He Hurls Down His Crystals of Ice

Psalm 147:15-18 – He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. 16 He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. 17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? 18 He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

2013-12-07 - He Hurls Down His Crystals of Ice (IMG_1403)Water, ice, and snow cover the spillway at Caesar Creek Lake after our first big storm of the winter. Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio.

When it is 16 °F outside and the ground is covered with snow and ice most of us prefer to stay indoors.  It is an easy decision to stay inside, warm and protected from the elements, if you have no reason to go outside and brave the cold.  Likewise, as Christians, we often find ourselves staying within the protective walls of our churches.  We are comfortable and safe among our brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is easy for us to fall into a routine that isolates us from the world and the people outside the doors of our church.

Even if it is cold and harsh out there we need to remember the mission to which Jesus calls us in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Christ promises to always be with us; and, fortunately for us, the protection he offers is much more certain than that offered by the winter clothing we don to venture out on a cold winter’s eve.

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© Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2013.

We All Fade Like a Leaf

Isaiah 64:6-9 –We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. 8 But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9 Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.

2013-11-22 - We All Fade Like a Leaf (IMG_0485)A lone maple leaf fades on a park bench in the Flat Fork Ridge Recreation Area. Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio.

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© Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2013.

Teach Me Your Paths

Psalm 25:4-5Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

2013-11-xx - Teach Me Your Paths (IMG_0747)Fall color along the walking path, Flat Fork Ridge Recreation Area, Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio.

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© Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2013.

For Now We See In a Mirror Dimly

1 Corinthians 13:12 – For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

IMG_0433
Morning sky reflected in the water, Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio

Read more about my “God is Revealed…“ series of posts.

© Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2013.