There’s an area of the Colorado Rockies, where in the summer, although green spaces appear, and the temperature does not require a full parka and heavy gloves, the snow never completely leaves. If memory serves it is called the Never Summer Range.

The Alpine race of the little Water Pipit bird nests there, and the open tundra allows for some nice opportunities for images. Of course the time for insects and other little critters to reproduce and raise their families is also in a short time line.

Below we have the getting together of both the Pipits, and the “bugs”.

Those eternal areas of snow make for interesting images when they appear alongside or on top of green grass.

The season for raising wildlife babies is also short. These Yellow-bellied Marmot siblings are have a great time “play fighting”.

Down from the high mountains but still at a fairly high elevation, the green mountain valleys of Colorado produce a more lush feeling.

South of Colorado in New Mexico we have the mixed areas of deserts, rock forms and more.

Below is sunset at White Sands national Monument.

Next we have morning fog and Shiprock, also in New Mexico. This is still an arid area with much desert and fog is not considered normal.

New Mexico is also a great place for Indian ruins and signs of the Spanish who once lived here.

Below we have the Pecos Ruins.

Taking a stroll. This is a Bighorn Sheep ram using a little pavement to get where he is going.

This is either Wyoming or South Dakota.

Back in the upper Midwest of Wisconsin, we have a delicate sunset. The seeming fragileness of this scene can be attributed to both the colors and the leafless trees.

The “play of light”, along with delicate silhouettes, gently make for a powerful scene.

This time in northern Illinois we have a Gray tree Squirrel. Well, er, a black Gray Tree Squirrel.

We have small disjunctive populations of these guys which are black, in northern Illinois and certain areas of Wisconsin. I always chased any anomaly in nature that I heard about.

That’s The Spirit

The Holy Spirit of God, that is.

When I began this blog, if anyone would have told me that in addition to photography, I would most often be writing about God on these pages, I would suggested to them that they should be committed. Politics or the daily chore of life, yes, but God?

I believe in God, and that God is simply the most common God believed in, the Christian God. The only God dare I say, but “the world” has attempted to make others. Sometimes in their own image. It is a serous mistake, but one they have every right to make. There are also those who try to reinvent the one true God. They do so within various religions that trade off of Christianity. To re-make Him into what they think He ought to be.

I and most Christians call the true God, the Trinity, or the Triune God.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Yet one God.

While the birth, life, death, and Resurrection of the Son, is directly, and intimately related to us and our eternal future, we cannot truly function without God’s Spirit dwelling inside of us.

When we become truly Born Again, by acknowledging the birth, death, and Resurrection of God the Son, God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit if you will, sometimes called the Holy Ghost, will then come inside of us to live and guide us.

We become, at our best, filled with the Spirit. Knowledge, strength and love will ensue. Of course, there is also conviction. Conviction of and from the Spirit.

We may call it our conscience, but it is Almighty God working inside of us, and holding us responsible for our own doings. Such as sin! It can hurt or even be scary, but ultimately God always knows best. It is for our good, to be convicted and to become clean once again.

The Lord God created us, the Son offers us freedom from eternal separation from God, and the Spirit keeps us in check and on the correct path.

That is the one God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

John 14-25
These things I have spoken to you while I am with you. But the Helper the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance, all that I have said to you.

May God Bless,
Wayne

An add on can be found below concerning something most Christians know. However, in some churches and some religions related to Christianity, they preach a false gospel. It deals with the Sabbath and other Old Testament laws.

Take note that the Old Testament is a part of the Bible, and is very, very necessary to understand the Word of God, however, diminishing the Godliness, birth, death, and Resurrection of Christ, Christ’s deity as God, and how our faith brings us Salvation, is sacrilegious and sinful.

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The truth. Every one of us needs education, or edification if you prefer. I did not write what you see below. It was written by some who are far more qualified than I or you on this subject.

True, understanding and observing Christians to say the least.

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There is NO command after Christ’s death and resurrection for the Church to keep the Sabbath as an obligation to Christ!
Jesus is the only person to have ever perfectly kept the Mosaic Law. The Law of Moses becomes rendered inoperative at the Cross with the death of Christ, NOT before. The four Gospels mostly cover the life and ministry of Jesus while the OLD Mosaic Covenant is still operating. So yes, Jesus kept the Sabbath as is commanded in the Law of Moses. He did not seek to keep the hundreds of additional do’s and don’ts that the Rabbi’s came up with. Understanding this will help us make sense of the conflict we read in the Gospels between Jesus and the Pharisees when it came to observing the Sabbath.

Jesus was born under the law and kept all of the law. If He had violated even the smallest point, He would have been disqualified to be the Messiah. He would have been a transgressor and a sinner like us. Gal.4:4-5a says, “God sent forth his son, made of a woman, born under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.” Notice here also that the Son existed with the Father and was sent to be born a human (fully human/fully God) under the Law of Moses.

People who try to prove that Christians need to keep the Sabbath, make an issue of Jesus being our example and therefore suggest that we should imitate Jesus in every single thing. So let’s look at this critically and logically.

