I recently saw an article on the BBC news about the Rock Churches of Lalibela Ethiopia. These churches have been identified as World Historical Monuments and are located in a mountainous region north of Addis Ababa. In total there are eleven ancient churches which were carved directly out of solid rock. The article noted that more rock churches are still being constructed today. What was so amazing was the man currently building a rock church. He stated like the previous builders, he had no architectural plans or construction designs before beginning. They simply started building under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and moved with Him to create the building. The end result is nothing short of an architectural miracle, especially considering the tools they use to create these beautiful churches. The interiors are elaborately designed and the tunnel systems between churches and the housing units are intelligently crafted. There are arch doorways, complex windows, tall columns, various floors and artistic ceilings. Additionally, there is an extensive drainage system of ditches, trenches, and walkways. The original churches were started by King Lalibela whose desire was to build a ‘New Jerusalem’ in the 12th Century after Christian pilgrimages to Jerusalem had been stopped by Muslims. The churches were designed in two major groups.
To view the complete video you can see the BBC report here. Additional video is also below from Youtube but it does not contain the rock carver interview in the BBC video.
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My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:27-28 Jesus didn't say, "My sheep will know my book." He said His sheep would know His voice and follow Him. Anyone can read the bible. Many unbelievers know the book. Even the devil quotes scripture. But only those whose lives are dependent upon the Holy Spirit will hear the Shepherd's voice. Hearing His voice, they follow Him. Their lives line up with His words. They love and forgive. The promise of hearing the Shepherd's voices should never be misunderstood to mean He is speaking "new" things today for believers. His voice is the eternal voice, God has always spoken. Any word for the Lord will ALWAYS be confirmed by written Word (the Bible) and will also be in agreement with his Spirit of grace. The Voice of the Lord will confirm that you are His. You are forgiven by the blood of the Heavenly Lamb. By faith in Him, you are eternally secure in His Grace and by His Power. The Lord wants to comfort your hearts, free you from sin and fear. Your spirit transcends the physical and is more important than your physical location. You CAN be somewhere in spirit separate from your body, as evident by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:3. Your spirit can pray in your bedroom and shake or transform the other side of the world if necessary! In the Spirit you are seated in heaven with Jesus. From His throne you reign with Christ. Every enemy is under your feet! That should give you happy thoughts! Ephesians Chapter 2 Earlier I spoke about how Heavy Burdens can keep us from the freedom and peace we have in Christ. This happens when we don't give the Lord our troubles. But did you know that there are many positive things in our lives that can become burdens too? Many hopes, dreams, and goals we want to achieve occupy much of our attention. It is good to have visions of a better future and positive goals we are striving to reach. But there is also a time when these assets can become burdens as we become obsessed with them manifesting. The most obvious example would be the person desiring to be in better physical health who might be struggling with losing weight. Their positive goal becomes an negative obsession as achieving the goal produces constant mediation on everything to do with their weight. They might starve themselves to lose weight. Or they might perform other unhealthy cleanses. Then when the number on the scale doesn't decline in the time they wanted, they berate themselves. This demeaning and self-depreciating cycle is not what the Lord would have His child to endure. Most of the time our dreams need to be partnered with God, but we don't think to included Him in the process. Instead, we put our nose to the grind stone and work continually to obtain the results by self-effort, elbow grease, or our own smarts. These are the methods the world uses to gain wealth. But Christians have a better way... Jesus wants to work on our behalf. As our hands put to work should be combined with continued communication with the Holy Spirit for direction. The Spirit can inform us of when to move forward, when to stop, and even when to change directions. As we listen to God's guidance, our paths will be directed in the way in which God knows is best. Through His guidance, we be able to avoid pitfalls and other bad circumstances. Additionally, thankfulness and gratitude to the Lord will also bring awareness of the positive steps you have gained during the journey to your dreams. And then, there are times when what we think we want isn't really what is best for us. Changing dreams and goals can be difficult. It may feel like failure to lay down a dream or when setbacks occur. By keeping connected to your identity in Jesus and trusting even your dreams to Him, you can have peace in the midst of setbacks. Failures will be seen for what they truly are: opportunities to learn and grown. God wants to walk with you in your future. He will assist you in the journey of growth and the way to your dreams. Give Him your positive burdens and know He is partnering with you to bring them to fruition. You will be blessed because of Jesus. “So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:4
Recently, I began to re-read some of my older Christian books on the shelf. For January, I selected The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith. In the third chapter, I read Hannah's description of the average Christian, which I have paraphrased below...
