Delightful Journey

The other night I watched the movie Michael, with John Travolta. I had never seen it and was curious. Of course it's offbeat, not meant to be a biblical expose' on angels...just a for fun movie. There was something that caught me by surprise and made me think and ponder. It was when "Michael" would spread his arms and close his eyes and twirl around, soaking in the sounds and smells of the earth. Once when he did this he said, "Listen to the earth...I'm going to miss it so much." Another time in the movie this conversation went on, Michael: "I'm doomed to live in one place and crave the pleasures of another...But don't you feel sorry for me." Others: "Why would we?" Michael: "Because this is my last blast. . .That's all we get....Only so many visits allowed. I'm going to miss everything so much." ANYWAY...the way they caught John Travolta's joy, wonder and appreciation for earth...that's what really caught my imagination and got me to thinking how little we appreciate and enjoy the earth God has made for us. Also, we hardly, if ever, think of how He made US for IT. All of that goofy, fiction conversation in the movie aside...He truly DID make earth for us and us for the earth. We sit here so many times craving Heaven and not appreciating earth. God made us from the dust of the ground...hummus...we are dirt bodies with a spirit living inside us. He breathed into us the breath of life and when we invite Him, His Holy Spirit comes to live inside us...Christ in us, the hope of glory! He put us here so that He could extend the Kingdom of God to the earth. Heaven is God's domain...it's Daddy's place...earth is where we are to be bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to..."on earth as it is in Heaven, Lord." I don't want to get into all of the different beliefs on the subject of the future of the earth here...but I take great comfort in knowing that He makes nothing for naught, that I have eternity with Him, and He makes all things new, whether you think He has to burn this up to do that or not (which I don't)...He speaks of a new Heaven and a new earth...and to quote Dr. Myles Munroe, "Unpack your bags." We need to be about the Father's work, furthering the Kingdom of God in the earth. Heaven is surely amazing...and we can have glorious glimpses of it now...it's His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom and to unfold His mysteries to us. We are not lacking anything...we are just sure that we are supposed to be "waiting" for something glorious and out of this world to happen. I'm telling you it's already happening...awaken...seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness...it's all ready and waiting to be added unto you! Continuing on...as I said before, the particular scene in the movie, Michael, really touched me and I have gone back a few times over the last days to think of the wonder they captured of his appreciation and love for things on earth. Yesterday I had a great day and really felt the urge to be creative, decorate, finish putting up pictures and art on my walls and I wanted to create something new just for fun. I watched the slideshow of the photography by Lincoln Harrison of star trails and was amazed and had a short bit of conversation on FB about it and about using tree silhouettes in art and photography. It really seems to be the thing right now and I really like trees...so in my childlike way, I created a piece of tree art...which I may share in a bit. Well, as is my usual...I wanted to write something inspiring on it and I even thought about it in my sleep and woke up wondering what I would write. I thought about the scriptures we have used so much about hope deferred and desire fulfilled being a tree of life, and so on...so I had the idea to get out my Kindle and search "tree" in one of the Bibles I have loaded on it. I have to say that 2.5 hours later and 88 Kindle pages, over 300 references gone through...I feel like I have had a "jet-tour" through the Word. I'm blown away by all of the references to trees, beginning in Genesis when God made trees with their fruit-bearing seed of their kind inside them (seeing the similarity that man is also made this way)...all of the way to Revelation 22 about taking away any share in the tree of life. Along my journey I was reminded of everything from the fall of man, trees exhaulted and thus hewn down, trees rejoicing, singing and clapping their hands, birds finding shelter in trees, trees planted by living waters and nourished, a wholesome tongue being a tree of life, our sins being so graciously and mercifully borne on a tree, the tree of life by the crystal sea....aaahhhh what an amazing and marvelous journey I have been on! I have more to go, as I took notes and have many places I want to revisit from my journey! I challenge you to take your own journey in His Word, meditating on Him and soaking in His wonder! Lord, I take such delight in You...in Your ways...in Your gifts, Your grace, Your mercy, Your purpose and Your plans for my life! I breathe You in and shed Your love abroad...Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven! Amen! Teresa Dalton 8/11/2013