Easter

Easter is just around the corner, so I have been spending a-lot of time thinking about the cross. I did a sketch a few weeks ago and felt led to create a bigger piece. This drawing is Charcoal and Oil Pastel and measures 22" x 30". It was really freeing to work at this size. I have read Mathew 27:50-52 a number of times and always wondered what the scene must have looked like. Well, I still can't wrap my brain around it, but I can imagine that it was powerful. I am thankful each day for the sacrifice and blown away by a God that so loves me that he was willing to send his one and only son to die for my sins.

Matthew 27:50-52 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.

Pierced

Hazy Calm

Life at times feels this way; hazy yet calm.  Most of my life has been spent charging full speed toward my latest set of goals / ambitions.  Today I feel like God is telling me to slow down, soak in his presence, and enjoy the calm.  
My prayer is that God will grant me the patients to slow down and just drink him in.  I don't know about you, but my soul could use a good filling.

Mathew 11:28-29
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Angel

Matthew 18:10 (New International Version)
"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

I sketched this one last night while hanging out with my boys who were both laying on the couch running fevers. I am very thankful that God is looking out for our little ones and I am very thankful I live in the age of Tylenol....

Update: Kids are feeling better and reader John posted the following verse.  Thought I would share on the main page.  Thx John...  

Hebrews 1:14

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

One Thing

This is the first Painting that I have posted in a while. I started this one just before I separated my shoulder in a skateboarding accident. I was able to draw with my sling on, but painting was to painful. Now that my shoulder is mobile again painting has proven good physical therapy. God works in cools ways. I finished this painting late Saturday night while listening to Matt Redman on Pandora (cool online radio that allows you to create personal stations). I didn't think about it again until Sunday when a group of students were sharing about the One Thing conference hosted by IHOP.org (International House of Prayer). They shared the verse Psalm 27:4. I flipped my bible open and read it and thought of the image I had just finished the night before.

Psalm 27: 4

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and seek him in his temple.

5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Art has proven to be a journey for me. I am not sure where it is going, but I plan to continue posting how God is working in my life. Hopefully you enjoy the ride....

Oasis

Last night I found myself sketching a couple of street musicians. As the drawing evolved it turned into a picture that depicts both hope and despair. I have read a-lot about the various tragedies across the globe and my heart goes out to those who are suffering from the effects of the earth quakes in Haiti and Chile (www.childhope.org). After reading about these events I immediately felt compelled to help with prayer and finances. I believe God is showing me through this drawing that my prayers and finances are needed in my backyard as well. Two local groups that ligitimately help the community are Fish Food Bank and the Union Gospel Mission

My Prayer is that the Lord will grant me a giving heart and eyes that see the needs around me.

Matthew 25:37-40 (New International Version)

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Rain down

Hebrews 10:22-25
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.   And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.   Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

New Creation

2 Corinthians 5

 ¹Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ²Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷We live by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Elements

I drew this last night while listening to Shawn McDonald's Live in Seattle CD.  It is one of my favorites and very soulful.  This drawing makes me think of all the elements of baptism.  Water, Fire and the Holy Spirit.  They all work together to bring us closer to Christ.  Many of us have experienced baptism by water as a symbol of our Faith, but it is only through Faith that we can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  It is my prayer that my Faith would continue to grow and that I will submit anew to Christ each day.  Only through this submission will I experience the fruits of the Spirit.
 Mathew 3:11-12 I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Movement

Our faith will only be visible to others through our movements or actions. While reading James this week I was hit anew by "faith is dead without works". I then read my friend Austin's blog about movement and it all sort of came together. My prayer this week is that God will help me to move in Faith even if it is way outside my comfort zone. For those of you who know me it is my hope that you catch me in one of these acts of Faith.


James 2:14-24 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

A single action changed everything

- I superimposed this drawing over a photo from space and was confronted by the following thought. Christs death was a covering for every person big or small, young or old, living, and not yet born. It was a single action that paved the way for all. As a father I am continually blown away by the fact that God was willing to send his one and only son to earth to cover the sins of the world. For those out there that don't think that God loves you, consider the fact that he was willing to sacrifice Jesus so that you could have the assurance of everlasting life. I never fully appreciated this until my first son was born. Every time I think about it I am blown away and left in awe.

Grace

Romans 6:1-14

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Just a quick update on my separated shoulder. I have had a ton of prayer and it is working. It has been less than three weeks in what is supposed to be a 8 to 12 week recovery and I am able to draw again. The Doc gave me the green light to take the sling off and I am regaining strength and movement. I am feeling very blessed.