Touched by God

A moment of pure inspiration,  heart pumping emotion, a flood of compassion, overwhelming joy,  a time of selfless behavior, a place of freedom, a cocoon of safety, a tightrope to be walked, a challenge larger than you can handle, and the knowledge that through him all things are possible.
When your heart is willing God will challenge, teach, strengthen and guide you.  God will take you on the adventure of your life and allow you to feel deeper than you ever thought possible.  God's touch is real, he is creative, and he will invade your heart if you allow him in. 

2 Corinthians 4:6
⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

One Act

While reading Daniel the other day I took a few notes in the free space of my bible.  I was captured by the text specifically the prophesy that a time was coming where many would be purified.  That prophesy was fulfilled in Jesus, and his sacrifice is still purifying hearts today.

The Curtain was Torn

 

In a moment everything was changed.  The Veil (curtain) was torn.  One Man had paid for all,  past, present, and future.  Today while reading in my bible I was reminded that I have direct access to God through Jesus, a privileged that Jesus paid dearly for.  My prayer today is that I would be granted a mustard seeds worth of faith in order that I might exercise some of the grace that Jesus has already bestowed upon me.  I pray that I may see others through the eyes of Jesus and allow him to work through me to show His love.

Walking in the Spirit

Yesterday on a flight I met a very interesting man named Darrel. I had been reading my bible and then picked up my sketch book and began to draw.  It is tight quarters on an airplane, so I often find that I have an audience when sketching.  Darrel asked me what the drawing meant.  I explained to him that many times my sketches sort of just evolve and I really don't know what they will become until I finish.  They tend to revolve around my bible study, and the sketching allows me to turn my thoughts into visual images.  The lines interconnect and form pictures and the pictures express the way my brain is processing the scripture I have been reading.. 

I had been reading Romans 11:17-18 "

 "If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,  do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you"

I explained to Darrel that I had been considering what it was like to truly trust God and  walk in his power..  Darrel and I chatted for quite a while and during this time I learned that he was raised in a good home with good morals.  He felt strong convictions for doing the right thing and at the end of the day feels like he has a responsibility to please his parents.
During our conversation Darrel asked me a-lot of questions about my faith, and I had the opportunity to share what God is doing in my life.  I firmly believe that God is looking to graft Darrel into his life giving root.  I pray this evening that Darrel would consider the gift that only God can give and that he would be granted the faith to take that first step.

Psalm 94:18-19

¹⁸ When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
   your unfailing love, LORD, supported me.
¹⁹ When anxiety was great within me,
   your consolation brought me joy.

Impossible things are possible

I have been thinking a-lot about impossible things.   Things that I can't wrap my brain around logically.  Take leading a camel through the eye of a needle (Mark 10:25).  If you consider that in the physical sense it is impossible.  How about a miracle.  By definition  a miracle is: A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is considered to be divine.  When I really stop and think about it impossible things by definition should never happen.  That said we experience things in our lives that can not be explained by logic, science, or mere accident.  Miracles make impossible things possible, and God is the only one who can accomplish a miracle.  Today I am thankful for the small miracles that happen each day.  The fact that my heart continues to beat, that I breath without thinking, that I can give and receive love, and that God has given me the faith to believe that through him the impossible is possible. 

1 Corinthians 13

 ¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Strength

It is not always easy to hold your arms up.  Moses during the battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites grew very tired after holding his hands in the air.  Each time his arms droped the Amalekites would begin to gain the advantage.  Aaron and Hur seeing that Moses's strength was fading fast stepped in and held his arms up.  I was reminded by a friend yesterday that at times we are called to hold our brothers arms up.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Exodus 17:9-13
The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.  Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.  As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.   So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

Abondon

 

Fire that refines

Water that satisfies

Faith to believe

Oh that we may know the gift that only you give

It is our love that you desire

Fewer words more praise

Transformed hearts 

Unveiled eyes

Opened ears

Pure Love

Jesus

Let your light shine

I have known my wife for 20 years. We met in college and it was her beauty that first caught my eye. Her heart for God sealed the deal. Over the years I have seen her faith grow, and experienced Gods light shining through her. This drawing represents what the love of God looks like in her life and how it continues to get brighter each and every day. Lynda you are truly an inspiration and I feel blessed that you are my wife.


“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

One Path

Our lives are complicated! They are wrapped in emotion and tend to be directly affected by our immediate surroundings and state of being. Joy, peace, sorrow, dispare, boardem, excitement, depression, hope, loneliness, love, anxiety, and fear bombard us constantly. Living life without faith leaves one completely vulnerable to the emotional storms of life. Faith in God is a gift. It allows our hearts to stay centered, faith keeps us from going over the deep end, faith allows us to believe that there is more to life than just existence. I am very thankful for the faith that I have found in Jesus Christ.



Ephesians 2:8

New International Version (NIV)

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God