Definitely put this hike on your to-do list the next time (or the first time) you’re in Rocky. I’ve done it twice now and look forward to hiking it again in the not-too-distant future.

How to Get There

The trailhead is on the east side of the Park, not far from Moraine Park Campground, where we camped on our first trip there. Take Bear Lake Road off Highway 36, coming from Estes Park.

There’s a sizeable parking lot right there at the trailhead—which is also where the short paved walk to Bear Lake begins. But the parking lot fills up quickly during the busy summer season—as early as 9:00 a.m. Your best bet is to take a shuttle from the Park-and-Ride along Bear Lake Road.

(You can see all this on the Park map here.)

On our 2015 trip, we had settled on seeing Bear Lake, so we took the shuttle there. Upon our arrival, a very helpful ranger suggested we take the trail to Dream Lake, too. She said the 2-mile round-trip hike was well worth it.

Are we ever glad we took her advice!

(Incidentally, this has happened to us before. If someone who knows the area suggests a hike, do it! We haven’t regretted it yet.)

Why we loved the Dream Lake Hike

The Views Along the Way

The views were the definite highlight. First we swung by Bear Lake, which is barely stepping away from the parking lot. Then we proceeded up the trail on the way to Dream Lake.

Shortly after we hiked past the second lake, which is Nymph Lake, our son and nephew led the way, scrambling up some rocks. We all decided to follow, and WOW—this was the treat in store for us:

Not bad, eh?! That’s Long’s Peak, the highest peak in Rocky at 14,259 feet.

There were great views like this in several places along the trail.

An Easy Hike for the Whole Family

This trail is 2.2 miles roundtrip, with only 450 feet of elevation gain. That’s pretty tame for the mountains.

The path is wide and well-worn. Very suitable for both young children (we saw many) and older adults. The youngest in our group was 8, and he handled it very easily.

Dream Lake

Dream Lake is the quintessential mountain lake with peaks that seem to climb right up off its shores, plenty of trees and the crystal clear water. There are plenty of places for the kids to climb around, and options to sit on the rocks and enjoy the view.

No Bugs!

As with Rocky in general, there are hardly any mosquitoes and flies. Truly a blessed thing for those of us from the Midwest!

What’s Not to Love

The Crowds

This hike is still very much worth it, even if you’re there on a busy summer day with dozens of others, like we were.

But if you prefer a more solitary hike, avoid July and August certainly, and maybe even the last half of June. Or get up very early and be on the trail by 6:00 or 7:00 a.m.

Still, not everyone who’s there to see Bear Lake bothers to take the hike to Dream Lake—or maybe they don’t know how great it is because they didn’t ask anyone!

On my second time there, three years later, it was in late May. There were a handful of people, but not nearly as many as during the summer season. We were easily able to park at the trailhead even at midday.

So shoulder season is always a good idea to avoid the crowds.

That’s really the only thing not to love. And for another reminder why you should do this hike, here’s an additional view from along the trail:

Pretty gorgeous, huh?

What Else to Know about This Hike

Prepare for the Altitude

After doing several mountain hikes in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, I’ve discovered the altitude doesn’t really bother me, other than extra breathlessness.

But it affects some people quite a bit. It can cause headaches, nausea, heavy breathing and fatigue.

People usually suggest being in the area for a couple of days before you take on strenuous activities like mountain hikes. That gives your body a chance to acclimate.

Bring drinking water and some light, healthy snacks to help any symptoms you may get.

Bring Rain Gear

Like on any mountain hike, you’ll want rain gear with you just in case. An afternoon shower is common in the mountains.

Our first time there the sky was blue when we started out. By the time we headed back, it was raining lightly.

Do More If You Can

We didn’t take the time, but as you can see from the map, you can continue taking the trail to the west for Emerald Lake. Or take another trail toward the south and Lake Haiyaha.

I’m sure any of the trails in that part of Rocky are stunning. Again, one day I’d like to go back and take a full day (during shoulder season, preferably) to hike further in for more Rocky gorgeousness.

The Final Word

If you’re planning a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, be sure to write this hike on your itinerary. Some of the most beautiful views in the Park are along this easy, accessible trail.

Go to this National Park Service’s page for info on fees, passes and timed entry reservations.

Mountains, trees, wildflowers, streams and lakes are such a vivid display of God’s beauty, creativity and blessing.

I think it’s so special that—unlike any of the other species on earth—He created us to be able to enjoy these wonders. To benefit from them emotionally, spiritually and physically.

What a gift!

Okay, one more photo:

Here’s more…

• Beautiful Snowshoeing near Breckenridge, Colorado
• Why the Bible Reminds Us God is the Creator
• How to Plan an Epic Family Road Trip

The post Don’t Miss the Dream Lake Hike When You Visit Rocky first appeared on Heaven and Nature.

First, let’s get the pronunciation right. It’s “MackiNAW” not “MackiNACK” despite its spelling. (I knew that because I spent a few years of my childhood in Michigan just an hour south of the Island.)

It’s in the Straits of Mackinac, the 3.5-mile stretch of water that connects Lakes Michigan and Huron, and divides Upper and Lower Michigan.

My sister, Lisa, and I visited the Island several decades after our first time there—a 6th grade class trip for each of us when our family lived there.

It’s a place you’ll want to visit, too!

No Motor Vehicles Allowed

Highway M-185 that circumnavigates Mackinac Island is the only state highway in the country on which motor vehicles aren’t allowed.

The ban was enacted into Island law in 1898 with the arrival of the “horseless carriage” and has never been rescinded. It’s part of what makes this place so unique! For more history on this, click here.

Only bicycle and foot traffic are allowed—foot traffic including the 4-footed hoofed kind. In fact, horses are the main mode of transportation for work (like garbage pickup) and groups (like tourists). And therefore you do need to watch your step!

Bring Your Own Bike or Rent One Easily

Biking your way around Mackinac Island is the best experience because it’s the easiest way to cover the most ground in the shortest amount of time.

You’re welcome to bring your own bike on the ferry, for a moderate charge. Or there are many bike rental shops on the Island once you get there.

Since my sister and I were on a road trip without our bikes, we paid the $40 or so to rent one for about 4 hours. I had, of course (being me), checked out the options ahead of time and knew which company to go with. We could rent by the half-day or hour rather than a full day, which is what we wanted.

The rental bikes usually come with a front basket. Beyond looking quaint, the baskets were very handy to carry our day bags, as well as the outer layers that came off as the temps grew warmer.

There are bike racks at every public place of interest on the Island. We didn’t worry about locking them, as no one else did either. You’ll want to take any valuables with you, but we left water bottles and clothes in the baskets without a problem.

I read somewhere that if you plan to stay overnight on the Island, check with your lodging place. Some of them rent bikes to their guests, and you might get a better deal going through them.

Bike the 8.2-Mile Perimeter

Highway M-185, otherwise known as Lake Shore Drive, is an 8.2 mile loop around the Island. It’s almost all flat, as its right on the shoreline, and easy to bike.

Some of the highlights of this loop include:

• Several historical sites, including areas of skirmish between British and American troops from the late 1700s and early 1800s.
• The beautiful white pebble beaches—take your time to see them!
• Views of the Mackinac Bridge that connect Upper and Lower Michigan over the Straits.
• Constant views of beautiful Lake Huron.
• Easy access to the Island’s most famous natural feature, Arch Rock. You’ll also see it from the road if you look up.

Bike the Inland (Hilly!) Roads & Trails

There are also several roads that criss-cross the Island you can bike. Most of these are either uphill or downhill! We had to walk our bikes up a couple of the biggest, longest hills.

It’s worth getting into the interior, though. Here are some highlights:

• Gorgeous neighborhoods and flowers
• Fort Mackinac, a British stronghold back in the day. There’s a moderate charge to go inside the Fort.
• Mackinac Island State Park has a network of hiking trails. The park covers 80% of the Island, actually, which is something I hadn’t realized before this trip.
• Fort Holmes—a replica of a small fort on the Island’s highest point with amazing views. No charge for this one.
• Cemeteries with graves dating back to the early 1800s. I have a thing about old cemeteries. I like to imagine what life might’ve been like for these folks. There are three cemetaries on the Island, one military and two civilian.

Be Sure to Visit Grand Hotel

One of the world’s most famous hotels and its largest summer hotel, Grand Hotel is a sight to behold. The building itself, with its 660-foot front porch, is impressive and can be seen from miles away. But the grounds—oh my goodness!

The flowers in summer at Grand Hotel are absolutely gorgeous. Not just the cultivated flower beds and boxes along the drive and next to the building. Those are stunning. But there are plenty of flowering trees and shrubs, and an acre or two of wildflowers included in the landscape design.

It’s delightful to walk the grounds and enjoy the beauty, the elegance and the view.

We didn’t choose to go inside for High Tea or lunch, but for quite a lot of money, you can! If you’d like the experience of staying at this marvelous place, room rates start at $395 a night…per person. Their best 400-square foot suites with private balconies and views of the Mackinac Bridge can run $2,800 a night, depending on the season!

Tips for a Better Mackinac Island Bike Experience

Here are a few tips based on our biking experience on Mackinac Island:

Get There Early

We caught the ferry from St. Ignace at about 8:30 on an overcast and cool August morning. If I remember right, it was a Friday. When we got to the Island there were just a handful of other tourists that early.

There were no lines at the bike rental places yet, and hardly any “traffic” in town. The first 3/4 of our bike tour around the Island was with very limited traffic.

By the time we got back to the main part of town again in mid-day, congestion on the main street and in the shops was in full swing.

Make Your Bike Easy to Find

Because most people rent bikes, and they all look somewhat alike, we found it was helpful to keep brightly colored items in our baskets so our bikes were easy to find among the masses. For example, I kept my red flannel shirt in my basket.

It’s not as important at the less-traveled spots like British Landing. But in the bike racks across the street from Grand Hotel, you’ll have to distinguish yours from several hundred others! Make it easy to find and remember where you park it.

Take Your Time and Enjoy Your Day

We couldn’t spend the whole day on the Island because we still had to drive from St. Ignace to Iron Mountain later that afternoon.

But plan to spend at least half a day with your bike to get a good immersion experience. A whole day would be even better, especially if you want to take time to tour some of the sites or do other activities.

