Photography

Bee Leave!

by Tina

You’re going to have to take a really close look at the photo below. Can you see the bee leaving? I think it looks as if he lept off the flower rather than flew off of it. He is taking a leap of faith! 😀 How about you, are you “bee leaving” too?

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.

Mark 11:22

Don’t Wither… Pray in Faith

“The disciples could not think why that fig-tree should so soon wither away; but all wither who reject Christ; it represented the state of the Jewish church. We should rest in no religion that does not make us fruitful in good works. Christ taught them from hence to pray in faith. It may be applied to that mighty faith with which all true Christians are endued, and which does wonders in spiritual things. It justifies us, and so removes mountains of guilt, never to rise up in judgment against us. It purifies the heart, and so removes mountains of corruption, and makes them plain before the grace of God. One great errand to the throne of grace is to pray for the pardon of our sins; and care about this ought to be our daily concern.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

23 thoughts on “Bee Leave!”

    1. No you didn’t. You didn’t find it. Yes, there is a bee in the top photo, but there is one in the one below too. I guess it’s a bit like “Where’s Waldo” (Wally UK) But he’s there. Look in the upper right quadrant of the photo. He IS really hard to see, but he is there. 😁

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  4. Hmm…I think sometimes people are wise not to jump. Not because the arms on the other end aren’t good but because in order to make the jump you have to leave everything you are holding in your hands. Sort of like Jesus saying to the rich young ruler “first sell everything you have and then “jump”. I think a lot of people haven’t done the first part and then can’t understand why they are not experiencing those arms. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it cheap grace. One of my favourite quotes by him is “When Jesus calls a man He bids him come and die.” Not sure if that makes sense.

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    1. I think maybe the rich ruler selling all his stuff WAS the leap of faith. He needed to trust that what God had for him was better. Thanks for that. That definitely confirmed things for me. I’ve been working on a piece about surrender. I did use that verse about the rich man. He went away sad, but we don’t have to. We can let go and let God. He does have our best interests at heart. This is as much for me as anyone else.

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      1. I hear you Tina. I hope my statements didn’t come across as harsh. I worry when people can’t hear my tone of voice they might feel attacked which is not my intention. I just think that the rich young ruler was looking for a religion instead of a person like many people do when they recite a sinners prayer and take on the label of Christian. I actually don’t think faith is blind. It is something like the second sight that Celtic people talked about. In Hebrews 11:27 it says that “By faith Moses…..persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.” Until people see him who is invisible I don’t recommend that they jump. Too many people have jumped into religion which is why Christianity today is so embarrassing. I am ashamed of it but I’m not ashamed of Christ. He is good but he is not safe. The question becomes how much pain would you go through for love of him. If you can truly see Him you then become ready to jump.

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      2. I couldn’t see Him when I took my leap of faith. I sure do now. I wasn’t looking for religion. It just felt like the right path. That was 25 years ago and it’s still the right path. I don’t know that you can see Him before you take that leap. I couldn’t. I just believed enough to choose. But that’s faith right?

        By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Hebrews 11:8

        You can’t always see where your going. You just have to go, leap, believe… have some faith.

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      3. I guess I get confused with the constant change between person path and place. Abraham didn’t know where or how but he knew who. Most people don’t know who or they have been presented with a caricature of God that would be equivalent to following a demon. They have good reason to hesitate. Thanks for being patient with me, Tina. My children were not welcome in any of the evangelical (10 to be exact) churches that we attempted to go to. All sorts of ungodly lifestyles were accommodated and nonbelievers were accommodated but not special needs kids.I would be afraid of that God if I personally didn’t know him to be different. It’s not easy to talk about him among other families who have special needs kids and don’t know Him cause I know I can’t show them a church community that will embrace them and show up on their doorstep and help. We need to as Hopkins said see:”Christ in ten thousand places. Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his. To the Father through the features of men’s faces.” Sorry it’s a wound. I know a lot of people are looking to be shown and not told. If your father was the church and he didn’t love you it might not have felt like as right a path as it did to you.

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      4. Wow… trying to communicate through comments can be very confusing. I think I misunderstood what you meant by “see” Him. I was thinking something totally different than what you were I think. By see him if you mean see God in the actions of others. Then yes, I did see Him. I didn’t know that I saw Him, but I did see Him in the man I was going to marry and in His family and through their church. I can’t imagine a church that wouldn’t accept special needs children. I’m sorry that you experienced that.

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      5. So I was just trying to communicate that a lot a lot of people can’t see Him because they are not embraced like you are. I know this because of no virtue of my own I won the genetic lottery in the area of looks when I was younger. Everyone “liked” me and smiled at me and wanted to be my friend and was kind. Then when my children showed signs of autism everything changed overnight. The smile of the church vanished. Every once in awhile we would encounter welcoming people but they were never Christians. It totally messed with my head in regard to the faith but I still believe. I’m so glad you had a different experience. I just wanted to point out an aspect of that leap you maybe didn’t realize was there.

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      6. Alright, thank you, Melanie. It’s a good message that the church should walk as Jesus walked. Yes, I was definitely confused as to where you were trying to take this conversation from the very beginning. Another good lesson in clear communication. Good to think about from a writing stand point. Perhaps some of the things that I post may be a bit to vague as to the direction I am thinking.

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      7. Sorry Tina. I’m really just grieved for the people I want to see the real thing. I feel their confusion. So I was trying to say that some people shouldn’t jump cause their not serious about becoming like Christ and others can’t cause they can’t see him. Next time I’ll try to say it in fewer words. Or, lol, next time I’ll just bleed into my private journal.

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      8. I guess I agree with the second part about some people can’t. But I really had no clue what was up ahead or expected when I took my leap. I had very little Bible knowledge. Yet, I am very serious about my faith and God has guided me all the way with so very little education of Him before hand. I guess it felt like you were saying that one had to have it all figured out before they took their leap which doesn’t sound very faith like. I do get what you’re saying about the church being Christ like though. Absolutely we have to reflect who He is.

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      9. You don’t need an education before or after. There is just a false gospel out there that is being told to people that he died so we don’t have to. No matter how old you are you shouldn’t be taught this. He died so that we could too. The disciples didn’t have the Bible when they were telling people this. They just knew it and told people. That’s not what I’m hearing these days.

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      10. Yes, absolutely. We are crucified with Christ. We die to ourselves to become like Him. I agree 100 percent on that. It’s not an easy process and sometimes it does require being rejected, suffering and anything that Jesus faced Himself. That’s how we get to know His heart.

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      11. Yes! 🙂 And when this dying is happening we welcome the weak. Hopefully the church can find its way back to this. Thanks for letting me release some steam. Please know that I’m blessed by your posts.

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