God does not have an address

 

Sketch - Port Au Prince Haiti 

 As I sketched this I was reminded that God does not have an address.  He is not limited by borders, governments, or curfews.  He exists equally in castles and back alleys.  It is sometime easy to put God in a box, associate him with Sunday and the church.   God can not be contained or constrained.  His desire to be with us is so strong that he gave his only son (Jesus) as a sacrifice.  Jesus, in one selfless act, took on all our sin, past and present, so that we could be forgiven.  My prayer today is that I would not squander that gift, that I would be sensitive to Gods calling in my life,  and that I would be a willing tool yielded in his hand. 

John 3:16-18 (ESV)

For God So Loved the World

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world,  that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Psalm 92

 

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree
    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ They are planted in the house of the Lord;
    they flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They still bear fruit in old age;
    they are ever full of sap and green,
¹⁵ to declare that the Lord is upright;
    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Grand Goave Haiti

Southwest of Port au Prince is a small town know as Grand Goave.  It is a unique place where the hill country meets the beaches of the Caribbean.  The feel is rural countryside where goats and cattle are tethered along the roadside to browse on lush grasses.  The beaches are shell covered and quite.  Fishermen can be scene paddling dugout canoes,  setting and checking their lobster traps.

  The day I visited was slightly overcast and very warm.  The water was inviting and the reefs were loaded with tropical fish.  Fresh fruit and vegetables were displayed at roadside markets.  It is hard to believe it is a short 1-hour drive from the hustle and bustle of Port au Prince.  The feel of the place and the day was peaceful and reminded me of Galatians 5:22-26

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentlenesses, self-control; against such things, there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

I love the imagery in the bible.  Take the below verse.  It begins, Consider the ravens.  Right away my brain begins to conjure  up images of ravens.  They are really interesting birds that have mastered living in some of the most extreme environments.  I have seen them high in the mountains of Oregon soaring through blizzard conditions, and in the scorching deserts of Arizona.  In fact they live throughout major portions of North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and in all terrestrial biomes except tropical rain forests.  So I reflect and consider the raven, then I read the rest of the verse.  They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.  And how much more valuable you are than birds!.  How much time do I waste worrying about tomorrow?  My prayer today is that I would trust more in God's plan than my own. 

Luke 12:24

²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!