Don’t Forget the Famous Fudge

Mackinac Island is famous for its fudge, and you can smell it along the main street! In some of the fudge shops you can watch them make it.

There are dozens of varieties to choose from, and the shops are very accommodating in letting you choose small amounts of several flavors to bring home.

Other Active Ways to Enjoy Mackinac Island

There are other ways to be active on Mackinac Island if you have the time. I’d love to go back someday for #2 and #3 especially!

• There are 70+ miles of hiking trails on the Island, most of which are inside the state park—which is most of the Island. Access the trailheads by bike, then get off and hike for a while for a change of pace. We did this at Arch Rock.
• There’s a kayak outfitter on the Island if you want to see it from the water and enjoy crystal clear Lake Huron. Of course this is weather-dependent. The day we were there was beautifully calm but we didn’t have the time, unfortunately.
• You can see parts of the Island by horseback if you choose. There are a couple stables where you can ride in a group with a guide and pay by the hour. Sure, the horse does most of the work—but what a relaxing and fun way to see this unique destination!

How to Get There

Make your way to either the relaxed little seaside town of St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula or bustling, touristy Mackinaw City in the Lower Peninsula (they must’ve gotten tired of correcting peoples’ pronunciation, lol!).

[NOTE: You’ll pay a toll every time you cross the big Bridge, so plan your trips between these two towns wisely.]

Two companies offer ferries to the Island from both these towns every 20 minutes or so, from the end of May to the end of October. Sheplers and Star Line have their own prices, packages and schedules, so see which works best for you.

There are two very helpful websites: one is by the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau and the other is Mackinac.com. They have all kinds of info about lodging, eating and things to do.

Nature + Quaint = Unique Destination

Sure the crowds aren’t quaint, but Mackinac Island is a really nice blend of the natural world and a bustling tourist destination that’s totally unique.

If you’re not into the touristy thing, avoid Mackinaw City and don’t visit the Island during the summer. Shoot for shoulder season instead (the ferries start in mid-April and run through October).

But this place is so unique it’s worth a visit at least once—even if you can only go in the summer. Get there early like we did and you’ll have more elbow room for a while.

There’s plenty of nature-based activity available on the Island itself, and there’s ever-present Lake Huron with its clear, green water and white pebble beaches.

Mackinac Island offers a super combo of outdoor activity, history and charming small town. Yes, it’s very touristy, but it has its out-of-the-way places, too. Put it on your To-Go list!

Here’s more…

• Going-to-the-Sun Road is a National Treasure
• Water and Its Importance in the Bible
• 20 of the Best Bible Verses about Nature

The post Ride a Bike for the Best Mackinac Island Experience first appeared on Heaven and Nature.

I love how the Amplified Bible expands on this verse because it expresses how the Lord enriches our lives with light in a couple of ways.

First, “You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine…”

Next, “The Lord my God illumines my darkness.”

Let’s take those one at a time:

“You cause my lamp to be lighted”

While the psalmist wrote this hundreds of years before Jesus lived and ministered on the earth, my first thought when reading it is that Jesus is the One who causes my lamp—our lamps—to be lighted.

Matthew 5:14 says, “You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Phillipians 2:14-15: “Do everything without murmuring or questioning [the providence of God], so that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish in the midst of a [morally] crooked and [spiritually] perverted generation, among whom you are seen as bright lights [beacons shining out clearly] in the world [of darkness]…”

(There’s much more to that passage before and after as well.)

You and I—all who follow Jesus—are His light in the world. In our families, our communities, among our friends and co-workers.

And He is the one who causes our lamps to glow. Who provides that light as we stay plugged into Him.

He’s like the power grid our homes are connected to. The lamp in the room doesn’t provide the light, the electrical current does that through the lamp. Then the lamp lights up the room.

So when we’re plugged into Jesus, He provides that light—His light—to shine for those around us.

“You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine…”

“The Lord God illumines my darkness”

John 8:12 says: “Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

And John 12:46 says: “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes and trusts in Me [as Savior—all those who anchor their hope in Me and rely on the truth of My message] will not continue to live in darkness.”

It was King David who wrote Psalm 18. He knew the Lord well, and knew first-hand how the Lord illumined his darkness, especially in those years when he was running for his life.

It’s that same Lord who put on flesh centuries later to tell those living in Israel then: “He who follows me will not walk in darkness.”

Even though the darkness is real, His light illumines it. His light pushes back the darkness so we can see our way.

Massive Lights in Nature

We can see many examples of light in nature that illumines the darkness of night.

The most obvious is the biggest light of all (at least from our vantage point)—the sun.

The sun rises to push back darkness every morning. Its light is so immense and far-reaching that nighttime turns to daylight—even from 93 million miles away.

The moon is the second largest natural light we see all the time. And yet it isn’t really light, it just reflects the light of the sun.

(Kind of like how we merely reflect the light of Jesus. Another way to think about the way He causes our lamps to be lighted.)

But when it’s full, the sky is clear and the night is dark (no city lights to compete with it), we can walk around without any other manmade light. It’s that bright.

I especially love this when we’re up in the northwoods in the winter. A few feet of snow covers the ground and on nights with a full moon it’s almost like walking around in the daytime. So cool!

The Creator made “the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night” (Genesis 1:16). They’re a wonderful picture of the way He offers us His light in our darkness.

Smaller Light in Nature

One of the most obvious smaller natural lights is fire, be it a candle or a campfire. Though, of course, not nearly as bright as the sun and moon, fire is still bright enough to see by.

When we’re sitting around a campfire, we can see the faces of our family and friends. For most of human history, fire was the only source of light for peoples’ homes in the form of candles, lamps and fireplaces.

So when we read in Psalm 18 that “the Lord my God illumines my darkness” we know exactly what that means. We can totally relate.

He provides the light we need to live by.

Why This Is Encouraging

This is encouraging because we know by experience that light always pushes back darkness.

Even one candle can shine a pretty big light when you bring it into a dark room. A headlamp, small as it is, can light your way in the wilderness at night without a problem.

Like that, in our spiritual and emotional lives the Lord can shine His light into the darkness of depression or grief or confusion. His light shines into the darkness of evil and corruption.

One of my favorite verses in the whole Bible is John 1:4-5:

“Eternal life is in him [Jesus], and this life gives light to all mankind. His life is the light that shines through the darkness—and the darkness can never extinguish it.“ (TLB**)

*The Amplified Bible is published by the Lockman Foundation.

**The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Here’s more…

• 116 Verses in the Bible that Talk About Light
• How God Speaks Through Signs in the Heavens
• Uplifting Devo Ideas for Your Next Camping Trip

The post The Light of the Lord Shines in the Darkness first appeared on Heaven and Nature.

If you haven’t read through the Bible looking for it, you may not notice that God’s identity as Creator isn’t limited to the first couple chapters of Genesis.

The creation story is the obvious place where we’re first introduced to this Almighty God (Elohim in Hebrew).

The scriptures tell us He made light, separated the waters and made dry ground, created our sun and stars and other heavenly bodies, made the plants, sea animals, birds, land animals and finally humans.

Then many times throughout the rest of scripture the authors remind us of that: God is the Creator or Maker of heaven and earth. These are usually in the context of some kind of life lesson.

Let’s take a look at some of those verses and see if we can figure out what those lessons are.

[I’ll quote from the translation I use for my personal reading and study: The New American Standard Bible.]

Psalm 33:6-11

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

“The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation.”

Life Lesson—Because the Lord made the heavens (v. 6), the living things in the heavens, and the deeps, therefore He is awesome. We, also made by Him, need to stand in awe of Him (v. 8). To have a healthy fear of Him. A respect of His power.

We look at the heavens—the vast distances…the sizes of planets, stars and galaxies…the mind-blowing numbers of galaxies—and we’re in awe of the One who spoke them into existence.

How often do I praise Him for His awesomeness? When I look up into the night sky…or stand next to mighty ocean waves…or marvel at a baby’s development…am I in awe of the Lord and His wisdom and power?

Life Lesson—This same Lord who made the heavens, et al, by His word can nullify the counsel of nations and frustrate the plans of people. His own counsel is rock solid.

Do I ask the Lord for His great wisdom to help me solve a problem in my work life or family?

Isaiah 40:28-31

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.

“His understanding is unsearchable. He gives strength to the weary, and to the one who lacks might He increases power.

“Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.

“They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

This is one of scripture’s great comforting passages!

Life Lesson—When we’re exhausted, when we stumble, when we feel powerless this everlasting Creator God gives us the strength we need. He has an unending supply of it.

When I’m weary, He’s not. He can help me overcome my weariness. “Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength”—the same strength He displayed as Creator of all things.

Will I wait on Him and draw on His strength when I so desperately need it?

Isaiah 43

This chapter of prophecy for the people of Israel has several references to God as Creator and why that matters for this message in this season:

“…this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob, and He who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.’ ” (verses 1-2)

The Lord created this nation, this people of Israel and claims them for His own. He promises redemption and deliverance.

Life Lesson—Because He was powerful enough to create them, He’s powerful enough to do these other things, too.

“Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

“Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” (verse 5-7)

This passage is one of many in the Old Testament prophets where the Lord promises to bring the Jewish people back to the land of Israel. That’s been happening dramatically in the past 150 years or so, and especially since Israel’s independence in 1948.

Life Lesson—Each of us is formed by the Lord. Each of us. Personally. People called by His name are His sons and daughters and He takes care of each one. His purposes for His people will be accomplished by Him.

Do I talk to the Lord about my personal needs? About the needs of my loved ones? And if I’m “called by His name,” am I honoring His name in my choices, words and attitudes?

There’s more in Isaiah 43, but we’ll move on…

1 Peter 4:19

“Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God are to entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”

The Bible talks quite a lot about suffering, and this is an interesting verse.

What do you think Peter meant by those “who suffer according to the will of God”? My take-away is that he’s referring to those who are suffering persecution for following Jesus.

It could also mean those who, in the midst of suffering for any reason, maintain their trust in the Lord, like Job did. He never knew the reason for His suffering.

But we can still choose to do what’s right. To submit to the Lord’s sovereignty…to continue to trust even when we’re confused…and to honor His name even though.

Life Lesson—We can entrust our souls to a faithful Creator. Again, this God who has the power, wisdom and ability to bring about galaxies, planets, life, conscience…

This God, this Creator is able and faithful to redeem what the enemy means for evil. He’s able to fulfill His purposes for each of us personally and for His kingdom ultimately.

