Week 8 The Story of Your Father
1 Sam 12:20-25
And Samuel said to the people, “Fear not. You have indeed done all this evil; YET turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve Him with all your heart. And turn not aside after vain and worthless things which cannot profit or deliver you, for they are empty and futile. 
THE Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake, for it has pleased Him to make you a people for Himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way. Only FEAR the Lord and SERVE Him faithfully with all your heart; for CONSIDER how great are the things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king shall be swept away.”

Back story: In 1 Samuel 12, Samuel has just finished crowning the new king, Saul. The man Israel chose over God to lead them. He then asks the Israelites to consider all the great things God has done for them and their ancestors, proceeding to remind them of all the awful ways they have betrayed God.

Samuel is not judging them, instead he is painting a picture of their history of repentance before God and God’s ‘chesed,’ everlasting kindness and mercies. You see, it is impossible for the Father to reject His children. His very name is marked upon them.

The word for ‘name’ in Hebrew means much more than something to be called. It speaks of identity and nature. Because of who He is, because of the very essence of His nature, He will not, even cannot, abandon you. That is the relentless affection, or CHESED, of your Father. Wow, this gives me such hope for some who have strayed from the faith. He will never stop waiting for their repentant hearts.

Your Father’s heart has always been for you and not against you. His promise silences a deep fear in us that we could be left alone, lost or forgotten. Only seek Him.

Psalm 136 …for His steadfast love (chesed ) endures forever.
CHESED…This steady, persistent refusal of God to wash his hands of his wayward children is the essential meaning of the Hebrew word which is translated loving-kindness or mercy. (http://www.bible-researcher.com/chesed.html)

Psalm 24 …He prepares a table before you… His goodness and love will follow you all the days of your life and you will dwell in the house of your father forever.

John 5:22, 24, 27, 30, 45 …For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son…Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does NOT come into judgment, but has passed from death to life…And he (God) has given him(Jesus) authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man…I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me…Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: MOSES, on whom you have set your hope.

1. Soft cover NIV.

2. Large print NIV.

3. Soft Cover Journaling Bibles on Amazon

I live in the “City of the Arts.” Any given Spring weekend, as I stroll along the tree-lined streets of Downtown, I may hear musical strands exiting the Art Nouveau facades. Ethnic aromas swirl through the arbors and outdoor bistros, enticing me to turn aside. Local art galleries fill in the negative space between local eateries and performance venues. The hibernating Sawtooth fountain awakens again, diamond blue with the gentle whisper of the waters. Yes, it is Spring and the arts are coming alive in Winston-Salem.

But, there is an Artist who ever lives. I know him well. His artwork graced the universe before a man ever awoke. He is God, the Creator… my Father. All of Art history is nothing more than an attempt to emulate the Great Artist.

Early in the morning, before the vintage downtown doors ever open, His artwork is on display. Sunlight striking red, blue, and yellow as holy feathered choruses rejoice through the air and trees. The sweet breath of floral scents engages all my senses. Wind-kissed petals delicately dance along a green canvas dotted with translucent pinks and purples. The curtain rises as this story, the story of life, unfolds…the world is awake. And I… am… alive.

Week 7 The Story of Your Father

Luke 15:11-32

   If your Bible has section headings, then Luke 15:11-32 is titled “The Prodigal Son.” Why? You’ve probably heard this story a thousand times? But I ask you, who exactly is the main character?

   The parable starts, “There was a man who had two sons…” A man with 2, that is two, sons.

When I read all of chapter 15 in context, I see responses to the accusation that Jesus dined with sinners:  If you lose a sheep or a silver coin, don’t you go after it and get excited when you find it? That’s what the Father is doing and then rejoices when His treasure is found. How much more are we treasured?

   So there is a dad, and one son basically says, “I no longer wish to dine at your table, since you won’t die fast enough, just go ahead and give me my inheritance now.” I find it fascinating that the Father complied with the request, without judgment or offense.

   Meanwhile the other son continues ‘slaving’ for His Father. Although, considering how the Father treated the first son, I doubt He required this slaving attitude from His children.

   Time passes and the first son comes back to himself, remembers where he came from and figures he’s better of slaving for His Father and comes home very repentant, but expecting punishment. Oh but what a magnificent Father he has! A Father who recognizes his son’s gait and, full of compassion, runs to kiss him. No ‘I told you so…what a waste…you owe me,’ just a kiss and a feast. 

   Just as the feast starts and his son takes his place at His Father’s table once more, the other son comes in from his works. And He is pissed. So angry that he refuses to come to His Father’s table. He has slaved all these years and never received this kind of celebration. Oh but what a magnificent Father he has! A Father who recognizes that his son has forgotten who he is and gently reminds him, actually pleads with him.

   “Son, you have always had access to your inheritance, you are MY son, not a servant, whether you work for me or not, all I have has always been yours. Always. You just never asked for it. Please come out of the field and feast with me now.”

   So, on that day both his prodigals were lost and then found. Both. One had walked away from his Father, the other walked away from His grace. But this story is about our magnificent Father who seeks His lost children and invites them back to the table.

Highlights to the story:

…Jesus CONTINUED: “There was a man who had two sons…
…So the younger son got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with COMPASSION for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him…
…But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate…
…Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing…The older brother became angry and REFUSED to GO IN. So his father WENT OUT and PLEADED with him…My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours…
Luke 15:11, 20, 22-25, 28, 31 NIV

Week 6 No Fear in Love  

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭103:8-14 

   In the book of Romans Paul claims that neither death nor life or angels nor demons are nor present nor future powers nor anything in all of creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. That can be hard to believe, NOTHING separates us from his love.

