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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

WOYWW 310: Blind Men in Every Way

 Here is my desk this morning.
I am making an invitation for a friend.
I'll have to whitewash the colors so that writing can be seen!
Never mind the other stuff on the table!!!!

 "They were to seek God, yes, to grope for Him..." Acts 17:27
A curious word, GROPE. In other translations we read, "feel their way toward Him", "reach out for Him", or "feel after Him". I remember the story of the blind men and the elephant. They wanted to know what an elephant was and each one of them would grope a part of the animal. One felt the tail and thought the elephant was like a snake, the other the tusk, the other the trunks of its legs. We are like those blind men in every way, trying to grope after God and coming up with our own versions of God UNLESS, and this is a big UNLESS, we are guided by the animal trainer around the elephant. And who's the animal trainer? The Holy Spirit of course!

 In this chapter of the Bible, Paul is preaching in the Areopagus, a place where people make public lectures, the highest court in Athens. He was standing before the Council because they were very curious about his ideas and his beliefs. Some, not all, became believers. We are all created by God and in Ecclesiastes 3:11, it is written that He has put eternity in our heart. I believe this means, we will always be restless, we will never be satisfied, unless we find Him! So its OK to continue to grope, to feel our way to God. The full sentence is, "They were to seek God, yes, to grope for Him and perhaps eventually to find Him- though He is really not far from any one of us."
Holy Spirit, lead me, guide me, so I will find You, the true eternal God!

“It is better for you that I go.” John 16:7
What’s better than Jesus walking the earth, preaching, healing people, loving them? Believe it or not, Jesus not being on the earth! That’s what He said in the 16th chapter of John. “It is much better for you that I go, (it is profitable, expedient, it is for your good, it is for your advantage that I leave you),” Jesus said to the disciples because they were filled with grief. “Unless I go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you, (will not have close fellowship with you, will not be able to partner with you). But if I go, I will send Him to you.”

I am tempted to be skeptical here, but I prefer that truth form my experience, rather than experience form my truth. I prefer to believe Jesus when He says things like that. I can see that if Jesus were still walking the earth, I would have to go where He was to speak to Him, to ask Him about what to do about my problem with the BIR. Instead I can be in my nightclothes, and just ask Him from wherever I am. I can read the Bible and the Spirit can illuminate certain passages for me. I can pray in the Spirit for people I don’t even know because the Spirit knows them and their problems. And the Holy Spirit can speak to a million people all at the same time. The Spirit is more pervasive than the internet or TV or radio because the Spirit can go where those are forbidden or censored. 
Yes Jesus is present in a more powerful way today. He is IN us! And because He is IN us, like the Avengers, we can be more powerful if we work together, pray together, fast together!

Let us not waste this precious gift of the Spirit by belittling it, or not being aware that we have Him in us. Jesus said in Luke 10:19, “I have given you authority…to overcome all the power of the enemy.”



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!
I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy

14 comments:

  1. I've not been here in a while and was happy to be your neighbor at the #smallwonder linkup. Your work is beautiful and this "I prefer truth form my experience than experience form my truth" has me thinking tonight. Thank you!

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  2. Beautiful paintings as always hugs Nikki 2 Happy WOYWW

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  3. have failed to visit for ages too (sorry!) - love the illustrations in your bible. Happy WOYWW Helen 4

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  4. beautiful projects as always :)
    Happy WOYWW thanks for sharing

    Charlie.x #13
    http://craftroomdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/woyww-may-13th.html

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  5. Lovely artwork Patsy, enjoy your week Cheers RobynO#15

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  6. Beautiful paintings and I loved the read thank you :) #31

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  7. Patsy, I just love visiting your blog. You always have the greatest pictures and I'm so inspired by what you draw and write.

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  8. I never get bored of seeing your gorgeous art work Patsy. Have a great and crafty woyww, Angela x 34

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  9. Thank you for sharing your artwork and your insights, Patsy!

    Happy creating and happy woyww,

    Sandy #30

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  10. As always I enjoy your artwork. I haven't visited in way too long. I like seeing how you translate the magazine photos into what you are working on. I do remember the blind men and the elephant. The other day I made another elephant reference: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. When you have a big task in front of you, that's what you need to do: take one bite at a time. Judy #59

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  11. Beautiful. I like the part where it says that "we grope" and how you compared us to blind people in need of the Holy Spirit's guided tour in order to discover who God truly is.
    Blessings on your day,
    Teresa

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  12. Thank you for this powerful reminder. Your paintings are beautiful. The Way, the Truth, and the Life is in us. We need to acknowledge him and allow Him to work in our lives.

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  13. Lovely - the art and the words! Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday.

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  14. Lovely artwork, crafty space : ). #58

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