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.

WHERE THE LEAVES DANCE

A soft breeze, a gentle sigh,

I’ll be where the leaves dance.

I’ll look up through at skies of blue

and fall within a trance.

In relaxed state, I’ll contemplate

and hear the wood thrush echoing.

His gorgeous tune releases me,

a distant place is beckoning.

How could God make these woods so fine?

All worries are asunder.

I’ll close my eyes and take it in,

this quiet place of wonder.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:27

WHERE THE LEAVES DANCE

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:1-2

As I sit back and look up through the tree branches, I remember the words of Jesus and that He is preparing a place for us. Today. That is one of the things the Son of God is doing right now. How cool is that, my fellow-believing forest dweller?

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?" And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

Revelation 5:1-3

Continuing with this year's theme of Heaven, I know angels are also a part of Heaven. And I just so happened to be working on a poem entitled "The Authority of Revelation 5" in my For the Joy manuscript where this scroll is mentioned in Revelation 5. What did it look like? We don't know except it had seven seals and was held in the right hand of God. It was a strong angel with a loud voice who asked the question across the cosmos that no one could answer, that is, except Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Son of God, the Messiah. He took the scroll from His Father's right hand. He alone is worthy. He alone has authority.

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 5:11-12

One mighty angel who proclaimed a question across the cosmos for all to hear and then masses of angels speaking with a loud voice together? Wow! Can you imagine how loud this was? Did John have to plug his ears? Well, the Bible doesn't say that John plugged his ears but can you imagine the sound? Amazing.

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

Revelation 8:2

A bit further in the book of Revelations, we read more about angels. After Jesus had broken the last seal (or seventh seal) on the scroll, seven angels were each given a trumpet to blast, beginning the events ending the age. This is the time to come that will destroy all evil.

I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.

Revelation 10:1-3

This commanding, fierce image, and also with a loud voice, shows us the angel is given authority to execute (or begin) what is next. This and other angels might often have loud voices, although maybe there were soft-spoken angels. The angel Gabriel may not have needed to speak loudly to Mary about her being chosen to bear the Son of God but I think many Biblical accounts of angels show us they are fiercely capable of being loud. (More about Gabriel, in a moment!)

But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants and prophets.

Revelation 10:7

God's timing is perfect. Ours is not. But we can trust His. And there will come a time (in His timing) when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet and the mystery of God is finished. Will servants and prophets from long ago come into full understanding of who God is? God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the triune Godhead from even in the book of Genesis when they were creating humankind, will be fully understood. And an angel, commanded by God, kicks that off.

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

Luke 1: 26-28

Whammy Wow! So can you imagine this? We are only given two names of angels in all of the Bible: Gabriel and Michael. And it was to a young woman that Gabriel greeted with the exceptional news that she would become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. Some people paint Mary as a simple, somewhat brainless tween, but if you read her reply in verses 46 through 55 of Luke 1, you will not read the ramblings of a little tweeny-bopper. What she said (and is consequently recorded) shows her knowledge, character, and humbleness. So important was her role and all according to God's plan. In fact, if God had not chosen Mary (or any other woman for that matter), there would have been no reason to choose twelve men to serve as the original disciples. God sent Gabriel to Mary.

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."

Matthew 1:20

How did Joseph feel and what did he think when he learned that his betrothed was pregnant? Well, he was planning to quietly divorce her. But an angel in a dream assured Joseph and explained things to him. Mary is the only woman to have been "impregnated" by the Holy Spirit. This unique condition brought forth an angel visit to Joseph in a dream, who in turn obeyed the angel's command to take Mary as his wife.

And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings."

Luke 1:19

Gabriel also visited Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. Angels are making their rounds! But Zacharias didn't believe the angel's words and so Gabriel commanded Zacharias to be mute until the time when he wrote down the name "John" after the baby was born to his wife Elizabeth, old as she was. (But old age is nothing for God.)

Further angel accounts that come to mind are in 2 Kings 19:35 when a single angel kills 185,000 enemies as a result of King Hezekiah's prayerful plea for help. Daniel in the lion's den let King Darius know it was an angel who had shut the lion's mouths. (Daniel 6:21-22)

Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

Jude, verse 9

Here is the only verse in the Bible where the angel Michael is named. We learn Michael is the archangel and contended with the devil, Satan. Do you look forward to learning what the other angels' names are in Heaven?

For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:11

What a beautiful promise! Although we can't always see angels, they are close to us. (I say 'can't always' because sometimes I wonder if maybe we had seen one but didn't realize it.) It will be wonderful to meet our guardian angel(s) someday who had watched over us in our lives! Will they shake our hand and say, "Boy, I remember the time when... but I was there to help you out, little did you know!" Or, "Yeah, that was me!" Yes, it will be wonderful to meet angels! 

But more so, it will be wonderful to meet, face to face, our Savior who sent them.

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

I have changed my subtitle and back book blurb. The total amount of poems in this collection is at 35 now and I think that is where it will stay. I'm planning to published for Easter 2027 with the hopes that I can encourage anyone to have faith and reflect on God's inerrant Word. Prayers are greatly appreciated.

FOCUS ON PRAYER

Please pray that our country upholds established freedoms to worship and that our public schools do not mistreat Christian students and teachers. Keep praying for your family and loved ones. Don't give up.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Veery Glade is wonderfully summer now. The maples and beech and other trees around the glade are a dark green with very little yellow starting, which so happens in August. We didn't have a lot of veeries this year but still a few. The towees, catbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and wood thrushes have filled the woods with their songs. They will begin to decline in song as July ends. It is a nice place to be, where the leaves dance. And won't it be glorious to be where the leaves dance with our Lord, beside angels, soaking in Heaven!