"Most Christians are like a man who was walking along the road, bending over under the weight of a heavy backpack. When a wagon came along and saw him, the driver stopped and kindly offered to help him along his journey. The traveler joyfully accepted the offer of help. Once seated in the wagon, he continued to be bent forward beneath the weight of the pack, which was still upon his shoulders. The driver asked, "Why do you not lay your burden down in the wagon?" The traveler replied, "Oh, I feel that it is too much to ask of you sir, to carry both me and my burden too."
Hannah was very astute to see this HUGE problem in the Church. We are so excited for Jesus to save us, but we don't fully grasp the fullness of the salvation He offers. Jesus said, "Come to me all who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 Yet, too many Christians continue under heavy burdens, growing more tired each day. Much of our happiness is drained by these troubles. Our burdens are the fears, anxieties, addictions, worries, anger, unforgiveness, guilt, physical ailments, money, and other emotional baggage.
We need to realize we were never meant to carry these burdens. Jesus created you. He understands exactly how you are wired; what's happened to you; and your amazing destiny. He is far more equipped to deal with your struggles than you are. As your Lord, it is His desire and responsibility to care for you and all your needs. The difficulty often lies with us. It seems silly that we are able to trust God for our eternal salvation but able to not trust Him to deal with our finances or battle the hidden things in our heart that cause us fear or worry. On a daily basis, we allow these burdens to consume our thoughts and actions in the mistaken belief we can control or fix them. Most times, we cannot. Our focusing on troubles only leads to disappointment, discouragement, and disillusionment. But God has freedom for us, if we will dare to lay our burdens in His care. I realize it's a hard thing to lay down your burdens in the daily care of the Lord. Sometimes, it requires you to continually put them back into His hands once you realize that you've taken them back and are ruminating on them again. When you realize how much He loves you, it makes it easier to trust Him to handle your burdens. If you feel you can't turn everything over to God right now, than try trusting God with just one thing today. Give God one aspect of your life you can't handle or don't want to bother you any more. Then if any thoughts surrounding that issue come back into your mind, go back in prayer to God and apologize. Ask God again to take this issue and give it to Him. Thank Him for carrying not only the burden but for working it out in your favor. Then know God is working on your issue, even if you don't see any immediate resolution. As you learn to trust God in one area, your faith will grow and you will be able to give Him more and more areas and burdens. Ultimately, every burden should be placed in God's hands. He is strong enough to care for you and carry every trouble that would plague you. God is willing and able to save you to the utmost. Take His yoke, it is light and easy. Like many of the lower 48 States, Alaska received a lot of snow recently. At one point, we had 8 to 9 inches fall in less than 24 hours. With the fresh snowfall came many outside chores. I spent many hours shoveling and snowblowing the walkways, part of the parking lot, and the areas not quite cleared by the plow along the driveway. At our home, I need to regularly access the propane tanks for the kitchen stove, the woodpile, and the garbage shed. After I finished shoveling out those priorities, I cleared the way to the emergency generator. My son, Jared, was charged with clearing off the back deck. This is where our dogs usually hang out when they are outside part of the day. Jared tried diligently to work but kept having a problem. Finally I came outside to help. While Jared was working to clear the snow, his dog thought he needed help. Of course, Gus didn't help in the normal sense of the word. Instead Gus decided Jared needed to be rescued from the snow shovel. I love how our crazy pets make life so funny! And I just had to share this video with you too. Today I celebrated my 45th birthday. I don't usually keep track of exactly how old I am, though I seem to love each new year I turn. With each year, I feel more confident in myself and my abilities. It's sad how we waste so much of our youth on being self-conscious, concerned about what others will or will not think of us. I love the person I'm becoming, which changes with new knowledge and experience each day of my life. I truly appreciate the little positive things in life and the irreplaceable people I know. I receive so much love from my family and friends and even our animals. There is so much to be grateful for in life. Today, as I reflect on Renvek Larson, one of my favorite little people, I remember the ability to grow old is a privilege denied to many. I am thankful for all the birthday wishes and wish you all another year of wonder too!
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Sharon Aubrey
An Alaskan Author, Prospector, Homeschool Teacher, Ordained Minister, I welcome your comments! Before you post, please see my
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