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Friday, March 13, 2015

Paint Party Friday: Finger of God!

 I started another flower canvas and here is how it is progressing so far.

 Yesterday, we were fixing in our new
papemelroti DIY branch in Gateway Tower Mall.
My brother Robert painted on our counter
and included Oreo, our office mascot.

 Here is the finished counter!
He did not even make pencil guidelines
to paint this!

And this is our friend Cel who is making samples
of DIY projects.

 "Excellent, teacher!" Mark 12:32
What an amazing exchange this is between Jesus and a scribe! The scribe tests Jesus with the simplest question: " Which is the first of all the commandments?" And Jesus gives the obvious answer that we should love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. And Jesus adds that "The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Then the scribe PRAISES Jesus enthusiastically: "Excellent!!! You are soooo right!!!" Perhaps this is accompanied by a clapping of hands, or a pat on the back! Do you not find this exchange amusing? I do! But Jesus does not view this man with amusement. He congratulates the scribe with approval, saying, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."

To me this shows that sometimes we make faith too complicated. We should just go back to the basics of what God wants from us. Basically it is a heart issue. God wants our heart. He wants us to be like little children who desires nothing less than to love Him and to love others as well. After all, is this not what anyone who loves desires? To be loved in return?
Father, may I see Your love for me for what it truly is- all-encompassing, all forgiving, all accepting! Your loving kindness and graciousness can never be measured. May I love You with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength. And may I see my neighbor through your loving eyes, so I may love him too!

 "by the finger of God..." Luke 11:20
This is the first time I've noticed this verse in the Bible. In the 11th chapter of Luke, Jesus casts out a spirit from a man who could not speak, and He said, "But if it is by the FINGER OF GOD that I cast out devils, then the reign of God is upon you."
That's bad news for people who don't believe in Jesus, who think He is a fictional character, or even just a prophet.
The first time this phrase appears in the Hebrew Bible is in the Book of Exodus, chapter 8, verse 19, when the magicians of Pharaoh, impressed by the miracle where all the dust of Egypt turned into lice, proclaimed, "This is the FINGER OF GOD." The second time is in Exodus 31:18: "As the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mt. Sinai, He gave him two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the Covenant, written by the FINGER OF GOD." The third and last time the phrase appears in the Hebrew Bible, Moses says in Deuteronomy 9:10, "The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the FINGER OF GOD."

This is just one of the many things Jesus said that proves He is claiming to be God, I think. Although many listened to Him and believed, many more rejected Him and His teachings. The Pharisees and teachers of religious law were furious with Him and hostile, such that they were always looking for ways to trap Him with their questions.
How about us? Do we believe that Jesus is God, that we want to listen to Him and obey? Or are we looking for proof that He is not God, so we do not have to take heed of His Words and change the way we live?
Lord, may I allow You to write Your Words in my heart and free me from all the ideas that do not come from You!

 "Teach them to your children and your children's children." Deuteronomy 4:9
Moses and the people who followed him as they journeyed to the Promised Land saw a lot of miracles and received many special gifts from God. One of those special gifts were the "statutes" He taught them, "that you may live...observe them carefully...However...take care not to forget the things which your eyes have seen...but teach them to your children and your children's children."
The root of the word "statute" is a word meaning "to engrave", and refers to a permanent, unchangeable rule of conduct prescribed by an authority. "That you may live..." shows God's desire to give us eternal life. Thus obedience to His Words, the bread of life, ensures this.
Through the years, the Word of God has been watered down, made palatable, more acceptable. To be a Christian, it is said, we need only to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. To be a radical Christian, we need only to wear a t-shirt with a Christian message. But it is clear in the Bible that if we do not separate ourselves from the things of this world, we might as well be an atheist! We cannot wear clothes that Myley Cyrus wears, listen to foul mouthed music, watch pornographic movies and TV shows about people doing bad things, read the books and magazines that the world does, and still call ourselves Christian. We are not a Christian country if every day so many babies are killed, if so much of our taxes are lost to corruption while children suffer because of a bad education and child care.

We can't be Christian if we live as if God did not give us "statutes", engraved laws, unchangeable laws to live by. We can't just say Jesus is Lord and not show any evidence that He is! One day, Jesus might just say, "Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord, will enter Heaven, but ONLY the one who does the will of my Father." Oops! He DID say exactly that in Matthew 7:21.
If we want our children and our children's children to get into heaven, we know what we have to do!!!

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2 comments:

  1. Teresa Arsenault8:04 AM

    I like how you brought out "the finger of God" part of what Jesus said, depicting it as a dove flying from his finger.
    Your whole family is so talented. You know I love your paintings and your brothers mural is gorgeous too.
    Blessing hugs,
    Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown3:55 AM

    Your pictures always catch my eye in the linkups! Thanks for speaking truth here. Like Teresa, I really found the finger of God verses so interesting and beautiful. Blessings to you!
    Jenni

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I am so glad you dropped by! You are a blessing!
:^) Patsy