“They shall mount up with wings like eagles.”
Pictured is Eagle’s Point that my hiking Go Group (doing what I already do with those who need Jesus) recently came across.
If you look closely, you can see what appears to be tiny sticks protruding from its beak. They are not sticks, however.
From our perspective much lower on the trail, they looked like sticks. But from our perspective on the point, we clearly saw people relaxing before they continued their hike.
Perspective. Life at times can be all about perspective.
A former student wrote, “A lot of people I know are going through a huge rough patch in their life. All I can say is LOOK!! Look at how far you’ve come. I know you’re not done. Pick up the pieces and paint the new picture. I know for a fact you’ve got more than one waiting for the new masterpiece.”
Looking at life from our perspective, which often is in the midst of the hike, can get pretty discouraging. We feel inept because we fall. We feel worthless because we don’t see the results we think we should. We get tired because it seems we’ve been walking forever.
It’s the like, though, the old adage says, “You can’t see the forest through the trees.” Your perspective is only trees after endless trees.
From Jesus’ perspective, it’s a forest, the finished masterpiece, as well as the trees. Even the dead ones that need to be cut down.
As you keep climbing higher and higher, the more you will see what God has done in and through the life He gave you.
Keep climbing. You’ll soon be encouraged by the forest you see.

“What do you see in the clouds?”
My light reading these past few months has been about a small town sheriff. The character keeps saying, “I have to look over the evidence with new eyes. I just might be overlooking something.”
It’s the same with following Jesus. We think we see what we are seeing in our lives, but might we be missing something? We see life from our perspective.
Yet, it’s like looking at the clouds and seeing various formations in them, but they really are not there, are they? They are just clouds.
Sometimes we need a fresh view of God. It’s like what one author wrote, “Learn to associate ideas worthy of God with all that happens in Nature – the sunrises and the sunsets, the sun and the stars, the changing seasons, and your imagination will never be at the mercy of your impulses, but at the service of your God.”
Our God is far bigger than our imaginations could ever imagine; and, He loves revealing Himself to those who want to know Him. Let Him show you what’s in the clouds!
If you need a fresh view of God today, let Him open up your imagination. Allow Him to show you something about Him that you’ve never seen before. It just might expand your vision of how to follow Jesus.

“If there were no thunder, men would have little fear of lightning.”
It is quite stormy outside. It has been raining off and on for the past few hours where I am at today. Kind of nice to see that liquid sunshine fall from the sky.
Then I heard and felt it – thunder, lots and lots of thunder. It was so forceful that it shook the house.
This brought me back to the time when the Israelites stood before Mt. Sinai listening to the voice of God for the first time.
The thunder and lightning scared them so bad that they didn’t want to hear directly from God. They backed away as they thought they were going to die.
There weren’t, of course. But God sent them a strong message. Don’t take Our relationship for granted. You serve a powerful God.
Sometimes, Jesus believers take His love for granted. His mercy becomes expected. And His grace demanded.
Slow down my brothers and sisters. You or the things you do are simply not that important. Your relationship with Jesus is. Don’t make Him thunder into your life to get you to realize it. As out of love, He will.

“Will you let the superficial overtake or become more important than the significant by taking Jesus out of the happiness equation?”
Recent studies show that “suicidal thinking, severe depression and rates of self-injury among U.S. college students more than doubled over less than a decade.”
The author quoted this study and made the point that there were at least two reasons for this: a loss of significance and a loss of a moral compass from a higher source, namely God.
In short, doing our own things doesn’t work.
Significant comes from doing what Jesus said to do, even though it is harder and out of our comfort zone. Superficial is doing what you want to do because it is easier and can be done quickly.
Significant actions bring long-term fulfillment, but short-term uncomfortableness as we are being made competent by Christ. Superficial activities bring short-term happiness, but long-term angst because our actions don’t have lasting meaning.
Actual listening to and following Jesus does work.
I don’t mean what we think Jesus says to do; what “Christianity” has said to do; and certainly not what our church or pastoral relationship says to do.
I mean loving Jesus enough to trust Him when He asks us to obey Him, knowing full well that doing what He says could make us extremely uncomfortable.
Simply put, obeying Him brings significance and meaning to our lives. It gives us a reason to attack each day while facing a world that is quite hostile to His way of thinking.
Yeah it can hurt and sometimes be uncomfortable. In the end, though, it is extremely worth it.

“Always be humble and kind.” Tim McGraw
We ARE NOT as good as we think we are. In fact, there is junk in our lives we don’t even realize is junk until we see it in black and white on the pages of Scripture.
And because this is true, we also don’t realize we are being forgiven for that junk long before we recognize it as sin in need of forgiveness.
This is the sin offering of Leviticus 4. Forgiveness for sin done in ignorance. This is one of the seven sacrifices Jesus fulfilled on the cross, culminating in His statement, “It is finished.”
Thus, we need to stay humble. As Paul writes, “Let anyone who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
As I minister in the realm of law enforcement, I see the ugly side of humanity. I see “good” people on their bad days, and “bad” people on their hellish days.
In order not to become jaded, I filter what I see through the truth: I am just as broken as the next person. I need a Savior who fixes my brokenness today, tomorrow and on the day I will pass through this plane of existence.
If I am to boast at all, I will boast of my Savior, the One who continually fixes my brokenness. This keeps me humble. It also allows me to be kind to other just as broken “good” or “bad” people.
Thank Jesus that you can be fixed! As you do, you’ll stay humble and kind. Everyone, including you, needs a Savior.