Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, December 26, 2024

During this Christmas season we pondered the meaning of Jesus’ birth and life and how it affects our lives today. There seem to be many lessons of Christmas. Among them are generosity, goodness, and knowledge of God.

I like these verses.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
Luke 2:9,10

I like how the angel focuses on the word joy. Somehow the arrival of Jesus will cause great joy for all the people.

When thinking about what Jesus did that would cause joy, a few things that come to mind are forgiveness and salvation. Jesus also revealed knowledge or light about his father and our father, God, and how much God loves us.

So, in this dark month of December, let’s focus on God’s light shown through Jesus and his teaching.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, December 25, 2024

As you take a moment to gaze at this image of the Washington Monument, proudly surrounded by flags in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., you might find yourself wondering, “What does this have to do with Christmas?” Don’t worry, we’ll get to that – I promise.

Let’s begin by exploring the symbolism of the Washington Monument. This impressive stone obelisk, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, commemorates our nation’s first president, George Washington. Not only was he the first president, but he also served as the commander-in-chief of the army and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Before the Eiffel Tower in Paris was constructed, the Washington Monument held the title of the world’s tallest structure. George Washington’s dedication, strength, and unwavering commitment were crucial in securing our nation’s freedom. Thanks to his efforts, and those of the other Founding Fathers, we enjoy the freedom to worship as we choose in this country.

Did this path to freedom and peace start with Mr. Washington? No, not even close. In fact, that plan was put into effect when Jesus was born in a stable, amongst the animals, on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Jesus was the symbol of freedom and peace for the entire planet – past, present, and future. He accepted His fate, to enter a sinful world as a fragile baby – helpless, weak, and vulnerable. As He grew, He became focused, dedicated, determined and respectful.

His power wasn’t the kind you see in army generals; His power came from His Father and it was the power that is used “behind the scenes” – silent but steadfast. He changed lives along His journey, spreading the love, no one had ever seen. He was the ultimate leader, asking much from those that needed to give much and asking barely anything, from those that only needed to be asked. He WAS the plan. He fulfilled ALL and in doing so, gave us the ultimate gift – eternal life – the freedom and peace, not from another country ruling over us, but from the ultimate bondage – Sin. We, through Him, never have to worry again. God’s plan is summarized in the book of John, specifically in a few verses in the third chapter.

John 3:16-21

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Did I get you there? Do you see Christmas yet? Let’s take a few more steps, and I think it will become clear. To recap, I started with George Washington and moved to Jesus. Am I comparing the two? Not really. I reminded you of what George meant to our nation and how his work, along with many others, provided a freedom the country didn’t have before. With Jesus, the stakes are much higher. The plan, process, and execution were very different. In fact, without that plan, we wouldn’t have needed the freedom to worship in the first place.

So, no, I’m not comparing our nation’s first president to the Son of God. However, in both scenarios, a group of people needed to be saved and given a freedom they may not have deserved but certainly wanted. Baby Jesus provided this very thing to an entire world that desperately needed saving.

As we gather with family and friends, enjoying delicious meals and perhaps opening a present or two, let’s take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices made for us to have these opportunities. We all know that the only gift that truly matters is the one we’ve been given – the gift of eternal life with our Lord and Savior. Merry Christmas to one and all!

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Competition is a very real part of each of our lives. We can easily divide these encounters into two distinct groups—those that have eternal consequences and the rest whose importance ranges all the way from significant to negligible. Into the first category we will place the conflict between good and evil, between God and Satan. Or if we put it in more personal terms, the tension that exists between love and ego. When we look at it in those terms, ego has some distinct advantages, the most obvious of which is, it is designed for conflict, whereas love, real love, wins only by a willingness to surrender, something foreign to ego.

Let’s take a quick look at some of those areas of competition that are of little importance. Which bird, in American culture, is most clearly associated with a holiday? The turkey would undoubtedly win hands down. Vying for the remaining positions would be the eagle, the cardinal, and the dove symbolic of Independence Day, Christmas, and Easter.

But no one really cares who wins that competition. Only a slight step up from this is whether the NFL team from Arizona, the Cardinals, win or lose. After all, even for a fan, it’s only a game. We do spend a decent amount of time focusing on such things as grades and salaries, but in the eternal scope of things, these things won’t really matter much either. One competition that is harder to distinguish is the effort exerted to win the affections of the sought-after one. The challenge here is distinguishing between true love and ego, for oftentimes we can’t even make that distinction ourselves.

If we go back to that symbol of Christmas and focus instead on the real Christmas, we can see love in its purest sense being demonstrated. The enormity of God becoming man is beyond our comprehension. And yet, that we believe, is why God will ultimately win, because He was willing to step down. May we not forget why love wins this Christmas.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Cheryl Boardman
Monday, December 23, 2024

I traveled up Highway 97 this past weekend to visit my family for Christmas. The roads were good the whole way. It was overcast all day with some rain and fog but no snow or ice and temperatures were above freezing.

The photo is of Beebe Bridge which crosses the Columbia at Chelan Falls. The river here is a reservoir called Lake Entiat that backs up behind Rocky Reach Dam which is just north of Wenatchee.

Bridges are kind of shortcuts that help us reach our destination faster. The Bible talks about not trying to take shortcuts to God!

