Cracks

Ever experience those days where you feel like you don't have a crack in your armor, but maybe in your soul? Black cracks that run deep and all you can do is focus on them and groan.

I am so thankful that God understands my GROAN. I am also thankful that He knows where the cracks came from in the first place.

As I sat in His healing presence, He and I talked about these painful cracks. One of the intriguing things my Creator pointed out to me is that they bring out DEPTH.

So whether it is in a painting or in my life, these cracks CONTRIBUTE to the overall picture; the art doesn't look quite as flat and I am somehow not as shallow.

But Deliver Us From Evil

I had the Aurora families in mind when I composed this photograph tonight.

It is simply a shot of my hands with one small flashlight as the lighting source. A camera mounted on a tripod with a timed release took the shot while I held my hands under the lens. Nothing remarkable about all that, but it DID give the effect I was looking for  to comfort those who mourn:

I cannot debate the "higher ways of the Lord" when my humanness simply does not understand and I cannot accuse my Savior of being evil Himself for giving man a free will to do despicable things of ALL kinds, and I don't know what was going on in the minds of those who were experiencing the horror of this attack, but I DO know that the Lord is well able to save when His Name is called upon. I DO believe in death bed conversions and I am absolutely certain that the old saying, "there are no atheists in fox holes" rings true when murderous EVIL comes charging to steal, kill, and destroy.

For those who are sorely tempted to "curse God and die" as Job's wife bitterly told HIM to do, I pray that the God of ALL COMFORT will pour Himself upon you.

I don't know if those who lost their lives that night had their hands clasped in prayer or in the hand of another loved one or even a stranger, but I pray this picture helps you SEE the following:

The Lord is a VERY PRESENT help in time of trouble. The Lord was holding the hands of those who knew Him as Savior until the very end and some grabbed His hand for the very first time that night.
For THEM, their future looks extremely bright. THEY have been delivered from evil for all eternity.

I pray that as you look at this picture that you will see the Hand of the Deliverer gripping the hand of one crying out in the darkness and I hope that you will see that the hands also represent the MANY intercessors who are praying for you, your children, your spouse, your siblings, your friends, your loved ones; those who survived the attack and those who did not.

May the Lord DELIVER you from evil that would make your heart sick. May the Lord DELIVER you from evil that would accuse Him of being deaf, blind, and uncaring. May the Lord DELIVER you from evil that causes nightmares. May the Lord DELIVER you from evil that says God is dead and that the "dark knight of hell" is in control. May the Lord DELIVER you from evil that shouts to you to NEVER EVER FORGIVE OR FORGET. May the Lord DELIVER you from evil by overwhelming you with His loving kindness, compassion, provision and healing power He not only CAN do, but that He WILL do.

Blessed are those who mourn for they SHALL BE comforted.

How Beautiful

On July 7 2007 I was in Nashville attending THE CALL to pray for our nation. I had my camera with me to record this time in our history and joined the MASSES on the stadium field.

There were many people of all ages, colors, and nations worshipping and praying as one. A man was lying prostrate in front of me and, like so many, had removed his shoes.

I was so taken by this moment that I almost felt guilty for having my camera out, but I felt an unction to take a picture of the man's feet because I KNEW one day I would use it somehow and that day is now; five years later...

What was your first thought in the first two seconds when you looked at the picture before you really read the words? Was it anything like, "Man, those are some nasty dirty feet" as you zeroed in on the grime, the callouses, and how wrinkly the feet looked?

THEN the words began register and two in particular leaped out at you...

Beautiful...

Feet...

Let's stop right here. Some of you really give your feet a hard time verbally-ie-"I've got the ugliest feet known to man; my toes are hideous. I can't stand my feet" blah blah blah.

Let me ask you this:
Did you see the words GOOD NEWS on the feet or were you so focused on the dirt and callouses that you had to take another look. Let that sink in (but with NO shame or condemnation) for a moment and let's point out some other things regarding the picture.

