Christian Photographers Community

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• Mini Challenge #5~"LEADING LINES"     Voting is over and the winners are listed!!

• Garden Visitors  Let's post photos of insects, little critters, etc. that visit our gardens.

• Janet in the Koinonia Gallery Please visit and leave a comment. 

• Your Day in Romans   Great study in the Book of Romans.

• See the last photos uploaded to our Gallery

• Tutorials by ohenry   Check these out and practice.  They are very well written. 

Morning Devotional...



..and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice.  
--1 Kings 19:12

"The accent in the Church today," says Leonard Ravenhill, the English
evangelist, "is not on devotion, but on commotion." Religious extroversion has been carried to such an extreme in evangelical circles that hardly anyone has the desire, to say nothing of the courage, to question the soundness of it. Externalism has taken over.  God now speaks by the wind and the earthquake only; the still small voice can be heard no more. The whole religious machine has become a noisemaker. The adolescent taste which loves the loud horn and the thundering exhaust has gotten into the activities of modern Christians. The old question, "What is the chief end of man?" is now answered, "To dash about the world and add to the din thereof."...

We must begin the needed reform by challenging the spiritual validity of externalism. What a man is must be shown to be more important than what he does. While the moral quality of any act is imparted by the condition of the heart, there may be a world of religious activity which arises not from within but from without and which would seem to have little or no moral content. Such religious conduct is imitative or reflex. It stems from the current cult of commotion and possesses no sound inner life. 
Dr. Tozer in The Root of the Righteous, 84,85.

"Lord, if this was true in Ravenhill's and Tozer's day, how much more
true today! Quiet my heart today, in the midst of the rush and din of
church busyness, that I might be able to hear the 'still small voice.' How desperately we need to hear it, but how seldom we're able to
listen. Amen."




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In reading today's message, I am reminded of how thankful I am that we belong to a church that does set aside moments for quiet contemplation.  There is the hush of time when we take communion, prayer time as well and time set aside for the silent naming of people we remember.  On the Good Friday service, the altar is stripped bare and the congregation leaves in silence.  It is a humble service that never fails to touch my thoughts on what worship is really about after all. 

Carol

Your point is true and well-taken, Pat! It is an ongoing, daily challenge for me to set aside quality, quantitative, (and quiet) time alone with Christ and his Word! Thanks for the reminder!

Hi everyone.  Getting here before coffee today.  I had one of those tired days yesterday and didn't really want to get up this morning. 

Again I want to thank you all of the Anniversary wishes.  We ended up having a quiet day and Pat decided she really didn't want to go out to eat.  We had eaten out on Tuesday and Wednesday.  That was fine with me as was tired. 

Under-His-Shadow, it is nice have you with us and seeing you post.  I agree with you that finding quiet time is a challenge with so many things claiming our attention. 

Marilyn, are you tired of your furniture arrangement in your house all ready?  This reminds me of my grandmother who was always moving the furniture and by herself.  Guess she liked variety.  Our house is situated so that it is hard to move things as everything is in the place it seems to fit the best.  However, we have rearranged our living room a couple of time in the last ten years.

ohenry, your wife must be getting a lot of "frequent flyer points" with all those trips to Alaska.  What does your wife do that requires her to make these continued trips up there?  I lived in Alaska for 2 years back in the late 60s and it is a lovely place.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.  We are expecting another nice day today.  We didn't have to air condition at all yesterday, which is extremely unusual for July in Georgia.

Yesterday my son came over and fixed the brakes on his sister's (my) car and then in the afternoon I went to the tire dealer and had the car aligned and 4 new tires put on as she had worn out the others and it was out of alignment.  She is very hard on a car and the repairs are hard on dad's pocketbook.  Marilyn, I guess we both know how expensive alignments and new tires are. 

Pat, that is a fine devotional today and so true.  I have to say our traditional service still maintains a dignity and period of silence when we pray.  Perhaps that is why I really don't care for the contemporary services, although I have attended only a couple of them so it is not fair to judge.  Carol, we do very many of the same things in our service as you mentioned in your posting.

JudyB, the cutting of the grass with a walk behind mower will certainly give you good exercise.  Sorry you couldn't get your mower fixed but there comes a time when it just doesn't make sense to spend anymore money on an older piece of equipment.

Etta Sue, it sounds like you found a treasure drove at the garage sale.  Now don't forget you have to walk on the tread mill to get any benefit from it.   

