THE ORANGE LEAF

Gorgeously brilliant, a true, bright hue,

a one-of-a-kind, a marvelous view.

And there I see it beam in the sun,

the perfect orange leaf unlike any one.

Ongoing giver, the star of spring,

a dainty orange tree, a new life to bring.

And there I trace it, sent through the sky,

the free swirling seed that came from up high.

Delicate showcase, the crown of fall,

an emblem of change, the best of them all.

And there I catch it, crisp in the air,

the Maple Tree’s Gift that none can compare!

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:6

THE ORANGE LEAF

Brisk air brings Autumn while maple trees change into vibrant color, here in Veery Glade. The birds had stopped their singing a while ago and critters are preparing for winter. We, too, are winterizing getting pots in and putting lawn ornaments away till spring.

Jesus is the perfect, holy Son of God able to forgive sins to those who confess them. He is the only way to the Father. He is both meek and mild and the most powerful ever. He is holy God in the flesh. Scripture tells us He came as the suffering Lamb and He will return as the roaring Lion.

Here's my statement for today:

Heaven is not Hell.

Where Heaven is the place of eternal fellowship with a loving Creator, Hell is the place of eternal separation from Him.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 20:10

In the Romans verses above, Paul writes of the wonderful, lasting fellowship with our loving, gracious Creator that cannot be broken while John, in the book of Revelation, is given the vision that the devil will eventually be tormented forever in the lake of fire. We know from scripture that the children of the devil eventually go to their father. They go when Jesus says so because He is so powerful.

"Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."

John 8:43-44

Jesus had asked the Pharisees and unbelieving Jews a question which He already knew the answer and gave it to them. He exposed them and any of us today who do not trust Him as the only One able to forgive sins by the work He did on the cross. It is His grace that saves.

"He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

John 8:47

Either we belong to God or we don't. As I've said in blog posts before, we are not all children of God. It is a lie to say that we are because it negates Christ's work on the cross. Who would refute the words of Jesus recorded for us in John 8:47? Who would contradict God in the flesh? Who would try to discredit Jesus? Well, that would be the devil and those who are deceived by him.

"I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."

John 10:14

Jesus makes the statement that He is the good shepherd, knows His sheep, and they know Him. Done deal.

"His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Matthew 3:12

John the Baptist, who was preparing the way of the LORD, spoke the words in the above verse referring to Jesus. At the time He says so, it is Jesus who will gather the blessed into Heaven and it is Jesus who will burn up the cursed with forever fire. He makes a distinction with those who accept Him and those who have not, like separating sheep from goats. There is invitation to all for salvation and salvation comes with repentance, with circumcision of the heart, with God's grace.

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Matthew 25:31-34

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"

Matthew 25:41

Did you know that the Bible says our heart is wicked? Did you know we are in need of saving? We either die in our sins or we are saved from them. Our sins have either been made as white as snow by Jesus who is the only One who can make them as white as snow or they remain scarlet red with condemnation.

Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD."

Jeremiah 17:5

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"

Jeremiah 17:9

Dear forest dweller, I hope you know from reading your Bible that the Bible doesn't say the heart is good. Mankind says it is and mankind gets this twisted thought from the devil. But through the prophet Jeremiah, God doesn't say the heart is good. God says our heart is wicked. Desperately. And desperately wicked is a far cry from good. That would explain how a mother could neglect her young children to raise themselves while she buys illicit drugs and becomes an unfit mother. Or how a woman would trick a man with dementia to steal his money. Or how a thief would break in and rob an old man's wrapped Christmas gifts from under his tree. Or anyone who does or thinks something vile or shameful. If our hearts were good, would we then need a Savior?

Hell is eternal separation from God. In a place of eternal torment where Satan and his demons (fallen angels) will also be cast, residents will remain conscious where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Not pleasant. Not good. The torment of Hell is real and Jesus doesn't wish anyone to go there. But sinners go there daily and stay forever. The Bible says we are all sinners. Jesus warns of Hell's horror in the rich man and Lazarus story in Luke 16:19-31. Rejection of Him and His Word comes at the highest cost—your soul for eternity. Not knowing Christ will cost you your soul for eternity.

BUT, there is a way to get out of Hell. The Gospel is: Christ died on the cross for our sins, arose from the dead on the third day, and lives today. He alone has power to forgive sins. He alone is the Son of God, Creator of the universe. The Good News is the Gospel! Trust God's remedy for our sin problem. Ask Jesus Christ, God's anointed, into your heart today. Because knowing Christ will reward you and your soul for all eternity.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

It's Heaven or Hell. It's all or nothing.