That’s good news!

Here’s more…

• 11 Wonderful Things in Our Natural World
• 116 Verses in the Bible that Talk About Light
• 9 Free Devotionals for Your Next Camping Trip

The post Why the Bible Reminds Us God is the Creator first appeared on Heaven and Nature.

I chose just 11 wonderful things in our natural world to highlight here. Some of them are closely related but still unique enough to merit their own spot.

These are all special in their own way:

1. Spider Webs and Spinnerets

As much as I think spiders are among the creepiest of living things, I know they serve an important role in nature. And so I’m grateful for spiders (as long as I don’t have to encounter them much—especially big ones!).

And their giftedness for architecture is truly wonderful. The silk glands in their abdomens produce different kinds of silk for different purposes.

This silk is so strong and flexible for its size that no human has successfully designed a synthetic material that’s anything close to it. And it’s not just the silk that makes spider webs strong, but the design of the webs as well.

[I wrote an entire blog post about this that you’ll find here.]

If you’re like me and don’t care much for spiders, it’s time to re-read Charlotte’s Web! The only book I know where the spider is the hero of the story.

2. Pollinators

Pollinators and the plants they pollinate are a great example of symbiotic relationships in the natural world.

Some plants can self-pollinate, while others can be pollinated by wind and water. And then there are the living pollinators in our world: insects like butterflies, moths and bees. Some birds are also on this team, like hummingbirds, and even small mammals, including some bats.

These animals collect pollen either intentionally or accidentally from one plant, then transfer it to another plant. Plants are fertilized and can reproduce due to this pollination activity.

In many of these cases, one living species completely depends on the other for survival—one for food and the other for reproduction. It’s amazing!

3. Honeybees

Speaking of pollinators, honeybees are some of the most beloved because they make one of mankind’s favorite treats—honey. Isn’t it amazing that humans love to eat this same sweet substance that the bees eat?

There are more than 60 references to honey in the Bible, some dating back more than 3,000 years.

Bees make honey by gathering pollen and nectar from flowers, and then mixing it with enzymes produced in their bodies. Each type of honey tastes unique, depending on the type of nectar gathered.

And it’s not just honey we get from honeybees. The beeswax these little guys produce to store the honey is also valuable. People make things like salves, candles and cosmetics with it.

4. Butterflies

Butterflies are also pollinators, as I already mentioned. And one of the coolest processes in nature is their metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly.

(All insects go through major changes as they mature, but butterflies are so beautiful we’ll focus on them.)

Who could guess—or come up with the idea—that these fat, crawly worm-like things that eat leaves will one day become graceful, beautiful, colorful, flying, nectar-eating insects?

What the…??

It’s true, though. It’s one of the first natural processes I remember learning about as a young child in school.

Metamorphosis. Wow.

5. Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is another amazing process that happens every day, everywhere in the world where plants live. It’s gone on for so long and we’re so used to it that we forget it’s a wonderfully amazing thing.

It’s quite a complicated process, but to summarize: Plants take in sunlight, water and carbon dioxide which is then synthesized within the plant to produce food and grow.

It just so happens that people and animals breathe out carbon dioxide so there’s a constant and ample supply for the plants. And it just so happens that plants “breathe out” oxygen, which people and animals must have to live. Another symbiotic process on a massive scale!

(“Just so happens” or designed that way?)

6. Bird Feathers

One source I found says, “…feathers are a marvel of natural engineering, each serving a specialized function to help birds thrive in their environments.”

[Everything we’ve looked at here so far has been a marvel of natural engineering. How many civil, mechanical, electrical and bioengineering products came about completely by chance? None, actually. All were designed by very smart and skilled people. This is one of the reasons why believing there’s an incredible Mind behind the natural world is so compelling. These marvels of natural engineering.]

Birds have seven different types of feathers that serve different functions—thrust, speed, balance, airflow, warmth, buoyancy. Then there’s the structure of these feathers that allow for flight or swimming or the migration of thousands of miles.

We see them every day without stopping to notice how incredible they are.

7. The Colors of Bird Feathers

One of the reasons I love birds so much is ALL THE COLORS!

Some really stand out no matter where they are: parrots and cardinals, wood ducks and peacocks. Again, we have a seemingly limitless array of colors and patterns spread over the bird world.

But even the birds that seem plain and boring…look closely in some nice sunlight and there’s an iridescence to feathers that’s just gorgeous.

When I married Nick, he had a taxidermied pheasant rooster in a glass case with built-in lighting. I couldn’t believe the beauty of all the colors of those feathers when the lights would shine on them. What seemed dull was actually brilliant in good lighting. It’s the first time I’d been able to look that closely at a pheasant.

It’s just cool.

8. Symbiotic Relationships

I’ve mentioned this a lot already, but here’s a spot for it. Symbiotic relationships in nature are everywhere.

[I wrote an entire blog post on this one, too.]

The pollinators we discussed above. Clown fish and anemones. Monarch butterflies and milkweed. There are some species that literally cannot survive without it’s symbiotic partner species.

You’d think that would collapse the whole theory of evolution right there. How could two different species randomly evolve at the same time in such a way that one must depend on the other for survival? And then multiply that times the amount of symbiosis in nature. What are the chances?

These types of arrangements totally support design by an intelligent Mind, though. Did Someone very, very smart think up this process and create both species simultaneously? And all the other species that depend on symbiosis?

To me that seems much more credible than non-guided processes for things this complex.

9. Eagle Eyes

Actually, ALL eyes are marvels of the natural world. But I’ll focus on the eyes of eagles because they have some very cool abilities our human eyes don’t.

“Bald eagles can have 20/4 or 20/5 vision, meaning they can see four or five times farther than the average person. A bald eagle can spot prey the size of a rabbit three miles away!

“Eagle eyes are so huge they fill most of its skull. They also have a 340-degree field of view (compared to our measly 180 degrees) and have both monocular and binocular vision. This allows them to use each eye individually or together!”

That’s pretty incredible, isn’t it? Why do they need eyes that see so well? So they can spot a rabbit on the ground or a fish under the water as they soar high above.

Not only that, apparently they see in much more vivid color than we humans do. Wouldn’t that be cool?!

10. Dolphin and Whale Talk

Dolphins and whales are known to be some of the most intelligent animals on the planet, and are also very social.

Dolphins communicate with each other using whistles and body language—like slapping their tails on the water’s surface. In fact, dolphins seem to have “signature” whistles and can identify each other by them.

“How dolphins communicate…is both remarkable and indicative of their superior ability to initiate and maintain social bonds,” says one source.

Whales communicate with clicks, whistles and “songs.” Because many of these are exceedingly loud and sound travels further underwater than through air, whales are known to be able to communicate across vast ocean basins.

Don’t you wish you knew what they were saying??

11. Bat Radar

The way bats use echolocation (a fancy word for radar) is pretty astounding. They emit a high-pitched frequency that travels through the air, hits an object (like an insect they’d like to eat) and bounces back to their finely-tuned ears. They can pinpoint prey exactly using their radar.

“Bats can change their calls for different purposes. They have different searching, feeding, and social calls. And each species of bat has its own unique call pattern.”

How do you think bats (and dolphins and toothed whales, which also have a very refined system of echolocation) got this ability? If it was bit by bit over millions of years through natural selection, how were they able to eat in the meantime?

It’s high-level features like radar that have me convinced bats didn’t develop randomly over endless time but were designed with the ability already engineered in.

* * * * *

What wonderful things in the natural world are your favorites? I’m sure you have some!

Here’s more…

• How God Speaks through Signs in the Heavens
• What Valuable Lessons Pearls Can Teach Us
• Nature’s Health Benefits for Body, Soul and Spirit

The post 11 Wonderful Things in Our Natural World first appeared on Heaven and Nature.

The exercise you choose to do is personal. We have different preferences. Some love to run. Others hate it. Some love to swim. Others would rather bike. One person might love to go to the gym, another might detest it.

The best type of exercise for you is the one (or two or three) that you enjoy. That moves your body in a healthy way multiple times a week. That you can keep doing for the long haul.

Consistency is the key.

Ways to Help Exercise Consistently

People who are consistently able to stay in shape over a lifetime have this in common: workouts are part of their lifestyle. They’ve chosen to prioritize exercise and are consistent week in and week out, year in and year out.

Here are some ways to help keep exercise consistent:

• Choose activities you enjoy. If you hate running, don’t decide to run five days a week. Do you love to swim? Get a membership at a local pool or find the closest beach.
• Choose a time of day that works with your schedule most of the time. Personally, I know I’m way less motivated in the evening than in the morning. So I exercise in the morning.
• Give yourself a day or two off each week. It’ll help motivate you to work out on your “on” days. And sometimes, knowing you get to take a day off tomorrow can be the boost you need to get your workout in today.
• Don’t set a goal you’re unlikely to fulfill. Set a realistic goal, starting with baby steps if you have to.
• Make it accessible. This includes having the right gear—including gear for adverse weather if you love outdoor fitness, like I do.
• Keep your exercise activities within your budget. Buy used equipment. Shop sales. If the gym is what you need, take advantage of the first week of January and other key “intro” seasons with drastically reduced prices.
• If you need other people to help keep you motivated, find at least one workout buddy. Schedule your workouts together. Maybe your dog can be your workout buddy. Most dogs are eager to go with you for a walk or run as often as you’re willing…and need the exercise as much as you do!

Work Your Whole Body

It’s best to choose two or three different types of exercise that work different muscle groups and body systems.

We’ve all heard of cardio and strength or resistance training. Cardio refers to your heart, lungs and circulatory system. Most cardio workouts also include at least some of your muscular-skeletal system, which is strength.

It’s also important, if at all possible, to choose at least one activity that’s weight-bearing—meaning you’re on your feet. That’s important for bone strength, especially as we get older.

How Often and How Long?

The US government’s Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) publishes Physical Activity Guidelines.

Here’s there recommended amount of daily physical activity for various ages:

• Children ages 3-5 should aim for at least three hours of active play throughout the day. This is super important for their growth and their physical, mental and emotional development.
• Kids ages 6-17 need at least an hour of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily. This includes activities that makes their heart beat fast and activities that use lots of muscle groups, like playing on the playground.
• Adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio a week (and preferably 300 minutes). In addition, some strength or resistance workouts 2-3 times a week. That works out to 30-60 minutes 5 days a week or more. Which is why we want to choose something we enjoy!

