"Send forth flowers as the lily, and be fragrant;
bring forth leaves in beauty, and with songs of praise
bless the Lord in His works."
(Ecclesiasticus 39:19)
Dear Friends –
In California we are recovering from a horrendous winter of record precipitation; wonderful for the rain and snow that brought us out of our years of drought, but exasperating for the physical damage incurred, and the claustrophobic anxiety that kept wondering, “When will this stop!” In my small mountain community, we had eighty inches of snow in a week, coupled with blizzard conditions and extreme winds, that made it impossible for the snowplow drivers to keep up with the deluge. Roads were closed, and access down from and up to the mountain community was impossible halting the delivery of groceries, gas, mail, and all supplies. 
Constant snow shoveling from berms, driveways, and rooftops was the priority for each day until an atmospheric river, one after another for two weeks, moved in, and then the rain drenched everything. Fear of avalanches occurring, and roofs caving in gave way to rock and mudslides on mountain roads, flooding from rain and snowmelt continued the impossibility of driving, and the completely soaked ground and howling winds uprooted one tree after another causing further destruction. It was not a pleasant time, to say the least. I kept repeating to myself, “This too must end!” and spring would come eventually… but that soon got old as things went from bad to worse with little respite in between. I also kept thinking of the Apostles on their storm-tossed boat shaking Jesus awake in fear and asking Him if He wasn’t concerned for their plight. And so I would often look to the heavens and ask God, “Do you see what’s going on down here? Please do something!”
Most Christians will run to Almighty God for help when things go wrong. We have all had periods when we are dealing with one tragedy and along comes another, and this double blow just about knocks us out. Like the natural storms described above, we have supernatural storms, sometimes coupled with the natural, that have us begging God for help; we can’t handle this on our own, but we know He can and will help. It is precisely at those times that we must 
remember, no matter the size of the cross we are bearing, that our suffering as His child, brings Divine Providence for strength, intervention, hope, and if necessary, the final disposition of resurrection to new life… that's The Easter Message. Regardless of the situation, whether it is financial, physical maladies, family dysfunction, evil domination, whatever, Almighty God will conclude the trial with a resurrection to a new way of life. If physical death occurs, resurrection to heaven is guaranteed for His child. If spiritual death occurs, resurrection to a new way of happier earthly life will begin. God never abandons His child, hold on to that no matter how long it takes to see resolution occur, it will happen, believe in our faithful God.
Once you recognize The Hand of God working in your life, and your own Easter Morn is dawning, send forth fragrant blossoms as the pure lily by words of admiration and gratitude; sing the songs of praise and bless the Lord for His work and love in your life. This all-powerful God loved with such intensity that He sent His only Son to die for humanity so that salvation was afforded His creation; He could not, and would
not let evil triumph and doom His children. The tremendous magnitude of such love must be acknowledged, admired, and returned in whatever manner we earthly mortals are capable of demonstrating from our hearts. As you watch the beauty of a natural or supernatural springtime unfold before your eyes, let the yester-times of doom and gloom fade away. Bask in the warm sunshine of being cared for and loved by The Creator. Relax in the calm air of peace granted you by Christ’s sacrifice and example for your eternal heavenly existence. Breathe in the gentle breezes of discernment and faith’s wisdom set upon you by The Holy Spirit. You have been loved, you have been saved, and you have been given faith… Praise God!
THE NATURE OF GOD
The secular world hides behind theories of evolution, or a big bang occurrence, as a convenient out for not believing that God is our Creator. Without really understanding any of the scientific theories in depth, they simply accept that science and religion are 
incompatible, which they are definitely not. Who’s to say that God didn’t plan evolution, or snapped His fingers for a big explosion as the processes He wanted to unfold His design, for the seven days of creation in The Bible are a symbolic accounting of the order and inclusion He desired. Many scientists, with thorough knowledge of their discipline, are so enamored by the perfection discovered they have to admit it could never be an accident, a Divine Intelligence had to plan it all. Regardless of how it all began, it is the physical nature of our world that best reveals the surety for the existence of Almighty God.
In any artistic form of creation we are dazzled by the abilities displayed… think Michelangelo. Whatever the product, be it a painting, a musical composition, poetic words, architectural structures, and such, we find on display the mind, heart, and soul of the maker. And just so it is with God when we take a closer look at nature. You can make a wooden box and varnish it for protection and you end up with a blah box… a product of purpose and function. And yes, you can decorate and embellish it to make it beautiful, IF you have a creative mind. Everything God designed 
certainly has purpose and function, nothing missing in the chain of life, but He didn’t just stop with blah requirements, He added beauty, aroma, sound, unlimited colors, textures, patterns, and designs to give life zest, something a mindless coincidental space occurrence would never be able to accomplish. No, only a Creator, A Spiritual Being, with a mind, heart, and soul could add all those beautiful extra touches to life, and He wasn’t stingy or repetitive! Did you know every zebra has different stripes, no two alike, amazing… the same for snowflakes, no two are ever alike. Cuteness and timidity are two of my favorite characteristics God displays in animals and birds… think monkeys! Who doesn’t just melt at a chimp’s goofy expression? Extend your hand out with birdseed and watch the cutest little chickadees and nuthatches land on your fingers to gobble up the seed, while others perch cautiously near ‘til they are sure it’s proven safe. Beauty is His greatest gift and the varied beauty of flowers is far from mundane; there is no such thing as an ugly flower! Some are purposeful as the precursor to fruit production, but beauty is the only purpose for others with some getting the additional blessing of aroma that feeds the soul! Coincidence or evolution could never create beauty, cuteness, or timidity amongst many other eye-catching attributes, because they are the product of the soul, Almighty God’s soul. And He didn’t just stop there, the natural world was also the realm He chose to reveal some of the truths for the supernatural world, and coincidence or evolution could never have done that, for sure!
The best example begins with the lowly caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a gorgeous butterfly; this exemplifies just how we lowly mortals can leave the material existence behind when we die to self and transform into a spiritual existence. Material existence has limits, but not the spiritual… it elevates us into a higher realm for eternal heavenly beauty. Take a mollusk that manages to get a grain of sand inside; that, in turn, irritates the clam whose defense is to cover the irritant creating a pearl! What we endure in the way of suffering from an outside source, is the responsible agent for creating saintly gems in God’s family. No sorrow endured for His 
honor and glory goes unrewarded. Think about the creation of another gem, diamonds; decomposing biological waste is transformed under high pressure, temperature, and a long period of time into one of the most beautiful and hardest gemstones around. Imagine the extreme pressure with torture that the martyrs were subjected to making them one of God’s favored jewels for defending belief in Him. This would also include the stigmatists who carry the wounds of Christ in their body with all the pain and bloodshed unto their physical death and heavenly reward. The nature of God has been on display for thousands of years, subtly, and not so subtly, particularly when Christ came to earth to show us a visible image and make known The Godly character. And yet, people still deny His existence with all the proof He has given them. The greatest proof God gave was His ability to resurrect His Son from death, defying natural law; only The Creator who generates a product can alter it, not a mindless occurrence. God is Love, The Supreme Good, and The Perfect Nature.
