ADVENTURES IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY

April 5, 2017 | lindamowles

On one of our trips out West, we drove up the Oregon coast and found that there is much to see and do in Tillamook County. For example, you can take a tour and taste incredibly delicious cheese at the Tillamook Cheese factory.

Oregon 2009 456 (C) — Tillamook Cheese factory – tour and taste testing of marvelous cheeses awaits. Be sure you are hungry — enjoy!

A marvelous sampling of their cheeses prompts purchases of the goodies, as well as investigation into the stores at home where we can acquire the cheese without traveling across the country! In fact, I would love to enjoy God’s creation right now by having some Tillamook cheese!

A real treat awaits the traveler because the Oregon coastline itself provides beautiful images of the ocean with the waves breaking upon rocky shoreline.

Oregon lighthouse 2009 422 — Oregon coastline shows waves pummeling the shore.

Another place to visit in Tillamook County is the Cape Meares State Park which boasts the Cape Meares Lighthouse. A wide asphalt trail goes from the parking area, through the forest, into the clearing with the lighthouse directly ahead.

USED Oregon 2009 417 Cape Meares Lighthouse Ore — A stroll through the woods, down the paved trail, heads straight to the lighthouse at the coast.

The lighthouse is 38 feet tall, not exactly stellar height for a lighthouse. In fact, it is the shortest lighthouse in Oregon. But, it sits at the coastline on the top of a cliff making its effective height 223 feet above sea level. So despite its own short stature, when the light was operating, it could be seen for 21 miles.

USED Cape Meares Lighthouse short - not height but placement Oregon 2009 424 — The lighthouse exhibits all her 38 feet in stature!

Beside from being an interesting place to visit, what does Tillamook County, Oregon have to do with me? Or with you?

I think it provides us with an illustration and/or lesson for our life and our Christian walk, especially when we focus on Ephesians 2:8-10.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

The lighthouse was built for a purpose – it was to warn mariners that they were approaching the shoreline and it was dangerous to come too close. It was to provide navigational assistance, and it saved lives as a result of its light shining far out over the water.

USED Lighthouse lamp Oregon 2009 419 (C) — Its purpose was to provide light to the mariner in a time when GPS did not exist.

Notably, it did all this while being only 38 feet tall. Its effective height did not come from itself, rather it came from the terrain on which it was placed – the cliff was high and from that vantage point, the little lighthouse could be seen for 21 miles.

Paul says that we have been saved through grace by faith alone. We had nothing to do with securing our salvation from sin; Jesus Christ did that atoning work on the cross for us. And, we did nothing to deserve the atonement that He provided. It was a gift of grace – not based on our work, our reputation, our finances, our stature in the community, our anything.

The reason for this gift is stated in verse 10 – we were created by God in Christ for good works that God had prepared for us to do long before we were born.

God is sovereign. He is in control of our world and all that is in it. His will, His purpose, will be accomplished and mankind cannot thwart it. In Concise Theology, J. I. Packer says:

“The assertion of God’s absolute sovereignty in creation, providence, and grace is basic to biblical belief and biblical praise.” [Sovereignty, God Reigns at page 33.]

One of the best descriptions of God’s sovereignty came from a pagan king after a lesson God provided to him.

“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?“”

Daniel 4:34-35 ESV

The little lighthouse had a job to do and it was able to do it because of strength that was not its own – it was based upon the strength of the mountain on which it was built. We were created by God and saved from our sin by Jesus Christ so that we could do the work that God preordained for us to do all for His glory and His purposes through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5 ESV

We have no strength in our own self to do anything of eternal, lasting value for God. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to do God’s work in the world.

Am I serving His purpose, the good work that God had preordained for me to do? Am I working for the Lord through my own power and for my own reputation or am I relying on Him and the Holy Spirit to work through me for the glory of God? Am I refusing to shine because I am only of modest stature, or am I willing to shine my brightest for my Lord and let the Holy Spirit magnify the light so that it shines where He wants it to go?

Father, I give You honor and glory for Your sovereign love and mercy, grace and power that was shown by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. I pray that You would give power to these words and that they would accomplish that which You desire, through Christ Jesus I pray.

HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE ME?

October 31, 2015October 31, 2015 | lindamowles

It certainly is no secret that a new baby in the house upsets the applecart for parents as well as for older siblings.

Newborn baby ready to come home from hospital

It sometimes is a stressful time with the older siblings wondering if Mom or Dad have enough love to go around. This is especially true given the emphasis (rightfully so) on the newborn baby which has now taken the place of priority over that of the older children. “Mom, do you still love me with all your heart? You love me more than the baby, right?” Of course Mom would respond that she loves both the children with all her heart. Then she is asked: “How can you love both of us with all your heart – you have 2 hearts?” Math and biology have now become real issues!

We smile at the question, but as adults, don’t we sometimes wonder how much we are loved, whether it is by our spouse or our children or our friends? Sometimes, during hard times, we even wonder if God still loves us … if He did, surely He would have prevented “X” from happening. [You fill in the blank.]

When it comes to God, I think the answer to how much God loves us is encapsulated in the saying:

“There is nothing that I can do to make God love me more than He does; and there is nothing that I can do to make God love me less than he does.”

I believe that this saying captures the definition of divine security. Human love is strong, but it is sometimes fairly conditional. Not so with God. Scripture teaches that His love for me began even before I was born and it will continue throughout eternity. I did not earn it, I did not merit it, and I cannot lose it.

In Psalm 139, the Psalmist describes God’s creation of his being and the intimacy of God’s knowledge of him personally.

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.

Psalm 139:2-4 [NIV] (Emphasis mine)

The Creator of all things knows me so intimately that He knew the number of my days even before I was born, before I “came to be”. Further, He knows what I am going to say, even before I say it! [That thought is difficult for me to even put into a post – praise Him for forgiveness!]

The scope of God’s knowledge of us and of His love for us is beyond my comprehension; I can only bow in thankful praise and abject submission to this God of love who sent His Son to be my Savior.

Easter at Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England

The depth of His love is shown by Calvary and the tomb; and, His power over death is shown by the Resurrection!

Philippians 2:8-11 describes Jesus’ sacrifice like this:

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [ESV]

Praise the Lord that He has reached out and has adopted us into His family, by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. We are children of the Sovereign Almighty God. We are members of God’s family, and we are sisters (and brothers) of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. See Romans 8:15-17.

There is no question that God loves His children. His love is more than sufficient for His children; it is perfect and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. We read in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 that:

And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. [ESV]

Thus, the real question is “Do you love Jesus?”

Jesus asked this very question of Simon Peter, the disciple who often seemed to put his foot in his mouth before thinking. The impetuous Peter had affirmed his devotion to Jesus in the Garden before Judas and the guards came … then, during Jesus’ “trial”, he denied that he knew Jesus, not just once but three times.

After the resurrection, Jesus was with Peter and he asked “Do you love me?” three times – paralleling Peter’s three denials. The story is told in detail in John 21:15-19.

Peter said that he did love the Lord and Jesus’ response was to direct Peter to “feed my lambs”, to “take care of my sheep”, and to “feed my sheep”. [NIV] In other words, saying you love Jesus is not the end of the inquiry … you have a job to do. In Peter’s case, it was to be a missionary feeding, caring and tending for the Lord’s sheep, and ultimately dying a martyr’s death.

That may not be what Jesus calls us to do … but He does call us to do something for which He will equip and provide direction and strength.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 [ESV]

So, how much do you love Jesus? Enough to obey Him? Enough to be a witness for Him wherever you go?

Father, help me to be a witness for my Lord. Give me strength when I think I cannot go on, and give me wisdom to know when I should simply express love. Help me to let Jesus shine through me in all things for your glory and praise.

Got Power?

April 21, 2015 | lindamowles

We were camping when an unexpected cold snap caused some damage to the RV. We searched the Internet to find a place that had the necessary parts and found such a business A quick call confirmed that they were open and had the needed parts. So now it was up to us to get there.

