THE END AND THE BEGINNING!

March 13, 2018March 8, 2018 | lindamowles

There are many things that come to an end during our life on this whirling planet.

Babies wearing diapers. Many a mother thinks that day will never ever, ever, ever come, but it does (unless something horrific intervenes).

The end of the work day. Again, there are times that even that seems to be far off in the distant future if the assignment you are working on is difficult or unbelievably boring. But even that day does, in fact end, at the appropriate time.

One thing that occurs like clockwork (please pardon the pun) is the ending of the day.

Sunset along I 40 4 — Driving westbound on Interstate 40

Heading west on I-40, we can see the sun setting behind the mountains with the beautiful colors lighting up the evening sky. This was the sunset one evening when we visited the family in Virginia.

There are times that God’s creation is simply too beautiful to describe. Pictures certainly do not do justice to the glory that shines out from God’s world.

Sunset and clouds 2 — Setting sun with clouds

We know that God created the sun and the moon – it says so in Genesis:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. … And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night–and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”

Genesis 1:1, 14-19

The Psalmist says it this way:

“Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.”

Psalm 74:16

Ocean sunset with lighthouse (C) — Ocean with far distant shore

In our world of technology and scientific data, we have analyzed, digitized, and categorized the sun, the clouds, the atmosphere, the solar flares, and all kinds of things that I don’t even know. We have studied and drawn, recorded and photographed the sun in our effort to understand it, and we have gone a long way from our forebears who pointed and said “bright!”

But in my little corner of the world, at sunset, I look in the sky and see the hand of my Father, painting a particularly beautiful picture for me to see as I head into the evening hours of the day.

Many are so much more scientific and analytical than I am. They can explain so much about things of nature and of our world. It is my prayer that we all would stop and look at what God has given us, cherish the view, lock the mental picture into our minds, and then thank Him for His unfathomable love and mercy.

When the day is over and the sun is running its course to the other side of the world, they are awaking to the warmth of its rays. “Good evening” to you is “Good morning” to someone else!

The end, thus, is really also a beginning!

I doubt that the little caterpillar in this picture ever would think that he would be transformed into a beautiful butterfly.

The truth of the matter is, however, that the caterpillar must get into his cocoon and shed the body that had restricted him so that the transformation can take place. Rather than crawling along in the dirt, the butterfly can soar incredible distances, looking down on the land that he used to call home. The caterpillar’s end was also its beginning.

For us, when we are relieved of our mortal shell, our physical body, we will be transformed into our eternal bodies, glorious and without blemish.

“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.””

1 Corinthians 15:51-54

Billy Graham said this in the years prior to his death:

Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. don’t you believe a word of it. i shall be more alive than i am now. i will just have changed my address. i will have gone into the presence of God.

The end is not really the end … rather, what we think of as the end is actually just the beginning.

Father, I thank You for giving us the example of nature in Your marvelous creation. The setting of the sun where I live is the end of the day, but it is the beginning of a new day elsewhere on this whirling globe. The “death” of the caterpillar is just the transforming work so that it can be a butterfly. Our physical death is simply the shedding off of our mortal bodies into the eternal body that You have prepared for us. Thank You for Your steadfast love and for calling Your children to come to You from every corner of the earth.

IN CELEBRATION OF THE REFORMATION – part one

August 15, 2017August 2, 2017 | lindamowles

Sometimes important dates come and fly past us and we don’t even recognize that they are gone. You know, the anniversary that passes unnoticed until someone (wife?) looks at the calendar!

I dare say that the anniversary of the Reformation is not something that many in our society think about on a day-to-day basis.

But whether we think about it or not, this year is an important one in the life of the Christian Church. It is the 500^th anniversary of the day in October, 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the church in the German town of Wittenberg. This act, so small and seemingly insignificant, lit the fuse that turned into the flame of the Protestant Reformation. And, that flame burns even today, 500 years later.

In thinking about transformation and reformation, one cannot help consider the example of the butterfly. Its change from a caterpillar into the butterfly, a creature more beautiful and powerful, symbolizes the soul, reincarnation, and resurrection.

After 2 to 4 weeks, the full-grown caterpillar transforms itself into a chrysalis/ or pupa. It hangs from a tree or bush, appearing to be doing nothing, but inside the caterpillar’s body becomes the adult structure of the butterfly. This stage takes 10 to 15 days.

Then, the former caterpillar emerges as a beautiful butterfly.

Butterfly close up (C) — Butterfly having some strawberry lunch

But that emergence did not come easily … the insect has to struggle inside the cocoon, pushing against the sides before ultimately breaking through into the sunlight. It is the struggle to emerge that strengthens the insect’s wings so that it will fly.

In other words, it is in the struggle itself that strength is born!

So, think about your life. When did you have a trial, a struggle? Have you seen strength come from the struggle?

The writer of Hebrews talks about struggles during persecution of believers:

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.

Hebrews 10:32-33 ESV.

Then there are the struggles that come from sin:

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Hebrews 12:3-4 ESV

In light of what Jesus did for us, we must persevere and not grow weary during our own struggle against sin. We know that the struggles we have are strengthening us in our Christian life and that we can be strong in the Lord through the Grace that God grants liberally and freely to those who call on His Name.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

2 Corinthians 9:8-9 ESV

Consider the butterfly and the struggle that it had to endure before it could soar over the fields. Now, thank the Lord for giving you the ability to soar in spirit to your Heavenly Father, now and for all eternity.

Father, thank You for granting us salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I praise Your Name for putting me under the protection of the Good Shepherd. Thank You, too, for the struggles that have come which serve to strengthen me and which allow me to grow through Your Grace and Mercy.