“Don’t look for shortcuts to God! The market is flooded with surefire easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life – to God – is vigorous and requires total attention!”
Matthew 7-13 (The Message)

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, December 22, 2024

“Blank” isn’t usually thought of as a positive word.

My mind suddenly went blank.

His face had a blank expression.

She called him a blankety-blank.

But our mail often brings a smile to my face when it uses the word “blank” in a certain way. See my photo above for an example, which is a page I removed from a three-page document I received in the mail last week.

Its messaging is a bit confusing. It’s written in capital letters, which feels like shouting, but it’s written in very faint letters, which feels like whispering.

I can see that the intent behind the message is to communicate clearly: “THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.” The sender wants me to know without a doubt that I shouldn’t worry that I’m missing something that was supposed to be printed on this page. It is with intention that it is blank (except for the sentence telling me that, and a small black line in the upper right corner, but now I’m quibbling).

The message is meant to be reassuring; there has been no printing error.

And yes, this reminds me of Jesus.

When Satan accuses us of being sinners, unworthy of heaven, Jesus defends us.

Imagine the two of them comparing lists: Satan mentions my name and presents a lengthy list of sins I’ve committed. Jesus recognizes my name; He knows me well. He knows that I’ve committed sins, but He also knows that I’ve committed my life to Him, and I’ve asked Him for forgiveness for my sins.

So when Jesus shows my accuser His page of my sins, it’s blank. It’s not a printing error; it’s intentionally left blank.

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25 NKJV)

Eugene Peterson, in The Message, words it this way:

“But I, yes I, am the one who takes care of your sins—that’s what I do. I don’t keep a list of your sins.

There’s more where that came from, much more. Just a few more words of encouragement, straight from the Word:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9 NKJV)

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities . . . (Psalm 103:1-3a)

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

When I read these verses I exhale. I relax my shoulders, unfurrow my brow. The Lord is on my side. His intentions toward me are good, always good.

As we step out into this brand-new week, almost ready to step into a brand-new year, we celebrate the first arrival of our Saviour, who came with the intention of unmasking Satan, showing us what God is truly like, and sacrificing His life so that we could choose eternal life with Him. We look forward to His second arrival, each day one day closer.

Merry Christmas, and Happy, Healthy, Hopeful New Year!

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, December 21, 2024

I’ve never owned a dog, as a grownup. (The farm dog we had when I was a kid was never very interested in me or my siblings. He seemed to consider himself a farmhand, and did a superb job of keeping our farm rat-free.)

Therefore, when I came across the little pink object on a walk in late October, I didn’t recognize it. But suddenly I remembered a conversation with a neighbor who was in company with a large, placid Golden Retriever. He said, “Do you want to give Winston a treat?” He handed me one of these things, and Winston accepted it gratefully.

Because of a bit of online research, I can confidently tell you that what you’re looking at is a Milk Bone Mini dog treat. (“Milk Bone” is printed on it.) I’d never seen one on our neighborhood sidewalks before, probably because if an owner happened to carelessly drop one from his treat-pouch, his vigilant dog would immediately spot and claim it. But this treat remained unconsumed.

This got me to thinking about God’s “treats.” “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” sings David in Psalm 103:2 “and forget not all His benefits.”

Is it possible that we take God’s benefits for granted? I’ve been guilty of this many times. Yet the Bible says “forget NOT,” which means that I need to slow down and recognize these blessings – my eyes, my ears, my nose, my fingernails, my taste buds, my digestive system, my office computer monitor and the little box that runs it, my fingers that remember how to type, (and on and on).

Here are a couple of links to some Bible verses which remind us how well God “treats” us, and why it’s important to be grateful:

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/bible-promises

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/gratitude

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, December 20, 2024

This past Sunday I paused at the office supplies section of a thrift store, and noticed this impressive-looking journal. As you can see, its cover is Christian- or Jewish-themed, quoting a beloved verse from Jeremiah. I’ve preached on this verse several times, at child dedications and baptisms especially, because people sense that God knows us, and knows exactly the plans which would make us deeply happy.

Most of the time, when I encounter a beautiful journal like this in a thrift shop, I know what I’ll find inside. Along the spine inside the front cover I’ll find evidence of torn paper, since its previous owner bought that journal with the firm determination to write in it daily. That zeal lagged, and the owner decided to donate it, but removed the written-on pages.

But when I opened this journal, only one page had been written on. Here is that page:

First we see a childish scrawl, laboriously printing the word “BEAR.” Just underneath the “B” it seems as though the child, or a slightly older sibling, had ventured a smaller and more careful version of the word.

But suddenly a far more mature, and most likely feminine, hand takes control of the writing instrument. It seems that we may be witnessing an instructional moment, with Mom writing the word using printing and cursive, maybe saying the word as she writes. We see no more from the original writer, unless that unsatisfying and crossed-out effort underneath is his or hers.

And the rest of the journal is blank.

As I glanced from cover to contents, I suddenly saw a connection, one which was obviously not meant by the writers. But isn’t it interesting that the book’s cover announces God’s plans for us – and they are heartening, amazing plans. But once the book is opened comes the announcement Bear. It’s repeated several times, in childish printing and adult script.

It’s like the message is, “God has great plans for you, but before He can work out these plans, you’ll need to bear with life as it is.”

Because God’s journal – the book He wrote through several authors – has a lot to say about perseverance and faith, two topics explored in greater detail in the links below:

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/perseverance

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/faithfulness