“For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God. Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.” Psalm 86:10-12 When I see God’s wondrous creation I so often find myself in awe of Him. As we grow in our faith, God’s wondrous deeds draw us to walk in His ways and fear His name. His wondrous works are not just what He has created, but so much more. Each day He works wonders in the hearts of people and He works wonders in the affairs of men. But God’s most wondrous deed was when He came to earth in the form of a baby, became a man, died for our sins and then rose from the dead as our glorious Savior. As the passage states, may we give thanks to Him with all our hearts. Read all of Psalm 86. “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34 As a wildlife photographer, I love how the eyes catch light. The right light can really make eyes sparkle and dance. Jesus says when we focus our eyes on Him and His teachings our eyes will be clear. He says with clear eyes our whole being will be full of light. He warns us not to let darkness fill our bodies. He instead encourages us to let our whole body be filled with light. When we are full of His light we shine for Him. Shine for Jesus. The world needs you to. Read all of Luke 11. “The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.” Psalm 65:8 (NIV) So often when pursing landscape photographs I am amazed and inspired by the beauty I see. When we spend time in the wilderness and consider the hand of God in His creation we cannot help but stand in awe of the Lord. The psalmist David stood in awe of the Lord when he wrote Psalm 65. He wrote that he was filled with awe and saw the wilderness as God’s “sanctuary”. He could not not help but see the Lord’s glory there. Read more of Psalm 65 God’s Wondrous Deeds
Psalm 86:10, 12 and a Mountain Landscape, Summit County, Colorado.
God’s Greatest Wondrous Deeds
An Eye Full of light
Luke 11:34 and a Great Egret in Breeding Colors, Central Florida.
Stay Full of Light
I am Filled with Awe at God’s Wonders
Psalm 65:8 and a Snow Caped Longs Peak at Dawn, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Filled with Awe
In my last blog post for Drawing Near to God Through Photography, I answered the question, “How do I see God in a photograph?” I answered that question in a general way. In this post I want to look at a specific photograph and answer the question, “How do I see God in this specific photograph?” In providing an answer for that question, I will also answer the question, “Does God provide?” Let’s look at this photograph. First off, I know you’re probably wondering what is it? I took the photograph one Saturday morning last fall. In the autumn months, I like to spend time on our back deck reading my Bible, enjoying the cool weather, and thinking about the things of God. Our deck sits beneath a big oak tree, and last year the tree produced a lot of acorns. Hundreds, if not thousands of those acorns, landed on our deck. Many of them fell half eaten by voracious squirrels. Some of them fell to the deck whole only to be gobbled up by a deck pillaging squirrel. In this photograph sits one of the acorns that fell and was later consumed by a marauding squirrel. It was not alone. Dozens other acorns laid on the deck shredded apart just like this one. As I looked upon the scene, my heart was in a spiritual mood from praying and reading God’s word. What I saw before me spoke to my heart. I don’t recall what I happened to be reading that morning, but I do remember what the squirrels and the oak tree told me about God. They answered the question, “Does God provide?” with a “Yes! God provides!” And He provides in wonderful ways. Right in the very spots where this fragmented acorn shell lay, one of God’s creatures had a meal. And I don’t in any way doubt that it was a happy meal! If you ever saw a squirrel eating an acorn, you know that that meal was eaten with zest and perhaps a bit of joy. Does God provide? Yes, and He doesn’t just provide, He provides good things for His creatures, and for us to enjoy. How do I see God in this photograph? I see His hand of provision. I see the hand of a benevolent God willing to take care of the creatures He’s created. One Who feeds them with good and delicious things. He does this because He cares, and as God, He provides. God’s Creation spoke to me about God and drew me a little closer to Him. What do your photographs tell you about God? I’d love to know your thoughts. Do your photographs tell you that God provides, or do they tell you something else? How would seeing God as a provider in your own photography help you draw near to Him? Email me your thoughts and photographs at pat@thecreationspeaks.com. how to quickly improve your photography. PS Isaiah 43:18-19 with New Green Grass by a Stream, Fontenelle Forest, Bellevue, Nebraska. “Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old. Behold, … Continue reading → Photography and Answering the Question “Does God Provide?”
Does God Provide?
What’s This?
Creation and Does God Provide?
Drawing Near
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A Different Kind of Bible Verse of the Day
Welcome to the Visual Bible Verse of the Day. My name is Pasquale Mingarelli. Six days a week I post a Scripture verse or passage along with a picture of nature. The two together work to encourage people through God’s Word and God’s creation. I desire to reach people around the world with this daily Bible verse and creation photo so they may know the greatness and goodness of God.
As an outdoor photographer I spend a lot of time outside. I enjoy spending time in nature even when I’m not taking pictures. My family and I like to go for walks or hikes to enjoy the beauty of just being outside. Often, I bring along my Bible and a journal to reflect about God during a hike or walk. As a result, I have learned that God speaks to us through His creation and the creation speaks to us about God.
The Bible tells us that creation reveals many of God’s attributes (Romans 1:20 and Psalm 19). Through nature we see God’s power, transcendence, majesty, glory, beauty, provision and so much more. May these pictures and daily Bible devotional help you to see these qualities of God reveled through His creation.
Ways to receive The Visual Bible Verse of the Day
The Visual Bible Verse of the Day comes to you free of charge. You can visit this site daily or sign up to receive the Scripture verses and pictures by email. What’s nice is that you can control how often you receive The Visual Bible Verse of the Day. When you visit the free subscription you’ll see several options. The first one allows people to receive the Scripture verse and picture daily. But for those who want to limit the quantity of emails I offer a three day a week option and a two day a week option.
A little Bit About Me
Before jumping into nature photography I worked as a newspaper photographer and then joined the missionary organization Campus Crusade for Christ (now called Cru). I worked as a photojournalist with Campus Crusade’s magazine,Worldwide Challenge. While working with the magazine, I had photo assignments in seven different countries and 24 different states. Traveling and photographing in the U.S. and internationally, gave me a wealth of knowledge and experience about life, people, and culture.
Today, I work as full-time freelance photographer, teach photography part-time and work as creation speaker. But as a result of my days with Campus Crusade, I still have a heart and passion for ministry. I want to bless people through my photography and Bible verse of the day. I hope you enjoy this site! Finally, I encourage you to get outside to enjoy God’s creation and dig into God’s Word daily. Blessings!