God Paints

Before I could scribble my name with a crayon, I was painting pictures of the world I saw around me.

Growing up I enjoyed watching “The Joy of Painting” which was a show hosted by Bob Ross. I would sit amazed by how he could take a blank canvas and quickly convert it into a landscape with pristine lakes and frosted mountain tops. What amazed me even more was the process between the beginning and the end.

He would always start with an empty canvas and prime it with a thin coat of white paint. He then would proceed to make all sorts of strokes and lines followed by what seemed like a strange assortment of colors all disorganized about the canvas. Had he not so carefully explained what he was doing step by step, I would have thought to myself “this man is crazy, there is no way knows what he is doing.”

As a painter, having that assumption made about your work before it is complete is rather annoying.Having someone stand over your shoulder while you are doing anything that you are skilled at can add tension, but having them criticize you in an area that they know very little of and that you are perfectly gifted at completing is more than trying on our imperfect human patience.

Many times in my life I have questioned God. I have boldly and ignorantly demanded that He tell me why my life was falling to pieces wondering what I had ever done to deserve such an ill-fitting set of circumstances. There have been times when I have confronted God, and told Him how things could be better in my life, and prayed selfishly for my will be done rather than “Thy will be done.”

One day I was painting, and talking “at” God rather than “to” Him, and I felt Him say to me “Be quiet.” He reminded me of the many times I have had on lookers criticize my paintings before they are finished, and I quickly realized that that was the very thing I was doing to God.

God is the supreme artist, and He is the only one who sees the entire canvas of our lives. He is the one person that we can fully trust, knowing that He will not betray us. You may be experiencing a shade of darkness in your life right now. You may not understand what God is or is not doing. However, find peace in knowing God has a detailed plan and He will perfectly finish the painting of your life if you allow Him to.

These verses confirm His plan for your life.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Fear and Desire

I grew up in christian school. There I was made to memorize scripture. The first scripture that comes to mind is Proverbs 3:5-6 which says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."

I've known this scripture, left it hidden in my heart for nearly 20 years. Yet I still forget about it.

Another scripture that has always brought me much comfort is Psalm 27:1-3 "The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.Though an army besiege me,my heart will not fear; though war break out against me,even then I will be confident."

So often I have these great desires to do BIG things for God. However, as soon as my thought is birthed, a fear of failure creeps in and tries to rob me of the idea before it becomes a vision. Honestly, I am tired of it. In order to succeed and do well a certain amount of sacrifice is required, and this is the very essence of worship. Sacrifice.

Recently this verse has been resonating in my mind. It is found just below the passage I previously mentioned. Psalm 27:4 "One thing I ask from the LORD,this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple."

I am so tired of falling short because of fear. I'm growing stagnant, and I need to move. My heart is saying "Seek His face." And my soul is screaming, "Your face, Lord, will I seek." I know that if I do just that, trust in HIM, and allow the my Light and Salvation to take utter control in my life, that the barriers of fear in my life will cease.

I want to worship the Lord in total abandon, and will sacrifice what I must to obtain this.

The Great Worship Resource Give Away!

$25,000 Worship Resource Giveaway from Proclaim
New church presentation software is coming out soon called Proclaim and
it’s located here http://proclaimonline.com. Unlike all other church
presentation software systems, this one will allow pastors, worship
leaders, and worship team members to all access and add to the same
presentation before it’s presented, and then use the same application to
run the presentation during the service.


To add to the excitement of the release of Proclaim, they are giving away
$25,000 in worship resources in The Great Worship Resource Giveaway.
They are going to have 100’s of winners of some of the best worship
resources on the market. The giveaway is located on the Proclaim home
page http://proclaimonline.com where you will see how to enter. You can
also see all the prize partners there, listing out some great resources from
companies like Planning Center Online, Graceway Media, Worship Leader
Magazine, Centerline Media, Musicademy, Clover Sites, Christian Musician
Summit, Luna Guitars, National Worship Leader Conference, and prizes
from many more.

I’m excited about this new product Proclaim. You can see a video of the
software on their site which gives a quick detail of how it will help worship
leaders and ministry teams. Visit http://proclaimonline.com to see the
video, and enter ‘The $25,000 Great Worship Resource Giveaway