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Art Lover

Posted in Heart of "The Father", Word Pictures on February 11, 2011| 4 Comments »

Years ago, the Lord showed me a picture of an oil painting, sitting on an old, chrome framed, yellow vinyl, kitchen chair.  The chair was sitting out on the lawn, with masking tape across one corner of the paintings frame.  As I pondered what the scene meant, I remembered hearing stories about people who’ve cleaned out attics and inadvertently sold valuable masterpieces, by artists like Rembrandt or Picasso; sometimes getting as little as five or ten dollars at a yard sale.  Obviously, the people, who found those old pictures, had no idea of their value; and as I continued to meditate on this, a deeper understanding began to emerge.

The most obvious meaning was that God considers each of His children to be a masterpiece, regardless of whether they’ve ever been treated like one.  Sadly, when you’ve been handled like old junk, it becomes easier to believe that’s what you are.  But in truth, the real value of a masterpiece is not diminished by the failure of its beholder to understand it’s worth.  It is the one who undervalues the artifact who ultimately suffers the loss.

Few would argue God’s credentials as a “Master” Creator; but just as it is with the Master Painters here on earth, some might want to quibble over His “greater” and “lesser” works.   Yet to the artist, each work is an expression of their inner being, each is valuable and irreplaceable.  One painting might get more attention than another, one may bring more profit, but each one is of equal value in reflecting the heart and vision of its creator.  Undoubtedly, if those who looked upon such a painting, with untrained eyes, had known the name of the artist, they may have had some greater sense of its worth.

Genuine art lovers can often pick up subtle details in a picture that an unskilled or maybe even an uncaring eye might miss.  They can often derive much more significance from a work than someone who only scans for the obvious; and so it is with us.  We may not always see the beauty in people, but how often have we really looked for it.  We may not always understand what the Creator was trying to convey to us, but simply knowing who created them should make these works valuable to us.  While this may be difficult with some people, it may be most difficult as we look in the mirror.  I sense that God’s heart is just as grieved when we don’t understand our own value to Him, as when we don’t see the value in others.

I believe that God wants us to be like the lovers of great art; to look deeply into His creation and to find Him in it.  The scripture says that the invisible qualities of God are found in the things He created and that we were created in His own image.  I sense that He is calling us to look past the obvious (love covers a multitude of sins) and to find the beauty He’s placed inside of each one of His children.  Once we find it, I believe that He would have us cultivate (i.e. to shine the light on and water) it.  Isn’t that what Jesus did?  He didn’t focus on the flaws or mistakes, He treated each one as precious and valuable.  We can see that people were transformed by that (e.g. the woman at the well, the woman taken from the bed of adultery, Zacchaeus…).  Jesus told the apostles that people would know His followers by the way that they loved each other.  Is that how people know us church folk?  How much of a difference would it make if we sought the beauty that God placed in each person and if we truly valued them as a unique creation, from the hands of a Master Artist.  If our hearts are going to align with His, we are going to have to become more passionate about those He created.

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Trump Cards

Posted in Commentaries, Word Pictures, tagged , , , , on January 5, 2011| 1 Comment »

When I was a child, I was very sensitive and emotional; which kind of sounds funny since I don’t suppose that I’ve ever stopped being those things.  But somewhere along the way I figured out that wearing my heart on my sleeve and allowing everything to penetrate my soul, was not the most expedient way to live.  The first step was suppressing the urge to express every thought that came into my head and eventually I began to develop my mind as a way of heading off those powerful emotions.  I learned to anticipate situations and to think my way through them as a defense against getting overwhelmed by circumstances.

 

It is interesting how dramatically that changed the face of who I was.  As a child I was driven by the winds of my feelings, while as an adult I have largely been driven by pragmatism and my own sense of what is “reasonable”.  Though I doubt many men would express it this way, I would guess that most have gone through some sort of similar process.  If you’re ever around little boys, you’ll find that most start out as emotional, expressive and affectionate; while grown men generally exhibit limited evidence that this was ever the case.

 

At the point I became serious about living for the Lord, I immediately found Him pushing me back towards this sensitivity.  I felt as though He said that this was part of how He designed me; that my gifts were wrapped up in that sensitivity and that a childlike heart was the only way I’d experience His kingdom.  While I understand that He doesn’t want me to be driven by my emotions, I have found that He is equally dissatisfied with idea that I would be guided by my rational thoughts.

