The High Calling of God

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3  (NASB) We have a pear tree on the bank at the front of our house. Every spring it never fails to amaze me by its beauty and reminds me of the beauty and grace of God. This spring was no exception. The blossoms are as white and fragrant as ever and it stands so tall and erect- like a century looking out over our neighborhood. The other day as I was praying for the Church, I just kept seeing that beautiful pear tree in my mind. It was like God was saying that this is how the Church is going to be. Although we did not have a hard winter, other winters have been very hard- but still, come its season- the blossoms began to come forth and suddenly, almost o

Psalm 91:1,2: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him will I trust.'" The word "refuge" means shelter, hope, a place of trust, shelter from the storm. We have a large Mock Orange bush in our yard. All winter long, the little finches have found their shelter and food in its branches. The bush is untrimmed, so there are straggly branches that come out the top and sides, but as the bush goes down to the ground, it becomes more dense. There were times this winter, that I didn't even know the birds were in there until I would open the back door and walk out onto the porch. Then I would see dozens of birds fly out of the bush to a nearby utility wire. Recently something very interesting happened. My husband and I were getting ready to leave the house and I spotted a large hawk sitting on the fence beside the bush. We