I will follow you

Luke 9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to [Jesus], "I will follow you wherever you go."

When I was a child, one of our family traditions was quail hunting on winter weekends in south Georgia. We hunted by way of Tennessee walking horses, who for the most part were relatively docile and obedient. The one thing I noticed, though, was that even in the midst of the beautiful open fields and wooded areas, they were always inclined to head back towards the barn. If I let go of the reins and allowed them to steer themselves, their first inclination was not to run away to explore new pastures and fields, but to run straight towards what was comfortable and familiar, the barn.

Often in our walks with Christ, our hearts are similarly inclined. We forego the freedom of the pasture and the adventure in the woods for the comfort and safety of the stall. The horse in the painting above sits at the door of the stall, with halter on and lead nearby, ready to be led by his owner. Unintentionally, this painting turned out to be a picture of humility, a visual reminder of where our hearts should be when it relates to being led by our Savior.

Following Christ does not always feel like the "safest" place to be. The weather can be rough outside of the stall and we may be led to places we do not want to go and do things we do not desire to do, but allowing Christ to lead us out of our "safe places" is, in reality, the safest place for our souls. God is our refuge and our hiding place, not the man made stalls that we build around our hearts to guard them from the weather.

Father, lead me out of the stall. Let my halter always be on, ready to be led by you. Pull me out of my "safe places" and free my heart of the inclination to head back towards the barn. There is no greater adventure and no greater joy than being led by you. Lead me, Lord. "I will follow you wherever you go."

This painting was a birthday commission for a precious ten year old girl named Sally whose passion is horse back riding. Happy Birthday Sally! I pray that you would know that there is no greater adventure than following your Savior. I pray that when you are led into the pastures and forests in your walk with Christ, you would know that you are never alone. Your God is there leading and guiding you every step of the way. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Lord, Light My Path

12 x 16

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This is one of a pair of paintings I did for a woman and her sister who both wear rings that have the phrase, "Lord Light my Path" written on the inside of the ring. She wanted a pair of paintings depicting that phrase, one for her sister and one for herself.

When I think of the Lord lighting my path, I picture myself carrying a lantern that only illuminates what is right in front of me. More often than not, I cannot see what is at the end of the path. I am simply required to take small steps of obedience as he gradually illuminates the ground in front of me.

I painted the three legged stool without really thinking about any significance and then realized afterward that it is actually a neat picture of the Trinity. The three legs are separate but the stool is one, and it is all three parts of the trinity that hold our lantern and light our path. We must know him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is something about it that speaks to me about knowing him fully. Our paths are lighted as we grow in his Word, which causes us to know him more fully as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I pray for both of these women that God would light their paths and continue to guide and direct them throughout their lives. I pray that as He gradually illuminates their paths, He would give them the courage and strength to take those steps of obedience that God directs them to. And I pray that with each step they would know him more fully as the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit.

You are Already Clean

14 x 24

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John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

Whenever I sweep my kitchen floor, I use my grandmother's old broom and a cheap green dustpan that I purchased at the local grocery store. I am sure there are more progressive versions of the dustpan on the market, but I have never taken the time to search for one, so I just stick with what resides in my broom closet.

My method of sweeping entails sweeping up several different piles of dust and debris into different areas of the kitchen and then sweeping the piles into one large pile and attempting to sweep it into the dustpan. The majority of the matter sweeps easily into the pan, but there always seems to be a fine line of tiny particles and dust that just cannot make the ascent over the edge of the pan. Regardless of how hard I try, the smaller particles either lodge at the dustpan's edge or they slide right beneath my dustpan.

Pictured above is a painting of my broom and dustpan. While working on this painting, it still needed some finishing touches so I sat it in my entrance way to remind me to finish it. I tend to be somewhat of a procrastinator, so the painting sat there for several weeks. In the meantime, a woman came by to pick up her grandson who was over for a play date. She saw the painting and identified with it because she sweeps a lot. She then read the verse that says "You are already clean" and she kind of laughed and said, "Oh, I certainly don't think I am clean, but I do love the painting." I reminded her that she is clean if she knows Jesus, but I understood what she meant and could easily identify with her statement. More than any other truth in the Christian life, this is the one I seem to lose sight of the most. "You are already clean." "What?" I say to God. "It couldn't possibly be. I see the depths of the sin in my own life. How could I be clean?" As David said in Psalm 51, "For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me." I see the pride, the self-centeredness, and all the transgressions that are "always before me." Then, if I am not constantly reminding myself of the gospel, I tend to forget what Jesus said in the book of John, "You are already clean..."

In my battle with sin, it can begin to seem as if there is a line of dust and debris that just cannot quite make it over the edge of God's dustpan. But then God, in his grace and mercy, says to me, through his word, that nothing could be farther from the truth, and he lovingly reminds me, "You are already clean. There is no line of dust left at the edge of my dustpan. Every speck, whether large or small, has been swept away. I have covered you in my righteousness and made you 'whiter than snow.'"

When I finish sweeping, I take the pan and empty it into the trashcan. The trashcan goes out, is dumped into a large truck, and is driven away. I will never see it again. I will never think about it again. I will never say, "Remember that pile of dirt I swept up the other day." I will not meditate on that dirt. In fact, as soon as it slides off the dustpan into the trash, I will never consider it nor remember it again.

The same is true of our sin if we are in Christ. Hebrews 8:12 says, "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Psalm 103:10 says, "...as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." "You are already clean," he says "because of the word I have spoken to you."

Thank you, Father, that you have "already" made me clean. Thank you for that word "already" that reminds me that I am clean today, not tomorrow, not when I get to heaven, but "already." Thank you that even though I will always battle with sin in my flesh, you have made me a new creation, one that has already been swept perfectly clean. In Jesus Name. Amen.