THE WORD - 10

December 24, 2017

     This began as my 'Christmas' post for Facebook and just
got way too long. So here we are!!

I was sitting in my living room trying to figure out what kind of picture I want to put on my post. I didn't want anything ordinary. Then I saw my painting - Before the Beginning, painted by my dear friend and artist JoAnn DePolo. That was it!!

     I fell in love with this painting the first time I saw it in her studio. It abounds with the power of movement and life! I want to share what this painting says to me as my Christmas wish for you.

     Genesis 1:1-3, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was chaos and waste, darkness was on the surface of the deep, and the Holy Spirit was hovering upon the surface of the water. Then God said, "Let there be light!" and there was light...

     For me, this painting represents what happens when God speaks. I always saw 3 different layers in the painting. On the bottom, you have the chaos and darkness. Then the movement as God spoke - power and authority went forth from Him and things couldn't stay where they were. They needed to come into alignment with His Word!! The top, well doesn't that look like the earth? You can see gold swirling around in the 2nd layer. That's the Holy Spirit, which was hovering over the chaos, the creative and active force of God to bring order from the chaos. WOW! I just love this painting!!

    So, you may ask, what does this have to do with Christmas?? It's found in John 1:1-3 & 14, In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were made through Him, and apart from Him nothing was made that has come into being. ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...   Jesus is the Word!! Creation came through Jesus! The Word became flesh to pay the price for our sin! 

     God reminded me today that I had shared something similar with Jared when he was staying here after rehab. I was reading Rick Joyner's devotional 50 Days for a Firm Foundation. In Day 2, The Plan, he wrote, " The point is that the Holy Spirit can make a glorious creation out of the most desolate place. He can also bring forth a glorious new creation out of the most desolate, confused, and empty life."

     My prayer for you this Christmas is that you allow God to speak His Word into your life. The Holy Spirit is waiting to bring order from your chaos, to bring light to the dark areas of your life. You just need to surrender to Him. Not easy!! In my life, it's like a tug of war - I surrender - then I take it back - then I surrender... Let us take the Word, the Bible, and as the Holy Spirit moves us, we surrender and allow him to create new life in us. "The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword-piercing right through to a separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." ( Hebrews 4:12). The power of God's Word has not diminished with time. He's just waiting for you to come!