I’ve dubbed my wife as “Grandmother Extraordinaire”! She has a great heart and a great touch with our grandchildren. They’ve quickly come to learn that “the visit” from Grandma is very special, and indeed it is. When Grandma visits, things happen!

Let me introduce you to another “Visit” that’s even more special, it’s the “Visit” of Great God! When God “visits,” destiny changes! It’s not any less than this powerful and this profound.

In our Hebrew Scripture we find a word, paqad, which older translations typically rendered as “visit.” It’s variously rendered as to visit or attend or oversee or entrust, and as with all Bible Study, the context fine tunes the translation.

In biblical times it carries the idea of a master, lord, or ruler exercising involved oversight of their subject or one in their care. When used in Scripture to speak of the Lord’s oversight, His “visit” of those in His care always makes a change, literally a change of destiny!

This change can be in one of two directions, the Lord’s purification of sin, or, the Lord’s provision of blessing. His “visit” is personal, sometimes private, always profound!

Let me give you some illustrations from Scripture. First, we’ll look at a very personal, private, and profound visit to Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

Ge 21:1
¹ Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised.

The English “took note” is our word paqad, the divine visitation of God. In this situation, God made His promise of a son to Abraham come to pass as Sarah, now 90 years old and past child bearing age, will have a son, specifically the son of the Promise of God! This divine visit changed life for Sarah, and the destiny of those who follow with His blessing!

Just to prick your thinking, read again the encounter of God walking in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve! Consider it as Divine Visitation! Destiny changed for Satan, whose sin was judged and would be purified by the blood of the Perfect Sacrifice, the Lord Jesus. Destiny changed for Adam and Eve who were covered by that sacrifice, as pictured in the provision of God from the sacrifice, and their destiny forever changed being blessed by God’s grace as they trusted in Him!

Let’s look at the purification of sin use of this powerful truth. As God’s people were caught up in the paralysis of prosperity, immorality, selfishness, and arrogance, the prophet Zephaniah delivered the Lord’s words, Zep 1:12.

¹² “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil!’

The English word “punish” is our word paqad, visit. Here, the Lord divinely visits the sinful and arrogant who are living hypocritically. Many misunderstand such a divine visitation and see this as simply judgment. That’s a small view of what is unfolding.

First, God always calls warning prior to His judgment! There is time to repent and turn from sin! Second, His judgment is always against sin, not simply people. Those who practice sin are indeed judged as they have set their rebellion in opposition to God! Third, and most important, God’s judgment of sin is always His purification of the evil, which mocks His holy, righteous, just nature. And, purification is always the pathway to restoration!

There can be no restoration without purification! This is most powerfully demonstrated in the Cross of Jesus. There is “restoration” in the Cross for all who place their faith in Him and Him alone because there is “purification” in the Cross when Jesus judged sin forever and paid its awful price with His life!

The Cross is one of the most dramatic divine visitations mankind has ever known! But, it’s definitely not the only, nor the last. Our Great God is deeply involved in our lives. His gracious hand is always present and powerful. He divinely visits and His visits always determine destiny!

Don’t let the true meaning of this Christmas season slide past you. It’s one of the most profound divine visitations and this visit determines your destiny.

Jn 3:36
³⁶ “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

If you’ve never placed your faith in the Lord Jesus, you can do so right now! He came and died for our sin, your sin, my sin, and by faith in Him we have live everlasting in His presence, a blessing we have only begun to grasp!

Remember back in Zep 1.12 the phrase “at that time”? Zephaniah is unfolding a “day” which lies ahead when the final divine visitation of God will come, often called “the day of the Lord.” In that day, and at that time, God’s visit will bring complete purification of evil and the greatness of His restoration to blessing! It’s our hope, our focus, and the fullness of our present faith in the Lord’s provision, Jesus!

May this Christmas season find us reflecting more on our gracious Lord’s divine visitation to give all who place their faith in Him life everlasting in His blessed presence! That’s definitely a change in destiny!

P.S. – for more discussion of the Zephaniah 1.12 passage, you can download our recent study as part of our Minor Prophets series, click HERE.

I recently enjoyed a couple weeks camping in the Denali National Park wilderness area, specifically at Wonder Lake. What a great time! This is my second time to enjoy this spectacular park and my second time camping in the Wonder Lake area.

From my previous trip, I re-connected with several people, many from various parts of the world, who regularly come to this magnificent place. Denali Nat. Park, in my words, is a park for animals that they let people visit. All camping is tightly controlled, quite limited, free from all that “stuff,” e.g., cars, noise, electricity, fires, even showers! As such, it’s a special place to enjoy the vastness and beauty which is there.

Being there as a photographer, and especially in the last week of August and the first week of September, it’s “Fall” unfolding before your eyes. With the time changing something like 7 minutes per day, over a two week period the length of days changes something like 1 1/2 hours! The moose rut becomes full bloom! Colors change daily! Bears are active feeding as winter approaches! Caribou are migrating! It’s truly amazing to be a part of such a place and season.

