By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,
by understanding He set the heavens in place;
by His knowledge the watery depths were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.
[Proverbs 3:19,20 ]

'The sticky buds & leaves are insect repellant, and the flowers have a pattern, visible in ultra-violet light, which can be seen by bees & butterflies but not by humans. When a flower is fertilised, the spots change colour, telling the bees to look for nectar in a fresh flower and thus ensuring pollination of as many flowers as possible.'

And our response? Worship - I think!

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power,
for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being."
[Revelation 4:11]

Take some time to wonder at the amazing design in creation. (There are plenty of books & TV programmes to get you started.)

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The Quiet Garden Movement, which 'encourages the provision of a variety of local venues where there is an opportunity to set aside time to rest and to pray' is also worth exploring.....

We needed rain. After a dry spell, the ground had become very hard, and the river levels low, despite a very wet winter. And it's been raining this week, the hills shrouded in mist, & the water courses alive with rushing water. This morning, the sun is shining, and everything is gloriously fresh.

The rains of spring  were of great importance to Israel. The 'former' or autumn rains softened the ground ready for planting, while the 'latter', or spring rains swelled the crops ready for harvest.

In Egypt, the land had been irrigated by slave labour, pumping the water from the Nile. In contrast, Israel was watered from 'heaven', a prophetic statement of dependence on God.

It wasn't surprising that water & rain was also  used as prophetic pictures of the Holy Spirit:

The word for the early autumn rains, yoreh, comes from the same root as 'to shoot or cast, or teach', these rains softened the ground, so that the later rains didn't flood & devestate. The  spring rains, malkosh,  have as their root, a word which means 'to glean, gather or take everything'.

I wonder how many in our communities, and relationship networks, are ready for the 'latter rain', the work of the Spirit in readiness for harvest? How many have softenend hearts & have heard the good news about Jesus, but are still needing that revelation & encounter to enable them to step into the light?

Pentecost was about harvest....

Let's pray for the rain!

Not only was Jesus, Lord, (see previous post), He was also the expected Messiah, the Christ, which means 'Anointed One'.

Jesus had made it clear what this anointing was for:

And He had also commissioned his disciples to carry on where He left off:

Jesus' ascension & glorification, as the man who had conquered every force of darkness, not only meant He sat down at the Father's right hand, as Lord over all, but that He was able to release the same Holy Spirit who had empowered Him, on all who acknowledged Him, & bowed the knee.

The one man opened the door for the many to become sons & daughters of God. And the one man made His anointing available for the many, and for every subsequent generation.

When the crowd asked what they should do about Jesus, Peter replied:

The first believers were known as 'little Christs'. Being Christ-like is not just about character, it's also about doing what He did:

In order to do the works prepared for us, we need the power of the Holy Spirit.
The message of Pentecost is that the Spirit is poured out so we can live a new life,
and do the works prepared for us.

For more on the Holy Spirit, & His work in our lives, see the web page, Filled up & Overflowing

And click on Holy Spirit on the right hand side of the screen, in the Categories Section, for more blog posts.

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The Spirt falling on the first disciples was a noisy affair which drew a crowd. The men who had previously been hiding in a locked room, were filled with boldness & stood  in full view of the assembly.

Peter explained that all that the people had heard or experienced: the signs & wonders of Jesus' ministry, the circumstances of His  death and subsequent rumoured resurrection, and the present occurrance, were all fulfillments of the prophecies of Joel & King David.

Then came the punch line:

The Jews of that day knew about kyrios. Caesar was Kyrios, the one who could annex property and enforce labour, the one who demanded absolute obedience, and had the power of life & death over his conquered people, the one who asserted his authority through his appointed officials and powerful military presence.

 And the crowd suddenly got it. Revelation entered their hearts & they saw who Jesus was, what He had done, and that He was now exalted, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, sitting in the seat of Supreme Authority, above all authorities and powers.
And seeing, they had to make a response - they had to bow the knee.

This is at the heart of repentence - being face down before the Lord, & acknowledging His total sovereignty. And then changing an old way of thinking  and acting, to refect this new allegience, this new Master.  We all have the same decision to make, Jesus is still Lord, and  today, we, like the first century believers have to decide what we're going to do about Him.

On Sunday much of the Christian world will be celebrating the Feast of Pentecost, in honour of the time when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the apostles. You can read the story in Acts 2

Jerusalem was filled with people observing the Hebrew feast of Shavuot. This festival marked the gathering in of the grain harvest, and the giving of the Law to Moses [Deuteronomy 5 - 26].

The Law was central to Hebrew life and religion, and the Teachers of the Law had spent much time analysing it, to make sure it was properly obeyed.

Except that it wasn’t…..

It had proved impossible to keep all the Law, all the time. In fact at the very time the Law was given, 3000 people failed spectacularly, and were slain [Exodus 32:1-28]. The attempt to be right with God through self-effort was doomed to failure.

The Lord, however, promised a solution:

The promised solution was that God Himself, (the Holy Spirit), would dwell in His people giving them the power to live lives that are right with Him.

When Jesus came to earth, the fulfilment of that prophesy was at hand. John the Baptist announced that Jesus would baptise, (which means immerse or saturate in Greek), His followers in the Holy Spirit [Luke 3:16].

Jesus’ ascension and glorification in Heaven released the Holy Spirit to do His work. The Spirit was poured out on Peter’s audience, so that having repented, they could have the Spirit’s power to live new lives. And on that day, 3000 people were saved.

We may not spend our lives trying to obey Old Testament laws, but often we have other ‘shoulds’ & ‘ought tos’ which we try to keep, and our relationship with the Lord peaks and troughs, according to our successes or failures.

More  on this subject can be found on these pages of the website:

(And more on celebrating this festival, by clicking on Pentecost in the Category section to the left.)

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;
Make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn-- shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;
Let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.
[Psalm 98:4-9]

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Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees,
for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, He displays his glory in Israel.
[Isaiah 44:23]

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Let's listen with our spirits to creation's song......
And let's join in this great anthem of praise!
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Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and women, old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted;
His splendour is above the earth and the heavens.
[Psalm 148:7 -13]

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And there is another song, a song that sounds above them all. This song is a song of the purest sound, which pours over us like warm oil. It's a song just for you & me. It's the Father's song of love:

The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet [you] with His love,
​He will rejoice over you with singing."
[Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV]

Matt Redman expresses it beautifully:

Take some time with the Lord right now, & ask Him to reveal His love song to you.

Tell me how you get on!
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The Hebrew word for ‘glory’, kabod comes from a root word which means ‘to be heavy, or make weighty’.
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* Click on  Ascension in the   Categories section, to the right of this page, for more thoughts on this key event.

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​We hear the voice of the Lord calling us to meet Him in His creation, to see His glory, and be filled again with His life....
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Let's take time to respond to HIm!