{"id":383,"date":"2010-02-19T11:00:02","date_gmt":"2010-02-19T18:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/?p=383"},"modified":"2011-06-29T06:45:35","modified_gmt":"2011-06-29T13:45:35","slug":"383","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/?p=383","title":{"rendered":"“The Beehive”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n[Translate]<\/a>\"\"\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Hello Folks!\u00a0 We made it through the week! That\u2019s no small feat considering that life these
\ndays has its challenges, ups and downs, rocky roads, twists and turns, joys and blessings.
\nYou name it \u2013 life has it! Like the \u201cbusy bee\u201d that scurries about, we navigate through
\nour own honeycomb of life, darting about at light-speed, trying to get by.<\/p>\n

Like most of us, we find ourselves so busy with life\u2019s activity, that we sometimes don\u2019t
\ntake the time to stop, look around and appreciate all that God has blessed us with. Does
\nthis sound familiar in your life?<\/p>\n

Well\u2026 how about this strategy for the weekend? It\u2019s time to rest\u2026 It\u2019s time to stop and
\nconsider what God is doing in our lives.<\/p>\n

Speaking of being like \u201cbusy bees\u201d, here is an interesting object in our Milky Way
\nGalaxy — it\u2019s called \u201cThe Beehive Cluster\u201d. I imaged this last week from our remote
\nrobotic JMSM Observatory. This beautiful \u201cOpen Cluster\u201d of stars is about 600 light
\nyears distant from our Earth. It contains some 1,000 stars in its grouping. Beautiful, isn\u2019t
\nit? Why do you suppose that God made such spectacular wonders like this Beehive
\nCluster shown below?<\/p>\n

Glad you asked! Part of the reason is; that God created us for His pleasure, that we may
\nhave fellowship with Him, that we know Him through seeing and understanding His
\ndivine nature through His Glorious Creation \u2013 the divine nature of God. Romans 1:20, \u201c
\nFor since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine
\nnature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that
\nthey are without excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201c\u2026 without excuse.\u201d part of this scripture is important, for even though we have not
\nseen God, we all are witness to His Creation. 1 John 4:12, \u201cNo one has ever seen God;
\nbut if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.\u201d
\nImagine that — God\u2019s love is made complete in us. Well\u2026 you don\u2019t have to imagine it
\n\u2013 it\u2019s true! God cares about us and He wants to have fellowship with us through His Son
\nJesus. 1 Corinthians 1:9, \u201cGod is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship
\nwith His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep this understanding in your heart as you go through your busy \u201cbee-like\u201d activity,
\nand even though you may have had a difficult week, take the time this weekend to
\nrecognize the wonderful blessings that God, by His Grace, has continually poured out to
\nyou.<\/p>\n

Need an example of God\u2019s Grace? The simple fact that we live in this country is a
\nblessing. The fact that we have the freedom to go to church this Sunday and worship our
\nGod is a blessing (which by the way, is not the case in some parts of the world these
\ndays). Remember\u2026 You can\u2019t out-give God! When we think about all that God has
\ndone for us, it\u2019s good that we take the time to give thanks to our Lord. We must also take
\nthe opportunity to have fellowship with one another.<\/p>\n

The Bible speaks about the importance of Christian fellowship in 1 John 1:7, \u201cBut if we
\nwalk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood
\nof Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sins.\u201d In addition, Christian fellowship with
\none another is a way to affirm and remain strong in our faith. This is one of many
\nreasons why it is good to get connected with a Life Group (Small Group) Bible Study.
\nSVCC has many such Life Groups. By being part of a Life Group, we can experience
\nfellowship with other Christians, and we can grow in our understanding of God\u2019s Word
\nas we learn to trust what God is doing in our lives.<\/p>\n

Did you know that understanding God\u2019s Word helps to protect us? Listen to what it says
\nin Proverbs 30:5, \u201cEvery work of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge
\nin Him.\u201d As a practical matter, reading and studying God\u2019s Word brings peace and
\nunderstanding to what is happening in our lives as we take refuge in the One that protects
\nus. This sanctifying process speaks to our \u201ccalling\u201d as believers in Christ Jesus \u2013
\nallowing us to take comfort in His tender mercies that flow into and through our lives.
\n1 Peter 1:5-10, \u201cFor this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;
\nand to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
\nperseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to
\nbrotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they
\nwill keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord
\nJesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has
\nforgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the
\nmore eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will
\nnever fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and
\nSavior Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Back to the Beehive Cluster image above\u2026 If you look closely\u2026 see if you can locate
\nsome of the many interesting galaxies finding rest among the stars. Such is the wonderful
\nview that God gives us from our perspective here on Earth \u2013 His glory on display in the
\nheavens.<\/p>\n

So\u2026 As you wind down from your busy week, relax and take time to rest. Take heart in
\nthe fact that God has a plan for your life. Remember\u2026 we\u2019re just a passing through\u2026
\nWe have the promise of eternal life through our faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and
\nSavior. For it says in 2 Peter 3:123, \u201c But in keeping with his promise we are looking
\nforward to a new heaven an a new earth, the home of the righteousness.\u201d
\nTherefore, be obedient to God in all you do, and our Lord who is the Creator of all things,
\nwill bless you beyond measure.<\/p>\n

Proverbs 3:5-6, \u201cTrust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
\nunderstanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.\u201d
\nHave a great weekend folks.<\/p>\n

Your Brother in Christ,
\nMike Sherick<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Translate] <\/p>\n

Hello Folks! We made it through the week! That\u2019s no small feat considering that life these days has its challenges, ups and downs, rocky roads, twists and turns, joys and blessings. You name it \u2013 life has it! Like the \u201cbusy bee\u201d that scurries about, we navigate through our own honeycomb […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=383"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1332,"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383\/revisions\/1332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.imagingtheheavens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}