 

God and His kingdom far exceed the bounds of my natural mind’s ability to understand them and to rely on my thoughts as a guide greatly diminishes the influence He means to have in my life.  To that end, He has graciously given us His Holy Spirit, that we might have the mind of Christ and the heart of the Father.

 

As I ponder all of this, I am reminded of some things my mother taught us as children.  At a very early age she began to play card games with us.  She used this as a way to help us with our number recognition, counting and learning simple arithmetic.  It was very effective.  She started with simple games like “War”, in which we learned that an eight was greater than a seven and that a king beat a jack.  We went on to “Go Fish”, where we learned how to match pairs together.  As she taught us more complex games, we eventually came to the place where we needed to learn the concept of “trump”.  Many card games include the use of a trump suit, which is when one suit usurps the power of all the others (e.g. Spades).

 

At first it seemed a strange concept; after all, we’d just come to understand that a king was greater than a ten, and now we had to grasp that if that ten was a trump card, it nullified the king’s power.   I believe that as we mature as Believers there is a similar adjustment that God means to make in our thinking.

 

As the simple games of our childhood taught us the patterns of counting and arithmetic, so our life experiences give us a sense of the world and how it works.  Unconsciously, we’ve learned these patterns and they’ve formed boundaries within our thought processes as to what is sane, rational, reasonable or even possible.  Maybe we’ve consciously studied things like science, psychology or philosophy, to come to some greater understanding of what the boundaries for man and mankind are, but I’d submit that whatever we might have learned has given us only a small view of a picture that is greater than we can comprehend.

 

As we come into relationship with God, we find that despite all the patterns that life has taught us, He has given us some trump cards, which have the ability to usurp the power of whatever hand we’ve been dealt.  As I prayed I sensed that the three trump cards He’s given us are faith, hope and love, and that the application of any one of these into our situation has the potential to overcome what our mind has concluded to be the natural order of things.

 

As we study the scriptures, we find the power of faith, hope and love, both implicitly and explicitly expressed.  Repeatedly God reminds us of the limitations of our natural mind and exhorts us towards faith as the pathway to cross these borders.  He tells us not to lean on our own understanding; that His thoughts and ways are higher than ours; and that He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever imagine or hope for.

 

He warns us that knowledge puffs a man up; and He offers both a peace that surpasses understanding and a love that surpasses knowledge.  He tells us that the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.  Yet, despite these exhortations, it seems that much of Western Christianity is often more rooted in psychology than in the word of God.  Psychology can only study the pattern of human behavior as it has been, but it cannot hope to reach the possibilities of what we were created to be.  Only the Creator can show us that.

 

Much of the well-intentioned, self-help mentality within the church keeps us bound to finite worldly thinking and at the mercy of the world’s system.  Paul warned us against this when he said, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ”.  Jesus told us that if we had the faith of a mustard seed, that we’d be able to overcome the things that we consider to be the “laws of nature”.

 

Peter further states that love has the power to overcome a multitude of sins and Paul adds that we can possess every spiritual gift, but that if we have not love, we have and are “nothing”.  We must understand that the love they’re speaking of is God’s love and not the self-seeking human strain, which is of little value to the kingdom.  God’s love “always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres”.

 

As we look at the apostles, we see how these forces came to bear in their lives.  When Herod imprisoned Peter, he was guarded by four squads of four soldiers; with a soldier constantly chained to each side of him.  Our natural minds would say that there was no hope for Peter, but the scripture tells us “the church was earnestly praying to God for him”.  This seems a marked contrast to how the modern western church might handle such a scenario.  We’d likely call a lawyer from the Center for Law and Justice, to defend Peter in court; circulate petitions via the internet, demanding Peter’s release; and maybe even set up a picket at Herod’s palace.

 

We seem to have forgotten that our battle is not against flesh and blood, and that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal in nature.  The early church asserted their faith and appealed to the power that was higher than any natural law and as Peter slept, an angel came, woke him up and walked Him out of the prison.  Our natural minds cannot comprehend this, but the nature of a miracle is that it cannot be explained and is beyond what we believe to be reasonable.

 

We must understand that God’s reality is much higher than ours.  As the church prayed, they invited God and all His resources into the situation; which changed everything.  How often have we failed to invite God into our situation because we felt bound to the world system, and that the outcome was somehow inevitable?  The Lord said that we have not because we ask not.