FOCUS ON PRAYER

Please remember to pray for Christians in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Israel. In Iran, citizens who leave Islam to follow Christ are often persecuted, even viciously. Darkness seems to rule but the truth of Christ is more powerful and able to outshine evil.

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.

Hebrews 10:35

Confidence in the Lord, that is, even while we suffer or as our physical life ends on this planet. It is appointed once to die, then judgement. But to spiritually die forever is the worst, especially when you will be able to see afar how wonderful the blessed live as Jesus explains in the Lazarus and rich man story.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:6

The above verse—the statement Jesus made of Himself—is the get-out-of-Hell card.

Today's closing true statement:

Horrible Hell is not Hallelujah Heaven.

THE TREES OF THE FIELD

The colors of life are in the fall
where God’s bright truths are shown to all.
The trees of the field will clap their hands
and spread God’s love throughout the lands.
 
The warmest brown leaves will tell it straight:
that all have sinned and tend to hate.
And red shiny leaves will sing of love
that comes from God who reigns above.
 
The brightest orange leaves will make all see
that Christ bore all iniquity.
And pure yellow leaves will give a smile
to be with Him in just a while.
 
The colors of fall are rich to see
the Painter of Eternity!
The trees of the field, forever true,

display God’s love for me and you.

 

For ye shall go out with joy,
and be led forth with peace:
the mountains and the hills
shall break forth before you into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12

 

THE TREES OF THE FIELD

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine if fulfilled."

John 3:27-29

What was John the Baptist saying? He was saying he was not the Christ but the one sent to prepare the way for the Christ. And who is the bride? And who is the bridegroom? And who is the friend of the bridegroom? We learn as we search the scriptures that the bride is the redeemed of the Lord—the people who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The bridegroom is Jesus Himself who, one day, will return for His bride. And the friend of the bridegroom is John the Baptist (as well as any of us who love Jesus and call Him our Friend.) 

As I continue to write about this year's word, Heaven, the beautiful imagery of marriage comes to mind. It is the truth of sacrificial love from the Creator's Son to the created. It is the holy and righteous marriage where, in eternity, nothing impure or immoral has any presence. It is the marriage of the church and Jesus who builds it. Nothing which defiles or causes an abomination or a lie will ever be in Heaven.

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast."

Matthew 9:14-15

We learn, again, that Jesus is the bridegroom. He says it of Himself. This was said before He went to the cross to die for our sins, rose again, and then ascended back into Heaven. Now we, the church, the faithful, wait for His return. It could be any time! He has finished all the work His Father sent Him to do before the rapture. The next big thing will be the marriage. The church readies herself. The church remains faithful to Him during the engagement time.

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom."

Matthew 25:1

Five were wise. Five were foolish. The five wise made ready. They bought oil. They didn't want to miss their opportunity to go to the wedding. But the five foolish didn't bother to buy any oil. Maybe they figured they would have plenty of time, even after they took a nap. When it was announced that the bridegroom was seen coming, the foolish ones woke up with the wise and asked the wise for some of their oil but the wise answered no. They wanted enough for themselves. They told the foolish to go buy their own oil, like they had already done before the nap, being so wise. And their watchfulness was rewarded. With the bridegroom, they went into the wedding and He shut the door. When the foolish virgins called out from the other side of the shut door, the bridegroom responded that He did not know them. So, when the door to the kingdom of Heaven is shut and your on the other side... well, you don't want to be there. 

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

Ephesians 5: 25-29

The church is the bride. Not the spotted, wrinkled, blemished church. Not the unholy church. Not the doing-church-in-the-human-flesh church. The bride is the church of believers trusting Jesus and His atoning blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. The bride is the church of believers convinced of Christ's resurrection. The bride, or Lamb's wife, will be the redeemed people of God, the receivers of eternal life, the people raised incorruptible, raised in glory and power. At the trumpet sound, the change that happens in a twinkling of an eye.

And the word of God instructs husbands to love their wives. Those men who beat their wives are disobeying God. God, being just, dealt with Adam and Eve's disobedience. And in the end, God, when He says so, will cast the chief disobedient, Satan, into the lake of fire to be forever tormented for his deception, lying and wickedness.

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."

