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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

WOYWW: The Writing on the Wall

 Last night I was preparing some small canvases for painting.
I was gluing on book paper, and also applying gesso.
Can't tell you what I'm planning next as 
I just go with the flow!!!!

 "Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace." Daniel 5:5


 Sometimes, people use the expression, "You can see the writing on the wall" to signify an imminent danger or something bad is about to happen.  This cliche has its origins in the story of Daniel and King Belshazzar. One evening the King gave a great feast for a thousand nobles and used the gold and silver cups that had been stolen from the temple in Jerusalem.  Suddenly a disembodied hand started writing on the wall a judgement against the King. I was thinking it would be great if we could see writing on the wall every time we took a wrong turn, or made some bad choices. Unfortunately dramatic things that happened in the Bible don't seem to be commonplace today. I suppose that is because God has already left His writings in an easily accessible location- His book! It is so easy to know God's mind and heart today. We just need to open the bible and get to know Jesus. Whoever knows Jesus knows the Father!

 "And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don't panic." Luke 21:9

When you see images of carnage, bloody sieges on TV, do not be afraid. Is this possible? The people on the streets of Paris, in Brussels, Bamako, can they be steadfast and unafraid? Those people in New York, in Washington, in Beirut, in Baghdad, can they walk their streets confident that all will be well? In Hebrew, the word for safety is "Yeshua". Jesus is our safety. Jesus is our deliverance. Indeed the safest place for you and me is within the will of God!



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!

I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy
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Wednesday, November 18, 2015

WOYWW: Flowers of God's Hope

 This is what I have been doing recently.

While watching all the horrific news on CNN, I have been painting flowers. 
Perhaps to remind myself that out of the filthiest and smelliest garbage, 
God can make a beautiful garden. 

 "O Lord, how many are my adversaries! How many rise up against me!" Psalm 3:1
I am thinking that we are watching the end of the world as we know it. We have enemies who want to destroy our way of life, our friendships, our businesses, our peace, our every day joys. They are threatening to invade our cities and our lives. I imagine that they are gleefully watching TV and seeing how their actions fill our screens front, center and sideways. We cannot hide from them our horror, our anxiety, our confusion.

 How do we combat the enemy without? By strengthening ourselves and our brothers and sisters from within. By prayer, prayer, prayer. By spreading the light which pushes back darkness. By doing good and being kind. By being generous, helpful, loving. By brightening our corner of the world. In every place there is the muck of evil, flowers of God's hope and faith grow in hearts that live in the light.

 "Why did you doubt Me?" Matthew 14:13
In today's Gospel reading, the disciples "were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had arisen, and they were fighting heavy waves". Where was Jesus? He was praying up in the hills. At about 3 am, Jesus appeared, walking on the water towards them. When the disciples caught sight of him, they screamed in terror, apparently thinking He was a ghost. Can you imagine these strong, tough men, screaming? Apparently they were more afraid of ghosts than strong winds.
Jesus then spoke to them, and they calmed down. "It's all right. Get a hold of yourselves. I am here. Do not be afraid." Then Peter spoke up and said, "Lord, if it is really You, tell me to come to you across the water." "Come!" Jesus said. So Peter got out of the boat, and began to walk on water. At first it is awesome, but when Peter looked around at the darkness, and the heavy winds, he got frightened and began to sink. "SAVE ME!" he shouted. Jesus put out His hand and caught him. "Why did you falter? Why did you doubt Me?"
Sometimes we are called to get out of our comfort zone, to do something that would require God's intervention. During those times, we get to face the darkness of our fears, and the strong winds of our insecurities. But those are the times we also discover the power of God, and what he can do in our life. We just need to never lose sight of Jesus!



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!

I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy
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Friday, November 13, 2015

Paint Party Friday: Wonderful Music!

 "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man." Luke 17:26

During the end times Jesus tells us, it would be much like in the time of Noah, when people mocked what Noah was doing, and they continued with their licentious ways. Today there are many "prophets" saying we are in the end times, and whether we are or not, what is true is we are nearer than at any time in history.  We should not wait for bad things to happen before we think about turning to God. 

There is a story of Paganini, the great violinist.  He was going to play before an audience when he realized that the violin in his hand was not the valuable violin he was used to. He stood paralyzed for a moment, told his audience about the mistake, and went backstage to look for his violin. When he realized it had been stolen and replaced with an old second hand instrument, he went onstage and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I will show you that the music is not in the instrument, but in the soul." That night Paganini played as he had never played before, and the audience was enraptured.

 How wonderful if we mere mortals could give to our God the most wonderful music whatever the circumstances of our life. Whether it is our body that is battered with sickness, or we are in financial difficulty, or we have insurmountable problems, like Paganini, we can triumph in the arena of life.  And it will not matter if we are in the end times or the beginning of the end times or nowhere near the end times! 