Karma has decided on the topic for the next challenge!

Have fun everyone!

Mini Challenge #6

I, too, love the quiet times during church services, especially during communion.  How can we talk to God when someone is singing or talking?  Both our traditional and contemporary services have quiet time. 

Larry ~ I got a bike...not a treadmill.  And I rode the bike yesterday until my legs got tired.  Would you believe that I got up this moring without a hitch in my get-along?  I have had to get up, stand awhile, and then move because of a 'catch' in my right hip.  Not today! 

Ali Cat has taken to wanting to be near me all the time.  She gets up on this desk but stands between the monitor and I.  I can't see through her.  But after days of telling her to 'Lay down, Ali' and gently pushing her behind down...today she jumped up here and laid down without words or pushing.  She is a doll.  She used to do this when she was a baby but hasn't for a long time.  Maybe she is getting back to being a baby.  Hunh?

Today is the 60 Chix luncheon.  Hopefully 5-7 will be there today.  I haven't been since April so it will be nice to see the girls again.

The devotional this morning reminds me that prayer includes listening to God as much as it does speaking with Him.  When I read today's text, I wasn't struck by the differences between "traditional" services and "contemporary" services as much as I was looking at the differences between the doctrines of various churches and the Word of God.  Do we allow ourselves to identify our faith according to the doctrine of our denomination or do we hold fast to the Truth and mainitain our faith based on the Word of God?  Interestingly enough, this morning's devotional coincides with today's devotional from The Daily Bread which includes a quote that struck me.

QuoteWe too need to hold tightly to our beliefs based on the unfailing, God-inspired Bible. What we believe about God is more crucial than any feeling we get by being in church.

Not long ago, I attended a non-denominational rally for Jesus that was hosted by several of the more contemporary churches.  While I admit that I didn't care for the pounding bass and much of the style of music, I was moved by the way the youth celebrated Christ.  It was clear that the Spirit filled the room and I found myself drawn into the emotion.  It was not the music that excited me, but rather the emotion of being in the presence of my Lord that moved me.  None-the-less, I don't think that I'd want a steady diet of this type of worship. 

Anyway, that's just some rambling thoughts in my head this morning and perhaps I've rambled too much already  .


Al, my wife certainly is racking up the air miles.  She is a physician with the Veteran's Administration Hospital and is voluntarilly assisting the VA Hospital in Anchorage which is short staffed in her field.  She is home now and it is good to have her here, even if only briefly.  Laughingly, she sets her flight schedule so that she departs after church services on Sunday's and returns on a Friday so that she only misses one service during a 2 week stay.


May we all find our own quiet time with Him today and tomorrow and every day.

Thanks so much ohenry for your comments today.  That's what we like to see.


I'm going to a "Pot Luck" supper out in the country today with the Guelph Hiking Trail Club executive.  Yes, and I'm taking my camera!  We'll see if I can get some shots of something.  Last year I got one of a massive snapping turtle on the side of the road. 

Have you all looked at ohenry's tutorials he posted?  There's a link in the "From the Forums" section above.  I know I'm going to spend some time there and see if I can adapt them to PSP.


Thought I'd share this hymn with you all.  I know it's a favourite of Karma's.


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Pat I just passed that hymn on to friends who are going through some difficult times. 

John left today at about 3:30 for Kentucky.  He has Melaura with him.  It will be a good time for her to be with John for the 4 day trip.

Yesterday was Bonnie's birthday.  I was in to see her last night,  She is such a blessing.

I am off, will be back later.
Judy

Well I can't say Good Morning all y-all cause it sure isn't morning any longer. I was here early this morning but decided not to post at that time. Then I came back and cyberspace ate my post. 

I may step on a few toes here and if I say something that you do not approve of please do not send me any emails or messages that are negative. That much said here goes.:

I happen to like the Spirit filled contemporary services, which is not to say that I do not like traditional services, I do IF they are Spirit filled. Psalm 100 says to "Shout to the Lord all the earth" and also "Make a joyful noise". So who says it is wrong to lift your hands, clap your hands and shout Hallelujah or Amen.  When you see an excellent play or hear a good speaker or listen to a great orchestra, don't you clap your hands in recognition of the powerful things you have just heard or seen? Or even sway to the music?