Revelation 21:9

In the last book in the Bible, we read about the future glory of the people who are redeemed, the bride joining the bridegroom, the wife joining the husband. A great city will descend from Heaven. We read about its light and precious stone construction and pearly gates and names on the gates and high walls and angels and the measurements and the 12 foundations of the wall from verse 9 to the end of the chapter. This beautiful city is filled with beautiful people because of what Christ did for them on the cross. These beautiful people walk in light. The names of these beautiful people are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, not because of anything they did to earn their salvation but because they accepted the free gift of salvation from God the Father through Jesus Christ, His Son.

"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

John 3:18

It's real, folks. God's Word is no fictitious story. You want to be on the right side of the door in Heaven. You want to go to the wedding!

FOR THE JOY: Poems Reflecting on Christ's Death and Resurrection

Here is the new cover to my Easter poetry collection to be published in spring 2027! I hope to encourage readers to trust God's infallible and inerrant Word through poetry and illustrations. If you would like to have a part in the launching of For the Joy, please pray that my poems and painted illustrations convey the clear Gospel message. If you love poetry that honors Christ and is true to the Biblical narrative, I'd love to invite you to experience these poems. 

This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

John 2:11

This beginning of signs took place at a wedding! Jesus' first written miracle was that He turned water into wine at the wedding. May you be encouraged to trust God's deliberate message, pray faithfully, and set your sights on the marriage supper of the Lamb in Heaven.

THE FRUIT OF THE TREE

It’s Autumn and the harvest time
when the apple trees are bearing
sweet fruit that’s worth a mile-long hike,
and the afternoon for sharing.
 
We will know the apples trees we seek
by the goodness they are yielding,
by the bounty they have rich in store,
and the fragrance all so pleasing.
 
But the trees that have no tasty fruit
and are pleasant not for eyeing,
offer branches that are mostly bare,
and some look as though they’re dying!
 
In the rosy light, we’ll choose the best,
and our baskets we’ll be filling;
the love of Jesus in our hearts
will, with grace, be over-spilling!

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

THE FRUIT OF THE TREE

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:1

In the fall season, I continue to write about Heaven, this year's highlighted word. Heaven is wonderful to write about the whole year through! The water of life. An angel showed John a vision in Heaven which included a clear-as-crystal river of the water of life. Sustenance comes from the Living God, who also formed the tree of life. Abundance is His to give.

Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

John 4:13-14

A distinction is made. Not all water is the same. Not every human automatically goes to Heaven because Hell does exist and people go there every day. They find out too late that they should have accepted Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the only One able to give the water that equals everlasting life. Yet the ones who do believe become children of God containing a fountain of water springing up. What comes out of their mouth comes from their saved heart. They praise God. They love Jesus.

Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 12:3

This water of life is the same thing as salvation. Not everyone is saved. But those who are saved love God's Word and defend it. They search the scriptures and proclaim it. God gave His word to Isaiah to prophesy, and sure enough, years later, Jesus, the giver of the water of life, was born.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture had said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

John 7:37-38

Do rivers of living water flow out of anyone who does not believe that Jesus is God's anointed? No, not according to Scripture. Scripture tells us, as any true believer will also say, that only the Spirit gives life. Those who believe on the name of Jesus Christ and that God raised Him from the dead receive the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who teaches and guides and enables understanding. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin.

Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.

Genesis 2:10

A watering river from the get-go and in the future to come.

So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them.

Exodus 15:25

"Behold I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Exodus 17:6

God is the only source of living water—sweet water. Even water from a rock. God gave His only Son to die on the cruel cross for our sins and then rose Him up from the grave. He who is the source of the water of life is Jesus, God's anointed, His Son, and even the One who walks on water! He alone has power to save. There is no other name given by which we must be saved. There is no other water that washes away sin. There is no other atoning way to be forgiven of sins.

FOCUS ON PRAYER

Sit by the streams of living water and pray. Ezekiel was given a vision of a river with very many trees on both sides (chapter 47). Along the bank of the river, trees for food grew, their leaves not withering and their fruit not failing. And their leaves were for medicine, like mentioned in the revelation to John. Commit to God that which is heavy on heart and mind, knowing He has power to heal and replenish.

FINAL VERSE

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

Psalm 46:4

Blessed is the person who is planted beside the rivers of water, as mentioned also in Psalm 1. Oh, all the mentions of rivers in the Bible! Because of what Jesus has done on the cross, make sure you're enjoying fruit that never fails, sitting beside the river in Heaven.

