Sample 75 - A Fine Moment

'Scene At The Beach 032813, Shot Two

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15 NKJV)

I remember a good friend of mine teaching us a wonderful song; its lyrics were so simple but they seemed to be the right words to sing:

In Your presence
That's where I belong
In Your presence
Oh Lord, My God
In Your presence
That's where I am strong
Breathing Your grace (?), seeking Your face
In the cleft of the Rock
In Your presence, oh God...

Wherever we are in life, whether we be in joyous times or in the twilight of our souls, we would do well to dwell in the presence of God. Jesus Christ died and rose again that we would be reconciled and reunited with our Creator.

Where else can we feel any safer and secure, than in the presence of God? The writer of Psalm 139 says that even if we make our bed in the depths of hell, He is there with us. Wherever we are, as long as we are in Christ, we can be sure of the power, love, and sound judgment that He gives through His spirit.

It is for this reason that we can say that He is good, and He is good all the time. It is for this reason that we are able to give Him praise and thanks in all things.

Though we descend into darkness, His light shines...

God bless you.

Sample 74 - Playing By The Shore

'Scene At The Beach 032813, Shot One

I miss my camera. But at the same time, I thank God for the inspiration and motivation to just keep on shooting, even with whatever's on hand.

I was with our men's fellowship group at the beach yesterday. We cooked and ate and had fellowship. We worshipped and broke bread and shared the Word of God.

I praise God for trials. They really put us in our place - surrendered and depending solely on Jesus. The trials I've had as of late were pinning me down in a sense but it also brought me to desire a word, a revelation from the Lord.

Ask, and you shall receive, indeed. I'm posting again, starting off with this shot and this verse. It is true that our God is forever faithful, even when we are unfaithful. The fact that He addresses our problems one by one in such precision adds to my faith in His being an almighty God who really cares for and loves me.

I pray that you see the love of Jesus in your own life. God bless you.

Sample 37 - BreakPoint (San Juan, 030612)

This is a reduced and cropped composite of around 11 shots, taken with an 18-200mm lens on my trusty Nikon D80, @ 18mm, f/11, 6 seconds per shot.   

See that rock in the middle? Pao and I were there at least one time before. We almost broke up there when we made one mistake too many. 

Involving God in our relationship initially meant that we needed to hold each other up to a standard 'to keep Him in the center.' The problem with that was that we were, in our church's terms these recent months, 'keeping ourselves under the law'; i.e. we were too caught up in guarding ourselves in our own efforts that it was inevitable that we would make a mistake and our relationship would consequently take a turn for the worse. It was all about our own performance, and that simply would not do, for us as individuals or as a couple. 

The moment the love we have does not come from the cross, the moment we love without realizing that Christ loved us first, all sorts of crazy things happen.

One famous verse we see often shared in Christian circles is Proverbs 3:5-6; "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." This verse certainly applies in relationships as well. In our case, we make it a point to keep recognizing Jesus Christ as the reason and purpose of our relationship; we acknowledge that it is only by the grace of God that we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit to keep on going, together.

I simply cannot share this photo without that message. God bless you.

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26