Jesus was circumcised on the 8th day, He observed all the feast days (Lev. 23), He also kept the entire law of Moses (all the 613 commands). He never married and never had a permanent home. He also was very bold standing up to those who challenged the Word and His teaching. In His miracles He walked on water, healed people of organic diseases instantly and resurrected many, just to name a few.
Is anyone imitating all of those things Jesus did?
To make the claim that believers need to keep the Sabbath because Jesus did is ERROR. Jesus did a lot of things we cannot do and should not claim to be able to do. We are to obey God’s Word on the issue.

People who keep the Sabbath as mandatory turn from “THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD” (Acts 20:24) and they turn toward another gospel “The Gospel of the Sabbath law”, while ignoring the new covenant. Judaism went as far to personify the Sabbath. The Rabbi’s would call it the Bride and the Queen. This issue among Sabbath keepers is no less militant today then it was during the time of Jesus. Those same religious leaders are among us today and just as they wanted to kill Jesus over the issue of the Sabbath (John 5 & Luke 6) then, so also today their are Sabbath keepers who vehemently oppose those who hold to the accurate biblical view of the Law of Moses and Sabbath.

In the New Testament, where the Sabbath is referenced (Col. 2:16-17; Rom. 14:4-6a, Gal. 4:10 & Heb. 4:4,9), the Scripture explains that this day is not a required day to be observed by Christians. One believer is not to judge another believer in this area. Not a single one of Paul’s letters ever states that the Sabbath is mandatory for either Jews or Gentiles. Surely if it was mandatory, Paul would have mentioned it at least once.

Paul only observed the Sabbath for evangelism purposes.

Paul made it clear that he was not under the law, but purposely put himself under it to reach those who were. Paul placed himself in many different situations, including as one under the law (which includes the Sabbath) so he could reach the Jews with the Gospel. He became all things to all men so that he could present the Gospel of Grace, the only means of salvation (see: 1 Cor. 9:19-21). Paul’s model for evangelism was to the Jew first until rejected; then he turned to the Gentiles (Rom. 1:16). You can observe this in Acts during his missionary journeys.

We need to make a distinction between Paul “keeping the Sabbath” and “observing the Sabbath.” In Acts 13:42-43, They did not go to worship by obligation under the law but simply for the reason that this was the best means for reaching their Jewish brethren. This is not proof that they “kept the Sabbath” under the New Covenant. Again, Paul gives us the reason why he placed himself under the law in 1 Corinthians 9:19-21 “to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.”

The New Testament epistles were mostly corrective letters reinforcing what was taught in person by the apostles and to add further revelation to what had already been taught. There is absolutely no warning against Sunday worship nor any instruction to keep the Sabbath day.

In fact, we find it is the very opposite, believers are given freedom that wasn’t in the Mosaic Law. Colossians 2:16 says not to judge on days, and Romans 14:6 says that we can pick whatever day we want to observe to the Lord. Its up to our own convictions.

Lastly, The first major issue to be brought up against the Church at the Church council in Jerusalem in Acts 15 was – ” But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe (Gr. tereo – keep) the Law of Moses.” The apostles and elders of the Church took this claim serious and we would be wise to see what the outcome was – “The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.”

After much discussion Peter rises up to share what he witnessed from Acts 10, how the Gentiles were cleansed and born again by faith. Peter even says these law keepers were in effect testing God by putting Gentiles under the Law. Peter states clearly – “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.” Then we see the Apostles Paul and Barnabas share all about the signs and wonders that God had done among the Gentiles. Then we have the Apostle James speak. This would have been THE place for the Apostles and leaders of the first century Church to clarify this issue of keeping the Sabbath. If God was going to communicate to believers that they should keep the Law of Moses or keep the Sabbath this would have been the place to do it. James gives instructions, by the Holy Spirit, as to what to abstain from for the basis of fellowship and to keep the peace among mixed fellowships Jew/Gentile. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.” Acts 15:28-29. Nowhere in Acts 15 is there a requirement given for believers to keep the Sabbath. If Gentiles were obligated to do so then this would be the place to say it. But the Sabbath is clearly not listed among the list of things. The Apostles gave no command to keep the Sabbath.

If any of the Mosaic Law is still in effect then so are the penalties for breaking the Law. If one separates the penalties then the commands have no authority and justice is not carried out. Imagine God telling Israel not to murder and then when they do He has nothing for the consequences. This is how Law keepers today practice their laws. Israel was given the Sabbath, the Church was given the Holy Spirit. He leads us and empowers us to obey well beyond what the Law could ever do. Because the New Testament says the law condemns and does not give life Rom. 3:19-20. The Law was temporary (Gal 3:19a), it was a tutor/teacher to lead to Christ (Gal. 3:24-25), and it’s called a ministration of death and condemnation (2 Cor. 3:7,9). It’s a useful teaching tool but is not the rule of life for the believer. The believer today is under the Law of Christ and has commandments of Christ under the NEW covenant to obey. See our other Tracts for more details!

Sharing knowledge about the Gospel, and sharing knowledge about false belief, is not about my being right. It is about the undeniable truth, and aiding as many people has I can before my final day comes knocking. That may not be that far off and if I can help my brothers and sisters to God and Heaven before that day, I will have least done my part. It is not a question of the right to believe what we want. I stand by that right.
It is a part of true Chrsitianity to become a part of the solution, rather than the problem.
Wayne