Sunsets remind me of an ending - a grand finale of sorts! God gives us such a sweet glance of Heaven during the last few minutes of the day. It is a time to pause and reflect on GOD's glory and His presence. Each night the sunset is different and never quite looks the same. The desert has extremely colorful sunsets - such color in the sky amongst the barren land. I love the desert sunsets, they are some of the most beautiful sunsets ever! I think that is part of God's design to have a bit of beauty amongst the brownness and deadness of the desert. I also love the tropical sunsets- they are different from the desert. I really like the sun reflecting on the ocean. It gives such a sense of serenity.
I hope you guys don't mind my OFF topic from the Streams book. I just couldn't help myself.
2 comments:
I don't believe you are off topic at all! As a matter of fact the reason I posted the sunrise was because of Nov 28th's verse "Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice."
That night, Nov. 28th, as the kids and I drove home...we saw the orangest sun I have EVER seen. It was getting close to setting. It was so magnificent. I had never seen such a bright orange color before EVER it was...ELECTRIC. I couldn't help but think of our Streams devotion. Praise God that He uses this book to bless us. I dare not say that without emphasizing it is only in conjunction with the Bible that it has any merit at all :) In case anyone is wondering...I chose Daniel as the book of prophesy to read.
Hi tsyr mu, I have the book and would like to contribute sometimes, if you can set me up. I'll just comment on today's devotion (Dec. 2) right here.
The book says that great characters are made by suffering. So many people agonize over the idea of why there is suffering and evil in this world. What if we were to tell them it is to God's glory and one way he manifests this glory is by refining us until we are people with Godly character? I don't think this is the answer we are looking for. But it is true, isn't it? Sadly, for many years of my own life, the deepest part of me felt like this life is a sort of cruel game. On some level, I knew it was to God's glory, but what could that possibly really mean? A few years ago, I realized that I don't see it this way anymore. I can't pinpoint why, but it has something to do with trust. Trusting God at his word. Not having to understand the whys of everything. He has pretty much taken away my desire to know more than He offers for us to know. The peace that has come with this has been most appreciated!
When people ask about my cancer situation this past year and have I figured out how God has used it for good, it is difficult to answer. Not because it hasn't been used for good in many obvious ways, but because it is difficult to put into words what surgery our most blessed Lord is doing deep within our very being. He changes us with a scalpel and it seems He often uses pain to bring healing.
In Spurgeon's devotions, he deals a lot with trials, pain and suffering. As you are reading, he almost makes you feel like you are God's most precious lamb if you are suffering much. He cares for us through our suffering, but I think it might go farther-- He gives us suffering because He cares for us.
For those of you who don't know me, I want to be clear that I don't think we should be the ones to bring on any additional suffering and we can rejoice in the deep breath we can take in times of ease. He gives us these times, also.
Let's pray that our character is built by suffering and that we will never turn to bitterness. Also that we will have compassion on others who are suffering.
Julie5monkeys
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