•   There are the quiet times during the altar call with soft keyboard music playing in the background and there are those other times and both could be taking place at the same time. Some will kneel at the altar praying quietly or kneel by a chair where sit or in the front row.
•   Some will lie out on their face on the floor before the Lord either at the altar or someplace else. Some will stand and some will sit it all depends on what the Lord is telling you to do. I have had the Lord tell me to humble myself and lie face down on the floor at the altar in front of everyone. Did I do it? You bet I did.

Some will pray quietly and some will cry out loudly either in English or their prayer language. There might be tears and there may not be any tears. Someone may shout Hallelujah! Another may start singing.


I have been in the choir singing and the Lord told me to go pray for someone, so I walked off the platform went to that person and prayed for them and returned to the choir. The person I prayed for was blessed as the Lord is the one who told me what that person needed prayer for. It wasn't me praying just any old prayer. The prayer really spoke to that person.

When one is afraid to raise their hands or say amen or hallelujah in praise to the Lord or the whole church just sits there in silence without any show of emotion or joy I say that is a dead congregation or perhaps a dead church. We are supposed to be Joyful "the Joy of the Lord is our strength". So hey all y-all BE JOYFUL.

TTYL

Amen Marilyn...and might I add a chorus from a today's song of joy

Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing
Power and Majesty, praise to the King;
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of your hands,
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.

Amen, Pat!  Thank you for the devotional today.  I have read Leonard Ravenhill, and been moved again and again by his teachings.  I, too, find time for quieting my heart before the Lord.  Most often, it happens early in the morning for me.  At other times, on my one-hour commute to work (church).

And Amen to you, too Marilyn.  It would be hard to find a moment of quiet in Mitaki's international service, where I pastor.  We ROCK before the Lord!  There are a few believers who are actually able to NOT raise their hands, and that's fine, too.

With all that said, as one of the pastors, I am careful to make sure we glorify God in our services, but not in a disorderly way.  We've been able to do that through good teaching, and haven't had any major problems in all the years that I have been involved in ministry at Mitaki.

Oh, and since this is also a PHOTOGRAPHY site, let me encourage all of you to visit the Gallery (click on Gallery at the top of the page).  Also, get out your cameras and get a picture of CANDY, for Challenge #6.  Here's a suggestion. Make a big batch of fudge with nuts. Cut out one piece.  Take a bite of that big piece of fudge, then get a close-up of it. Send the rest of the fudge to me!  

In His Grip,
Kevin

Carl I love that song. Thank you for your encouragement I really appreciate your encouraging words it means a lot to me.

Kevin I thank you also. Yes good teaching is a must. We rock too, then during the worship part I am instructed to lower the lights, that is when we get deep into the worship.

Well I'm at work this weekend evening, and I was driving around during the "golden hour" just before sunset wishing I could be driving around with my camera, instead of my security patrol car. At least I could enjoy the scenery around town.

I really appreciated that devotional, Pat.  Those are needed words for today.  In fact, I copied it and am going to hand it to our worship leader and others.  I don't at all mind contemporary "worship" - it it's truly worship, but I do think a moment or two of silence would not be amiss.

I forgot to add that I did appreciate the devotional this morning Pat. I find my quiet time early in the morning when I first get out of bed. I let the dogs out and back in, I feed them then I sit down  in my corner by my computer get my devotional and Bible and spend about an hour reading and praying. About in the middle of that I get a cup of coffee and sit quietly reading.

I have been crocheting a Snood or sometimes it is called a caul. For those who do not know what that is. It is a hair covering like they wore in the 40's. Google "Snood" and you can see pictures. I also am putting the finishing touches on an afghan.

C~U~Later

Well, I'm home from my "Pot Luck Supper".  It was nice to get together with other hikers.  There was a heated swimming pool and those that wanted to go in were able to.  

It's been nice to read all of your posts too re the devotional today.  Thanks!

It sure blessed my heart and I thought of sharing it with you.  

Glad you enjoyed that hymn, Judy.  I think it's one of Karma's favourites as well.

If you enjoy candy, you all should see the photo that ohenry has posted in the latest challenge!  Wow!

Well, I must feed Geordie and listen to my telephone messages and then I'll be back to post the New Every Morning for tomorrow.

Time to lock up for this Saturday night!

Have a wonderful time in the House of the Lord tomorrow as we worship the Lord in our own cities and towns.


To get to our new New Every Morning, CLICK HERE