks poking into floating clouds
with rain and sunlight falling mingled down,
and trees and grass and sand down below
expertly catching every delicate blow.
As the sun finally disappears behind the hills,
like seeing the dust fly up from God’s doorsill,
is the last drops of rain skipping off the light beams,
and the clouds and earth coming together to meet.
As the darkness overtakes the sky and terrain,
and the clouds block out the sun’s final rays,
the rain begins to slow and then diminish
and the day come to an end in a glorious finish.
Taken from deeper words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m klem, pages 210-220.
a simple man of God 