"The reign of God is already in your midst." Luke 17:21


Most people think of the Bible as a religious book, but it is really a testament, a covenant between a King and His people. It is amazing that God wants us to know His heart, what His will and intent​ is.​ That is why the Bible was written- so we would have a record of what God did to make us His very own.  ​The Kingdom of god is already in our midst, Jesus said. We are part of his royal family, as we are children of the King. Myles Munroe, an evangelist, once said that God had a colonization project. He wanted to expand His kingdom, to make earth a colony of heaven. Are we doing our part as God's children to bring His plan about?


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patsy
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Wednesday, November 11, 2015

WOYWW: Attitude of Gratitude


 "Praise God I'm healed!" Luke 17:15

When Jesus entered a village on His way to Jerusalem, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out to Him. "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!!!"  Jesus did not even go near them, but said, "Go show yourselves to the priests!" They went off and as they walked, they were healed.  Only one of them came back to Jesus, fell down at His feet, to praise and thank Him. "Where are the other nine?" Jesus asked, and turning to the healed man He said, "Stand up and go. Your faith has saved you."
   
 Every day, God rains down good gifts on every body. It is a good practice to "search" and "recognize" those gifts. To not feel we are entitled to everything we have. That we have this and that because we worked hard for it, because we deserve it, or we received it by chance. When I wake up in the morning, and I do not have a back ache, I should be grateful. I should say thank you to God that I have clothes on my back, shoes to put on, food on my table, electricity, water, wifi, and I do not need to fear that a bomb might destroy my house.  God shows us undeserved kindness ALL THE TIME! And if we live with an attitude of gratitude instead of murmuring and complaining about things that don't go our way, we can have a fuller, more victorious life!

​"God formed man to be imperishable."  Wisdom 2:23


​There have been many documented cases of near death experiences. ​ Even some doctors have gotten into studying this phenomenon and concluded that "the modern tradition of equating death with an ensuing nothingness can be abandoned." (Dr. Larry Dossey) In St.Paul's letter to the Hebrews, he says that we are to die once, and then to face judgement. (Heb. 9:27) In Revelation 14:13, it says that the dead will rest from their labor, and their deeds will follow them. Do not these verses mean that whatever we do here on earth, has consequences in the life to come? 

There are many verses in the bible which says that Jesus is the appointed Judge (2 Cor.5:10, Acts 17:31, John 5:22, Romans 2:16, etc.)  Is it not wise therefore to form a relationship with the Judge, to even make a friend of Him, so that when we see Him face to face, He will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" Or better yet, "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my father I have made known to you!" (John 15:15)



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!

I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy
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Friday, November 06, 2015

Paint Party Friday: Rejoice with Me!

Here is what I painted on my Bible this morning
and yesterday morning.

 "Give an account of your stewardship..." Luke 16:2
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager in the 16th chapter of Luke is not as popular as the Parable of the Prodigal Son which precedes it. I know its because it is quite difficult to understand. Every time I come across it, i just want to ignore it. Here we have a rich man with a steward who did not do a good job of taking care of his property. He asks the steward to give account of what he has been doing. This shrewd man, knowing he was losing his job, went to each of his master's debtors, and one by one, reduced their debt by 20 to 50%!!!! When the Master learns about this crafty move, he PRAISES the steward for his shrewdness. Now what's that all about?

 When the steward reduced the debts of his master's debtors, he was taking care of his future. He knew that by helping these men, they would be indebted to him, and they would take care of him. This would ensure that he would not have to dig ditches nor would he have to go begging. If we are shrewd, we act with wisdom, insight and astuteness. It's a word often used with good business people. Jesus is saying in this parable, that business people are shrewd because they think and plan ahead, and make good use of their money. Sons of light, or us Christians, should also be shrewd in thinking and planning for our future. We should use our money to lay treasures in heaven. Do we pray about our budget, do we put our resources in God's hands? Do we have a long term perspective about our money, investing in God's work, helping to spread His kingdom on earth? When we do that, we are putting treasure in the heavenly vault. We need not fear devaluation, or thieves getting in and stealing it! Lord, help me to be shrewd about our money. Help me to trust and obey You when it comes to our finances personally, and also in our business. Thank You!

 "Rejoice with me!" Luke 15:9
In Jesus' time, one usually knew a woman was married if she wore a headdress with 10 silver coins. This was usually a dowry from her father to provide for her family if times got tough. The woman in Jesus' parable of the lost coin, was probably searching for one of the coins from her headdress. That is why she was so frantic and anxious. It was very precious to her. It was valuable and had much significance. Every day she would wear her headdress, and she would know immediately, when she took it off to keep it at night, that one of them was missing. After sweeping every nook and cranny of her home, she found it, she rejoiced and called her neighbors to rejoice with her. She celebrated with an impromptu party!

We are that lost coin. Just as that Greek drachma had the face of Caesar inscribed, each of us bears the image and likeness of our Creator. When Jesus told this parable to the righteous Pharisees, He was telling them how precious and valuable each tax collector is to Him, each sinner. God pursues us, each one of us, as if we are that lost coin on His headdress. We have a place reserved for us. As there is a place reserved for the Pharisee who rejects Him. Thank you Lord that we are precious to You! That You will pursue as no matter what! That is such a comfort for me who sometimes acts likes a Pharisee!

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