Streams in the Desert

May this bless you as it did me...........

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman Source: Streams in the Desert Scripture Reference: Hebrews 12:10  Flowers in the Canyon "For our profit" (Heb. 12:10). In one of Ralph Connor's books he tells a story of Gwen. Gwen was a wild, wilful lassie and one who had always been accustomed to having her own way. Then one day she met with a terrible accident which crippled her for life. She became very rebellious and in the murmuring state she was visited by the Sky Pilot, as the missionary among the mountaineers was termed. He told her the parable of the canyon. "At first there were no canyons, but only the broad, open prairie. One day the Master of the Prairie, walking over his great lawns, where were only grasses, asked the Prairie, 'Where are your flowers?' and the Prairie said, 'Master I have no seeds.' "Then he spoke to the birds, and they carried seeds of every kind of flower and strewed them far and wide, and soon the prairie bloomed with crocuses and roses and buffalo beans and the yellow crowfoot and the wild sunflowers and the red lilies all summer long. Then the Master came and was well pleased; but he missed the flowers he loved best of all, and he said to the Prairie: 'Where are the clematis and the columbine, the sweet violets and wind-flowers, and all the ferns and flowering shrubs?' "And again he spoke to the birds, and again they carried all the seeds and scattered them far and wide. But, again, when the Master came he could not find the flowers he loved best of all, and he said: "'Where are those my sweetest flowers?' and the Prairie cried sorrowfully: "'Oh, Master, I cannot keep the flowers, for the winds sweep fiercely, and the sun beats upon my breast, and they wither up and fly away.' "Then the Master spoke to the Lightning, and with one swift blow the Lightning cleft the Prairie to the heart. And the Prairie rocked and groaned in agony, and for many a day moaned bitterly over the black, jagged, gaping wound. "But the river poured its waters through the cleft, and carried down deep black mould, and once more the birds carried seeds and strewed them in the canyon. And after a long time the rough rocks were decked out with soft mosses and trailing vines, and all the nooks were hung with clematis and columbine, and great elms lifted their huge tops high up into the sunlight, and down about their feet clustered the low cedars and balsams, and everywhere the violets and wind-flower and maiden-hair grew and bloomed, till the canyon became the Master's favorite place for rest and peace and joy." Then the Sky Pilot read to her: "The fruit--I'll read 'flowers'--of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness--and some of these grow only in the canyon." "Which are the canyon flowers?" asked Gwen softly, and the Pilot answered: "Gentleness, meekness, longsuffering; but though the others, love, joy, peace, bloom in the open, yet never with so rich a bloom and so sweet a perfume as in the canyon." For a long time Gwen lay quite still, and then said wistfully, while her lips trembled: "There are no flowers in my canyon, but only ragged rocks." "Some day they will bloom, Gwen dear; the Master will find them, and we, too, shall see them." Beloved, when you come to your canyon, remember!

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Faith and Action!

I saw a video where people in our modern times are trying to walk on water.  If you don't believe me, go to YouTube and search for the terms "walk on water" and you'll see it.  The video I watched was of some who called themselves "professionals".  They had studied the concept and created special waterproof clothing, even testing the concept right down to the angle in which they "RAN" into the water to accomplish the feat.  The amazing part to me was that they thought they were successful!!!


I don't know about you, but for me, imitating Christ is much more than science, clothing, and concept.  Take a look at this passage from the bible:

Jesus Walks on the Water - Matthew 14:22-32 (NIV)

²² Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”
²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
²⁹ “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

In the passages from Matthew, we see several things.  First, Jesus is a caregiver.   It is evident that the disciples had been in the company of Jesus for some amount of time.  We don’t know how long but Jesus “made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.”  What I’m hearing is that Jesus stayed behind and took care of things while the disciples got their “down time”.  Next, Jesus is a petitioner. Jesus went off by Himself and prayed!  We have no way (in this reading) to know what he petitioned for but I just imagine it included some petitioning for those guys on that boat!  Later, as Jesus walks on the lake, he exemplifies an encourager.  “Take courage! It is I.  Don’t be afraid.” He tells them. Easier said than done, I guess, but don’t you just want to shake some sense into them at this point!?!  Then, in spite of Peter’s attempt at “being Christ-like”, he became afraid and started sinking.  Enter….Jesus the Savior.   (On a side note, there is a difference between being a saver and a Savior.  I looked up the terminology.  What I found is that the difference is: a saver collects, a Savior rescues).  Some people will say that this is the point at which Jesus admonishes the disciples for their lack of faith.  But what I see and hear in this scripture is a saddened parent/friend.  He reaches out His hand “Immediately” and catches Peter.  Yes, His words indicated disappointment but His ACTION indicates LOVE!  The David Crowder band says it so lovely.  “Here is our King, Here is our Love, Here is our God who’s come to bring us back to Him”! (listen to the song here)

In summary, Jesus does not want us to simply scientifically figure out how to “Walk on Water”.  His example of behavior throughout this passage calls us into action on behalf of others.  As in the modern day attempts, we tend to justify our actions and fool ourselves into thinking our efforts are reasonable, warranted, or essential.  However, if we really analyze those efforts, we find that we have failed miserably at, not only interpreting His call but also in administering His command.   Friends, Christ is not about science, clothing, and concept.  He is about people and action.  May we never forget!   

Clearing my Heart and Mind......

Like the memory on my phone, it doesn't take much for my heart to get full of this world and its' negative influences!  And....like purging data on my phone, I have to be intentional about clearing my heart and mind to make room for God!  Being human means I'm in the world, being Christian means I'm not conformed to it!

1 John 2:15-17 (King James Version)

 ¹⁵Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
 ¹⁶For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
 ¹⁷And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.