FOREST WINDS

The September winds are kicking up,
and the poplars, all so grandy,
along the road are saying, “Turn!
Your way is not too dandy!”
 
Their silvery leaves are showing me,
as the sun falls in, and merry,
that the way I go is not that good,
and I’d best let someone carry—
 
Carry me to where the birches dance,
and the ferns, on a wind a-borning,
do swirl and twirl, as I listen well,
to their end-of-summer warning—
 
Warning of the way that I think’s right,
which is not, to be contrary;
for there are commandments to obey,
and they’re anything but airy!

 

There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way of death.
Proverbs 14:12

 

 

FOREST WINDS

The September winds are kicking up, here in my neck of the woods. A yellow hue tinges the trees and some leaves are showing orange and red. The crisper nights of Autumn have begun here in Veery Glade.

While walking on the faithful trail, have you ever noticed a lone fern twirling in a windy swirl as if it were waving while other ferns remained motionless? Even in the small things, creation speaks the truth of God.

And I hear it telling me about the tree of life. This special tree, mentioned at the beginning and the end of the Bible, is unique to Heaven, and no where to be found in Hell.

And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:9

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."

Revelation 2:7

The tree of life was centrally located in the Garden of Eden and we read, also, in Paradise. (Note the first and last books of the Bible and second chapters!) When Jesus hung on the cross, He used the word 'Paradise' to the believing thief. A definition of Paradise, or Heaven, is a place of extreme beauty, peace, and great happiness. 

God is good and what He created was good. But tricked by the serpent, Adam and Eve disobeyed. God's holy character cannot allow disobedience to go uncorrected. So, He appointed curses. Do we not all deserve a consequence when we have done wrong? Even so, God, by His great love and in His great wisdom, had already worked out how the consequence of sin would be paid for.

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

Romans 8:19-23

We live in a cursed world. The very ground we walk on bears the consequence of Adam's sin. Thorns, disease, old ladies who prove to be malicious, young men who become vile—we all live in a fallen world and are, indeed, fallen.

But the good news is: God's mercy! In His great mercy, God provided the last Adam.

And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:45

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:47

The second Adam is Jesus—the Lord from Heaven. Jesus, the Son of God, bore our curses on the cross. He alone has the power to restore all of humanity and creation. Redemption through the forgiveness of sin is available to all. Jesus knows every heart. He stands for the believer and He has power to cast the wicked to the depths of Hell. Those who trust the sacrifice of Christ on the cursed tree will be raised to see the tree of life.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.

Revelation 22:1-3

A scene of peace, of sin-free living, and no more curse. Jesus, the Lamb of God who was slain for us, has power alone to bring believers to the tree of life. For us, He hung on the tree of death so that we may enjoy the tree of life.

 

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

Revelation 22:14

We can know His commands. Search His Word. We can find wisdom if we ask God for it. God is able to grow us in faith and the knowledge of Him. We can put our confidence in Him.

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.

Proverbs 3:18

"She" is wisdom.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

Proverbs 11:30

A good tree bears good fruit. A bad tree bears bad fruit. Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness. No one is righteous on their own. But Christ's righteousness is imputed on the believer. And the winner of souls is wise.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12

A longing fulfilled is wonderful! Isn't that true?

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Proverbs 15:4

Isn't that true?

These four proverbs speak clearly and rightly. Do we have the ears to hear? Someday, those who have the ears to hear and the believing heart in Jesus, God's provision, will see the tree of life in Heaven.

For The Joy: Poems Reflecting on Christ's Death and Resurrection

I am excited to share this book with readers, coming March 2027. I hope to have a book trailer soon.

FOCUS ON PRAYER

Pray for those grieving from the loss of life due to the flood in Nepal. 

Pray for the exploitation of children to end. Pray the vile predators be dealt with. God heard the outcry from people praying about the horrible sin in Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:20-21) and He is very able to also hear today's pleas against grievous deeds.

FINAL VERSE AND THOUGHT

Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:18-19

Jesus is the mercy-bearer for His Father and the giver of the tree of life in Heaven.

AUGUST SONNET

Raise voices like the singing crickets make

in August, when they start to stridulate.

In summer heat, and for our season’s sake,

match all the buzz cicadas resonate.

Crash cymbals through dark troubles, quick and sharp.

With louder tymbals, drum out jubilee.

Beat sistrums with the angel’s ringing harp

and tap a tune with Heaven’s tympani.

But, I know every tiny abdomen

will one day be a chamber passed away.

