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“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn."
Isaiah 60:1
A few years ago, my spirit would be drawn to attention any time I heard any form of this scripture through songs. One song in particular resonated with me during the Christmas season. It was a Barlow Girls song I just happened to catch called Hallelujah (Light Has Come). I found their video on YouTube and was mesmerized by the beauty and purity of the video. The video was distributed in 2011 and I only discovered it a few years ago, but God uses many ways to speak to us. Even past music videos.
He is a God of mystery and woos us with His enticements of adventure. If we are not tuned into this fact we can become clouded over by all the distractions of the world and miss what He wants to reveal to us. We have an amazing God who speaks to us in a still small voice and in hidden unexpected places. It is His great pleasure to take us on adventures to uncover His hidden treasures. We are His beloved Children and He delights in taking us on scavenger hunts to discover buried treasures He has hidden for us.
You might ask, why not just tell us or hand things over outright? Why all the mystery? Well, one thing I have learned as a parent, we help build our children's character if they learn to wait on things they want, to work for them and to persevere in pursuit. If we obtain what we want immediately or it is just handed, it does not build character. The other aspect of God taking us on adventure to find hidden treasures is to see how committed we are and to find out, do we really want to persevere to discover what he has and be tenacious to stay the course or do we give up easily?
Have you ever seen people show up for a job or organization only to turn around and walk out almost as soon as they came in? We have to learn to persevere and stay the course. God wants to grow us in this process and find out if we will pursue Him. A friend told me recently, she heard the Holy Spirit say to her, "Pursue the one who pursues you". Relationships are meant to be two-sided, not one sided. God desires relationship with us and delights in sharing with us and showing us mysteries which can only be revealed by Him.
God didn't say "hey, I'll hand you things you want and be a genie in the bottle for you." In relationships, don't we all want those with us who are willing to stay the course even when things may not be easy? Many people can start out with us, but few will stay the course when the going gets tough. God will challenge us to see where our true motives lie. Sadly, many of today's folks motives lie in selfish ambitions.
Our God is a God of love and relationship. He is not interested in man planning his ways and then turning to God and saying, "Hey, God, bless my plans." He did not call us to reflect our image to the world. No, in fact He asked us to become " light bearers of Him to a dark world." When we submit to Him, His authority and HIs leading, we serve as a conduit for Him to live His life through us. Ultimately His desire is to bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Matthew 6:33
As I have grown in my relationship with God, He leads me to blueprints and steps to accomplish His dreams through me. I no longer feel like I need to figure everything out. I can sit under the counsel of my loving father and receive His instructions for my day and what He would have me do. This takes time and developing relationship, something our culture does not support. However, choosing the more precious things of this world are always the wiser decision.
Our Pastor made a statement on Sunday which gave me pause to ponder this week. He said, "This life here on earth is more like we are just dreaming and our REAL life starts once we get to heaven and live in ETERNITY".
The bible tells us"
"Man is like a mere breath;
His days are like a passing shadow."
Psalm 144:4
God is always doing a new thing. We are in a new season, God is moving in our midst to bring in His light and to shine through His laid down lovers. As I was preparing for Christmas He began to show me images of angels and I felt the urgency to put what I was receiving on canvas. I am a novice in art, but I needed to do this. Just like Michelangelo when he began his sculptor of David, he said, "David needs to come out of this block of stone". I needed to get this message I was receiving from God onto a canvas.
I would like to share with you the three angels He painted through me. They each carry a message of who He is.
Angel of His Glory
"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."
Habakkuk 2:14
Angel of His Fragrance
"For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;"
2 Corinthians 2:15
Torch Bearing Angel to Shine His light
"The same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:16
Purpose
One of the purposes of God in this season is to raise up Christian artists to emulate Him to the world. If you are reading this and you are an artist, I would encourage you to see the one true God who loves you more than you can ever imagine and to receive His heart of love for you and how He wants to express it through your gift of art.
If you are reading this and do not consider yourself an artist, know you are still creative and a reflection of the The Creator, the one who has an amazing purpose for you to live in this time of your life. Seek Him and press in to discover what He has for you. He has many gifts to offer but sadly many fall to the ground unopened because of all the distractions of the world and the unproductive activities we find ourselves participating in. If we are focused on the wrong things, we will miss it.
"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:10
Please take time to evaluate your life and activities.
Ask yourself:
Are you carving out any time in your day to develop the relationship with the one with whom you will spend eternity?
Are you participating in building kingdom principles while you are here.
What will be your impact for the kingdom to leave a mark, before you are called to your eternal home?
With all the noise and distractions of our current culture, we need to make sure we carve out a quiet time to receive the amazing revelation God is waiting to impart to each of His beloved children. If you haven't made time, I would encourage you to start with 10 minutes a day, if you are spending time with Him, I would challenge you to expand the time and see how He would like to speak to you and grow you.
He has hidden treasures awaiting and gifts to impart.
Happy Treasure Hunting!
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