Pause, and calmly think on that.
A few weeks ago our pastor taught on the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:3-12, and he highlighted something I hadn’t really considered: The verses from 3 to 12 are not simply separate sayings, like little nuggets of wisdom. Instead, they form a whole and each verse builds on the one before. They reveal a pattern for the life of a Christ-follower.
In the dark I can see, reflected, weaving and waving, in this blessed early morning moment, the firelight in your eyes. Your lips, full, pained, hurt, whisper out an injured stream, while I memorize your eyes, and the mirrored flame of your soul. And I am struck dumb, feeble words wretch forth, anguished to see…
Whatever you have, God has given it to test your loyalty, allegiance, and heart. Judas’ soul was cramped and traitorous; money revealed that. Joseph’s soul was generous and loyal; money revealed that too. And “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jewish Passover falls on Good Friday this year. Passover remembers the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt during which God told the people to kill a “lamb without blemish” and paint their doorposts with the blood… God said “when I see the blood, I will pass over you and no plague will befall you…
“How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!” Psalms 73:19
In this blue, slate blue, I lay me down my heart. Lost and bewildered am I in this beautiful hue. Here, in this blue, is where I find myself, because I find you.
In this painting, lines of truth emanate. Light bursts forth, shattering a rigid picture, reaching beyond grasp, in bold strokes, defying a frame. In its edged background, darkness seeps through. Something corrosive. Staining. But wherever the light reaches, there is darkness dispelled. In its fierce foreground, a radiant star-burst flares forth from the form of…
Happy New Year! May your heart warm again to hope by the very sunshine shone forth only from the trust put in Jesus Christ, Saviour of your soul, God, Who knows the good plans He has for you! Allow me to open 2012 with an old stand by, for the “old school Sanctus Real fans…”…
A hard mind and hard heart tends to unrelenting ruthlessness, but a soft mind and soft heart tends to wayward wandering. A soft mind and hard heart tends to flappable foolishness, but a hard mind and soft heart is the chosen clay of which the crafter says, “Of this refuse will I make something beautiful…