I pulled out the trusty GPS that is created specifically for the intrepid RV camper and put in the address. [I should note that our children or grandchildren can’t say that we are technology adverse … okay, we don’t tweet, but we have the computer and GPS down pat!] Anyway, we plugged in the address, I picked up my camera and we were ready for adventure.

We found the store, purchased the necessary supplies, and began our trek back to the campground when the GPS flashed at me just as we came to several intersecting roads and my husband was asking what the road name was that we should be watching for … but the road name was not flashing before my eyes. Rather, the GPS said “LOW POWER” and, immediately thereafter it announced that it was “POWERING OFF”. Then, it just went blank. Not even a “sorry” or “I tried” or “You have 1 more minute”. Just … well, nothing. It apparently didn’t care if we got lost!

I couldn’t believe it. In my second of need, it was “powering off.” My frustration stemmed from the fact that, unlike my husband, I get lost in a paper bag. I am the one who, in Walmart, will turn left into the main aisle thinking I am going to the checkout lane and wind up in sporting goods at the back of the store. If there are two directions to select from, I will ALWAYS pick the wrong one.

Anyway, I was the one who had insisted that we purchase this GPS, even though my husband has a virtually infallible sense of direction, simply because I do not. I wanted to have my own backup plan … assuring myself that we could find our way home if something happened to his directional instincts. So, we purchased this fancy-dancy GPS thing and now, when he actually asked me a directional question, in my truest hour of need, it is “powering off”.

Rather than the GPS, my husband depended on his own God-given instincts we navigated down the road, without difficulty. Although I was fuming about the GPS when we stopped at a red light, I spotted something that would make an incredible picture. I grabbed my camera, pushed the on button, and it came on only to blink and say … wait for it … “Low Battery”. My trusty little red camera that fits into my purse blinked into cyberspace and left me holding a red metal box as my photo shot slipped past my window. Although I waived the camera at the window, it was powerless to take the picture.

Inside the car, I went into full scale fume mode, when my husband said simply “We’ll just plug them into the chargers when we get back to the RV.”

How simple, yet how profound. Recharge! That’s the answer for the electronic messages that had disrupted my day. But what about spiritually? How do we get our spiritual power? And, when we have exhausted our power, how do we recharge?

In Acts 1:8, Scripture records Jesus as promising that his disciples would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” so we can be witnesses for Him.” [i] We understand this coming of the Holy Spirit as the day of Pentecost, and because of that day, we believe that the Holy Spirit is within us, as Jesus promised. John 14:16-17.

But the Holy Spirit’s presence with us is not the whole answer to the “recharge” question. We must avail ourselves of that power. I had chargers available at the camp site but the GPS had not been plugged in – now, it was unable to give me the information that I needed when I needed it. It had no power even though that power had been available.

Likewise, simply having the Scripture in your hand, purse, pocket or shelf, is not availing yourself of the power which otherwise would be provided. This realization prompted me to consider how often I had ignored going to the Scripture to charge my spiritual batteries.

I had time for many other things, but, I did not have time to quell the growling hunger for my Lord by feeding on the nourishment of His Word in Holy Scripture. Daily activities took priority over quiet time with Him that would have prepared me for those encounters that He had prearranged for me to handle according to His will, not mine. Ephesians 2:10.

Did my spiritual red light flash “Powering Off” when the assignment came because my batteries had not been charged through reading His Word with contemplation and prayer and then praising Him for His excellent goodness and mercy?

Or, did I not even see the assignment that He had for me that day because my spiritual eyes and ears did not have sufficient power to even recognize the call to present Christ to those around me?

Scripture states that the Spirit and Scripture were given to us so that we would be complete and equipped for every good work that God has for us to do. 2 Peter 1:3 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

The kicker is that we must plug ourselves in to the Source of our Power. Seek the Lord and He will be found. He is waiting for you. Deuteronomy 4:29. Beloved, don’t delay – go to the source of all power and life, Jesus Christ and His Word.

I wonder, what difference would it make in my day if I spent time with Him, rather than with the weather channel or with the evening news? Do I yearn to learn more of God and of His Christ by reading the only instruction book written by the Sovereign Holy God?

Have you gotten power for your day?

[i] The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Acts 1:8