The Never Ending Inheritance

Vail, Colorado

The never ending inheritance.

The Scriptures encourage us to leave and inheritance for our children. "Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren..." Proverbs 13:22 God's Word to the Nations

However, many of us know or have experienced the fact that an inheritance can tear families apart. Brothers and sisters no longer speak to each other because of a perception of injustice in how an inheritance is distributed. What people forget is that with time material goods vanish.

Granted, people have invested an inheritance and ended up wealthy, but chances are that within a short period of time an inheritance will disappear. The car will end up in a junkyard. The house will be sold to someone else. The money will drop out of sight.

Though it can be a good thing to leave material possessions as an inheritance, better is the inheritance that will not disappear, vanish or drop out of sight. The most important inheritance we leave behind is our faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith in Christ is an eternal inheritance of treasure laid up in heaven.

You have inherited your faith in Jesus Christ from someone else. This faith in the crucified and risen Savior has been handed down from the time of Jesus himself. It will be an inheritance that will continue to pass from generation to generation as long as the church exists.

As you think about your will consider the most important gift you can give, not only to your children, but your children's children: Your faith in Christ.

Join the conversation at Praying With the Eyes on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/173881749421231/

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2013 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR. 

A Never Fading Flower

Betty Ford Alpine Garden, Vail, Colorado

Many flowering plants only bloom for a short period of time. As such, we spend most of the year waiting for these plants to flower.

Why are we willing to grow plants that only bloom for a fraction of the year? Because the beauty of these flowers, like the ones above, captivate us.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." Isaiah 40:8 English Standard Version

The only flower that will never fade is the Word of God. It was the Word of God that called creation into existence. It was the Word of God that was born into this world, crucified on the cross and raised from the dead. It is the Word of God on which we daily feed.

What Jesus has done for us will never fade, so we no longer wait, but experience the beauty of God's love for us every day. We know that as the days pass and the years roll on, the beauty and fragrance of God's passion for us will always bloom.

Everyday is walk through God's garden of his perennial love.

Join the conversation at Praying With the Eyes on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/173881749421231/

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR. 

Hope for the Barren

Vail, Colorado

Many of the mountain communities of Colorado display amazing sculptures. Vail is one of those communities.  It is possible to spend a day traveling though the city viewing these sculptures.

This sculpture of a mother and child caught my attention. As with all good pieces of art, there is a story in this sculpted bronze. What you see in this mother and child, what I see and even what the artist depicted might be different from each other, yet there is a story told for all of us.

A story I see in this mother and child is reflected in Psalm 113, "The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens... He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.  Praise the Lord!" Psalm 113:4,9 English Standard Version

The Bible tells many stories of barren women who are graced with children. Sarah, Rachel and Hannah come to my mind. Through this picture of barrenness God gives us hope when there seems to be no hope.

God's story for sinful human creatures is ultimately a story of hope. God used barren women to advance his plan of salvation for all humanity showing us that hope is not something we create, but a gift from God.

Our hope is rooted in Jesus. I'm not promising God is going to make everything turn out wonderful for you this side of eternity, but the end of the story is guaranteed. The gift of heaven is a present day reality that we will one day fully experience.

We many not shake the dust of barrenness from our lives here, but the day is coming when God's salvation will make us joyous.

I pray that you taste this joy today!

Join the conversation at Praying With the Eyes on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/173881749421231/

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR. 

A Life of Significance

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Vail, Colorado

The illusion of this picture is that this white flowering plant is growing on top of the rock. It appears to be growing where it shouldn't.  It is impossible for roots to find nutrients on hardened rock. Maybe that's the way your life feels. Your're looking for nutrients yet you feel starved.

"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." John 6:35 English Standard Version

We know how to purchase physical food, but what about the hunger for significance? Where does it come from? Is there a convenience store that sells significance?

There is the illusion that somehow we'll find a way to purchase significance. The question is not whether it's possible to live a significant life, but from where do we derive our significance?

We'll discover significance when we digest Christ.

You cannot buy significance. Instead, you have been purchased by Christ. Your significance is rooted in Jesus and what he has declared you to be.

Through Christ, you are precious to God. And since you are precious to him, your life is significant.

Join the conversation at Praying With the Eyes on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/173881749421231/

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR. 

Powered by the Spirit

Vail, Colorado

I like hanging out in Vail in the summer more than in the winter. It can be quite crowded on a weekend, but during the week it's not bad at all. It's worth walking around town for the sculptures (more pics coming in future blogs).

We had parked our car in the parking garage and made our way to Vail Village when these pinwheels sculptures caught my eye. There's nothing special about them except that they took me back to my childhood and playing with pinwheels.

The power behind a pinwheel is the wind.

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 New English Translation

Both the Hebrew and Greek words for "spirit" literally mean wind. Given the number of wind turbines that I see on my travels from Colorado to Oregon it is evident that there is a great deal of power in the wind.

There is a great deal of power in the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Wind of God. According to Paul, the Spirit has the ability to produce hope in our lives. This hope is rooted in what God has done for us through the merits of Jesus and it is rooted in the promises that Jesus makes to us.

He has promised to never leave us (Matthew 28:20).

He has promised to return for us (Acts 1:11)

The Holy Spirit, the Wind of God, is the power behind God's promises.

Join the conversation at Praying With the Eyes on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/173881749421231/

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR. 

A Seat with Christ

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Vail, Colorado

"Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne." Revelation 3:21 New Living Translation

I have a feeling that the throne on which we will sit is quite comfortable and majestic, a place where we will not remember the pain and struggle of this present hour. Taking a photo of this "bench" will not be as important as sitting on it.

This promise of rest is for those who remain victorious as a part of the church militant (the church on earth). There are many struggles that tempt us to throw up our hands and say, "what's the use?" We are tempted to join the rest of the world and muddle our way through life.

Yet the Holy Spirit keeps us in this faith and is the power behind our life of faith. It is the Holy Spirit who continues to point us to God's victory through Jesus in his life, death and resurrection. This promise of rest is much greater than the temptation to give up.

If you are like me, you can't wait to see that place where we'll sit with Christ.

Join the conversation at Praying With the Eyes on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/173881749421231/

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR. 

A Sense of Mystery

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

My advice to anyone who has taken a bad picture: Convert it to black and white. I took a hike on a trail  outside of the YMCA camp in Estes Park. It was the middle of the afternoon (a difficult time to take pictures because of the harsh lighting) and I was using a long lens. When you don't use a tripod with a long lens things get fussy.

But convert it to black and white (plus other adjustments) and presto! you have a picture that communicates a sense of mystery.

"God wanted his people throughout the world to know the glorious riches of this mystery-which is Christ living in you, giving you the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27 God's Word to the Nations

The miracle of God is that through Christ we have been convert. We were messed up, broken individuals and through the power of Jesus' crucifixion we are declared not guilty of sin.

The mystery that this conversion has worked is that of Christ living in us. Let's take on this word "us" for a minute. Stating the obvious "us" is plural. Christ dwells in the community of the baptized. Paul cannot conceive of Christ dwelling in the individual without Christ dwelling in the community.

This point was recently etched in my brain when I participated in a spiritual retreat with my prayer partner. We were walking and praying, not with each other but in the presence of each other. That day would not have been as meaningful for me had I not been with my brother in Christ.

This is the mystery that God converts us sinners then dwells in us in the context of community. It's the same as taking a throwaway picture and converting it to a piece of art.

By the way, a happy summer to all.

Join the conversation at Praying With the Eyes on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/173881749421231/

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.