Job 26:13-14 God’s Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent. These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power.
Isaiah 61:3 To all who mourn in Israel, the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.
1 Peter 1:2, 3:4 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. … Clothe yourselves with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
I love hiking! Nothing soothes my soul more than unhurried time in the gentle beauty of woods. Birdsong and the music of a brook, the exquisite beauty of tiny wildflowers, fleeting glimpses of deer and other woodland animals, shade and sun and breeze combine in beauty that is precious to me.
Catoctin Mountain Park, Steve Walters
I enjoyed all this last week during our family reunion, on a trail in the Catoctin Mountain Park in the lovely company of a beloved niece and nephew. They were patient with me when I needed to breathe a bit on the ascent, and the rich conversation we shared has given me food for thought ever since.
God created us to love beauty. His Spirit creates and sustains beauty both surrounding us and within us, in harmony with his own nature.
I hope that today you and I will find space to soak in the loveliness of the world and people around you. And find joy in the work of the Spirit in our own hearts.
Fairest Lord Jesus (“Beautiful Savior”) unknown writer, 1662, Stacey Sings Hymns.
Galatians 4:6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
One of the big differences between Christians and our monotheistic cousins, Muslims, is our understanding and experience of God as three-in-one, Trinitarian.
This central tenet of our faith, I find personally, is easier to experience than to explain. And now I’m wrestling with the best way to express the Trinity to children.
I’ve written a draft of a book for kids about this topic, but I’m not satisfied with it. I showed it to a theologian, who told me I emphasized too much their diversity at the expense of their unity.
So, I thought of reaching out to you who read this blog. How have you explained or illustrated the nature of the Trinity to your children?
Please email me your ideas or write them in the Comments. I would really appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks so much! I’m headed back to Pittsburgh this evening after a week with my sister and brother-in-law in Meridian, Idaho.
In other book news, we’re coming up to the deadline for turning in all the materials for Campfire Song Stories to EA Books, to be available before Christmas. I’m excited about this book, a bringing to life of six of the stories Karis and I imagined together during long days in hospitals, to commemorate ten years since she left us. I have five young illustrators (one of them 12!) and one young vocal artist (11) working hard—I know you and your kids will love their work! Please pray for them as they each complete their assignments. Thank you.
Isaiah 11:1-2 Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him.
Romans 8:10-11 Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.
Colossians 2:9 For in Christ lives all the fulness of God in a human body.
When Dave and I had to cut down our once-beautiful dying tree, we asked for a stump to be left, hoping new growth would come from it. There’s no sign of this happening, and I have grieved the loss of this tree, the birds who nested there, the swing for my grandchildren that hung from its branches.
Trunk of our beautiful tree
King David’s family tree looked dead too. The last king in David’s line, Zedekiah, described as a rebellious, hard, and stubborn man (2 Chronicles 36:13), was blinded after seeing his sons slaughtered in front of him, bound in chains, and taken away to Babylon in 586 BC, where he died (2 Kings 25:5-7).
But God, in the time of his own choosing, by his Spirit created new life in the womb of a descendant of David’s family. His own Son, bearing DNA of David.
The first 39 chapter of Isaiah are not popular like the last half of the book—they seem too full of judgment and predictions of destruction. But nestled between the Assyrians and the Babylonians we find chapters 11 and 12, jewels of joy.
What strikes me as I read these lovely words again this morning is the fact that the Spirit that rested on Jesus—described in Isaiah 11:2-5—is the same Spirit who filled the apostles on Pentecost and the same Spirit poured out on us, you and me, when we open our hearts to him. Isaiah 11 tells us what this Spirit is like: wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And the next verses describe the person (Jesus) in whom will live all of God, by his Spirit:
He will delight in obeying the Lord
He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay
He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited
The earth will shake at the force of his word (see Matthew 27:51—one of Jesus’ words on the cross was, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”)
He will destroy wickedness (see Romans 6:6-11) and create a world where enemies will no longer harm each other
He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment (see Ephesians 6:14)
He will be a banner of salvation to all the world; nothing will be hurtful or destructive as people know the Lord
He will make a highway for his people to return to him (John 14:6)
Other sections of Isaiah add to this description, including from our last chapter, 9:6-7 “He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace …”
So, what’s my takeaway today, as I sit in awe of Jesus and the Spirit of God in him? I can’t make myself be like him. What I can do is submit to the Spirit of God and ask him to cleanse and fill me and produce in me his fruit (Isaiah 11:1), the fruit so evident in Jesus: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives (Galatians 5:24-25).
Debra Kornfield 