Tuesday, August 18, 2020

A wander through some holiday snaps

 

 


 Geoff Oates write about Castles: 

After beaches, the great staple of the English holiday outing is…the castle. Since childhood I have spent countless happy hours exploring every tower, every battlement, every spiral staircase and every dungeon I could get into from Dover to Dunstanburgh and from the Rhine to the Alps.

 

From ancient times the best castles stood on hilltops, as you see in the picture of Bamburgh on the Northumberland coast. It stands as testament to the colour and romance of the Middle Ages, and speaks of strength, confidence and security. They offered shelter and protection to people and livestock.

 

One of the most common and powerful images for God in our Old Testament scriptures is ‘Rock’.  Psalm 62: The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer’ I could have mentioned Psalm 18, Proverbs 18, 2 Samuel 22….and many more. The image is not of a mere pile of stone, but of a fortified hilltop. ‘Strong tower’ is another common image.

 

David, the warrior King, chose the rock of Zion, the highest of the hills that now make up Jerusalem, as his stronghold.

 

A Rock is not just of shelter and security in times of turmoil, but a vantage point, a watchtower from where we have a clearer, broader vision of all that surrounds us.

 

Even when we feel life is hemming us in, besieging us with trials, God our Rock gives us safety, and hope and perspective for the future.

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