 

We see examples of this intervention in Paul’s life as well; like the time he and Silas were praising the Lord in prison.  In so doing, they asserted their hope and faith into the situation and the Lord literally shook the earth to free them.  He is no respecter of persons, so it holds true that He will do the same for us.

 

I am certainly not advocating an empty headed walk with the Lord, but we must realize that there is a huge chasm between worldly knowledge and the knowledge of God.  Inherent in the knowledge of God is relationship with Him.  The Pharisees had devoted their life to the study of scripture, but were still unable to recognize the manifestation of truth when it stood before them.  They knew about Him, but they didn’t know Him.

 

God did not leave us to our own resources in this; He gave us His Holy Spirit to be the “Counselor”, the “Comforter” and to “teach us all things”.  He placed at our disposal all the resources of heaven, but in the church today those resources remain largely untapped.  When our natural minds come against a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, they tend to default to fear and discouragement; but God wants the hearts of His children to default to faith, hope and love.

 

When we don’t have the answers for people, He wants us to default to loving them where they’re at.  When situations look negative and hopeless, He wants us to default to placing our hope in Him and to assert our faith in prayer, by inviting Him into the situation.  He is a God who delights in making a way where there seems to be no way.

 

Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your minds in Christ Jesus”.  He also said that one day “fire will test the quality of each man’s work” and I believe when that test is done, all that will remain are those things done out of faith, hope and love.

 

While those without Christ are left only to play “War” with the world, hoping that the cards will fall their way; every child of God possesses these trump cards, which are able to overpower any cards that the world may deal.

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Open Minded

Posted in Commentaries, Word Pictures, tagged , , , on October 27, 2010| 3 Comments »

I find myself walking along a darkened street in what appears to be a very old, residential area, within a large city.  The houses look as though they were built around the time of the First World War and they are big by today’s standards.  I imagine that in its day this was a very inviting place to raise a family, but the neighborhood has long since fallen into ruin.  Most of the windows and doors have been boarded up and the few houses that appear to be occupied seem to be dimly lit and tightly shut.  Weeds have overtaken the cracks in the sidewalk and the concrete is uneven and crumbling in places.  Only one street light on the block remains lit and an ominous sense envelops me as I make my way down the street.  I ask the Lord what I’m doing here, but He is silent.  As I walk on, I come to a house that appears to be abandoned, but which isn’t boarded up.  In that moment I hear the Lord say, “Go take a look”.  I can feel my stomach rumbling an objection and I swallow hard to avoid asking the Lord, “why?”  Reluctantly, I turn and begin to shuffle up the short pathway to the porch.

As my eyes strain to detect any signs of movement, I see that the windows on the second floor seem to be open, while all of the windows on the ground floor appear to be broken out.  I notice the remnants of a curtain in one of the windows, as it gently rolls with the breeze.  As I step onto the porch I’m struck by the fact that despite what may have been decades of neglect, the structure itself still seems sound, which is undoubtedly a tribute to those who built it.  There is trash and broken glass strewn all over the porch and the sound of my feet treading on the debris seems unusually loud.  I feel new waves of apprehension as I come to the doorway and I can see that the door has been ripped from its hinges.  Everything beyond that point appears to be pitch black and I pause to once again query the Lord; but before I’m able to form the words I feel Him nudge me forward, as though He has anticipated my question.

Stepping through the doorway I once again stop allowing my eyes to adjust to the darkness; as the smell of urine overwhelms my nostrils.  Like the porch, the floor is littered with debris and the walls are covered with graffiti.  In places chunks of the plaster are missing and the lighting fixtures appear to have been ripped from their mountings.  As I step through the foyer I can see the shattered remains of the stairway banister; in the corner of the dining room there is a large burnt area on the floor; and in the kitchen I find that someone has defecated in the sink and apparently smeared it on the cabinets.  Nauseated, I stumble back toward the front door, hoping to leave this depressing scene behind; but as I come to the stairway, the Lord once again nudges me and I know that I must also go upstairs.  The creaking of the stairs seems amplified in the quietness of the house, and I am soon making my way through the upstairs hallway.  In one bedroom I find a crib that has been smashed into splinters; in another a mattress covered with a sheet, which is stained with blood and other bodily fluids; and in the bathroom I see the cockroaches scurrying to the open hole where the toilet once was.  I feel as though I can take no more and I quickly move back down the stairs and out the front door.  Relieved to be out in the open air, I stumble back to the sidewalk and begin to distance myself from the house.  As I look back over my shoulder, I ask the Lord, “What was that?”  To which He responds, “That is a picture of an open mind”.  (The vision ends)

