Reflecting the Image (by Carla Sunberg)

Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.  Scripture:   Ex. 33:12   Moses said to the LORD, “See, you have said to me, ‘Bring up this people’; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14 He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.” Observation: We are invited into this very intimate conversation between Moses and God. Moses had continued his spiritual climb until he kn...

Chuck did not want to be measured in this way! Scripture:  The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. (Rev. 21:15 NRSV) Observation: Earlier in Chapter 11 it was John who was doing the measuring, ensuring protection for the people. Now, things have changed and it is the angel who has come to measure the city of God. The angel has a golden rod with which to measure the city, ensuring the city’s integrity and purity. This angel will measure the gates and the height of the walls which reveals the enormous size, but also the perfect symmetry. This city is to become the dwelling place of the faithful for all of eternity.  Application: Day in and day out we are influenced by those around us. In many ways, we allow ourselves to be measured by those from whom we want to receive acceptance or affirmation.  I’m a member of Weight Watchers and I like using their app, but I also want to make t...

David's City.  Scripture: 1 Chr. 12: 18 Then the spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said,     “We are yours, O David; and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to the one who helps you! For your God is the one who helps you.” Then David received them, and made them officers of his troops. Observation: This passage comes at the culmination of a great list of individuals who have chosen to unite with David in his mission to fight Saul and his army. David has a special group of thirty leaders, of whom three are his most elite who have been with him for some time. Then, bands of other soldiers have come and united themselves with David’s army as they have chosen to serve him out of loyalty, not out of obligation. After we reach the end of the list, the spirit of God comes upon Amasai and he speaks prophetic words of blessing. The unique nature of the situation is seen in the response...

Scripture: Luke 19:1   He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek...

Outside of the Cave Church in Antioch, in modern-day Turkey.  Scripture: Acts 11: 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.” Observation: Barnabas was in the city of Antioch where his ministry continued to grow and develop. He realized that he needed assistance in this work and so, we can imagine that he began to pray and ask for God’s direction. Who came to his mind, but Saul. These two had become acquainted soon after Saul’s conversion and Barnabas had introduced him to the leadership in Jerusalem. The situation in Jerusalem was too volatile for Saul, now Paul, and so it’s believed that he was sent to his home region of Tarsus for his own safety where he continued ministering in the name of Jesus Christ. He was probably not ...

Scripture: Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. (Rev. 11:19 NRSV) Observation: The continuing vision of John is vivid, opening up the heavens and allowing him to view God’s temple. There, in the middle of the temple we see the ark of the covenant. This ark which has not been seen by God’s people since around 586 BC. John would have never seen the ark and yet, now he is privileged to catch a glimpse.  This view of the ark of the covenant reveals the open communication which is now to be seen between heaven and earth. The long-hidden ark is preserved and is in God’s temple as a reminder that God does not forget the promises which have been made. The everlasting covenant of God and humanity remains intact. Our long-suffering God continues to reach out to all of humanity. It is this view of the ark tha...

Enjoying sabbath in our backyard! Scripture: Rev. 11: 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.” Observation: When the trumpet is sounded, there is the revelation of a new day. This is the final, and eternal Sabbath when the Lord and his Christ will reign together, for eternity. It is the celebration of the victory and dominion of the one who is the true King of all things. Now, He will reign forever and ever and ever. There is an affirmation here of the unity of the Father and the Son, for in their oneness, they will reign. This is the answer to the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). Christ has already won the victory over death and now his ascension to the throne becomes eternal.   Application: This vision from Revelation is one in ...

A work and witness project in Armenia. These types of activities are a positive reflection on the character of God.  Scripture: Ezek. 45:9   Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Cease your evictions of my people, says the Lord GOD. Observation: The vision of restoration for God’s people includes justice and righteousness. In this case it is the princes of Israel who have exploited their people for their own advantage. They are the ones who have ruined God’s reputation, not only among their own people, but among the outsiders who have been looking in. The vision of the restoration which is to come will reflect God’s holiness. God’s people will practice no violence or oppression, and they will do what is right and just.   Application: What does the world have to say about Christians these days? What are the things for which Christians are advocating? How...

The old church in the former "Ust-Zolicha" Russia where my great-grandparents worshipped. The government may have tried to destroy the building, but the presence of God continued to dwell in the "living stones." Scripture: Ezek. 37: 28 Then the nations shall know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forevermore. Observation: This statement comes at the end of the affirmation of God’s promise to the people. The people will never be deserted by God because God’s dwelling will be right in their midst. God’s reputation will be restored among all the nations of the earth through the salvation and unification of the children of the covenant. The people will be sanctified, or made holy, by God’s presence, for God dwells in the sanctuary. This is the residence of God, and when God is in the house, the house and all of the people of the house are made holy.   Application: Have you ever walked into the sanctua...

The dome of St. Peter's in Rome.  Scripture: Ezek. 28:25   Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall settle on their own soil that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They shall live in safety in it, and shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall live in safety, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God. Observation: After speaking oracles against many of Israel’s neighbors Ezekiel returns us for a moment of reflection upon the promise for Israel. This is the hope of restoration: when they return home and are restored, then the very holiness of God will be revealed in them. God will be sanctified in the eyes of those who do not believe because of the restoration of God’s people.   Application: ...

Throne of the Czars in St. Petersburg, Russia. This is nothing in comparison to the throne room of God seen by Ezekiel in his vision.  Scripture: Ezek. 1:1   In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was on him there. Observation: Ezekiel was a priest who had been taken into exile along with his fellow Jewish brothers and sisters. They had been settled in a region to the south of Babylon, along the river Chebar. It was not uncommon to spend time along a flowing river and meditate. A foreign land was considered unclean, and the site of running water was seen as a place of purity. Therefore...

Anderson University houses the Sallman gallery. Here is the original painting used so often to depict Revelation 3:20.  Scripture: Rev. 3:14   “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation: Rev. 3:15   “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. 20 Listen! I am stan...

One of the stations of the cross on the Via Dolorosa, in Jerusalem.  Scripture:   Esth. 9:20   Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, 22 as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor. 23 So the Jews adopted as a custom what they had begun to do, as Mordecai had written to them. Observation: At the conclusion of the story of Queen Esther we find instructions being given to the Jewish people. They are not to forget what God has done for them, and therefore, they a...