The Rainbow

       "And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." Gen. 9: 9-17

 The Rainbow

by Jane Van Allen

Once Noah's ark rode on the wave;
His faith was firm in God;
He trusted whom, he knew could save.
For he believed God's word.
He saw the earth in water shroud.
The rainbow then was given ;
The rainbow lights the darkest cloud.
While on our way to heaven.

While yet the rain is coming down,
The sun begins to shine;
A cloud to us denotes a frown,
A thought to us sublime.
God's mercy-promise has been made.
The rainbow symbol given;
The rainbow lights the darkest cloud,
While on our way to heaven.

God sees, He knows. He will sustain.
What e'er our lot may be;
Though suff'ring years may yet remain,
I'll trust Him patiently.
When we believe the word of God,
And trust the promise given;
The rainbow lights the darkest cloud.
While on our way to heaven.

Let other's woe my pity share.
And try their hearts to win;
I'll tell them of a Savior's care.
When they have turned from sin.
I'll try to lift the head that's bowed.
And heal the heart that's riven;
The rainbow lights the darkest cloud.
While on our way to heaven.

Eve and The Serpent

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." James 1:14

Eve and The Serpent

Serpent. Not eat? not taste? not touch?

not cast an eye

Upon the fruit of this fair tree? and why?

Why eat'st thou not what Heav'n ordained

for food?

Or canst thou think that bad which Ileav'n

called good?

Why was it made, if not to be enjoyed?

Neglect of favors makes a favor void ;

Blessings unused pervert into a waste

As well as surfeits. Woman, do but taste.

See how the laden boughs make silent suit

To be enjoyed; look how their bending fruit

Meet thee half-way; observe but how they

crouch

To kiss thy hand; coy woman, do but touch;

Mark what a pure vermilion touch has dyed

Their swelling cheeks, and how for shame

they hide

Their palsy heads, to see themselves stand by

Neglected: woman, do but cast an eye.

What bounteous Heav'n ordained for use

refuse not;

Come, pull and eat: y' abuse the thing ye

use not.

Eve. Wisest of beasts, our great Creator

did

Reserve this tree, and this alone forbid ;

The rest are freely ours, which doubtless are

As pleasing to the taste, to the eye as fair;

But, touching this, His strict commands are

such,

'Tis death to taste, no less than death to

touch.

Serpent. Pish! death's a fable; did not

Heav'n inspire

Your equiil elements with living fire.

Blown from the spring of life? Is not that

breath

Immortal? Come, ye are as free from death

As He that made you. Can the flames

expire

Which He has kindled? Can ye quench His

fire?

Did not the great Creator's voice proclaim

Whate'er He made, from the blue-spangled

frame

To the poor leaf that trembles, very good?

Blessed He not both the feeder and the

food?

Tell, tell me, then, what danger can accrue

From such blessed food, to such half gods

as you?

Curb needless fears, and let no fond conceit

Abuse your freedom; woman, take and eat.

Eve. 'Tis true we are immortal; death is

yet

Unborn, and, till rebellion make it death,

Undue; I know the fruit is good, until

Presumptuous disobedience make it ill.

The lips that open to this fruit 's a portal

To let in death, and make immortal mortal.

Serpent. You cannot die; come, woman,

taste and fear not.

Eve. Shall Eve transgress? I dare not,

oh! I dare not.

Serpent. Afraid? why draw'st thou back

thy tim'rous arm?

Harm only falls on such as fear a harm.

Heav'n knows and fears the virtue of this

tree;

'Twill make you perfect gods as well as He.

Stretch forth thy hand, and let thy fondness

never

Fear death; do, pull and eat, and live for-

ever.

Eve. 'Tis but an apple; and it is as good

To do as to desire. Fruit's made for food:

I'll pull, and taste, and tempt my Adam too

To know the secrets of this dainty.

Serpent. Do.

Francis Quarles.

The Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee

by William B. Tappan

O Jesus! once on Galilee

Thy voice of power was heard,

When madly that dark heaving sea

Through all its depths was stirred.

The forky lightnings Thee revealed,

Calm, 'mid the storm's increase,

And far above where thunders pealed

Was heard the whisper, "Peace!"

How drooped at once that foaming sheet

Of waters, vexed and wild!

Each wave came falling at Thy feet,

Just like an humbled child.

So rages my tumultuous breast,

So chafes my maniac will;

Speak! and these troubled seas shall rest:

Speak; and the storm is still.