I found myself somewhat surprised by those words.  I guess on some unconscious level I had accepted the idea that being “open minded” was a good thing; but obviously this picture indicated otherwise.  As if to remove any doubt about misinterpreting the message, I felt like the Lord definitively stated, “I have not called you to have an open mind!”  Instinctively I wondered whether this meant that I was supposed to have a “closed mind”; but the Lord quickly impressed upon me that many have been deceived to believe that those are the only two options.  Indeed, the scripture exhorts us to test everything by the Spirit (1 John 4:1); taking every thought captive, making it obedient to Christ; and demolishing every argument & every pretense that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5).  This is not a picture of an open door, but of a guarded gate.

As the post-modern society (including many within the church) embraces the concept of an open mind we see the scriptures fulfilled, as the collective thinking becomes increasingly futile and depraved; with elements like anxiety, depression, bullying, suicide, shootings, pornography, child molestation… becoming commonplace in our culture.  Just as the fathers of these philosophies before them, those who embrace this way of thinking are destined to become hollow shells, whose minds have been vandalized, scarred and desecrated by nameless intruders, who have wandered in and out, unimpeded.  Lord God, in your mercy – transform us by the renewing of our minds.  Amen.

 

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Homeless

Posted in Free Verse / Poetry, Word Pictures on July 26, 2010| 4 Comments »

 As the shadows begin to crawl across the walls of my little room

The memories emerge from the corners of my mind

Not so long ago, we roamed these streets together

And I guess I thought that’s how it would always be

But here I am living a couple of floors above the pavement

And you’re still out there somewhere

 

I admit that this place isn’t much of a home

But it has running water

And is shelter from the weather

And it has a door that locks

And most of all

It has room for you

 

I never meant to leave you behind

I just assumed you’d want to come with me

But what I saw as a pathway to freedom

You viewed as a cage door

I can’t pretend to understand that

But I miss you just the same

 

I remember the time I stepped on that broken glass

And you wrapped my bloody foot in your only shirt

And the times we huddled together in the cold

And the way you’d hum the tune for “Silent Night”

Because of you, I never felt alone

And yet, that’s how I left you

 

I’m sorry that I wasn’t strong enough to stay

But when you can’t lift your head, you’re apt to drown in a puddle

It wasn’t so much the eating from the dumpsters

Because everyone does that at one time or another

But I couldn’t handle the never ending nights

And the hopelessness of it all

 

Tonight, I’ll once again leave a light burning

And I’ll unfurl the bed sheets from my window

I’ve tied them together so that they’ll reach the alley below

And I’ve anchored them to the radiator to support your weight

As I lay awake, every peep from the alley will stir my hope

And when I sleep, I’ll dream of you my friend

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The Potter’s Wheel

Posted in Word Pictures on June 2, 2010| 1 Comment »

As the wheel begins to turn, the clay is centered in the middle of the hub.  At this stage, it is little more than a pile of thick mud.  But as the skilled hands of the craftsman take hold, something unique and functional emerges.  Smoothing rough patches, building up thin spots, evening out the edges… the potter cannot rush the process if he hopes for his work to stand up to the fire of the kiln.  As one hand forms the inner contour, the other shapes the external face; and it is only in the balance of these two forces that a usable vessel is created.

Indeed, our God is the potter and we are the clay; He has destined us to be conformed to the image of His Son and He is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in us.  Though many a motivational speaker would have us believe that we are something more than mere clay, the fact remains that apart from God, we can do “nothing” (which literally means “no thing”).  This of course doesn’t mean that we can’t busy ourselves with our own plans and strategies; it just means that, in the end, they won’t pass the test of fire.  In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus doesn’t deny the claims of those who say, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles”; He simply says that He never knew them.  Ultimately it is not about what is done “in His name”, it’s about what is done “in Him”.