What are “Moderate” Exercises?

We have lots of options for moderate exercise. Brisk walking (3 miles per hour or faster). Biking less than 10 miles/hour. Doubles tennis. Ballroom dancing. Water aerobics. Even general gardening.

150 minutes a week of any of those will contribute “substantial” health benefits in several areas. It’s better to spread the exercise out throughout the week (5 30-minute sessions). Each session can even be split, as long as each is at least 10 minutes long.

Even better? Up to 300 minutes—an hour for five days out of your week will contribute even more benefits to your overall health.

I’ve heard for years that we need at least three workouts a week. Stacking the minutes into only one or two days and the benefits are not nearly the same. I don’t know why that works, but somehow it does.

What are “Vigorous” Exercises?

Racewalking, jogging or running. Swimming laps. Singles tennis. Biking faster than 10 miles/hour. Hiking uphill or with a heavy pack. Gardening that includes hoeing or digging. Basically anything that raises your heart rate enough so it’s hard to carry on a conversation.

75 minutes a week of these can replace 150 minutes of more moderate activities. A good rule of thumb: 15 minutes of vigorous is worth 30 minutes of moderate.

For several years my exercise of choice was running. I could run 3 miles much faster than walk 3 miles. I no longer run due to a succession of minor injuries, but still enjoy walking almost every day. So I replaced my vigorous 30-minute workout for a moderate 60-minute workout.

It helps that in my current season of life, I have time to walk for an hour at a time. I realize not everyone does. That’s one of the reasons I liked running—the same benefits in half the time.

Include resistance training and stretching too

Part of those 150-300 minutes should include resistance or strength training a 2-3 times a week. These are activities that work the major muscle groups like weight training, push-ups, squats, etc.

Flexibility is also important, especially the older we get. Good old-fashioned stretching exercises are great. Pilates is a combo of stretching and strengthening that’s really effective too.

[NOTE: I know many people love yoga for its health benefits, but I don’t recommend it for spiritual reasons. I know that’s hugely controversial, but there it is. I’ve talked with and listened to both current and former Hindus, and they all testify to yoga being tied irrevocably to Hinduism.]

Gym or no gym?

Personally, I hate working out in a gym. I’ve done Pilates in my living room in the past, and currently have a resistance routine I do in my living room. Otherwise, I do my activity outside year-round, even through our Minnesota winters.

If you’re a lap swimmer or need to be in a class in order to stay motivated, by all means get a gym membership. But don’t forget, there are many, many benefits of being outdoors too that you can’t get from a gym.

When my kids were little, I had little choice but to A. join a gym (with child care) or B. get a treadmill. We bought a treadmill, and I used that for many years until I could leave them home alone during my runs.

If you absolutely can’t stand exercise but still agree to it because of your health, take advantage of podcasts and streaming services!

Other benefits beyond our health

One of my favorite things about being in shape at 60 is still being able to do all the outdoor activities I’ve always loved. Cross-country skiing. Canoeing—including the portaging we do up in northern Minnesota. Hiking a trail in the mountains.

At this stage of my life, one of my great motivators is being able to get on the floor to play with our little grandkids and keep up with our adult kids on family trips and outings.

Consistent exercise (or activity, if you don’t like that word) is one of those choices we make that draws dividends for years to come.

So what’s your plan?

If you’re inactive today, just start with something. Gradually work up to 30 minutes five times a week. Do what you like. Connect with a family member, neighbor or friend and do something together. Get a dog so you have an excuse to walk. Walk a neighbor’s dog if you don’t have one.

Are you already active? Maybe you can try something new for some variety (when I had to take up some biking during a foot injury, I found it wasn’t so bad after all!).

Really want an incentive? Sign up for a race, download a training plan and get to it. If you’re just getting started, sign up for a 5k. If that’d be too easy, go for a 10k or half marathon. Or a triathlon. Or a biathlon. They’re fun, many are for a good cause and you get a free t-shirt, mug or hat.

[I loved those years I was able to “compete” in long-distance races (“participate” is a much better word!). It was wonderful motivation and a supreme sense of accomplishment.]

Whatever you choose, do your best to be consistent and enjoy the many benefits of being fit!

Here’s more…

• Great News about Moderate Exercise and Longevity
• Exercise of All Kinds is Terrific for Brain Health
• Physical Inactivity is the #1 Health Problem of Our Time

The post What Kind of Exercise Is Best? first appeared on Heaven and Nature.

If you’re like me, you take light for granted most of the time. It’s a simple matter of flipping a switch.

But when we happen to be in situations without electricity—like backcountry camping or when we lose power during a storm—access to light becomes highly valuable.

Light shows up continually throughout the Bible, as we’ll see here. It’s physical and metaphorical. It’s used in blessing and judgment.

The scriptures’ use of light helps us understand more about God’s kingdom and ways.

Before we dig into those scriptures though, first let’s find out…

What IS Light?

“Light has properties of both a particle and an electromagnetic wave but not all the properties of either. It consists of photons that travel in a wave-like pattern.” (“What Is Light? Matter or Energy?” ScienceABC.com)

That’s the physics answer.

If you were explaining it to a 5-year old? Light is what helps us see things. It makes it not dark. Probably best explained by showing the difference—walk into a dark room and turn the light on, or walk into a lighted room and turn the light off.

(That’s the best I’ve got—what would you say?)

Our eyes are complex machines that turn light—these traveling wave-like photons—into images so we can see:

“Two molecules in the retina—vitamin A and a protein named ‘opsin’ that together make ‘rhodopsin’—capture single light photons. When light strikes the vitamin, it changes shape and becomes the molecule ’11-cis-retinal.’ This in turn changes the rhodopsin’s shape.

“When light activates enough of these molecular switches within the light-sensitive cell, they cause downstream biochemical systems to amplify and send the signal from the retina, through the optic nerve, and to the brain.

“This complex photochemical reaction is at the heart of what allows eyes to detect light and send signals that the brain can form into meaningful images.” (“Perfect Molecule for Vision Shows Eyes Were Designed” ICR.org)

God’s Creation of Light and Provision of Literal Light

The Bible teaches that God is the Creator of light. It was the first physical thing He spoke into existence.

1. Genesis 1:3-5

“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

2. Genesis 1:14-18

“God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,’ and it was so. 

“God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 

“God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.”

One might wonder how there could be light before the sun, moon and stars were created. Scientists now know the answer to that:

“Actually there are many sources of light, not just the sun. There are also many types of light, not just visible light. Short-wave light includes ultraviolet light, X-rays, and others.

“Long-wave light includes infrared light, radio waves, etc. Light is produced by friction, by fire, by numerous chemical reactions, as well as the nuclear reactions of atomic fission and fusion, which is what we think is occurring in the sun.

“God had at His fingertips many options to accomplish His purposes. Light does not automatically require the sun.” (“Sunlight Before the Sun” ICR.org)

3. Exodus 10:23

“They [the Egyptians] didn’t see one another, and nobody rose from his place for three days, but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”

Thick darkness was one of the plagues just prior to the Exodus. It was a way the Lord distinguished between the Hebrews and the Egyptians. The sons of Israel had light.

Can you imagine a darkness so thick you couldn’t do anything for three days?

[More on how God uses light and darkness in His judgments a bit later.]

4. Exodus 13:21

“Yahweh went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might go by day and by night.”

And the Lord continued to provide miraculous light for His people for years afterward.

5. Psalm 78:14

“In the daytime He also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire.”

The psalmist’s retelling of the Lord’s provision for His people.

6. Psalm 105:39

“He spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night.”

A retelling via song of the history of the Israelites, including the Exodus.

7. Psalm 136:7-9

“To Him who made the great lights; for his loving kindness endures forever; the sun to rule by day; for his loving kindness endures forever; the moon and stars to rule by night; for his loving kindness endures forever…”

Practically speaking, these lights—the sun, moon and stars—help the rest of creation in so many ways.

We see by them—even the moon, which isn’t a source of light, but merely reflects the sun’s light. We can navigate by the stars. The sun’s light is essential for the plant world to grow and thrive.

8. Ecclesiastes 11:7

“Truly the light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to see the sun.”

Amen!

9. Ecclesiastes 12:1-2

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’ Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened…”

Ecclesiastes isn’t my favorite book of the Bible—honest confession—but I think the writer is referring to human aging here.

The gist is for us to be thankful for the blessings we have from the Lord, and appreciate them while we can. Especially while we’re young!

10. Isaiah 45:7

“I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create calamity. I am Yahweh, who does all these things.”

A prophetic declaration that confirms the first few chapters of Genesis.

11. Jeremiah 31:35

“Yahweh, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar; Yahweh of Armies is his name…”

The Lord continually reminds us in His book of His creative power and generosity to us!

12. Acts 9:3

“As he traveled, he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him.”

This is Saul/Paul’s “Damascus road” experience of meeting Jesus, who he had been persecuting.

Light emanates from the risen Jesus! The Apostle John describes the Son of Man (what Jesus called Himself) he encounters in Revelation 1: “His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.”

No wonder Paul was struck with blindness!

13. Acts 12:7

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side, and woke him up, saying, ‘“’Stand up quickly!’ His chains fell off his hands.”

Do angels emanate light, too? I don’t know, but it’s pretty cool if they do!

14. Acts 22:6, 9, 11

This chapter is Paul’s testimony that he shares with an unruly mob in Jerusalem. He describes this Damascus road experience with Jesus:

“As I made my journey, and came close to Damascus, about noon, suddenly a great light shone around me from the sky.”

“Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of Him who spoke to me.”

” “When I couldn’t see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.”

15. Acts 26:13

Paul shares his testimony again before King Agrippa and other royalty in Caesarea, including his encounter with Jesus:

“at noon, O king, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me.”

16. Revelation 21:23-24

 “The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.”

17. Revelation 22:5

“There will be no night, and they need no lamp light or sunlight; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever.”

The end of all things as we know it will culminate in the new heavens and earth one day. The city, the New Jerusalem, will be illuminated with the very light of the Lord God and of the Lamb, Jesus.

