Fort Matanzas Beach - “What Shall a Man Give in Exchange for his Soul?

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Mark 8:34-38

Lake Junaluska - I Confess with My Mouth “Jesus is LORD”

 

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:9-13

Shores Drive Park, Moultrie Creek - “Everlasting Light”

 

19The sun will no more be your light by day,

nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,

for the Lord will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

20Your sun will never set again,

and your moon will wane no more;

the Lord will be your everlasting light,

and your days of sorrow will end.

Isaiah 60:19-20

Pikes Peak Summit, Rocky Mountains - “How Beautiful Upon the Mountains”

“How beautiful upon the mountains 
Are the feet of him 
who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace, 
Who brings glad tiding of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
Your God reigns!”

Isaiah 5:27

Paradise, New Zealand - “My Sheep Listen to My Voice”

 

The time came for the Festival of Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple, walking in the covered porch named for Solomon.  The Jewish opposition circled around him and asked, “How long will you test our patience?  If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  Jesus answered, “I have told you, but you don’t believe.  The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you don’t believe because you don’t belong to my sheep.  My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me.  I give them eternal life. They will never die, and no one will snatch them from my hand.

John 10:22-28

Garden of God - “Find Rest for Your Souls”

 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

MATTHEW 11:28-29 (NIV)

Crescent Beach - “Christ Died for Us”

 

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

Bad Axe, Michigan - “Strong Roots in Love”

 

Paul wrote, “I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers.”

EPHESIANS 3:17-18 (CEB)

Marineland - “Behold, God is My Salvation”

“Behold, God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God[a] is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:2

Glacier National Park - “Obey God Rather than Men”

 

Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.”   At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.
The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.   “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!”

Acts 5:25-29

Little River Road, Smokey Mountains - “Speak through Me”

 

Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and don’t return there without watering the earth . . . so is my word that comes from my mouth; it does not return to me empty. Instead, it does what I want, and accomplishes what I intend.

ISAIAH 55:10-11 (CEB)

Badlands, South Dakota - “Rend Your Hearts”

 

Rend Your Hear

“Even now,” declares the Lord,

    “return to me with all your heart,

    with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

Rend your heart

    and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God,

    for he is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and abounding in love,

    and he relents from sending calamity.

Joel 2:12-13

Badlands National Park, South Dakota - “Dust to Dust You Shall Return”

 

I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment
    both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
    a time to judge every deed.”

I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.  Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals;  the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other.   All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless.  All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. 

Ecclesiastes 3:17-20

Lake Junaluska, Blue Ridge Mountains - “The Word of our God Endures Forever”

 

 

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:8

Big Witch Overlook, Smokey Mountains - “The Strength of My Heart”

 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

PSALM 73:26 (NIV)

Colorado River, Rocky Mountains - “LORD, You Know Me”

 

LORD, you have examined me.  You know me.  You know when I sit down and when I stand up. Even from far away, you comprehend my plans.  You study my traveling and resting.  You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.  There isn’t a word on my tongue, LORD, that you don’t already know completely.  You surround me—front and back.  You put your hand on me.  That kind of knowledge is too much for me; it’s so high above me that I can’t fathom it.

Psalm 139:1-6

Great Smokey Mountains - “Do You Not Know? Do You Not Hear?”

 

Do you not know? Do you not hear? 
Has it not been told you from the beginning? 
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, 
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; 
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, 
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 
Who brings princes to nothing, 
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

Isaiah 40:21-23

Denali National Park, Alaska - “A Voice Cries in the Wilderness”

 

A voice cries:  “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.  And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

Isaiah 40:3-5

Shores Drive Park - “Each Night I Sing His Songs”

 

 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, 

and through each night I sing his songs, 

praying to God who gives me life.

Psalm 42:8

Cheyenne Mountain, El Paso County - “God-Breathed”

 

 God has breathed life into all of Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right.

2 Timothy 3:16

Pikes Peak Summit - “My Soul Yearns for You”

 

Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws,we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. 

My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

Isaiah 26:8-9

Shores Waterfront Park - “Be My Love in the Rain”

 

Oh, come forth into the storm and rout  
And be my love in the rain.

Robert Frost

Yosemite Falls, California - “Be Not Conformed to this World”

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:2

Grand Tetons, Wyoming - “It Shall be Said In that Day, Lo this is our God”

 

And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Isaiah 25:9

Juney Whank Falls, Deep Creek Loop Trail, Smokey Mountains - “Love Brings Freedom”

1 Let my whole being bless the LORD! Let everything inside me bless his holy name! 2 Let my whole being bless the LORD and never forget all his good deeds: 3 how God forgives all your sins, heals all your sickness, 4 saves your life from the pit, crowns you with faithful love and compassion, 5 and satisfies you with plenty of good things so that your youth is made fresh like an eagle’s.

Psalm 103:1-5

Brasstown Bald Mountain, Appalachian Mountains - “Our Comforter In Times Of Trouble”

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4 (NIV)

Fort Matanzas Beach - “Examine My Heart and My Mind”

 Test me, LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.

Psalm 26:2-3

North Beach, Florida - “Mightier than the Waves of the Sea”

 

Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty.

Psalm 93:4

Old Fall Rivers Road, Rocky Mountains - He Who Drinks Will Never Thirst

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 4:14