Stay Connected!

This blog hasn't borne much witness to the fact that I'm a train fan, airplanes typically getting the top billing.  While my interest doesn't translate into much of a pursuit of a particular aspect of this subject, I do find them quite interesting.

Sure, there's a romance to riding the rails.  And the technology, though pushing the two century mark, is still fascinating.  (No, I don't like being stopped by a train anymore than the next guy.)

There's something about the way the engine provides power (motive force, if you will) which is transmitted link by link to the very end of the train, perhaps a mile back.  No matter which direction the engine is going, uphill or down, the very last car (enter a plaintive lament for the extinct caboose) will follow.  Indeed there's a fascinating place in the Canadian Rockies where the locomotives emerge from a mountain tunnel directly below and perpendicular to their rear cars as they navigate the famous Spiral Tunnel.

But of course the cars must stay connected to one another if that magnificent train is going to remain a unit and deliver its full load.  How sad when we stop looking for ways to get along and break the links that bind us together.  Our divorce culture has permeated every aspect of life, wreaking its full havoc wherever it is found.  And God hates it. (Mal. 2:16).

Road to Where

"And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people..."
(Isaiah 11:16)

Something about highways and railroads intrigues me.  As I cross a road, my mind wanders to its extension beyond the horizon and ultimately its terminus.  When we travel, they represent the way back home--there are even highways in the sky which you can observe if you pay attention to the contrails in your area. 

This verse in Isaiah, as well as Jesus' famous account of the prodigal, makes me thankful that no matter how far we roam in this old world, there's a way back home if we will just turn and head that way.

Silent Rails

 

 If I didn't like airplanes so much, my favorite subject would be trains.  There's something about the endless rails that carry my imagination off to a distant and unknown place. Hop aboard and dream a little today!

Come Thirsty

To the wounded and the weary come thirsty

Have you built up a resistance
To the sun and to the rain?
Is your life in need of healing
From the heartache and the pain?
Jesus calls to all the searching
To cast your every care on him.
For he offers living water
You will never thirst again.

Have you wandered in the desert
Seeking refuge for too long?
Have the sands of disappointment
Hidden your heart’s song?
A refreshing spring is flowing
For your parched and barren soul.
Come and drink the cup of mercy
For it makes the sinner whole.

Come thirsty
To the fountain that never shall run dry
It’s a soothing sweet oasis
Every need is satisfied
To the wounded and the weary come thirsty.
(The Perry's "Come Thirsty")

Blowing Off Steam

Pent up energy, frustration, anxiety...all good ways to nurture a heart attack.  So whether it's not letting the "sun go down upon your wrath" (giving place to the devil) or simply kicking back and relaxing from a hard week of work, we are supposed to rest and refresh from time to time.  God wasn't tired after creating the world, but He ordained sabbath rest for us anyway, knowing our frame!

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exod. 20:8)