Oil for Light in the Tabernacle

The Lord gave specific and detailed instructions to Moses about how things were to be with the Tabernacle during the years the sons of Israel were in the wilderness.

These instructions include what would provide light in this dwelling place of the Lord.

18. Exodus 25:1-2, 6

“Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they take an offering for me. From everyone whose heart makes him willing you shall take my offering…oil for the light…’ “

19. Exodus 27:20

“You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.”

20. Exodus 35:8, 14, 28

Moses now takes the Lord’s instructions and passes them on to the Hebrew people. Those with a willing heart are to bring…

“…oil for the light…the lampstand also for the light…the spice and oil for the light…”

21. Exodus 39:37

And then a section that describes all Moses and the people brought and crafted for the Tabernacle, according to the Lord’s instructions…

“…the pure lampstand, its lamps, even the lamps to be set in order, all its vessels, the oil for the light…”

22. Leviticus 24:1-2

“Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.’ “

23. Numbers 4:9

Next, the Lord instructs Moses on how the articles of the Tabernacle are to be carried when they travel throughout the wilderness:

“They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, its lamps, its snuffers, its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it.”

24. Numbers 8:1-3

“Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron, and tell him, ‘When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ Aaron did so. He lit its lamps to light the area in front of the lampstand, as Yahweh commanded Moses.”

Light as Metaphor

Many, many Bible verses compare things and situations to light.

As we’ve seen so far, LIGHT is GOOD! In the physical world, it’s absolutely essential for life to exist.

(Not sure what to do with those life forms at the bottoms of the deep oceans—we won’t deal with those here, haha!)

Let’s look at metaphorical references to light in the Old and New Testaments:

25. 2 Samuel 23:4

“The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‘One who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through clear shining after rain.’ “

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

26. Job 18:5

“The light of the wicked will be put out. The spark of his fire won’t shine.”

That doesn’t sound so good.

27. Psalm 18:28

“For You will light my lamp, Yahweh. My God will light up my darkness.”

Don’t you love this? Even in the darkest times, God’s light can shine.

This reminds me of a quote I’ve heard often from Corrie ten Boom during her time in the concentration camp with her sister, Betsy.

At one point, Betsy tells Corrie: “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.”

We can adapt that thought: “There’s no darkness so dark that’s God’s light can’t shine through it.”

28. Psalm 56:13

“For you have delivered my soul from death, and prevented my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.”

That is an amazing Hope.

29. Psalm 90:8

“You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.“

It’s the mercy of the Lord that exposes our secret sins in His light. Why? So we can repent, be forgiven and experience joy in His presence.

30. Ps 119:105

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

Kind of like a flashlight or headlamp on a trail at night in the wilderness!

31. Psalm 119:130

“The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.”

All of Psalm 119 is about the preciousness of the word of God. When we bring His word into our lives, it gives us light.

32. Psalm 139:11-12

“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me. The light around me will be night,’ even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.“

33. Proverbs 4:18

“But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light that shines more and more until the perfect day.”

You know how beautiful a sunrise can be? That’s the beauty of the path of righteousness.

34. Proverbs 6:23

“For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light. Reproofs of instruction are the way of life…”

Isn’t that interesting? We think of rules as confining. But this word of wisdom is: No, the law of the Lord lights your way. It brings freedom.

35. Proverbs 13:9

“The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.”

36. Ecclesiastes 2:13

“Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness.”

37. Isaiah 2:5

“House of Jacob, come, and let’s walk in the light of Yahweh.”

An invitation.

38. Isaiah 5:20

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

39. Isaiah 10:17

“The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.”

Sounds like judgment and rescue to me. God is the light of Israel, the Holy One.

40. Isaiah 42:6-7

” ‘I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand. I will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.’ “

Isaiah 42 is, I believe, a Messianic prophesy. The fulfillment is in Jesus Christ.

41. Isaiah 42:16

” ‘I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. I will do these things, and I will not forsake them.’ “

The Lord God’s promises to His people. Wow.

42. Isaiah 50:10

“Who among you fears Yahweh and obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness and has no light, let him trust in Yahweh’s name, and rely on his God.”

Because the Lord is our light in the darkness.

43. Isaiah 60:1-3

“ ‘Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and His glory shall be seen on you. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.’ “

Because we walk in the light of the Lord, His light shines through us to others around us. We can be beacons of light in a dark world.

44. Matthew 6:22-23

 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

45. John 5:35

“He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.”

Jesus is talking about John the Baptist here—the one who came to prepare the way for Jesus. Once Jesus arrived, we rejoice in His light rather than that of another human.

46. Romans 13:12

“The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.”

47. 2 Corinthians 6:14

“Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship do righteousness and iniquity have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?“

48. 2 Corinthians 11:14

“…even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”

Part of a teaching by Paul about false teachers.

49. Ephesians 5:13-14

“But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light. ¹⁴ Therefore he says, ‘Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ “

The “all things” in this passage is sin—the “unfruitful deeds of darkness.” Jesus shining His light and exposing sin is GOOD!

50. 2 Timothy 1:10

“Christ Jesus…abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News.”

51. 1 John 1:6-7

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and don’t tell the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

One of the great promises of the New Covenant in Jesus! To walk in the light is to walk openly and doing what is right before God and others, confessing and repenting of sin and coming into freedom.

52. 1 John 2:8

“On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.”

Light As a Gift

Can you imagine a world without light? A life without light? It would be unthinkable.

Where I live in Minnesota, a northern climate, I know many people who say they really struggle emotionally through our winter. The nights are long and the days are short.

In other words—there’s less light each day. It’s hard for many to endure long hours of darkness.

So what do we do to help? Turn on light! Light candles…keep the fairy lights going after Christmas…turn on more lamps.

Likewise, most of us are surrounding by plenty of spiritual darkness. Will we accept the Lord’s wonderful gift of spiritual light? Mental and emotional light, just as we love the physical light?

Here are a bunch of scriptures that tell of one of God’s most precious gifts:

53. Job 33:28-30

“He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit. My life will see the light. Behold, God does all these things…to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living.”

Redemption. Hallelujah!

54. Psalm 4:6

“Many say, ‘Who will show us any good?’ Yahweh, let the light of Your face shine on us.”

55. Psalm 27:1

“Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?”

Would you agree that things look more scary in the dark? Our minds go to all kinds of scenarios when we see an object. Then the lights come on and it turns out to be perfectly harmless—like a big rock instead of a bear!

Because the Lord is our light, we don’t have to fear.

56. Psalm 36:9

“For with You is the spring of life. In Your light we will see light.”

57. Psalm 43:3

“Oh, send out Your light and Your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy hill, to your tents.”

Yes, Lord! Amen.

58. Psalm 44:3

“For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You were favorable to them.”

We win our battles through the Lord, not our own strength. What a relief! Verses like these keep me focused on living rightly before Him so that light, that favor is over my life.

How about you?

59. Psalm 89:15

“Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. They walk in the light of Your presence, Yahweh.”

This is for the worshipers! What a motivation to “learn to acclaim” Him every day. To stay in an attitude of worship and praise before Him Monday through Saturday as well as Sunday!

60. Psalm 97:11

“Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.”

Here, light is paired with gladness. Our submission and obedience to the Lord plant seeds of light and gladness in our lives. That’s a gift!

61. Psalm 112:4

“Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous.”

Since the New Covenant, this light comes from Jesus’ life within us. The darkness can’t stop the sun from rising and bringing its light over the earth.

The forces of spiritual darkness can’t stop Jesus’ light from rising in the lives of His people.

62. Psalm 118:27-28

“Yahweh is God, and He has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give thanks to You. You are my God, I will exalt You.”

This is an interesting one for those of us living after the time of ritual sacrifices. Maybe: Because He has given us light, our thanks and praise are our sacrifice to Him.

63. Proverbs 29:13

“The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: Yahweh gives light to the eyes of both.”

[Interesting note here: The translators of the WEB, the version we use here due to its being in the public domain, translated the word for light to sight. But the original Hebrew is or which means light. So I changed WEB’s translation to match.]

This is what we call “common grace.” All people receive God’s physical gift of light, because they live on the earth He created. Good and bad, rich and poor—all reap the benefits of light.

64. Isaiah 9:2

 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. The light has shined on those who lived in the land of the shadow of death.”

This verse is part of one of the great Messianic prophecies in Isaiah. The light is Jesus.

65. Isaiah 51:4

“Listen to Me, My people; and hear Me, My nation,
for a law will go out from Me, and I will establish My justice for a light to the peoples.”

66. Isaiah 58:8-10

“Then your light will break out as the morning, and your healing will appear quickly; then your righteousness shall go before you, and Yahweh’s glory will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer. You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away from among you the yoke, finger pointing, and speaking wickedly; and if you pour out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will rise in darkness, and your obscurity will be as the noonday.”

Here, light is paired with healing and is a direct result of living rightly before the Lord and people.

67. Micah 7:8-9

“Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of Yahweh, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case, and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light. I will see His righteousness.”

The wonderful judgment, forgiveness and redemption of the Lord always leads to living in the light.

68. 2 Corinthians 4:5-6

“For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake, seeing it is God who said, ‘Light will shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

And as we share Jesus with others, we give them a chance to live in His light, too.

69. Colossians 1:12-14

“…giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.”

This is the last part of Paul’s wonderful prayer for the Colossian church and God’s people everywhere. It starts in verse 9.

Our inheritance through Jesus is as saints in light—transferred from the power of darkness to His own kingdom. Wow! What a gift.

Light & Darkness as Judgment

God so created His world as to give people—all people—the freedom to choose to follow Him or not.

The Bible is crystal clear on the results of that choice for each of us. Here are some verses that highlight this:

70. Isaiah 50:10-11

“Who among you fears Yahweh and obeys the voice of His servant?
He who walks in darkness and has no light, let him trust in Yahweh’s name, and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who adorn yourselves with torches around yourselves, walk in the flame of your fire, and among the torches that you have kindled. You will have this from my hand: you will lie down in sorrow.”

Again, WEB’s translation is a bit off from the original Hebrew, according to Strong’s. The word translated sorrow here is maatsebah. It literally means torment.

I understand this passage to mean that if I try to make my own light (“the torches you have kindled”) rather than turn to the Lord for His light, the result is torment. Yikes. This is serious business.

71. Isaiah 59:9

“Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness doesn’t overtake us. We look for light, but see darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.”