Yet for my merry soul, a glad ‘amen’

sings out the promise of eternal’s day.

So long as Christ lets voices amplify!

So long as hearts are raised to glorify!

And David and all the house of Israel

played before the LORD on all manner

of instruments made of fir wood, even

on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels,

and on cornets, and on cymbals. 

2 Samuel 6:5

AUGUST SONNET

Let singing crickets and buzzing cicadas remind you to make your praises and requests known to our Heavenly Father who is also our Mighty Creator. Nature's music in the realm of Veery Glade continues to make me very glad to glorify Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Wherever you are, may it be so.

Continuing with this year's theme of Heaven, I think music will be there too (or, is there now!). I imagine great orchestras and mighty choirs fill Heaven's rafters with music, although rafters implies there is a limit and there, most likely, is none. Heaven, for believers, will be a place that includes music expressed from overwhelming joy and thanksgiving, not to mention other emotions and reasons. Let's see what the Bible says about music in Heaven.

Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Exodus 19:16

A Trumpet. Who played the trumpet? I do not think it was a human. It was someone in Heaven. And we read a little further in verse 19 that the trumpet blast sounded long and grew louder and louder just before God and His glory rested on the top of Mount Sinai. Then, in the very next chapter, God spoke the ten commandments. Somebody played the trumpet and we don't know who but everyone heard it. It was a fanfare-type-of proceeding before God's presence arrived.

"a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around. And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die."

Exodus 28:34-35

Golden bells. We learn that the earthly tabernacle set-up was a shadow or copy of the real tabernacle in Heaven as described in Hebrews, chapter 9. Are there golden bells sewn into the hem of robes in Heaven that ring out to be heard? We don't know. But God had instructed Moses to include the sound of bells. Let's see what else the Bible says.

"The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

Singing. Ah, singing! I studied music and I remember my piano teacher at Ithaca College teaching that the best instrument players were the ones who could mimic the human voice on their instruments. The voice is the standard, the measure, the sound to emulate. How can you make the piano sing? How can you play your clarinet to match vocal ability, rising and falling in dynamics? How can you play the cello with phrasing like a singer? This was the goal of a trained instrumentalist! In Zephaniah, we read that God sings. Gotquestions.org says that this verse is about the future millennial kingdom and that God's singing is from His great joy when His people praise Him. Imagine! What a voice!

Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.

Psalm 33:3

Play skillfully. That means not slipshod, or mediocre, or barely adequate, as if you spent no time practicing. I know it takes years to master an instrument (unless you're extremely gifted). But even then, skill takes focus. I'm sure young David spent hours playing his harp and singing while out tending his father's sheep. He went on to play for King Saul and to write many of the Psalms, many of which mention music. Like...

Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals!

Psalm 150:3-5

Yes, this doesn't say that these instruments will actually be in Heaven but maybe they will be. They are here. Drummers must love the clashing cymbals mention. Many Psalms mention lifting praise to God through music.

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on earth." Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!"

Revelation 5:8-12

And they sang a new song. That's the four living creatures and the 24 elders, each with harps. Jesus, the only One able to take the sealed scroll from His Father, Almighty God, triggers the above musical scene. Trumpet blasts will sound following this scene, unleashing God's wrath. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. You won't survive it, which is His vengeance—His to claim, His to have.

Hell, the place of scoffers, of people who laughed at God's provision and thought they were mocking Him, who've only but deceived themselves, has absolutely no music. The Bible says weeping and gnashing of teeth are the sounds in Hell. You wouldn't want to go there if you're a music lover.

Only Jesus saves. Live a life trusting Jesus and His Word to hear the music of Heaven.

FOR THE JOY: Poems Reflecting on Christ's Death and Resurrection

With this Easter poetry collection to be published in spring 2027, I hope to encourage readers to trust God's infallible and inerrant Word. If you would like to have a part in the launching of For the Joy, please pray that I fine-tune my poems and painted illustrations to convey the clear message. This fall, I hope to ask beta readers for their feedback. If you love poetry that honors Christ and is true to the Biblical narrative, I'd love to invite you to experience these poems.

HUMPERSTEIN HUBERT FISH

With For the Joy on the front burner, this Christian picture book for children sits on the back burner. But, when time allows, I dabble, painting my main character. I need to paint him well! Maybe by next posting, I'll have an image to share!