Though the Lord most certainly uses the lives of mere men within His plan, I believe that it is only when those lives move in unison with the internal work that He’s doing in a heart that a fruitful outcome is achieved.  Just like the potter’s wheel, it is the coordination of the internal and external forces that shape the vessel.  That is why to those who are perishing the cross is foolishness; unless a heart has begun to yield to the wooing of the Lord (i.e. the internal force), it cannot comprehend the cross (i.e. an external manifestation).  I also believe this is why so much of the church’s efforts to evangelize fall flat.  Many have been taught that if we simply present the gospel the right way, it will bring people to Christ; but ultimately it is not the quality of our gospel seed, it is the condition of the soil to receive it.  No one comes unless He draws them and hardened soil will not receive even a good seed.  This is why true evangelism is rooted in genuine relationship and not simply handing out tracts at the mall.  This point is even further bore out by the fact that the cross represents the power of God to those who are “being saved” (as opposed to just those who are already saved).  Despite our boasts, only God Himself can truly claim to have led someone to Jesus.

It seems to me that a lot of religious activity is focused on our external work, without any real sensitivity to the corresponding internal work of God.  Indeed, our Christian bookstores are filled with volumes on 10 ways to do this and 5 ways to do that.  It’s unlikely that many of those instructions contain a step that says something like “wait on the Lord and act only after receiving direction from Him”.  Within the potter’s wheel analogy, this type of formulaic activity is likely to be more distorting than productive.  The litany of people, who would claim to have been wounded by their interactions with church and Christianity, would only seem to validate this premise.

I’ve long held that the “Great Commission” is something of a misnomer.  Though undoubtedly God has called us to make disciples of all nations, the word “commission” often takes on the connotation of acting on someone’s behalf (i.e. independently from them) and that is not the context that scripture presents.  We can read the Bible, but without the interaction of the Holy Spirit, we’re likely just to interpret the words to suit ourselves.  We can consider ourselves the voice of truth, but without discerning the heart of God, we are more likely to cultivate oppression than freedom.  We can tell people about Jesus, but without any real sense of what God is doing in their lives, it can be just like throwing seed on a parking lot.  Jesus Himself said that He didn’t do anything until He saw the Father do it first; how presumptuous it is to assume that we’d be able to do otherwise.  The apostle Paul exhorted us to walk in the Spirit, to live in the Spirit and to be led by the Spirit, which is essentially the same thing that Jesus described.  Ultimately it is only when the two hands work in tandem that we can see genuine increase.

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Screen Saver

Posted in Word Pictures on April 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The book of Proverbs says that the way a man chooses to think will ultimately define who he is; and while many people in our society like to consider themselves a victim of circumstance, the aforementioned concept really puts the onus of responsibility squarely on the individual.  Undoubtedly, many have suffered through difficult situations; but even so, we all still have the choice as to how we view our circumstances, ourselves, other people, the past, the present, the future…  Ultimately, how we think will drive how we feel and in western culture, how we feel will likely shape our conception of reality.  If light of this, taking a hard look at our thought patterns ought to give us a clearer picture of who we’ve actually become; and any efforts toward personal growth would seem to be rooted in a change to our thought process.  Though there are some who might claim that we have no control over the thoughts that “pop into our head”, I believe that we are far more in control of that than we’d like to admit.  In a sense our minds are a lot like our personal computers and as such, I offer the following:

Filters/Anti-Virus Programs:  In our culture the idea of being “open minded” has become the only politically acceptable option; as if completely open or completely closed were the only viable choices.  While I’m certainly not an advocate of a closed mind, prudence dictates that not just any thought should be entertained.  Just as with our computers, there are some things that have the potential to come in and bog down our system operation or to completely disrupt its function.  Just like a computer virus, there are some patterns of thought that threaten to infect other parts of our mind and ultimately the whole of our being.  As such, we need to recognize that some things ought to be off limits and to protect our systems from those things.  While most people wouldn’t dream of trying to operate their computer systems without some form of network protection, I would submit that many operate with no such constraints on their thoughts.

Pop-Ups/SPAM:  Even when we do protect our systems, there are things that find their way onto our screens and when that happens, it often requires immediate attention.  Unsolicited messages, from unknown sources, need to be evaluated before opening; infected messages must be quarantined and safely eliminated; and pop-ups generally just need to be deleted without regard.  Clicking on some sites (even just once) can open up a world that can be hard to escape.  As with our computers, the longer it takes for us to recognize the detrimental element of these things, the greater the damage done.  While we may not always be able to control who shows up at our door, we can control who we let in.

