Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Masterpiece - A Short Story

Once upon a time there was a talented Painter. This incredible Artist was known all over the world for His intricate and beautiful masterpieces. His paintings were priceless, and He gave His life completely to the works of art that He created.

            One particular painting He treasured most highly. For many years He worked on this painting, perfecting and beautifying it. The more that He worked on this painting, the more it resembled the very nature of the Painter Himself.

The painting often grew tired of the constant changes and perfecting that the Painter put it through. It was hidden in the back of the Artist’s gallery and no one was allowed to see it. It often wondered why it needed so much perfecting if no one was to ever enjoy the work He put into it.

There were many other beautiful paintings that hung in the Artist’s gallery. The painting, not being able to see its own beauty, often bemoaned its own supposed ugliness. “For, surely,” it thought, “I must be terribly hideous for the Artist to work so much and still hide me from the eyes of the world.”

The only bright spot in its dark life behind the curtain was the time that the Artist spent lovingly touching up and perfecting it. Often the Painter would rub away spots or scrape off extra paint. This was not a pleasant experience for the painting but it soon grew to trust the Master who worked so carefully and patiently on His masterpiece.

One day, the Master stopped working, stepped back and admired His painting. It was truly the most beautiful painting in the world and worth more than anything to the Painter. He had given much time and effort to this painting; it was the dearest thing in the world to Him.

The Painter decided that the time had come to showcase His masterpiece to the world. However, because of the incredible value of the painting, He only allowed a very small, privileged group of people to come to the showing. These were of the very highest caliber; personal friends of the Painter Himself. He knew that He could trust them to care for His masterpiece should they decide to buy it.

The day finally came. The painting was carefully placed in the most honored section of the gallery. The handful of people who had been invited started to arrive. Each one praised the incredible beauty of the painting and the comments went something like this:

“What an amazing painting! Surely everyone in the world must seek after such a prize!”

“Oh, that I could own such a painting! But I could never be worthy of such a gift.”

The Painter smiled with pleasure at the comments that the people made. He knew the priceless value of His creation and the great beauty it displayed.

The painting was astonished at the words directed towards itself. It knew that it had nothing to do with its own beauty and gladly reflected all the praise towards the Painter who had created it. However, when none of the people offered to actually buy it for his own, the painting began to feel sad and disheartened. It saw the look of joy on the Artist's face and the pride with which He showcased His work of art. However, the painting could not understand why no one actually sought to buy the painting for himself.

Days went by and it seemed that all the close, trusted friends of the Painter had been allowed to view its exquisite beauty. The painting, discouraged by the lack of interest, started to lose heart. It became discontent when no man sought to own it for himself.

One day the beautiful painting asked the Artist the reason for the lack of interest. It said, “Master, if I am so beautiful, and if everyone admires me so much, why is no one interested in owning me himself? Why must I wait so long in this gallery when so many other paintings are bought every day?”

The Master smiled at the beautiful painting and said, “My beautiful masterpiece, you are priceless. None of the buyers that come in here every day are worthy to take you home. For now, you belong only to Me.”

The painting sighed and replied, “But Master, what about the close friends that have come? The ones that You trust most, that You give Your best paintings to? Why was I not given to one of them?”

The Master said nothing for a while. He looked thoughtful and when He spoke, His words were weighed carefully. “I have someone already picked out whom you have never seen. This friend of Mine is very dear to My heart. He has never been here, not because he is not interested in buying any of My works of art, but because he trusts Me to pick out the very best. He does not need to look for the best one himself: he is simply trusting Me to create one for him. He will come when I decide that he is ready and worthy to take you for his own.”

Days, weeks and even months passed. The painting continued to be perfected and beautified, and shown only to the most worthy of the Artist’s close friends. It was admired by all, but none sought to buy the painting for his own. It seemed as if they all knew that it had already been claimed, or else feared that the Artist would not wish to give up his most prized possession. The painting tried to remember all that the Painter had said about the one chosen to take it home, but it was difficult to not be jealous of the other paintings that found homes sooner.

At the end of one particular day, the gallery was closed and the lights were turned off in the main area. As usual, the Painter made his way to the back of the gallery to admire the beautiful masterpiece that He kept for Himself.

