When a mind is in love with Jesus, this is what it sees: a world full of the wonders He has made.
From Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Phillip Graham Ryken (born 1966) is an American pastor and theologian. He currently serves as the president of Wheaton College in Illinois.
Earth’s natural powers perform
Displaying every treasured gift
Creation’s wonders will transform
Watching from every dream’s chairlift
Niagara’s powerful falls
Feeling nature’s surrounding beat
Creation’s wonders never stall
Hosting another front row seat
Peaks reach upward to thinnest air
Looking upward, each heart plummets
Creation’s wonders declare
Scaling Himalayan summits
Oceans join briefly as one
Surging together at Cape Horn
Creation’s wonders never done
Pacific-Atlantic’s firstborn
Volcanic eruptions thunder
Witnessing eternal duty
Creation’s wonders from under
Adding to Hawaii’s beauty
Arctic’s dancing fills clearest sky
Illuminating heaven’s light
Creation’s wonders dare to fly
Enthralling Northern Lights at night
From Isaiah 49:1: “Listen to me, O coastlands; pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born; while I was in my mother’s womb He named me.”
Long before my birth
Father knew my name
Yes, creating me
No one shall be the same
Witnessing His grace
Father builds my trust
Day’s resolve strengthens
Righteousness now entrust
Providing for needs
Father’s light leads me
Mountains become roads
Future path, clear to see
Serving life’s purpose
Father never awed
My green pastures wait
Forever, child of God
Praising Savior Christ
My blessed salvation
New life now christened
Father’s creation
From Isaiah 49:13: “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his suffering ones.”
From Isaiah 65:17: “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.”
Photo by Scott Webb on Pexels.com
From the beginning of time
God’s creation changes each day
This eternal blueprint conveys mastery
His design takes center stage
His earthly canvas presents wonder
Artistic palette of colors astonish
His imaginative mind never ceases
Earth’s treasures continue to impress
Traveling around this awesome planet
Breathtaking venues await our call
Majestic mountains loom high above
Immense beauty reaches the clouds
Rolling plains shine with beauty
Grasslands thick with green tapestry
Swift rivers travel for months
Mountain-fed water reaches blue seas
Dense forests blanket the terrain
Trees of every description stand
Endless oceans bombard distant shores
Continuous tides frolic with beaches
Wide canyons stretch above rivers
Featuring amazing sculptures and hue
Desert sands infinitely scatter themselves
Continually sifting from God-inspired winds
Days launch with illuminating sunrises
Nights commence when the moon rises
God continues molding and shaping
Praise His incredible creation forevermore
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Originally published May, 2019.
It is not by accident, I believe, that the Bible opens with the thunderous acclaim: “In the beginning God.” I tell you with all the conviction of which I am capable: If God is not our primary focus, then everything else will soon get out of focus.
From Genesis 1:1-2: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
Selwyn Hughes (1928-2006) was a Welsh-born Christian minister and author. One of his best known works was the daily devotional EVERY DAY WITH JESUS.
God’s
Endless wonders
Faithful, perfect design
Praising and giving thanks
Creation
Relationships
Divine plan
Family, colleagues, friends
Leaning on each other
Recharged
Approaching
Stormy seas
Righteous navigator leads
Guiding toward calmer waters
Faithfulness
Transition’s river
Creation’s tireless seasons—
Lasting ebb and flow
Blessed reminder
Painting life’s daily landscape—
Creator’s witness
So much to enjoy
Waiting again to blossom—
Steady persistence
From John 4:13-14: “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.'”
Waking up each morning
Running to look outside
Father’s world always waits
His purpose never hides
Listening, nature sings
Filling creation’s peace
Father’s world shares our hope
His labors never cease
Walking in His presence
Feeling trust ever grow
Father’s world honors life
His living water flows
Witnessing earthly wrongs
Perplexing sadness builds
Father’s world reaches out
His hands mold to rebuild
Praising God high above
Renewing faith’s wellspring
Father’s world reigns beyond
His Word forever rings
This poem was influenced by the beloved hymn, “This is My Father’s World.” Inspired by the scenery of upper state New York’s Lake Ontario and Niagara Falls, American pastor and Christian writer, Maltbie D. Babcock, wrote a poem. Following his death, his wife published the poem which later became the lyrics for this well-known hymn.
Within a matter of hours night will fall, the dark sky will glitter with moon and stars, and sleep will force itself upon us. Life will continue on uninterrupted. Appreciated or not, the canvas of nature will go on being painted by the fingers of God.
From Psalm 108:5: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let Your glory be over all the earth.”
Central Ohio’s Walnut Woods Metro Park is located a short drive from my home. I frequently walk the park, and a recent one inspires this poem. Enjoy these photos taken back in April, 2019.
Alarm clock spurring
Nature park invites
Sweet song birds stirring
This morning’s delight
Sunrise opens sky
Clouds sliding away
Welcomes this Buckeye
Creation’s ballet
Quiet moments smile
Spirit walks each trail
Partner with each mile
Fresh air to inhale
Life’s cherished highlights
Blessed start to day
Nature’s revered sights
Moments filled with play
Joyful heart, rejoice
Walk comes to its end
Creation’s brisk voice
Morning’s steady friend
Big Sky Buckeye 