    It seems unbelievable only if we have made God in the image of man. Think about that for a minute, what image have you made him in? Chances are that image is a fictional one.

   God defines the characteristics of Love in 1 Corinthians 13. Does Father ask us to love in a way that He does not? How far is the east from the west? They will never touch. He cannot be provoked by me, and He holds no record of my wrongs.

   Our Father never wants to separate us from Him, just from our sin. The Love of your Father is so great that He desires to remove every barrier to your union with Him.* You must understand this Love before you can truly take up your roles as the sons and daughters of God.

“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”  ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭103:8-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Declaration 1

God is infinitely good, far more loving and gentle and kind to his children than any earthly mother or father imaginable.*

God is infinitely complete; nothing can threaten or disturb him. Nothing can be taken away from him, making him less than complete, or added to him who is already complete.*

*Dekker, Ted. Vanderbush, Bill. The Forgotten Way, pp. 245, 36.
*** I drew out the compass and lettering in my sketchbook until I got what I wanted and then traced into the column with pencil. Just FYI, it’s really hard to trace circles. Then I smudged Gelatos with my sponges. I used colored microns to trace lettering and the compass. Then I added pastel Pitt pen details for color.

Week 5 No Fear in Love

“Fear involves the expectation of divine punishment”
If I am reading 1 Jn 4 correctly, I don’t need to know how to love. I need to know the One who is Love, my heavenly Father. Not just know Him, but dwell in Him, let Him dwell in me. I need to stare into the mirror of Love and not forget what manner of woman I am, because He says, “as He is, so am I in the world.” Therefore, I, too, am Love.

The more I connect with God, my Father, through the promised a Holy Spirit, the more Love is perfected in me. The dread of punishment, disappointment or disengagement moves out of this dwelling. In reality, there is just no more room for fear because my house is crowded with the fullness of my Father who is love.

Love sends fear packing.

1 JOHN 4:16b-18 AMP
…God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, AND God abides continually in him. In this [union and fellowship with Him], love is completed and perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him]; because as He is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love]. 

*** so this is one of my major mess ups. I created this on back of a page that had heart stickers on it. Some of the ink from that side bled through, so I decided to use acrylic on the edge to cover up the ink. But the acrylic started to leave heart impressions, which was OK I guess, but I decided to use a heat tool to dry the acrylic. I didn’t think about the fact that my heart stickers on the other side were made of acrylic. So the heat tool started to curl up those hearts and create a wrinkled page. I was so upset, now I’d ruined both sides. How could I possibly post this ugly picture. But I asked the Lord to show me something through it. Love covers a multitude of mistakes, and shame is fear. The kind Love just sent packing. And this is what I ended up with, Sticker letters suitcases it cut out and glued on and sprinkles of snow. And no shame or fear.

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Binge-Watching. 

Have you ever fallen into the trap of binge-watching? You know, finding a new series or a favorite series on Netflix and saying to yourself, “Self, let’s take a break and only watch one episode.” And then days later, wiping tears from your eyes, you have watched a whole season, or every season. 

Entering the real world again, you concern yourself with Fringe events on the news, wonder if you have stumbled into the Upside Down, and avoid zombies as they limp from the parking garage. Maybe you find your day dark and dreary, unable to shake the mourning of Lady Sybil or Glenn. Or, you whistle a happy Irish tune while strolling to work, wishing you had a metal detector to find the Viking hoard below your feet.

These fears and emotions were brought to you by ‘too much…’ We have filled our eyes, ears and heart with fictional characters and their fictional lives. Now their fictional lives have affected our real ones. What if we decided to binge-watch God? 
“How can I binge-watch God?” You ask?

All nature declares His Glory, take a slow walk, be aware. Ponder the night sky.  See Him hiding in the faces of all the people around you. Read the written Word of God and have a discourse with Him. Seek and you will find treasure that is worth more than gold, needs and wants.

The more episodes of our Creator we watch, the more His story will affect ours. Let’s put down the remote and binge-watch some Jesus.

Psalm 19:1-4 NIV   “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.”

Romans 1:20 NIV   “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Detectorists Theme Song
Will you search through the lonely earth for me,
Climb through the briar and bramble.
I’ll be your treasure.
I felt the touch of the kings and the breath of the wind,
I knew the call of all the song birds.
They sang all the wrong words.
I’m waiting for you,
I’m waiting for you.

Will you swim through the briny sea for me,
Roll along the ocean’s floor.
I’ll be your treasure.
I’m with the ghosts of the men who can never sing again,
There’s a place follow me.
Where a love lost at sea.
Is waiting for you.
Is waiting for you.

Week 4 Look! How Magnificent is Your Father!

   We cannot get away from the fact that the God who created the universe also created us and declares we are His children. While this is Truth, the Pharisees despised Jesus because He actually called God Abba, Father, and encouraged the people to do likewise.
   This is the one Truth the enemy wants to keep from you. Fatherhood denotes intimacy, the kind of intimacy that has lavishly sacrificed to bring you home. Your belief in Jesus’ salvation can only take you as far as what you believe God, your Heavenly Father, thinks about you.
   You, adopted through His Sacrificial Love, are NOW His child. His Beloved daughter or son, in whom He is well pleased.

1 Jn 3:1-3
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, NOW we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

*** with it being Valentine season, there are heart stickers galore at all the stores. I found these and decided on the arrangement. I placed them down, used a blue micron pen and ruler to draw the strings. Then wrote the lettering at the bottom BUT I spelled daughter wrong! So found some scrapbook paper, covered up the mistake and kept moving forward.-Pauline bat Yhvh