FOCUS ON PRAYER

Pray for your church members and pastor and family. Pray specifically for needs you are aware of and for those not aware of, trust God to know the details. He does. Still, we should bow and ask and seek. We should commit time to prayer. Fervent prayer. In-the-closet prayer.

Also, pray for Christian teachers in public schools to stand firm in their environment, and be encouraged. We need Christian teachers in the public school system! Also, pray for Christian schools as well.

FINAL VERSE AND THOUGHT 

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!"

Revelation 15:1-3

Before Christ returns, the song of the Lamb will be sung. And after the great music of the song, the full wrath of God will occur. Before a powerful Savior exists powerful music in Heaven.

 

BLACKBERRIES

Blackberries ripen, full and sweet,

to make for me an August treat.

Their goodness calls me, “Come and dine!”,

so up I climb to make them mine.

Safe underneath the ash and beech,

the berries grow within my reach.

I pluck them quickly for my pail

and eat my fill along the trail.

Blackberries splendid, good and free,

are like the graces given me.

God’s fruit is for the picking ones,

and with it, love and mercy comes.

O taste and see that the LORD is good:

blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Psalm 34:8

BLACKBERRIES

We can reflect on God's goodness when picking blackberries on an August evening, up behind Veery Glade, far away from the world. How true it is that everything from a good God is good!

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. 

Psalm 23:5

Food in Heaven must be grand! Since our loving Creator made us in His image, we must surely enjoy good food forever. And beverage. The table will be set for those whose robes have been washed, whose faith in Jesus Christ, God's very Son, equals knowing He satisfied the penalty of our sin by dying on the cruel cross in our place that we might have His sinless righteousness imputed upon us. This is the transformative power of the Gospel truth. This is my cup running over.

Righteousness not imputed (due to lack of faith) only ends in destruction, in not being at the prepared table, in not having plenty, not even having burnt toast. Hell, the place out of God's presence, offers nothing of goodness, nothing of plenty.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

Psalm 1:3

This is a description of the blessed man, the one who delights in the law of the LORD, the one who accepts God's Gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, His Son. The picture is: a strong, mature, majestic tree thriving beside rivers of water.

Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Psalm 37:3

Feed on His faithfulness, like each season following each other. Sustenance comes from the Lord. Even in times of famine, there will be plenty for those who trust the faithfulness of God.

So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.

Exodus 16:13-14

In Exodus, we remember manna from Heaven and quail supplied to the Israelites. This menu of meat and bread appeared every day for the people who had grumbled about not having enough to eat.

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."

Isaiah 55:1

Ho! What a wonderful expression in the NKJV! Here, through the prophet Isaiah, God sends out His invite, enthusiastically, to accept His beverages, His provision, His remedy, His salvation! No money required! Jesus paid it all! Trust God, not man.

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:10-11

So shall My Word be. You can count on our Creator's words when He declares His intent so plainly expressed. You can count on His plan of sure accomplishment. You can count on the thing He makes known will prosper. Love cannot fail. God is love. God cannot fail. He sent His Son, the Living Word, to die for our sins and then to be raised up to return to Him, which He did. 

"They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit."

Isaiah 65:21

"They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God."

Luke 13:29

"Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

Mark 14:25

And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."

Revelation 21:6

Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'"

Revelation 19:9

The Bible is full of promises, prophecies, and declarations. It is God's love letter to us! Taste and see that the Lord is good. We don't know for sure what kind of food will be on the menu in Heaven but I think it will be the BEST! Live a life trusting Jesus to find out.

FOR THE JOY: POEMS REFLECTING ON CHRIST'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION

In September, I hope to work with a cover designer to create For the Joy's front and back cover. How exciting to get to this point in the process! With this Easter poetry collection to be published in spring 2027, I hope to encourage readers to trust God's infallible and inerrant Word through poetry and illustrations. If you would like to have a part in the launching of For the Joy, please pray that I can effectively fine-tune my poems and painted illustrations to convey the clear message. What a joy it has been for me to reflect on Bible verses and offer my reflections.

FOCUS ON PRAYER

Keep praying for your loved ones to be drawn closer to the Lord. Remember the persistent widow! Pray they would pray. Nothing is better than trusting an Almighty God who loves us so much that He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins. Righteousness is imputed on we who believe Jesus died for our sins, changing our legal standing before a holy God. Righteousness not imputed does not change the legal standing of a sinner before a holy God and condemnation remains.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Taste and see that the Lord is good, now and forever!

And I believe only GREAT food and beverage will be enjoyed by the saved citizens of Heaven.