Rock Ptarmigan

A large number of those people camping and photographing are sincerely “vested” in this grand wilderness area. As such, conversations about the “nature” of things, the “natural” beauty, enjoying the “natural” area, etc., are most common as you visit with others. It’s virtually impossible to be in such a place and not be impacted by its awe.

But, something seems lacking here to me. There are virtually no conversations about the “super-natural” aspect of the creation or creatures! Keen eyes, vested spirits, zealous learners, all seem to stop at simply the “natural.” Let me share a perspective which has been impressed in my heart . . .

This “creation” around us is simply amazing! Observing the balance of “nature,” the cycles of the seasons, the rainbows (remember Gen 9.13-16?), the astounding beauty of it all calls us to consider the Designer of such a design!

Psalm 19:1–2
¹ The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. ² Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.

Creation testifies to our Creator, the Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth! To see only the “natural” is a blindness! Truly, there is a slight glimpse into the “super-natural” of things.

Yet, the more I pondered this, the more I was reminded of the truth of the Word of God, both of the damages sin has done to us and the Lord’s Creation, as well as the hope of the Lord’s fullness which lies ahead. The Scripture says,

Romans 8:22–25
²² For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. ²³ And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

The Scripture describes our Creation, when the Lord’s redemption through Jesus Christ becomes complete.

Isaiah 11:6–9
⁶ And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. ⁷ Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. ⁸ The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. ⁹ They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.

While in Denali Nat. Park, I had opportunity to observe a couple of “kills” where the grizzlys, wolves, and ravens were “naturally” balancing the herd. This is very much part of our present “natural” system and works very well. We need only look at man’s attempt to remove preditors and the chaos we’ve introduced into our world balance.

But, the Word of God says there’s even more ahead when the Lord restores His harmony, His design, His balance, His Creation to its place of a harmony we’ve never known! “Wolf” and “lamb” living together! “Leopard” and “young goat” together! It’s more than amazing. It’s more than a “natural” development. It’s a “super-natural” work of our Lord who brings a fullness, a balance, a harmony, a Creation which is freed from the ravages of sin and it’s devastation, even in our “natural” realm.

The wonder of Jesus Christ paying for the sin in our world is far greater than we may have ever imagined! For us personally, the Scripture says when we place our faith in Jesus, trusting Him alone for the sin that plagues us, we receive “New Life”!

John 3:16
¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

This “New Life,” often called “the life of the ages,” or “eternal life,” touches us, transforms us, teaches us of the love of our Lord who paid for our sin and has far greater for us than we’ve yet imagined or experienced. I would suggest this “New Life” from sin’s removal through Jesus touches even the “natural” world around us and there lies ahead of us a “super-natural” world so “other” than we’ve ever known it will be amazing!

Next time you watch the magnificence of a sunrise or the beauty of Fall or any of the wonders of our world, stop to consider the redemption found in Jesus Christ, not only for you personally, but for all Creation! With “super-natural” eyes, you’ll see even more, see even deeper, hope even greater for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!

If you’ve been looking, living, only with “natural” eyes and a “natural” heart, let me remind you again of the great truth from the Lord. When you place your faith, not in your own sufficiency, not in the world’s sufficiency, but in Jesus, you receive His gracious gift of “New Life” now and a future with all His new Creation soon to unfold! Re-read John 3.16 again, it’s even deeper, broader, richer than you may have ever imagined! It’s the doorway to the “super-natural”!

A.W. Tozer insightfully writes,

I do not consider that it is my place as a Christian to stand around making judgments and calling other people “hypocrites.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only man I know who was holy and perfect enough to call the religious leaders of the day hypocrites.

I am just a man with faults and shortcomings of my own, and I must always consider myself lest I be tempted!

I preach to my own congregation about our faults and our failings, with the warning that some of our professions of blessing and victory may get into the area of “unintentional hypocrisy.” Through the grace of God and the kindness of our spiritual ancestors we may have spiritual light that some others do not have—but in all honesty, we are wretchedly far below what we should be in living up to it, day by day.

It helps us to be honest and frank and humble to know that the great God Almighty knows the secrets of every person’s heart!

Below is a picture of a wonderful bridge near where I live. It’s a great piece of architecture, almost a sculpture in its design!

Almost every time one of our grandchildren stay with us, grandpa likes to drive them over this bridge and we marvel at how it gets us from one side of this valley to the other, and, it does it with complete safety!

We might say, “It’s a ‘sincere’ bridge.” Our English word “sincere” comes from the Latin words sine cera, which mean “without wax.” Now, how did that come about for a meaning?

It was a common practice in ancient times to cover the flaws in pottery with wax. When you looked at the pottery it “looked” fine, solid, true, strong, usable. But, it was flawed with a weakness that being put under stress or putting it in the sun would disclose.