72. Jeremiah 13:16

“Give glory to Yahweh your God, before He causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you look for light, He turns it into the shadow of death, and makes it deep darkness.”

73. Jeremiah 25:10

“Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.”

All these blessings—much of what we take for granted due to common grace—are from the Lord. When He removes Himself, these blessings are removed, too.

74. Lamentations 3:2

“He [God] has led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light.”

In the first section of this chapter in Lamentations, Jeremiah is talking about how the Lord brought him through all these dark things and places. But then he reverts into one of the great statements of faith in the Bible, starting in verse 22.

Sometimes darkness is part of the Lord’s plan to lead us into His light.

75. Ezekiel 32:8

” ‘I will make all the bright lights of the sky dark over you, and set darkness on your land,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”

The Lord is serious about righteousness and sin in our lives.

76. Amos 5:18, 20

“ ‘Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light…Won’t the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?’ “

I’m pulling these Old Testament scriptures out of a broader prophetic context. So be sure and read the surrounding text to understand this judgment of darkness.

77. Zechariah 14:6-7

“It will happen in that day, that there will not be light, cold, or frost. It will be a unique day which is known to Yahweh; not day, and not night; but it will come to pass, that at evening time there will be light.”

Again, it’s important to read these judgment verses in the context of the whole.

And if you’ve bought into the misconception that judgment is only in the Old Testament…

78. Matthew 24:29

“But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken…”

Said Jesus, talking of the times of the end.

79. Mark 13:24

“But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light…”

Same conversation from Mark’s gospel.

80. Luke 12:3

“Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”

We can’t hide from the Lord. That’s my take on this one.

81. 1 Corinthians 4:5

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.”

Same idea.

82. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

“Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who are dying, in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.”

The sad reality is that some people choose unbelief. This verse indicates that as a result of unbelief, the light of Jesus is veiled to them. It should compel us to intercession for them!

83. Revelation 8:12

“The fourth angel sounded, and one third of the sun was struck, and one third of the moon, and one third of the stars; so that one third of them would be darkened, and the day wouldn’t shine for one third of it, and the night in the same way.”

The absence of light is darkness. This is part of the prophetic revelation given to John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, of what will take place in the last days.

84. Revelation 18:23

“The light of a lamp will shine no more at all in you. The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you; for your merchants were the princes of the earth; for with your sorcery all the nations were deceived.”

Similar to Jeremiah 25:10 earlier in this section, when the Lord pulls His presence away, the result is darkness and misery. Everything good we have in this earth, in this life, is because of Him. Rebellion and sin against God brings judgment eventually.

God’s Relation to Light

Here are even more verses in the Bible that show how light is essential to who God is. It’s part of Him.

85. Psalm 104:2

“He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.”

86. Isaiah 60:19-20

“The sun will be no more your light by day; nor will the brightness of the moon give light to you, but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will not go down any more, nor will your moon withdraw itself; for Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will end.”

Wow, what a promise! This is emphasized again at the end of the Bible in Revelation 21 and 22 (we already listed those passages above in the first section).

87. Ezekiel 1:4, 27-28

“I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud, with flashing lightning, and a brightness around it, and out of the middle of it as it were glowing metal, out of the middle of the fire…

“I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it all around, from the appearance of his waist and upward; and from the appearance of his waist and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.”

This heavenly vision given to Ezekiel is full of light in various forms.

88. Daniel 2:22

“He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.”

This is part of Daniel’s prayer of thanks to the Lord after He revealed the secret of the King’s dream.

89. Habakkuk 3:4

“His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from His hand, where His power is hidden.”

Part of Habakkuk’s song of praise to the Lord.

90. Matthew 4:16

” ‘The people who sat in darkness saw a great light; to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.’ ”

Matthew is quoting from Isaiah 9 here.

91. Matthew 17:2

“He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light.”

The transfiguration of Jesus as witnessed by Peter, James and John shortly before He went to the cross. They got to get a glimpse behind the curtain of who He really was—God in the flesh!

92. Luke 2:30-32

” ‘…my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.’ ”

The thanksgiving prayer of the aged Simeon when he got to see the Messiah first-hand in the temple, shortly after Jesus’ birth.

93. John 1:4-5, 9

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it…The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.”

Part of the apostle John’s description of Jesus at the beginning of his gospel account.

94. John 8:12

“Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ”

95. John 9:5

” ‘While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ ”

Jesus isn’t shy about saying He who is.

96. John 12:46

” ‘I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.’ “

We definitely have a theme here!

97. Acts 26:23

” ‘…how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, He would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the Gentiles.’ ”

The apostle Paul giving his defense before King Agrippa and Festus in Caesarea, just prior to being sent to Rome. Again, Jesus’ purpose in coming, dying and being raised to life was to bring light to the darkness.

That’s redemption.

98. 1 Timothy 6:16

“He alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power.”

99. James 1:17

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.”

100. 1 John 1:5

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.“

Revelation 21 and 22—the last chapters of the Bible—expound on how the new heavens and earth and the New Jerusalem won’t need the sun or moon for light, because God’s presence will literally be there to provide all the light needed.

We already listed these verses earlier, but I wanted to bring them up again here to reinforce that GOD IS LIGHT. It’s His nature.

Our Relation to Light

And that brings us, finally, to our relation to Light.

101. Isaiah 49:6

“I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.”

Part of another Messianic prophecy…and part of our Great Commission as His people.

102. Isaiah 62:1

“For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning lamp.“

The promise of the New Jerusalem, foretold by Isaiah and reinforced at the end of Revelation. As the redeemed of the Lord, we’ll be part of this eternal city and her future.

103. Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

This is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Not only does He call Himself the light of the world, He calls His followers the same thing.

104. Mark 4:21-22

“He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand? For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.’ “

Again, Jesus says for us to let our lights shine brightly.

105. Luke 8:16-17

“ ‘No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a container, or puts it under a bed; but puts it on a stand, that those who enter in may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed; nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.’ “

Luke’s version of Jesus’ same words.

106. Luke 11:33-36

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”

107. Luke 16:8

“His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light.”

I think it’s an admonition not to be naive! Be innocent of darkness, but wise.

108. John 3:19-21

“This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.”

I could’ve put this passage under the Judgment section too. It’s here because Jesus makes it clear we have a choice to choose the light or not.

Hate the light or hate the darkness. Choose.

109. John 11:9-10

“Jesus answered, ‘Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.’ ”

110. John 12:35-36

“Jesus therefore said to them, ‘Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.’ “

Jesus is talking about Himself as the light and our opportunity to embrace Him so we can have His light too.

111. Acts 13:47

” ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’ ”

Again, a reinforcement of the Isaiah prophecy for Jesus and His followers.

112. Acts 26:18

” ‘…to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ “

This is another part of Paul’s defense before Agrippa and Festus. He’s relating to them his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road and Jesus’ commission for him for the rest of his life.

He—and we—are to have an active part in helping other people turn from darkness to light and follow Jesus.

113. Romans 2:19

“…you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness…”

114. Ephesians 5:8

“For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

To walk as children of light means to live our lives so others can see Him in us, displaying the fruits of His Spirit: “…all goodness and righteousness and truth.” (verse 9)

115. 1 Thessalonians 5:5

“You are all children of light and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night, nor to darkness.”

We can’t live as both children of light and darkness. We must choose.

116. 1 Peter 2:9

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

We have our marching orders!

(All verses are taken from the World English Bible, public domain)

Here’s more…

• Water and Its Importance in the Bible
• How God Speaks through Signs in the Heavens
• Lessons from the Pearl

The post 116 Verses in the Bible that Talk About Light first appeared on Heaven and Nature.

So it shouldn’t surprise us that water is a key theme in the Bible.

Personally, I love water! Here in Minnesota we’re surrounded by it. Lakes, rivers, Lake Superior. I love to look at water, sit by it, be on it or in it. What a gift!

We know water is one of the most important players in our natural world. That’s why astronomers are so keen to find signs of water elsewhere in our solar system and beyond. No water, no life.

Water is often a major character in the Bible too, in both Old and New Testament. Let’s take a look at some of those places…

Days 2, 3 and 5 of Creation

The first time the Bible mentions water is right at the beginning in Genesis chapter 1.

On Day 2 of creation, God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.” I think that means He separated the liquid water from the water in the atmosphere.

Day 3 is when He separated the dry land from the water in the seas.

And on Day 5 He said, “ ‘Let the water swarm with living creatures.’ So God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds.”

Water is foundational in God’s plan for the existence and flourishing of all life on earth.

Noah’s Flood

Genesis chapters 6, 7 and 8 tell of how God judges the sin of all the people in the world a few centuries later.

Chapter 6:5-6 say, “When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”

The Lord decides He needs to start over with his friend Noah. Noah and his family are the only human survivors of a devastating worldwide flood. He judges the sins of every other human with water.

Afterward, God caused the first rainbow to appear in the clouds as a sign of His promise that never again would a flood wipe out all life on earth. That’s in Genesis 9:8-17. In verse 13 He says, “I have placed My bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”

And of course, we see these beautiful rainbows when sunlight reflects on raindrops. Another way God uses water.

Water Events During the Exodus

When God delivered the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt through Moses, water was involved in several miracles.

Parting of the Red Sea

One of them was miraculous deliverance.

Pharaoh’s army cornered a couple million people at the sea. They thought they were doomed—but the Lord told Moses to “lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” This is described in Exodus 14.

The Lord miraculously parted the waters, it says. The people crossed over to the other side while the pillar of fire stood in the path of the Egyptians. Then when the pillar moved out of the way and the army followed them, the sea collapsed back and drowned the entire army.

What a dramatic deliverance from slavery! And as an article on christianity.com points out, a dramatic sign of God’s power over nature.

The Bible continually reminds us that He is the Creator of heaven and earth, and so His power is unlimited over nature.

(Did it really happen?)

While so many people assume these are made-up stories, the Bible teaches them as real events. Not only the account in Exodus, but the writer of Psalm 78 believed it. Asaph writes in verses 12-16:

“He worked wonders in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, the region of Zoan. He split the sea and brought them across; the water stood firm like a wall. He led them with a cloud by day and with a fiery light throughout the night. He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the depths. He brought streams out of the stone and made water flow down like rivers.”

And the writer of Hebrews believed the parting of the Red Sea was a real event too. Verse 29 of chapter 11 says: “By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.”