THE BUTTERFLY AND THE REFORMATION

October 29, 2015October 29, 2015 | lindamowles

THE BUTTERFLY AND THE REFORMATION

A number of years ago, we visited the Butterfly Farm on Grand Cayman Island as an excursion from our cruise ship. I saw the name “Butterfly Farm” and, being the literalist, saw long rows of planted butterflies. At first I thought it was a joke, but finding out that it was a legitimate, informative place, we decided to go on the tour.

It was a wonderful time and we learned a great deal about these small animals. Hurricane Ivan had passed across the island, causing severe destruction. As we learned during our tour, one of the significant casualties was the butterfly population. Essentially, the butterflies were blown out to sea by the force of the hurricane. While this might not seem like a big deal at first, it is huge inasmuch as butterflies pollinate plants, just as bees do; therefore, we/humans need butterflies for food propagation.

Therefore, a “butterfly farm” was established to repopulate the butterflies on the island. The “building” was essentially a mesh wall with a mesh roof, into which were planted shrubs, flowers, trees and grasses that would provide the food and shelter. Butterflies were brought in from other areas of the world and placed in this protected environment. When they were ready and in sufficient numbers, the roof would come off and they could be released into the area.

Butterflies - getting to know you! — Butterflies – getting to know you!

Of course, the butterflies were more than willing to work toward repopulation. While we were there we saw these two butterflies doing their part to assist in the growth of the island’s butterfly community. The pictures in this post were taken by my husband, but most of the scientific information that is included came from the website for The Butterfly Farm on St. Maartin, found at: http://www.thebutterflyfarm.com.

Butterflies are a type of insect. They belong to the order of insects called Lepidoptera, which means “scaly wings”. The butterfly’s life cycle is made up of four stages, each of which are unique and very different from each other. This process is called metamorphosis which means “change of form.” First, the butterfly starts as an egg. After about a week, the egg hatches and a tiny caterpillar emerges. The caterpillar eats and gets bigger and bigger, ultimately shedding its skin 4 to 6 times. Here is a picture of a leaf at the Butterfly Farm on which a caterpillar has attached itself.

After 2 to 4 weeks, the caterpillar will be full grown and it then transforms itself into a chrysalis/ or pupa. It hangs from a tree or bush, appearing to be doing nothing, but inside the caterpillar’s body becomes the adult structure of the butterfly. This stage takes 10 to 15 days.

Then, the former caterpillar emerges as a beautiful butterfly.

Butterfly - stained glass — Butterfly – stained glass

But that emergence did not come easily … the insect has to struggle inside the cocoon, pushing against the sides before ultimately breaking through into the sunlight.

If the cocoon is cut so that the butterfly can emerge without struggle, the butterfly is doomed to live on land, unable to fly. Getting out of the cocoon the easy way costs the butterfly the opportunity to soar. It is the struggle to escape the cocoon that allows its wings to strengthen so that, after the struggle, flight is possible.

In other words, it is in the struggle itself that strength is born.

This week is Reformation Week – a time of remembering October 31, 1517, the day that Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany. The debate that arose out of this action culminated in what is now called the Protestant Reformation.

One of the primary teachings of the Reformation is that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Good works do not constitute any basis for our right standing before God; rather, our good works are the result of and the witness to our faith in Christ. Ephesians 2:8-10.

Justification, God’s declaration that we are not guilty, that we are forgiven of our sin, and that we have righteousness in His sight comes to us because through our faith alone the Father imputes to us, or reckons to our account, the perfect righteousness of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21.

In other words, the Reformation’s call is that the just shall live by faith alone, in Christ alone.

Being justified, however, is not the end of the question. There is a responsibility to live a Christ-centered life when we are justified by His sacrifice. Paul says we are new creatures when we have yielded our lives to Christ.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

2 Corinthians 5:17.

Elaborating on this statement, Paul says in Ephesians 4:22-24 that we are to:

“put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Even though we may not like hearing the message, we too are to put off the old self. This is a struggle, but we need to recognize that it is in the struggle that we are strengthened. We may lose some of the battles but, even if we lose the round, at the end of the day we are stronger than we were before the struggle began.

I don’t know if I agree with the “No pain – No gain” mantra, but I do know that it has been through the painful times of life that I have gained new understanding of God’s grace, His mercy, His guidance and His love.

So, how do I view difficult times? How do you?

Remember the butterfly. Before the caterpillar can become the beautiful butterfly it is destined to be, it must go through all the stages and struggles. Only then will it emerge as the new creature that can fly far above the ground to which it formerly was attached.

Then, praise God that He is with us, in both difficult and easy times. Praise Him that his grace and mercy is always sufficient for our struggles as we seek to put the old self away so that we can be renewed in the likeness of our Lord. When struggles come, praise the Lord that the Holy Spirit is present with us to give us strength and clarity of mind and soul as we resist temptation and stand strong in the struggle. Praise Him too that so many years ago men were ready to stand up for the Gospel and to remind us that salvation comes through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Thank you, Father, for the provision and protection of your Word and for the work of Martin Luther and other saints of the church who suffered greatly for their proclamation that justification is a matter of faith in Christ alone, and for the resulting Reformation. Thank you too for the times when I have struggled, even when I have lost my way; for during those times, you gently guided me back to you and the struggle itself strengthened me for the rest of the journey. Thank you for the beautiful butterfly, who daily illustrates the concept that difficulties are for a time, that there are struggles and hardships, but that the end result is worth the struggle as we grow in the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ through your grace and mercy.