So, you took your new pottery home, filled it with hot water, and it was a disaster in the making, most often someone got hurt. We all want “sincere” pottery!

Let’s take this “waxing” and apply it to words and consider what that does. When we cover up and hide our words, that’s what we call a “lie.” It’s an untruth. It’s a word that has been “waxed” so it appears to be what it’s really not.

So, how does this relate to our bridge? I like to use a bridge as a model, picture, an illustration for truth. Let me explain.

When I need to get across the valley, maybe of confusion, maybe of danger, and take to you wisdom, assurance, love, compassion (and much more!), I need to travel the bridge of truth. Truth is something “without wax”! It’s “sincere”! You can count on it, rely on it, hang your very life on it!

Words that have been “waxed” can’t take the weight, handle the stress, deal with the intense pressure put on them, and they crumble when put to the test! It’s a disaster in the making!

When we lie, we damage, even destroy, the ability to get back and forth to one another with the things we need for life, assurance, comfort, compassion, wisdom, and love, just to mention some of our live support.

I would suggest that the bridge, a “sincere” bridge, is a great illustration of the truth we must have between us. Lack of this truth isolates us across that valley, relationship falters, weakens, even fails from untruth.

What a great confidence we have as believers in the Lord that He is Truth, and here we build our lives, lives that can span confusion, discouragement, disaster, even the darkness of fear! It’s done in Truth!

Ps 25:8–10.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. ⁹ He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. ¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are loyal-love and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

Ps 40:11.

¹¹ You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your loyal-love and Your truth will continually preserve me.

The hard truth is that no truth is of the devil, absolute opposition to the very nature and character of the Lord. Jesus said, Jn 8:43–47.

⁴³ “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. ⁴⁴ “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? ⁴⁷ “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

In a world of relativism and softness, this “hard truth” may not be what we wanted to hear, but, as we’ve learned from the bridge, we can’t get across in relationship with another, or the Lord Himself, without truth! It is that solid, “sincere,” foundation upon which we indeed build life itself!

Take a look at that next bridge you cross, you’re absolutely counting on it being “without wax” if you want to make it to the other side! Such is the bridge of truth upon which we’ll transport life itself to one another in our world of relationships!

It is through truth we show others who we really are. It is with truth we touch others with the One in whom we believe, His Loyal-Love, and, they can count on it! It’s “without wax”!

As I was photographing some tulips toward the end of their season, I spotted this one particular bloom. It’s showing the signs of the “seasons” and its pedals are not what they used to be.

Now don’t ask me what happened in my head but it was almost immediately filled with a “poem.” And, poems are not my norm but we’ll leave the how it happened to another time.

Back to “beauty.” Our culture is obsessed with its search for this vapor we call beauty. It would be an astounding dollar amount to know what is spent in pursuit of the uncatchable!

I regularly pass a business whose name is the “Anti-Aging Clinic”! That truly has to be one of the oxymorons of our day! Even as amazing is the number of cars parked there, in pursuit of something which will never be found in a jar or crème!

As a photographer, it is a given that if you want to be known as a great photographer, photograph beautiful (here’s our word again!) people. When your photographic work is examined (by worldly standards), all will declare you are indeed a great photographer for the images are “beautiful”!

To combat the blatant vanity of this thinking we try on statements like, “Beauty is only in the eye of the beholder,” or “Beauty is only skin deep.”

The truth is that beauty is neither in the eye, nor in the skin!

A wonderful truth of the Word of God found in Proverbs 31.30 says,

³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

This is wisdom that is most applicable to “both” men and women!

Just a word on what it means to “fear the Lord.” First and foremost, this is not terror. It’s an attitude of our heart I like to paraphrase as “the awesome, reverential, trustful, obedience” of the Lord. Those who “fear the Lord” have put Him first.

Let me put that another way, they’ve been captivated by the Lord’s beauty! The psalmist writes, Ps 96:4–6.

⁴ For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. ⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. ⁶ Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

True beauty is when we’ve been captivated by the Lord’s beauty and live out our lives for His glory.

So, back to the tulip and that poem. When I looked at this “late in season” tulip, I thought to myself, wow, I’ll bet this bloom was really spectacular sometime back. But, no, it’s spectacular right now. This bloom is serving the Lord as the Lord designed, through all its seasons, some of which might catch our (vain) eyes more.

And, the poem flowed . . .

When the season is past, know well, that if you served the Lord with your fleeting glory, you have served (beautifully and) well.

This bloom had done it all, and even now was serving the Lord with awesome, reverential, trustful, obedience. There can be no greater beauty!

Take time to reassess your concept of what is truly beautiful, it’s way more than skin deep! Set a course for true beauty like you find in Ps27.4.

⁴ One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple.

Beauty is reality. Beauty is truth. Beauty is the Lord, and, it’s in our lives as we serve Him, whatever the season!

If you find time for a video exposing the superficiality of our cultures thinking, check out this one: http://bit.ly/w8BKg