Only this time, the Painter was not alone. With Him was someone who looked and acted very much like the Painter Himself. The painting had never seen this man in the gallery before. He walked by all of the other paintings without even seeing them. Toward the back he strode with a strong, firm step. The moment his eyes lighted on the beautiful masterpiece, he stopped in amazement. The Painter saw the look of admiration on the man’s face and said softly, “Are you pleased with the work that I have prepared for you? I have decided that you are now ready to take this masterpiece home. I trust it with no one other than you.”

The man, still staring wistfully at the priceless painting, replied in wonder, “Oh Sir, I could never afford such a wonderful work of art as this! This is the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. It reminds me so much of You! I could never buy this priceless treasure.”

The master Painter smiled and said, “There is no need for you to buy this painting. I have paid the price for it already. It is a gift. It was created for you and will fit perfectly in your life.”

With that, the Artist lifted the beautiful work of art off of its place and handed it carefully to the man. With a solemn look He instructed him in the care of the masterpiece and the priceless worth that it held. The man gazed in wonder at the gift of which he had only dreamed. It was the most perfect thing he had ever held and he knew that nothing else would ever mean as much to him as this incredible gift from his Friend.

The joy of the painting was boundless. This man was better than any it had ever seen, and more perfect than it had dreamed. It knew that although it was leaving the gallery, it would always see its Master’s face in the look of the new owner to whom it had been given.

The Painter led the man to the door. He thanked the Artist again and again for the beautiful gift and promised to treasure it and protect it with his life. The Artist smiled, knowing that both the painting and the man would be happy. They had trusted Him; waiting for His perfect plan and timing. He knew that they both would be happy beyond their wildest dreams.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Second chances

How amazing our God is! That He would forgive our sins and continue to allow us to serve Him when we had wronged Him so much!

And how great He is to allow us to try again, and to give us second and even third chances..... Even more than that! He is always growing and changing us to become more like Him and giving us more opportunities to serve Him.

I am so sincerely thankful for the mercy of my Saviour and His second chances. When I have messed things up royally and my whole life doesn't make sense, I can find a quiet place and hear His voice. Sometimes He uses others to show me how wrong I am, or where I have strayed from His perfect plan for my life...

But always, He is ready to forgive and forget and give me one more chance to serve Him. And I love Him with all my heart!

Make your life count!
Always,
Amanda

Friday, April 26, 2013

Tuned to His Frequency

Last semester I had the chance to be a part of a drama production at Golden State Baptist College. It was an absolutely incredible experience and I loved it. Part of my job in the evening performance was to be the backstage manager of sorts. I had a headset and walkie talkie set. I was in communication with the sound booth, and the lighting crew the entire time. Yes, I talked to the actors backstage, and did other things. But I was still wearing the headset and I could talk to them and hear everything they were saying.

It reminded me of how prayer should be in our lives. Prayer isn't necessarily always talking to God. Sometimes it is just being there to listen. To keep tabs on His thoughts, even if when we aren't specifically focused on Him.

I wasn't with the other crew members. I couldn't see them, and I wasn't in the same place. But I could always hear them, no matter what I was doing. I was constantly in touch with what they needed from me, and what was going on where they were. And my radio was always tuned to their frequency.

We may not be able to pray 24/7, but that does not mean that we can't always hear God. When we are truly surrendered and right with Him, He sends us "messages" throughout the day to help us and guide our steps.
Prayer is so much more than just praying. It is living with the knowledge that God is always there, and listening for Him all the time. Like a radio, it's always being tuned to His frequency.

Make today count!
Always,
Amanda

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Letting Go or Giving Up?

Two different things or the same?

How about an analogy. God has showed you something in your life. You know that this thing is a serious burden on your heart, and you have a very definite idea of what you want the outcome of this situation to be. But yet you feel the tug of the Holy Spirit on your heart, telling you to trust Him and let go of what you want. He wants you to give Him to pen of the script and let Him write the story of your life.

Or, sometimes we see a situation that seems impossible. We know in our heads that God can do what He promises, and of course He wants us to be happy and He loves to give good gifts to His children. But we just feel like our prayers are getting us nowhere in a hurry. Nothing is happening and every time we try to "help God out", we end up making a disaster of things.

Sound familiar?

