Elijah's widow's oil jar

I love how Elijah's widow gave all she had, her little offering, a little bit of flour, a little bit of oil, and yet she gave it so trustingly to Elijah, and therefore to God Himself.  And God received it, and multiplied it.  All she had to do was bring her empty jars and place them under the flow of oil, and it kept flowing and flowing, saving her and her son from famine.  Likewise, all we have to do is bring our empty earthen vessel-selves and place them under His mercy, humbling ourselves and emptying ourselves, and He will pour and pour and pour and His oil will never run out.. the sweet oil of His Presence, of His joy.  He always fills the empty, the hungry, the lowly, the desperate.  We just need to come, give ourselves completely, and trust!  (1Kings 17:16)

His Hands...

I wrote a meditation a while back on the Hands of Jesus.

His hands … Those beautiful hands;

Forming the planets, fashioning the stars

Creating the far-flung reaches of the universe

Intricately sculpting the tiniest atom

Expertly weaving together space and time.

 

His Hands…Those beautiful Hands;

Condensed down into flesh, tiny hands, born helpless-

The One, the Dependable, becoming utterly dependant.

Tiny, weak, helpless hands, gripping the finger of His maiden mother.

His Hands…Those beautiful Hands;

Growing, working, helping.  Carpenter’s hands –

Rough and calloused from sweat and work,

Creating, carving out wood, serving His family.

His hands…. Those beautiful Hands;

Of compassion and mercy – reaching out, touching the unclean.

Bringing healing to the hurting,

Placing on blind-eyes, flashing from white to grey to blue-seeing!

On the rotten flesh of lepers’ blackened stumps turned pink and whole.

His Hands.. Those beautiful hands;

Gently positioning on the afflicted of mind,

Bringing peace from chaotic tumbling darkness.

Resting on dearly loved just lost children

Raising them up from the curse of death into the arms of their grieving parents.

His Hands.. Those beautiful hands;

Bringing nothing but kindness, healing and love; yet betrayed by a close friend.

Abandoned by the ones who swore allegiance at any cost. 

Denied, ridiculed and mocked.

Surrendering to the cruelness of harsh nails, ripping tendon, bone and muscle, bleeding precious drops of sin-cleansing blood.

His Hands…Those beautiful hands;

They knew no wrong, no sin, no darkness, bearing the crushing weight of the sin of the world.

Those innocent Hands, becoming twisted and ugly.

The Father they served in such intimate submission, turning, forsaking, heaping blistering hot wrath.

The righteous anger of the God of justice pouring out on those precious, beautiful Hands. 

Surrendering to the power of the grave 3 dark days.

His Hands… Those beautiful hands;

Death could not keep them down!

Life coursing back, twitching, reddening, pulsing awake, yet still bearing the ugly-beautiful marks.

His Hands.. Those beautiful hands;

Leaning out and touching the doubters,

Cooking fish-breakfast over charcoal in excited anticipation.

Ascending on high, reigning in glory to the wonder and worship of heaven.

Receiving their just reward; the Nations!... You and Me.

His Hands.. Those beautiful hands;

Reaching out in intercession even now for every single one of us, and those still stumbling in darkness.

O the beauty of His Hands!

Creative worship

We were made to create!  But we get so busy and bogged down sometimes that we don't find the time! I held a creative worship event at my home last night for those with a passion for using art in worship.  We had such a lovely time together.  Here are some of the fruits...

The scripture that I was meditating on was Psalm 20:7, "Some trust in horses, some in chariots but we trust in the name of the Lord our God".   The symbols of strength, glory and riches of men are a poor substitute for a quiet and restful trust in the Lord!

Daddy's House (John 14)

In Daddy's house are many rooms,

He takes me by the hand.

He gently leads me up the path

To help me understand

He shows me how His heart, it yearns

That all the rooms be filled

With children, every tribe and tongue,

But who will help Him build?

He shows me then a bunch of keys

For each and every room

Rooms full of food and eyes and ears

Bought with the empty tomb

I see some servants scuttling round

Their master, not offend..

He sadly smiles, and says to me-

He wants to be their friend!

I then see friends, some more way in;

They seem to understand,

He smiles at me and beckons them

There's even more beyond!

I now see sons and daughters

Climbing right up on His knee;

He scoops them up with great delight;

They know the place to be!

I look down and He shows me

A tiny little door,

The golden key to open it

Lies hidden on the floor

Easily missed, He says to me

You must go low to see it;

But behind that small plain door

Lies the greatest secret.

He made us to be lovers!

So few they understand;

The secret place lies in His heart

He's asking for our hand!

He's giving out the keys now

To any who will ask

Go low and slow to see them

The key's there to His heart.

At the feet of Jesus

Rejoice! For your King rejoices over you and gives you honour instead of shame.
He covers your nakedness with His robe.
He restores all the locust has eaten away.
you are free, and you are no longer ashamed.
Hold your head up high, O daughter of Zion,
for you are clothed in the righteousness of the King.
This is the scandal of grace....

Bible art - Eagles (Deuteronomy 32:10)

I love painting in my Bible.  God has spoken to me over the years so much about eagles, and I love this passage from Deuteronomy.  This passage speaks of the Lord as a mighty Eagle, fluttering over His young, spreading out His wings and catching them, bearing them safe.   Eagles soar on heat thermals, far above the chaos and stress of the world, unlike flightless birds which gobble and scrabble on the ground.  Life looks much better from above, with the perspective of Heaven....

My little offering poem

Based on the boy who gave Jesus his little packed lunch (John 6:8)

He likes my little offering, I gave Him all I have.
He takes it gently in His hands, but will it be enough?

He holds my little offering, and giving thanks above;
He breaks my little offering, as an act of love.

He gives my little offering to all who are in need,
I wonder just how many of those people it could feed.

Amazed, I stand in wonder; As He multiplies the bread,
And I see a lunch just meant for one, feed thousands there instead.

He likes my little offering, And I know now that He means
To take my little offering, and exceed my wildest dreams...