O Lord, how excellent is thy name!

It is good to be back; although I spent the last three days marvelling at God's amazingly wonderful creation, and could have stayed there forever. I spent this time in a natural reserve where the ancient city of Ascalon once stood. It is incredible to see nature untouched - as it should be - unspoilt by human indifference towards nature.

It made me think a lot about Psalm 8:

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength
because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet:

All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,
and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

This takes me back to the very beginning - to Genesis 1:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.    Genesis 1:26-28

God has given us responsibility over nature; and just as with everything else, responsibility means to look after - not to abuse!

Please, let us try to be kinder to nature - to the animals, the plants, the water, the soil and everything else that God has so perfectly crafted for us to enjoy. Let us not be ungrateful; and let us show our appreciation by being respectful to the works of God's hands.

Creation really is beautiful! Let us enjoy it as God intended...

Stay blessed and stay tuned,

Alpha Omega