Wallpaper:  One of the great features of today’s computer and/or cell-phone screens is the ability to customize the background (i.e. “wallpaper”).  On my cell-phone screen you’ll undoubtedly find pictures of my kids underneath the bright digits of the current time and the functional icons that default there.  And while most of us will generally pick some cheerful image for our computer screens, the background of our mind often isn’t so festive.  When we choose to hold on to the hurts/fears/disappointments/betrayals… of the past, we in a sense make this the “wallpaper” of our minds.  In that case, everything that comes onto our screens is viewed against the backdrop of those painful experiences, thus tempering any joy and/or potential healing that might come our way.  Just as with our computers, I believe that we ultimately control what image populates our default screen.

Screen Saver:  Even if we’ve pretty much overcome the troubles of our past, most of us have issues going on presently which seem to want to dominate our thoughts.  When we become overly focused on those issues, their proportions can easily become distorted.  Suicide victims often have many positive aspects to their lives, but their focus on one particular situation or aspect generally causes them to completely lose sight of those things.  When we dwell on one specific issue to excess, we in affect make it the “screen saver” for our mind.  It becomes the place that our thoughts naturally gravitate back to when our mind is not actively engaged in something else.  When we allow ourselves to obsessively worry about such issues, it can become like setting your screen saver to come on at every 15 second pause.  You wind up having to constantly push that image from the screen in order to get anything else done.  In such a case, we need to recognize that we’ve lost our perspective and that it will take action on our part to change our system settings.

Just as few people would leave their personal computer system completely unprotected, it seems doubtful that many would use images of their most traumatic, painful or humiliating moments as their “wallpaper” or “screen saver”.  Yet I would submit that many of us are handling our thought life in this way.  If that is the case, maybe it’s time to change those settings to something more uplifting and hopeful.  Though this change may require more than just the punch of a button, the decision to press that button is a beginning in and of itself.

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Me & My Shadow

Posted in Heart of "The Father", Word Pictures, tagged , , on February 25, 2010| 4 Comments »

As she prayed, she saw her shadow on the wall and something about it troubled her.  Despite her best efforts to ignore it, her eyes kept drawing back to it; and finally in frustration, she interrupted her prayer.

“Lord, what is it about this shadow that is so troubling to me?” she asked.

She was more than a little surprised when He very clearly and immediately replied, “It is not the shadow itself that troubles you, it is what it represents.”

After a brief pause to ponder what He might be referring to, she continued, “Lord, what is it that the shadow represents?”

Again, with great clarity He said, “It represents places where the light has been blocked.”

His words sparked a revelation within her, as she added, “Or in this case, the places where I’m blocking the light.”

“Indeed” He acknowledged.

The thought of it made her feel exposed and ashamed, even though she could tell that the Lord was not upset with her.  She unconsciously began to wrestle with ideas about how she might avoid casting such a shadow; and after taking some time to consider it, she asked, “Is it even possible to walk in the light without casting a shadow?”

“It is possible”, He replied; “but it’s something that you really have to want.”

Confused, she asked, “What kind of Christian wouldn’t want that?”

“One who craves the approval of men” He said.  “For those people, it is important that the spotlight remain on them.  They see their shadow as a representation of their stature within my kingdom and thus they work hard to cast it as tall and wide as they can.  They often justify it with words like ‘anointing’ or ‘influence’, and they convince themselves that I am somehow glorified by them being glorified.  But in truth it is nothing more than the silhouette that their image creates when they stand in front of the light.  What they don’t recognize is that to those people who chose to stand in their shadow, they are nothing more than an obstruction to the light.”

A wave of conviction rolled over her, as she pondered what kind of shadow her life might be casting.  Tentatively she asked, “Lord, are there people standing in my shadow?”

“Just as the light that comes from your life, so also does your shadow affect your husband, your children, your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.  It is a condition that is common to all men”, He replied.

“Then how is it possible to walk without casting a shadow?” she asked.

“It can only happen when the light comes from within you” He replied.

She was at once amazed by the simplicity of His answer and challenged by the implications of it.  “But how can I make the light come from within me?” she pleaded.

“You must understand that it does not happen by talking about the light, or pointing to it, or trying to control it, or trying to market it or by trying to legislate it.  The light can only come from within when you succumb to it” He said.