The Loss of Fellowship

"And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto man, and said unto him, Where are thou? Genesis 3: 8,9

       "If It is only in the cool of the day that I can hear Thy footsteps, my God. Thou art ever walking in the garden. Thy presence is abroad everywhere and always; but it is not everywhere or always that I can hear Thee passing by. The burden and heat of the day are too strong for me. The struggles of life excite me, the ambitions of life perturb me, the glitter of life dazzles me; it is all thunder and earthquake and fire. But when I myself am still, I catch Thy still small voice, and then I know that Thou art God. Thy peace can only speak to my peacefulness, Thy rest can only be audible to my calm; the harmony of Thy tread cannot be heard by the discord of my soul. Therefore, betimes I would be alone with Thee, away from the heat and the battle. I would feel the cool breath of Thy Spirit, that I may be refreshed once more for the strife. I would be fanned by the breezes of heaven, that I may resume the dusty road and the dolorous way. Not to avoid them do I come to Thee, but that I may be able more perfectly to bear them. Let me hear Thy voice in the garden in the cool of the day."  George Matheson

Focus Your Thinking & Lather up with a bit of SOAP:

• Scripture: "Where are thou?" Genesis 3:9
• Observation: It is interesting that God asks where Adam is after he has eaten the fruit of knowledge between good and evil? We know that God can anticipate what we think/feel and hear every word we speak, let alone know where we are at. I think, perhaps that this is a form of a rhetorical question on God's part. He is drawing Adam's attention to the fact that he is no longer in communion with Himself. Adam is hiding. Adam is rebelling. He is frightened of God for the very first time. His fear is not one of "respect" but of the variety of fear that lives in dread of imminent danger. Adam is in panic mode: he no longer trusts God.
• Application: But a God who would sacrifice so much for us all, would surely be happy to forgive? I see this forgiving love so obviously in the life of Christ, and also in his death, and again in him who could not remain dead for long. The one man fully capable of resurrecting himself because his goodness and righteousness would and did defeat death itself. When Adam and Eve fell, it was not simply a problem involving Eve's envy of God's wisdom, but a problem of distrust. She did not trust you, Lord, enough to believe what you told her, even though you were her creator and loving father. Adam, in turn, did not trust you enough to report the incident instead of making it worse by participation. And last, but not least, the snake... (satan) who knowing fully how much you loved them, led your beloved children into distrusting your word. He did this so that they would die and your heart would be crushed by it. He deceived them because of his desire to hurt the father he had betrayed earlier himself.
• Prayer: Dear Lord, I see now that the fall is something all humans experience because we lack trust in you. I am so very thankful that my ancestors were chased from the garden of Eden in order to prevent them from making their fallen state permanent. To prevent all of us from eating of the tree of eternal life while we were yet still prisoners of distrust.  Never let me forget that in you alone, I can completely trust. Amen.

Focus On Illustrating A Poem.

       Lilies are traditional symbols in the Christian church. These symbolize both humility and devotion. I have paired these stargazer lilies along with the poem, Eden Lost to craft a large bookmark for my notetaker's bible/journal. However, if you reproduce a similar pattern onto thinner paper, it would be just as simple to tip-in near Genesis 3:8,9.

Left, is the front side of my poem. I illustrated two lilies using watercolors, trimmed the painting with paper lace, and backed the small painting with pink paper. Right you can see that I wrote the following poem on the backside of the painting and colored the outer edges with a soft pink pencil.

Above, I've included a template for those of you who
would like to paint a watercolor of lilies similar
to my own (above.) Trace the pattern with a soft pencil
directly into the margins of your Bible or onto a piece
of watercolor paper to tip-into your journal.

Eden Lost

by Isaac Williams 

Unto the East we turn, in thoughtful gaze, 

Like longing exiles to their ancient home, 

Mindful of our lost Eden. Thence may come

Genial, ambrosial airs around the ways

Of daily life, and fragrant thoughts that raise

Home sympathies: so may we cease to roam,

Seeking some resting-place before the tomb,

To which on wandering wings devotion

strays.

But true to our high birthright, and to Him

Who leads us by the flaming cherubim,

Death's gate, our pilgrim spirits may arise

O'er earth's affections, and 'mid worldlings

rude,

Walk loosely in their holier solitude, 

And breath the air of their lost paradise.

Focus On Listening.

Brandon Heath sings about "Leaving Eden"

The Golden Age of Adam And Eve

Adam all day 'mid odorous garden bowers
Had lightly toiled, while many a tender
word,
With murmurs of the brook and song of bird.
Fell on Eve's ear at work amongst her flowers;
When lo! where grove of pine and cedar
towers.
As with a gentle breeze the leaves are
stirred.
And walking in the garden God is heard.
With voice of love charming those evening
hours.
With conscious innocence, and hand in hand.
That goodly pair approach their awful
Friend,
Like children with beloved father stand;
Then at His feet in adoration bend.
O golden age! O days of heaven on earth!
When life was piety and labor mirth.
by R. Wilton

Light In The Darkness

"Unto the godly there ariseth up light in the darkness." Lyra Apostolica.

Here my empty desk sits, waiting to be filled up with tools of my trade, waiting as I prepare for a special journey.

Light In The Darkness.
Author Unknown, 1848

Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home --

Lead Thou me on!

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene, - one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou

Shouldst lead me on.

I loved to choose and see my path; but now,

Lead Thou me on!

I loved the garish day, and spite of fears,

Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still

Will lead me on,

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone;

And with the morn those Angel faces smile

Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

• Get Alone with God
• Jesus Teaches Us: Get Alone And Pray 
• Have a Special, Secret Place to Meet With God