The different colored textures that you see represent the roads we sometimes have to walk when carrying the good news. Those roads can be ROUGH. Literally rough and relationally rough. Some don't want to hear good news. Others live in places where their HEARTS are open, but the ROADS are not. Rough. Strenuous. Which is harder?  "I told you NO I don't want to HEAR it" or "Oh please come" while the roads and jungles seem to be blocking your way with NO.

So off you go; you and your branded feet that say GOOD NEWS. Did you notice that the GOOD NEWS has a blood red color to it? The GOOD NEWS also has "an outer glow" via Photoshop and it "casts a shadow." That made me snicker how the Lord uses EVERYTHING, even filter names in Photoshop, to prophetically point out something He wants us to see. Like Peter, our SHADOW can fall on people and they can be HEALED.

Finally, the deliberate light blast on the man/believer's jeans are to show that in the PRESENCE OF THE LORD we are bathed in His Light and in His glory.

Feet no longer are ugly looking and stinky smelling if we're the one crying out for help FROM the pit or  the one walking TOWARD the pit with BEAUTIFUL FEET... how sweet is the smell of deliverance and how radiant from being shod with the Gospel of Peace and GOOD NEWS.

How Beautiful.

Scale

So many scriptures come to mind when I gaze at this shot. I debated whether to put a scripture on it, but went another route.

If you look closely you will see a human in this picture. Hint-start at the bottom center, move to the left a little bit and come up. Find them?

That's why I named this particular picture "SCALE." You really see how HUGE the mountains are at this range. Your eyes tend to go back and forth to the human and then back to the mountains again. At least MINE do.

And isn't that what we do on this journey? "Dear God, look at the SIZE of that mountain! I can't climb that!" But take another look at the human; that "itty bitty human"...While I stared at them, I was reminded of the mustard seed and abruptly felt a quickening in my spirit; I remembered the verse that says, "if your FAITH is the size of a mustard seed, YOU can say to this mountain, 'MOVE from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20)

So what's your mountain? Debt? Sickness? Wayward kids? Wayward parents? Job loss? Drug addiction? Alcohol abuse? Marital strife? Old cycles that continue to haunt you? Fear?

The Lord may not be telling you to CLIMB that mountain...

...Maybe He wants you to SPEAK to it...

Where Is Your Focus?

This picture was photographed back in 2006 on a drive back from the Tetons in Wyoming.

So you have this big ominous cloud...run Toto, runnnn Forrrrest!

Where is your focus?

Sometimes when things are so HUGE that's ALL we can see until we look at the whole picture.

Some of you might say, "Marge, life is pretty dark right now; that nasty looking cloud describes perfectly the ongoing storms in my life. It's all I can see." I would say to you that I could certainly understand that and am not here to correct you with a religious answer. Storms ARE scary. The disciples "had Jesus right in the boat with 'em" during the STORM and they said, "Do you not CARE that we are PERISHING???" as Jesus slept peacefully while in their presence...

...While Jesus was WITH them in the storm...

(by the way, He did awaken and told the shrieking wind, pounding waves and stinging rain to BE STILL AND AT PEACE.) It was easy to "be still and know that He was God THEN...but how do you be still and know He is God DURING the storm?

Where is your focus?

I am reminded that FAITH is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things NOT SEEN.
Unseen hope and evidence...

So what do I SEE in the UNSEEN while keeping in mind HOPE and EVIDENCE?

I see some intimidating dark clouds, but I also see the SUN behind the clouds.
I see rain watering the land in a soft looking shower.
I see "a clearer day" on the left.

And let's say something about that opening right smak dab in the middle of the clouds:
It is true that as the world grows darker, the Lord's coming is drawing nearer. And although I do not want to be the kind of believer that says, "I'm just hanging on til the Rapture" I am comforted by the words found in  First Thessalonians 4:16-18 while I continue to work until the sky splits and the Master returns:

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."

Where is your focus?