Water from a Rock

Another way God used water during this time was through His miraculous provision. Psalm 78, just quoted above, says: “He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the depths.”

This happened in Exodus 17 and then another time in Numbers 20.

Parting of the Jordan River

And finally, God parted the flood waters of the Jordan River for their children when it was time for them to enter the Promised Land, which is present-day Israel. Joshua tells us about it in chapter 3:15-17:

“Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. [So the river was at flood stage] But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho.

“The priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”

Joshua tells the people both before and after this happened that God did this to let His people see His power first-hand. They needed to know He was among them and leading them.

And it literally put the fear of God in the surrounding nations that God’s people were called to conquer. Here’s a good article about that.

Ezekiel’s River

The first twelve verses of Ezekiel 47 describe part of a prophetic vision he experiences. Here are some key phrases:

• Verse 1 says there’s water flowing from the altar of the temple (that’s the temple in Jerusalem).
• Verses 3-5 describe the man leading Ezekiel further away in this water. At first, it’s up to his ankles, then his knees, then it was deep enough to swim in. It’s become a river.

Here’s where it gets really good:

• Verse 7: “I saw a very large number of trees along both sides of the riverbank.”
• Verse 8: “When it enters the sea, the sea of foul water (which is the Dead Sea), the water of the sea becomes fresh.” The salty sea becomes fresh water when the river reaches it!.
• Verse 9: “Every kind of living creature that swarms will live wherever the river flows, and there will be a huge number of fish because this water goes there. Since the water will become fresh, there will be life everywhere the river goes.”

There will be life everywhere the river goes. No more Dead Sea. Instead it’s a living sea because of the river.

It gets better…

Verse 12 says: “All kinds of trees providing food will grow along both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fresh fruit because the water comes from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for medicine.”

(That sounds an awful lot like another river we’ll get to soon!)

This is truly a River of Life.

It comes from God’s temple—right from the altar, the place of worship. The river gets bigger and bigger and provides life everywhere it goes. It turns foul waters clean. And the trees along its bank flourish for the welfare of people and animals—for food and medicine.

Super cool!

The Waters of Baptism

We’re first introduced to water baptism in Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3 and John 1. All four Gospels tell of John the Baptizer baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River.

Later, baptism becomes an important public confession for all new believers, all new followers of Jesus. It represents Jesus’ death—by immersion in the water—and His resurrection—coming out of the water—into new life.

The New Testament references baptism throughout, including in the Gospels, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and 1 Peter.

Baptism Story #1

Christians have different convictions about water baptism which I won’t get into here.

Here’s my story: My dad (a Lutheran pastor at the time) baptized me as an infant 59 years ago. Later we left the Lutheran church.

While a couple of my siblings decided to become re-baptized by immersion as teenagers, I never really felt compelled to do that.

My husband and I left it up to our own three kids whether and when they chose to be baptized by immersion. They all made that decision as children around 8 or 10 years old.

I guess while I believe full immersion in water is the scriptural model, I’m not going to fight over it with anyone! Sometimes immersion may not be possible, depending on the circumstances.

The important thing is that we are baptized in water somehow. That’s a definite New Testament teaching.

Baptism Story #2

Another quick story is one I heard from a friend of ours who recently spent a year in Japan working with a local church there. She told us of a Japanese woman she became friends with over several months.

This woman eventually decided to follow Jesus—which is super costly there because of the culture and religion. She knew a public baptism would change her life, and probably make it a lot harder in many ways. But she counted the cost and decided to move ahead with it.

Others have done the same thing over the centuries. This public declaration of faith through the waters of baptism is an important tradition of the Christian faith that’s very much alive.

The Holy Spirit can be in it today just as much as He was when John baptized Jesus 2,000 years ago!

Jesus Gives Living Water

He says this in John 4 and John 7, first to one woman at a town well, then to a whole crowd of people in Jerusalem in the middle of public event.

In verses 37 and 38 He says, “ ‘If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.’ “ John explains that Jesus said this about the Spirit.

So the Water of Life springing up from within is the promise of the Holy Spirit living in us.

The Old Testament foreshadows this in different places too. Two of them are Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17.

Psalm 1 says the one who delights in the Lord’s instruction is “like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 is similar. It says: “The man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water—it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”

That water the tree is planted by is LIFE for that tree.

And the Holy Spirit is the LIFE we need to flourish in Jesus and His Kingdom.

The River of Living Water

Finally, we have the River of Life of Revelation 22.

This River mirrors the one we talked about in Ezekiel. I think it’s my favorite reference to water in the Bible. It’s the river coming from the throne of God in the New Jerusalem after Jesus’ second coming.

This is what the Apostle John saw in his vision (Revelation 22:1-2): “Then he showed me the river of living water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the broad street of the city. The tree of life was on both sides of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations.”

Wow!

Water is vital and life-giving in the natural world. And the River of Life is vital and life-giving in every other way. For our spirits, minds and hearts.

Here’s more…

• How God Speaks Through Signs in the Heavens
• 20 Meaningful Bible Verses about Nature
• How God Uses Wilderness to Shape Us

The post Water and Its Importance in the Bible first appeared on Heaven and Nature.

I didn’t travel to the “path of totality” for the April 8th eclipse. And May’s northern lights were just barely visible at our house.

But during the eclipse I hopped from livestream to livestream of several cities in the path while it was happening. And the northern lights were faint in my neighborhood but they still kept me up long after my normal bedtime. I couldn’t get enough!

A couple things stood out to me from these recent events:

• The wonder and joy we humans experience when we get to witness them firsthand
• Learning that Earth is a very special place that enables us to see them

Since then I’ve looked for more information about both these heavenly events and what they mean for us. Specifically for followers of Jesus.

It’s pretty exciting!

Total Solar Eclipses

This is my favorite eclipse meme I saw later that day:

Wow! “The cosmos is so finely tuned that we can know precisely where every heavenly body will be 200 years from now, down to the minute.” And for this eclipse, astonomers knew exactly how long totality would last in each city—down to the second!

That’s crazy!

Does that sound like random chance and undirected processes to you? Me either. Heavenly bodies seem to be precisely ordered and predictable. Like systems designed for purpose by an intelligent agent.

The Unlikelihood of a Solar Eclipse

Not only that—Earth is the only place in our solar system where a perfect solar eclipse can be seen.

Here’s a tidbit from To Understand the Meaning of a Solar Eclipse by Jay W Richards, PhD (Discovery Institute): The moon is 400 times smaller than the sun. But the moon is also 400 times closer to us than the sun is.

So from our perspective, they match in size. When the Earth, the moon and the sun all line up, the moon perfectly blocks the sun from the Earth. That causes a total solar eclipse.

Dr. Richards says, “There are 65 major moons in our solar system and many smaller ones. But only we enjoy perfect solar eclipses when a moon just barely covers the sun’s bright photosphere…So the best place to view total solar eclipses in our solar system is just where there are observers to see them.”

Isn’t that amazing?

I took a ton of screenshots while I was watching NASA’s live streams in various cities on April 8th. These from Cleveland, Ohio turned out the best (the clearest video images):

Precision Design

Dr. Richards goes on to explain how the precise positioning of sun and moon to earth allows life to exist. And how total solar eclipses have allowed scientists to “unlock the physics of stars.”

It reminds me of Proverbs 25:2. The Message version says it in a fun way: “God delights in concealing things; scientists delight in discovering things.”

When God made the heavens and the earth, He hid all kinds of discoverable things. Then He made people with both the ability and the desire to discover things.

As the centuries have gone by, people have discovered more and more of those things God hid in creation. And the more we learn, the more we realize how fine-tuned and complex it all is!

Northern (and Southern) Lights

Aurora borealis (northern lights) and aurora australis (southern lights) are caused by the interaction of electromagnetic radiation from the sun with the earth’s magnetic field.

(I’m referencing In Aurora Borealis, Scientific and Aesthetic Design Arguments Meet by Casey Luskin, PhD, also Discovery Institute)

They can normally be seen best in the very north and the very south because of the shape of the magnetic field.

In May we experienced a major solar storm that produced these heavenly lights that could be seen across a vast area of North America. Places far south of what’s normal.

Again, we have a situation where Earth is unique among the planets. A strong magnetic field is vital for life to exist—to protect us from solar wind and other radiation from space.

Earth is the only rocky planet in our solar system that has a strong magnetic field. And Earth is the only place with life able to observe and wonder at such a light display!

Like I said earlier, we could just barely see them from our house.

Here’s one shot I got, actually facing east (not north):

My friend Pam got much better photos from her home across the river in Wisconsin. She’s graciously allowed me to publish a few here (including the one above):

Why Do We Experience Wonder and Joy?

At the very beginning I mentioned something that really stood out to me, especially during the eclipse—the wonder and joy people were experiencing while they witnessed these heavenly events.

As I was watching NASA’s live streams, I could clearly hear the cheers of the crowds where they were broadcasting.

It was incredible! I was getting goosebumps and choked up just watching the live stream and listening to all the people.

It made me wish I HAD made the effort to drive to the path of totality! (Now I have to wait ’til 2044)

And the day after the northern lights were so spectacular for so many, there were photos ALL OVER social media.

People respond to these things. To eclipses and northern lights and gorgeous sunsets and brilliant rainbows.

In his northern lights article, Casey Luskin says, “An evolutionary psychologist might say it results from some ancient vestigial neural module which made your ancestors seek colored fruit on trees or deep blue/green water for hunting fish. I’m sorry but an explanation like that falls very short of explaining the moving emotional experience you have upon seeing the aurora.”

Or when seeing any of these incredible “signs in the heavens.”

Because We’re Not Random-Chance Creations

I agree with Casey when he says we appreciate these phenomena because we weren’t created by random-chance evolutionary processes.

Romans 1:20 says: “Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power.” (TLB)

We can be like those who ignore the obvious and insist God had nothing to do with it. Or we can embrace the wonder and the Creator and worship Him for it.

So how does God speak through these signs in the heavens?

I think He’s saying: “These demonstrate My reality, My power, My wisdom. And I made it for you—enjoy!”

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson

Here’s more…

• Spiders: Silk Producers and Extraordinary Architects
• Why Symbiotic Relationships in Nature are So Cool
• 20 Meaningful Bible Verses about Nature

The post How God Speaks through Signs in the Heavens first appeared on Heaven and Nature.

