Hear the Story

I remember experiencing my first West Texas thunderstorm. The lightning-strikes and thunder-rolls were unforgettable. Everything else in my life seemed to stand still till the storm passed. I was amazed!

While we were living in Lubbock, Texas, I first heard of a young girl who was also captivated by thunder storms. Once the thunder and lightning got close enough to fill the sky, she ran to the living room and pulled back the drapes.

She stood there frozen in time, smiling at the sky ... amazed!

When Mom walked past the doorway, she saw her little girl standing in front of their big picture window, staring into the sky. "Honey," she cried, "get away from the window. Aren't you afraid?"

Just at that moment a thunderous flash of lightning filled the sky and rattled the walls

"No, I'm not afraid. God's taking my picture!"

Find the Story

Ask a friend: "If God took pictures of you for his family album, what would you be doing? Where would you be?"

Listen carefully to the story behind the answer, a story about humbling and testing. These are personal, Kodak moments of faith.

Be the Story

Now, what snapshots of you would be in God's Family Album? One thing is for sure, all God's family pictures are candid and unexpected. Perhaps there is a current challenge or amazement that God wants to put in His Book of Life? Could it be?

Find a friend and tell about the pictures that God may have of you in His book. We need these confession times. Think of it this way, God calls over the angels and proudly says, "Let me show you my pictures of _____________ (your name)." Wow!

What snapshots would be in God's family album?
A Word from Ron

If God took pictures of your life on earth, what snapshots would be in his family album? God DOES record our moments in his Book of Life. And, because of Jesus, our "Book of Life" snapshots are victorious moments of testing—the times when we were intimately dependent on our Father-God. The snapshots that make it into the Book of Life are pictures of humility and new depth of faith and personal dependence. Our failures and shortcomings are not there; they have been ripped from the album and thrown into the deepest part of the sea. (Psalm 103:1-13)

Though some of God's pictures may surprise us, they are all unforgettable. They are holy moments of honor.

Moses described God's snapshots of Israel in the wilderness this way:

"Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would really obey his commands." (Deuteronomy 8:2)

James puts it this way in the New Testament:

"So humble yourselves before God ... Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you ... When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor." (James 4: 7-10)

Today may be a photo-op, so live like it.