As His words resonated within her, tears began to well up in her eyes and she felt an overwhelming desire to surrender herself to Him anew.  As she raised her trembling hands to Him, she said, “Lord, let it be so in me”.

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Hollow Mansion

Posted in Satire, Word Pictures on February 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Too many times the price of “having it all”, is everything that really matters.

* 

My eyes flick open to the dim light of the pre-dawn morning

and my head throbs with the dull ache of the night before

There is a beautiful woman lying beside me

but I find myself straining to remember her name

When she wakes, I’ll have to pretend that last night meant something to me

but for now, I couldn’t be more alone

*

As I stare at the ornate ceiling of this massive room

I can see all the cracks along its edges

 They not only speak of the sandy soil on which this estate was forged

they testify to the weak foundation of this new life that I have built

While everyone else’s eyes are naturally drawn to the beautiful gold trim

all I can see is the fractured façade

 While they all seem to notice the extravagant furnishings in each room

I find myself focusing on the vast empty space created by every high ceiling

*

These thoughts take me back to the water stained ceiling of my childhood bedroom

and I find myself wondering whatever became of that little boy

I also remember lying awake in a little trailer, many years ago

wondering how I was going to support my young bride & our new baby

Back then, paying the bills was my greatest struggle

but now that those bills are more than covered, I’m struggling with the price that was paid

*

I’d trade everything I’ve gained to erase the hurt and confusion in my children’s faces

as I pulled our family apart on the way to making my own dreams come true

I’d give it all back for the woman who loved me

when I had nothing to offer other than a desire to share her life

I’d gladly forfeit the drafty halls of this hollow mansion

for the warmth of the place that I used to call home

I’ve finally figured out that its better to have one person who loves you for who you really are

than to have ten thousand who love the person they imagine you to be

*

Unfortunately, by the time I came to understand this, it was too late

As the raging waters of my desire had already swept away any moorings for a bridge back

So as the first rays of the sun begin to creep across the windows

I swallow a couple of painkillers to prepare for the day that lies ahead

And as the beautiful stranger lying next to me stirs from her sleep

I push my face into a smile and utter, “Good morning darling”

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Setting Sail

Posted in Word Pictures on February 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The sky is a deep blue and cloudless; the wind is warm and steady; the rocky shore is barely visible on the horizon and the only sound is the water being channeled by the bow. The whiteness of the sail is blinding as the sun reflects off of it and there is not a wrinkle visible within it, as it stretches to contain every bit of wind. The faces of those on deck are filled with elation, as the gusts pull tears from the corners of their eyes. The boat skates effortlessly across the water, disappearing on the horizon.  

A second picture emerges; a stark contrast to the first; the colors are all muted shades of gray, blue and black.  A lone sailor stands at the helm of a sail boat, as it is presses steadily against the swells.  The rain is coming straight down and the horizon has disappeared into a smear of mist from the sky and the sea.  The sail is down and tightly lashed to the boom.  The boat plods through the waves, leaving a barely discernable wake; a testament to its’ scarce progress.

I sense a question, “Pleasure Cruise or Journey?” and I begin to understand these scenes.  As someone who has sailed for pleasure, I understand the exhilaration of catching the wind and skimming across the water.  A skillful sailor will position the boat to make full use of the breeze, keeping the sail full and the keel trimmed.  The second picture is much less familiar, because one who sails for pleasure has no incentive to go through a storm; when clouds appear on the horizon, we simply head back to the pier.  Only someone on a journey would venture to take a sail boat through a storm and within that, I could see a deeper truth.

 These pictures represent the way that we often choose to live.  If we live a life seeking our own fulfillment and happiness, we are like those who sail for pleasure; always looking for something to fill our senses and to exhilarate us.  One who sails for pleasure doesn’t concern themselves with what direction the wind is blowing or where the rudder is pointed, as long as their sail is full; they rarely stray far from the shore and will avoid a storm at all costs.  At the end of the day, success is judged by the strength of the wind and the smoothness of the seas.

For those who are on a journey, it is much different.  It is not so much the sail as it is the rudder and the compass.  Though such a sailor revels in those times when the sail is up and filled with wind, they understand that they must discern the wind and pull the sail down when an unfavorable wind blows.  They also understand that if they hope to reach their destination that they will have to pass through some storms.  In these times they just hold fast to the rudder and keep the ship pointed toward their ultimate goal.  For such a traveler, success is measured by the distance from their final destination.

