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"Helping Others Communicate"

THE VIEW FROM ABOVE

6/15/2015

 
Our recent car show at the church was a wonderful event.  As I alluded to in my last post, over 300 participants brought in antique cars, trucks, tractors, and motorcycles.  There was even a fully restored 1950s era school bus.  But for many, the hit of the day were the radio controlled aircraft being flown out on our soccer fields.

After seeing video taken from drones that flew over our event, I began to think about what the world must look like from up above.  Fortunately, the folks over at "Fly Boyz Blog" have provided us just such a perspective. Their web site contains a series of stunning aerial photographs that give us a high flying bird’s (or pilot's) perspective on the world we all inhabit here below.  

I am reposting these pictures here today.  As you look at them, hover your cursor over each photo in order to read more about the place you are viewing. (The originals can be found at: 
http://www.flyboyzblog.com/as-a-pilot-sees-the-world/.)
Barcelona is the 2nd largest city in Spain and is known for its striking architecture.
An urban park in New York City, Central Park provides many opportunities for entertainment, sports, boating, and leisure.
Maze at Longleat England
The capital of Mexico is one of the most important financial centers in North America.
The beautiful Italian city of Venice is situated on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges.
Situated on the Amstel River, Amsterdam was one of the most important ports in the world in the 17th century.
In addition to several pyramids, Giza is also home to the Great Sphinx and ancient temples.
Horseshoe Falls, the largest of the 3 waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls, is one of the most voluminous waterfalls in the world.
Chicago is quite the bustling city – it’s the third most populous in the country and is an international hub for finance and tech.
Each spring, the tulips in The Netherlands turn large parts of the country into a colorful patchwork.
The medieval city center of Bern is surrounded by the Aare River and features a large collection of historic sites.
Most of New Caledonia’s mangrove swamps can be found on the western coast, accounting for 80% of that area.
Dubai sits on the emirate’s northern coastline and has become notable for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings.
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea and one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean.
This coastal desert in southern Africa stretches for over 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).
Situated on the Seine River, Paris is the capital of France and one of the world’s leading business and cultural centers.
This stunning Turkish Valley has a total length of 4,400 meters (14,435 feet).
Shanghai China
Cape Town is famous for its natural setting in South Africa, and for several well-known landmarks.
Moscow Russia
With a recorded history that spans around 3,400 years, Athens is one of the world’s oldest cities.
This coastal seaport is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada.
Now the most populous city in the Maldives, Male was once the King’s Island, where ancient Maldive Royal dynasties ruled.
Seattle, Washington
Vatican City is a walled enclave within Rome, ruled by the Bishop of Rome – the Pope.
The residents of this valley, situated in the heart of a rural district, greatly depend on agriculture.
Dubai Marina is an artificial canal city that’s built along a 3 kilometer (2 mile) stretch of Persian Gulf shoreline.
Rio de Janeiro is a main cultural hub in Brazil and has architecture that dates back to the 16th century.
China is home to many rice terraces that claim the slopes of hilly areas. Some spots have been cultivated for over 1000 years.
A Lake in Pomerania Poland
Wow!  It is amazing what such a perspective provides.  Birds and pilots get to see these sorts of things every day.  And so does our Lord.  Psalm 53:2 tells us this:  "God looks down from heaven on all mankind..."

But God’s purpose in looking down is not simply to be amazed by the intricacies of His own creation.  His purpose is to see something far more important.  The second part of the above verse tells us why God looks down:  "to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God." 

The Psalmist earlier tells us what makes men and women so special in God's eyes.  We are the crowning glory of His creation:


1Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory in the heavens. 2Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?c

5You have made themd a little lower than the angelse and crowned themf with glory and honor. 6You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under theirg feet:  7all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You see, according to the Bible, of all God’s creation, only human beings were made in the image of Almighty God. Genesis 1:27 states:  "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."  this is said of no other aspect of His creation.

O
nly human beings have a Divine spark within them.  And thusly, only human beings, even in their rebellion, were so special to God that He would incarnate Himself as one of them and come to redeem them through His sacrificial death on a cross.


I leave you with these great truths from the eighth chapter of the Biblical Book of Proverbs.  Verse
4 affirms that God, Who looks down from Heaven to see if anyone actually seeks Him as their Creator, cries out:  “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind…  And what does He say?  Verse 17 answers that:  “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me…”  And why does this matter?  Verses 35 and 36 tell us: “For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. But those who fail to find me harm themselves…”

When God looks down on me, I hope He sees an open and willing heart, one which gladly seeks Him.  I hope He sees the same in you.  If so, then what He sees is pleasing to Him.  If not, then I know that what He sees no doubt breaks His heart.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:  http://www.biblehub.com/
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    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
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