Too often we assume that letting go and giving up go hand in hand. We assume that if God is asking for our trust in Him about our dreams and plans, then by default He is going to take them away and we might as well give up on them ever becoming a reality.

But letting go doesn't mean giving up.

Giving up displays no faith in God's miraculous power. When we give up on a burden of our heart we are telling God that we do not believe He is capable of answering our prayers. Our faith is weak or nonexistent. And did you know, that the only thing that stops God's hand from doing amazing things with our lives is our own sin and unbelief?

However, letting go allows Him to show us what is not meant to be in our life, and the great things that He can do when we allow Him to fully use us. When we let go of our agendas and plans and allow Him to take what does not belong in our lives, and leave what is best, then He can bless us. Only when we are willing to take our hands from the pen of our lives and let go, can He have full access to fulfill His perfect plan through us.

Never will we regret giving everything to God and truly letting go. Nothing in this world can compare to having the Savior who died to prove His love, in charge of our lives.

So hold His blessings in an open hand. Trust Him with everything but never give up on His power to answer prayer. And always remember, He makes no mistakes.

Make today count!
Always,
Amanda

Giving God Your Idols

Giving up the very thing that means the most to us. Laying all our dreams and desires down at the feet of our precious Savior. How noble it seems, and how far we think we have gone to honor Him!

But are we laying a precious treasure at His feet?

Or an idol?

Idols are anything in our lives that we love more than God. Our initial reaction to a statement like that is repulsion. Of course we would never love anything more than God!! Right?

But sometimes idols hide well. Sometimes they really are gifts from God that the devil has used to sidetrack us. Our idols might be a person, a job, a habit, or even our dreams for the future. But whatever they are, they keep us from loving our King first and keeping Him on the throne of our hearts. Idol worship in the Bible was often symbolized as spiritual adultery. Leaving our first love for something or someone else.

Of course, we would never call it an idol. It isn't that we worship that dream or the person or situation. But we just can't imagine our lives without it. We will do anything for God........ As long as that one thing is still in our lives.

Idols are hard to identify sometimes but they are even harder to get rid of. We think that by telling God that He can do whatever He wants in our life, even taking that one thing from us, that we are offering our best to God.

But God wants nothing to do with our idols. Instead of a sweet sacrifice of love, we are offering Him our own rejection of His person! What a terrible thought! We are telling God that because we hold this thing to be more important than Him, we will give it to Him to show our love. How confusing!

It's like slapping someone in the face and then telling them it was a gift because of how much you love them.
God does not appreciate us giving Him our idols. In fact, He hates them. They take many different shapes and sizes but they are all the same. They steal our heart, our time, our energy and our dreams away from our Heavenly King. They turn our focus away from His dear face.

In order to love Him first, we must tear down the idols of our hearts, and turn our eyes back to our loving Savior. Just like in Judges, the very godly kings took down the high places and cut down the groves, so we must completely cleanse our lives of everything that reminds us of that idol. God can only pour Himself into an empty vessel, He only wants to use a clean one.

I want to encourage you to search your heart and ask God to show you any idols that you may have. Be sincere, and honest before the Lord. Be 100% willing to turn away from anything that is stealing your heart. Put no qualifications on God's will for you. Love Him first and give Him everything, and He will shine His miraculous power through your life.

Make today count!
Always,
Amanda

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Just a good quote!

Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.

3 easy ways to get patience in 5 minutes! Guaranteed!

Ever heard that slogan before? Maybe not with the word "patience" but with something? There are ads all over the place online and in magazines telling you that you can gain what you want in just a few easy steps or a few easy minutes. And half the time they try to convince you that no effort is required in achieving your goals.

But that's the world's system. God works in an entirely different way. He allows us to go through long trials and struggles to teach us patience. We are so used to the quick and easy methods of getting what we want in life, that we hate waiting for the Lord. But there is no easy or quick way to learn patience. It is a very long, sometimes very difficult process that God uses to conform us into His image.

But it is very much worth it. No matter what goes on in our lives, God is using it to build patience in us. Take your trials to the Lord and leave your burdens at the Cross. He wants you to trust Him in this difficult situation, and He will use it to build you up and draw you closer to Him.

Remember that no matter what you're going through, there is no need to fear, when God is on your side. Let Him build your patience.

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