In these pictures, the wind and the current beneath the sea represent the unseen forces of the spiritual realm; though we can’t see these forces, they powerfully affect us and they work together to create circumstances in our lives.  The waves and the weather are representative of what is seen and its affect on us.  The sail is representative of our thoughts and emotions, while the rudder is representative of our will.  Those who seek to be edified in their mind and emotions will bend their will toward which ever way the wind seems to favor these senses.   The enemy loves this type of sailor, as they are constantly distracted from the issue of destination and as they often will bring others along on their ride.  For those who see this life as a journey, the sail is only useful when the winds are moving the boat toward its destination; when the winds threaten to take the boat off course, the sail is withdrawn and tightly bound, so as not to catch a foul wind.  Even though the ride is not as enjoyable or expedient, maintaining the course is all that is of value.  Such a sailor often finds themselves alone, because it is a rare breed who is willing to embark on such a journey.  So the question for all of us remains, “Pleasure Cruise or Journey?”

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The Treasure Chest

Posted in Heart of "The Father", Word Pictures, tagged , on February 12, 2010| 1 Comment »

There was once a young sailor who had the opportunity to sail through uncharted waters, on a ship headed to a dark and unexplored land.  The men in his family had been sailors for generations and he’d grown up to stories of the great adventures that his father, and grandfather and great-grandfather had on such journeys.  Though he’d been sailing for some years himself, he’d never gone more than a few hundred miles up or down the coastline.  He yearned to experience the adventure of the unknown and despite the potential danger; he jumped at the chance to sign aboard.

 

Only his father seemed to fully understand his desire to do such a thing.  And as the day drew near for his departure, he noticed that his father was busily working on something.  It occurred to him to ask of it, but he was too distracted to remember the question.  As he was saying his goodbyes on the pier, he saw his father having a chest loaded onto the ship.  When he asked about it, his father simply said, it is a few things that you’ll need along the way.  The young man couldn’t imagine what he’d need that wasn’t already loaded in the sack slung over his shoulder, but he was too excited to ask any more about it.

 

The chest was loaded deep into the ship’s cargo hold, where it seemed destined to be forgotten.  In the first days of the journey, the excitement of the departure gave way to the monotony of the sea and as the days turned to weeks, the journey began to take its toll.  As the sun and the wind of the sea began to make his skin turn to leather, the young man remembered the chest and his father’s words of what was inside.  He made his way deep into the ships hold and found the chest; sure enough there was a jar of ointment for his skin.  Later while re-loading supplies in a tropical port, the ship became infested with biting flies and the young man found a roll of netting within the chest that protected him from them.  In the days when sickness and fever swept through the crew, he found various jars of herbs and teas to preserve him.  As a matter of fact every time a malady came his way, he seemed to find something within the chest to help him.  Each time this would happen, he would marvel at his fathers’ insight as to what he would encounter on his journey.

 

As the months turned to years, the young man always knew to go to the chest when he was in need, until one day he noticed that he was taking the last article from it.  A wave of sadness came over him, as he guessed that his father couldn’t have anticipated that this journey was going to last so long.  His heart was heavy as he climbed out of the ships hold, his sense of adventure was spent and he just wanted to be home.  As he reached the deck, he first heard the excited voices of the crew and then the ringing of the ships bell.  As he got to the ships railing he could see that they were finally home.

 

As the ship drew near to the pier he could see his father calmly waiting, as if he knew exactly when they’d be arriving, even though they hadn’t known themselves.  The son stared at his father in awe and his heart was filled with love and gratitude.  As he walked down the gangway, he felt like a little boy and as he embraced his father, his tears began to flow as he heard him say, “Welcome home Son, I’m so proud of you”.

 

As the Lord gave me this little parable, He said that you are that young sailor, and that the chest He’s packed for you is your heart.   He said that because He’s gone before you, He has anticipated everything that you will need on your journey and that you simply need to go and look for His provision within your heart.  He said that you need not ever question whether you’ll find what you need, because He was very careful when He packed.  He also mentioned that He knows the journey is longer than, and at times not nearly as adventurous as you’d hoped; but He wants you to know that there is purpose in every mile.  He says that it’s exciting to see you find new things within your heart that you didn’t know were there, but that His truest joy will be the day that you return forever.  He’s looking forward to that moment on the pier even more than you are.

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