If you love nature and the outdoors like I do, it’s pretty cool when we run across so many places in the Bible that refer to the natural world.

Just start looking through an online Concordance and you’ll see what I mean!

In this Bible study, we’ll take a look at just some of these verses, 20 in all. I’ve narrowed it down to four in a few different categories:

• The heavens
• Mountains
• Trees
• Water
• Flowers and fruit
• Animals

Down the road, I’ll do a separate post for each of these—there’s that much content in the Bible that refers to nature!

Here’s the video version of this Bible study—or if you prefer to read, then just skip down to the next section:

The Heavens

We’ll start with what the Bible calls the heavens—the sun, the moon, stars and galaxies. The clouds.

Three of these are in the Psalms (they’re just so good). And we can learn something different from each verse:

Psalm 19:1

Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.”

This verse tells us how creation worships the God who created it. How does it declare God’s glory? By its vastness. Its complexity. Its order. Its variety. By being. By doing what God created it to do.

Psalm 108:4

Psalm 108:4: “For Your faithful love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches the clouds.”

Have you ever tried to measure God’s faithfulness?

Just like we can’t measure the height of the heavens, so we can’t measure His faithfulness. It reaches as high as the clouds. Even higher—higher than the heavens.

That’s BIG faithfulness!

What a great reminder when we’re going through something tough. God’s faithfulness is big enough.

Psalm 147:4

Psalm 147:4 is the next one. It says: “He counts the number of the stars. He gives names to all of them.”

This reminds me of the verse in Matthew that says the Father counts the very hairs on our head. There are billions upon billions of stars in the universe. Not only does He count them, He names them!

He cares. And He cares even more for you and me. He hasn’t forgotten us. He knows our name, too, and everything we’re going through.

Hebrews 1:10

Hebrews 1:10 is a New Testament version of Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, Lord, You established the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands.”

A reminder that the Lord created ALL this. He established it. He thought it all up and put it here.

It belongs to Him and it’s all under His authority. That includes us.

Mountains

Let’s move on to the mountains—the tallest structures on earth.

Psalm 125:2

Psalm 125:2 says, “Jerusalem—the mountains surround her. And the Lord surrounds His people, both now and forever.”

What a vivid illustration. Like the mountains surround Jerusalem for its protection, so the Lord surrounds us, His people.

He’s well able to protect us from anything contrary to His plans for us.

Nahum 1:5

This short little Old Testament book can be found with the other minor prophets—between Micah and Habakkuk.

Nahum 1:5 says this: “The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt. The earth trembles at His presence, the world and all who live in it.”

This verse also tells of God’s power but in a different way. Mountains are the most solid structures on earth. They seem immovable…but they’re no match for God’s presence!

Sometimes we have mountains in our lives that seem immovable or impassable. But if the Lord wants them out of the way, He’s well able to make them quake apart.

Micah 4:1

Micah 4:1: “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. Peoples will stream to it.”

No one will miss it! No one will miss knowing the Lord is King of heaven and earth.

And people will stream to the Lord’s house. His presence will draw everyone there.

1 Corinthians 13:2

Our last verse about mountains is always a great reality check for me! Maybe it is for you, too.

1 Corinthians 13:2 says, “If I have [the gift of] prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”

That’s the value the Lord places on love!

Not our cultural mushy, feely, conditional love. But God’s kind of love. This agape love (the Greek word used there) is full of forgiveness and kindness and truth.

If I don’t have that kind of love in me for God and for other people, the Lord says it doesn’t matter if my faith is big enough to move mountains. It doesn’t matter if I know so much about the Bible I can teach everyone else.

God is love. And that’s His priority for me, too. And for you.

Isn’t it cool how the Bible gives us these kinds of word pictures?!

Trees

Trees. The earth has more than 64 thousand species of them (and maybe more we don’t know about yet, says an article on ScienceNews.org).

Here are just four of the hundreds of Bible verses about trees:

Psalm 96:12

Psalm 96:12 says, “Let the fields and everything in them exult. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy.”

I wonder if one day we’ll really be able to hear the trees shout for joy before the Lord! Can you picture it? I think many of them do that now just with their beauty.

The huge, stately giant redwoods of Califonia. The age-old olive trees of Israel. The bright yellow and red fall colors of the leaves in the northern climates. The spring flowering of the fruit trees.

In their way, they all “shout for joy” to the Lord, the one who created them.

Jeremiah 17:8

I love this picture from Jeremiah 17:8: “He [the one who trusts in the Lord] will be like a tree planted by water. It sends its roots out toward a stream. It doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”

When our roots drink from the stream, the living water Jesus offers us, we can stay green and fruitful even in the dry times.

Even in the hard times, when we trust Him.

Matthew 7:18

Matthew 7:18 says, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit. Neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.”

Jesus is comparing trees here to people. He said “We’ll know them by their fruits.” People know whether we’re a good tree or a bad tree by the fruit of our lives. We can only fake it for so long!

If we want to produce good fruit in our lives, we need to be that tree Jeremiah talks about, planted by the stream. Planted by that living water.

Revelation 22:2

Revelation 22:2 talks about my favorite tree of all, the Tree of Life.

It says: “On both sides of the river [the crystal-clear river that comes from God’s throne] was the Tree of Life bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations.”

Can you imagine? The trees we have here on earth now only bear one kind of fruit during a certain season. But this Tree of Life will have 12 kinds of fruit. And it’ll produce its fruit all year long!

[I wonder if it’ll be a different kind of fruit every month? Or if it’ll be all 12 kinds of fruit every month? What do you think?]

And it’s not only the fruit from this tree that’s amazing—its leaves bring healing to the nations. Constant fruitfulness and healing.

Wow!

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Water: Rivers, Streams, Springs and the Seas

Water is our next category in the natural world that the Bible has a lot to say about. Rivers, streams, springs and the seas.

Let’s take a look at just four of the hundreds of verses about water in nature:

Song of Songs 8:7

Song of Songs 8:7: “Mighty waters cannot extinguish love. Rivers cannot sweep it away.”

While the Song of Songs is mostly about romantic love between a husband and wife, I love the analogy to the Lord’s love for us in this verse.

When you think of the power of water—a tsunami or a river at flood stage. It sweeps everything away in its path.

But even waters like that can’t sweep away or extinguish God’s love for us. It’s too powerful.

It makes me think of the end of Romans chapter 8—absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God that’s in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Ezekiel 47:9

Ezekiel 47:9 says this: “Every [kind of] living creature that swarms will live wherever the river flows, and there will be a huge number of fish because this water goes there. Since the water will become fresh, there will be life everywhere the river goes.”

There will be life everywhere the river goes.

Jesus said that HE offers this kind of living water to all who ask Him. Whoever has His river has life!

Isaiah 41:18

Isaiah 41:18: “I will open rivers on the barren heights, and springs in the middle of the plains. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and dry land into springs of water.”

Again, because water signifies life, this verse is so encouraging!

The Lord can bring His water of life into the driest places of our lives.

John 7:38

Here’s the verse in John where Jesus talks about His living water:

John 7:38: “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.”

Flowers and Fruit

Flowers and fruit in nature speak to us about growth, beauty, abundance, nourishment and new life.

Here are just four verses from the Bible about flowers and fruit, pulled out of hundreds:

Isaiah 35:1-2

Isaiah 35:1-2 says, “The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose. It will blossom abundantly and will also rejoice with joy and singing.”

All of Isaiah 35 is full of references to nature! It’s a wonderful prophetic word about what God will do one day.

Here it’s the land itself that will blossom like a rose and rejoice.

Isaiah 40:8

“The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever” says Isaiah 40:8.

Flowers are so transitory, even the most gorgeous ones. They last a day, maybe a few days. Some bloom for a few weeks even. But they’ll fade before long.

Not so with God’s word! With His promises and His truth. His word remains. It’s even more solid than the mountains and the earth itself.

Matthew 3:8

Matthew 3:8 says this: “Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.”

The New Testament, especially, has so much to say about a fruitful life. These are John the Baptist’s words, but they’re consistent with what Jesus taught too.

What does it mean to produce fruit consistent with repentance? It’s very similar to our next verse…

Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22-23 is super familiar to most of us: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.”

These fruits the Spirit develops in us are consistent with a life that’s lived in repentance before God. Not just once at salvation, but every day.

It’s God’s character in us, produced by the Holy Spirit, with our cooperation.

We read earlier that only a good tree can produce good fruit. Let’s be good trees so our lives produce fruit that honors and pleases the Lord!

Animals

Last, we’ll look at four verses that refer to animals. Again, there are hundreds more, but we’ll stick with these for now:

Psalm 148:7 & 10

Psalm 148:7, 10 says, “Praise the Lord from the earth…wild animals and all cattle, creatures that crawl and flying birds…”

Like the stars at the beginning of this video, the animals of Earth praise the Lord by being what God created them to be.

Simply by being.

They’re part of God’s grand design. He infused them with life and they praise Him.

Proverbs 28:1

Proverbs 28:1 says this: “The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.”

Why are the righteous as bold as a lion? Because the one who fears the Lord doesn’t have to fear anything else. Not other people. Not the future. Not the past.

When our trust in is the Lord and we’re walking in Jesus’ righteousness, as we read earlier in Jeremiah we’re planted. We’re secure.

Proverbs 21:31

Proverbs 21:31 says, “A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory comes from the Lord.”

A warhorse represents anything we might try to put our trust in for our own daily battles. Our money. Our power. Our intelligence.

None of these things are bad in themselves. But we just need to know that they don’t guarantee our victory.

That comes from God alone.

Job 39:27

Job 39:27 “Does the eagle soar at your command and make its nest on high?”

This verse is part of several chapters at the end of the book of Job where God is putting Job in his place. “Does the eagle soar at your command?”

In fact, the entire natural world is a humbling reminder that we’re just one more created being, at God’s mercy.

But even if we can’t command the eagle, we can be in awe at the way it soars effortlessly…and worship the Lord because it’s HIS doing.

Do YOU have a favorite Bible verse that refers to nature or teaches us something through the natural world?

Bible verses: Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Here’s more…

• Build Christian Community through Outdoor Adventure
• Finding Beauty in Everyday Life
• The Value of Extended Time with God

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