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Brooksyne Weber
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Friday,
September 9, 2022
Nary a more colorful sight than
an acre of sunflowers.
Our friend Lamar Dourte took this
photo on Colebrook Road near Mastersonville, PA.
Click on photo to enlarge
"A
Lesson From The Sunflower"
"But
their minds were hardened; for until this very day at
the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains
unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this
day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their
heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord,
the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty"
(2 Corinthians 3:15-17).
One of the most prominent plants in our landscaping typically grows on its own and requires little care; the Helianthus, which is commonly called the Sunflower. The term Helianthus is derived from the Greek Helios, meaning sun, and anthos, meaning flower. Each summer we have a variety of sunflowers growing. No telling how many seeds germinate from seeds that fall from our birdfeeders!
One of the most prominent plants in our landscaping typically grows on its own and requires little care; the Helianthus, which is commonly called the Sunflower. The term Helianthus is derived from the Greek Helios, meaning sun, and anthos, meaning flower. Each summer we have a variety of sunflowers growing. No telling how many seeds germinate from seeds that fall from our birdfeeders!
This year
we've had a mysterious "critter" who takes a mouthful of
bird seed and drops them in various spots throughout
Brooksyne's flowers. A cluster (10 or 12) seeds
germinate and start to grow about 6" before she finally
pulls the tangled mess out of the ground.
But we
also have large fields of commercial sunflowers growing
in our area. The lead photo today was taken by Lamar
Dourte who also grows a variety of beautiful flowers in
his yard.
It may be
assumed that sunflowers derive their name due to their
sun-like appearance but their scientific name Helianthus
also points to an interesting characteristic they have
known as heliotropism, a word derived from the Greek
words "sun" and "turning". The growing sunflower turns
or orients itself to face the morning sun.
Brooksyne slightly laments that we cannot get the sunflowers to face us wherever we happen to be but this Creator-designed feature is a marvel in design.
When we travel she often reads devotional materials to me as I am the main driver in our family. She'd rather read than drive. We read a devotional from Our Daily Bread titled "Son Followers" that makes this point:
Young
sunflowers are just as patient in their growth.
Following the sun’s movement throughout the day, they
turn sunward daily in a process called heliotropism.
Mature sunflowers are just as deliberate. They turn
eastward permanently, warming the face of the flower
and increasing visits from pollinator bees. This in
turn produces a greater harvest.
In our lives we all need to have a characteristic of Christotropism, that is, we need to turn or orient ourself to the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Let us examine a passage in 2 Corinthians which has this phrase, "but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away".
Bible teacher A.T. Robertson notes that the scripture portion, "a veil lies over their heart", is a "vivid and distressing picture. With willful blindness the rabbis set aside the word of God by their tradition in the time of Jesus (Mark 7:8,9)." The veil is a symbol of spiritual blindness.
"But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away". What a blessed truth!
There is a sense that this is a onetime turning, speaking of our conversion, when we repent and turn away from our sin and turn toward Christ.
But there is also an ongoing aspect of turning to the Lord. The world clamors for our attention and we must willfully seek to stay focused on the Lord and His divine plan for our lives. This is well-expressed in the old song "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus".
Turn your
eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, You have given
us so many beautiful and colorful
sites to enjoy as we journey here
below. The sunflowers are certainly
among the more pleasurable flowers we
watch growing each summer, whether
they were planted by the birds, blown
about by the wind, or purposely
dropped by seed from machinery or
human hands. Just as the sunflowers
must be nurtured by the rays of the
sun, we too must be nurtured by the
light of Your Word if we are to grow
in maturity and devotion to You. Help
us to turn from that which will hinder
our growth to You who will grow and
mature us in the ways of the Lord.
Keep our eyes firmly fixed on You all
our days we pray. Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Turn
Your Eyes Upon Jesus" Video
Sovereign Grace Music
Dedication
and prayer request: Lamar Dourte
is a friend who takes beautiful photos,
several of which we have featured here
on Daily Encouragement. Many long time
readers would recognize his last name
because of the many years we featured
Jesse and Wilma Dourte's photos as they
were an integral part of our lives for
several years before they were promoted
to heaven. Jesse was uncle to Lamar.
In late
July Lamar was diagnosed with ALS
(amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) also
known as Lou Gehrig's disease. He is
seeking to honor God in this unexpected
"journey" as he puts it. Would you add
Lamar to your prayer list that he would
indeed honor God and trust Him every
step of this "journey". On the very day
that Lamar told us of his diagnosis I
(Brooksyne) had just read a devotional
message by Max Lucado that spoke of his
father, Jack Lucado, whose life was
"scarred" by ALS for three years. Jack
also sought to honor God during his
health decline. His faith led one man to
become a Jesus follower after observing
the way he dealt with his ALS. Max gave
readers this challenge: "rather than
begrudge your problem, expore it. Ponder
it. And most of all, use it. Use it to
the glory of God..."
Today we will share
sunflower photos both recent and
those we have used through the
years.
We passed this sunflower
field late Sunday afternoon across
the Susquehanna River in York
County. Since sunflowers face east
toward the morning sun we had the
sunset in the background. The one
sunflower standing out above all the
others can be a symbolic to
believers that we must "stand up,
stand up for Jesus" !
Click on
photo to enlarge
Our friend Howard
Blichfeldt took this photo of a
sunflower field at Soergel
Orchards near Pittsburgh PA and
captioned it "Shine"!
Click on photo to
enlarge
This butterfly and bee
are demonstrating the virtue of
sharing the same sunflower.
(photo by Ester)
Towering Sunflowers in the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail Garden.
This photo was taken in
our back yard ten years ago with a
super-sized sunflower voluntarily
growing in our then garden area.
Unaccustomed to seeing a flower
right outside our 2nd floor
bedroom window, this was like a
sunflower greeting us right in our
bedroom. Sunflowers are "happy"
flowers, since they make us think
of the sun and happy faces are
modeled after them. The world's
tallest sunflower on record
measured 30 feet 1 inch and was
grown by Hans-Peter Schiffer in
Germany.
Finally today:
A sure sign that fall is
coming is corn harvest. Today the
harvest machinery is in our area
and by late this afternoon we
expect the field across from us
will be bald!
Yesterday, following our
chaplain visit, we rode on the
Enola low grade rail trail up
through Conestoga Township to the
Safe Harbor trestle that crosses
the Conestoga River. It joins the
Susquehanna River in the
background.
Click on photo to enlarge
Click on photo to enlarge
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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