The Canvas

There stood the white canvas on its easel, with a chair, all alone in a lush green meadow. Beyond the canvas in the distance towered a jagged blue range of mountains, and behind the canvas a dark forest was stretched out reaching for the great blue sky.

The Great Man approached the canvas, brush in hand. He sat down and began to paint. He painted and painted, loving every stroke. He painted His favorite things, which were from His heart. Once He had brushed out the setting, He added a new thing. He painted a figure resembling Himself, into the picture. He liked it and smiled as He sat back and stretched. He thought His picture a fine piece of art—and it was.

The Great Man’s servants came to look at the painting. They marveled at the new figure resembling the Great Man. With awestruck worship they began to sing for Him. The Great Man loved how they sung, and it made His joy greater.

But something strange began to happen on the canvas. The figure which the Great Man had painted started to drip off. The servants were shocked. Right there before their eyes, the painting’s most amazing figure was messing up the whole piece. The Great Man was devastated: He knew what had happened, and He knew what would need to be done in order to reverse it.

The Great Man sat down again and began to paint like never before. He painted with passion and love for His painting. He always painted what would ultimately make the picture more beautiful, but sometimes the figures in the painting did not understand. Sometimes the little figures thought that the Painter was making things worse—some even questioned whether the Great Man existed, or maybe He had forgotten about them and was letting the painting drip away into oblivion. The Great Man loved the painting and the figures, and He knew that if they would just trust His strokes, they would eventually understand His love for them, but they had become stubborn in their dripping.

The hardest strokes for the figures to understand were those which took other figures out of the picture. But the Great Man knew that sometimes figures had to be taken out in order to perfect His plan, and reveal His glory and love to them. If the figures had feared the Great Man while in the painting, He would breathe true life into them so that they could live in the Great Man’s world—the real world. But if they had not feared Him, they were forever separated from His guidance and presence—a most horrific thing.

Finally, all was ready for his plan to take affect. He gathered the servants around Him so that they could watch. And again He sat down, but this time He did not paint more figures resembling Himself. Instead, He painted Himself right into the picture.

The servants did not understand. What was going to happen? The Great Figure spent much time in the painting while the Great Man continued to paint. After much painting, the Great Figure dripped all over the canvas, just as the other figures did, and mixed up all the colors. But when the Great Man began to clean away the mixed colors, the servants saw that there were some figures that had stopped dripping. These new figures were beautiful.

“I love them!” the Great Man said.

The Great Man continued to paint. Fervently yet patiently He stroked out the figures, who sometimes dripped, but when they looked to the Great Figure who had been sent to save them, the Great Man forgave them.

He, the Great Man, did not intend for the dripping figures to remain this way forever—His plan was not finished. He decided that there would come a point on the canvas at which He would quit painting and discard it entirely. But first He would transpose all His beloved figures, who had been saved from dripping, into this awesome World wherein the Great Man painted. It was a much greater World than that with the drippings, and He knew the figures would love it there.

This was His plan and He was determined to continue painting beauty onto the canvas until He came to that one point. He loved each of His figures, and because He loved them He had given them the choice to look on the Great Figure for help, or to continue dripping. If they did look at the Great Figure, they were saved, if they did not—they were lost forever. It broke the Great Man’s heart to think that any of the figures would be forever lost and forgotten, but He restrained His passionate love in order that they might respond to His calling on their own accord.

If you were a figure, what would you chose? An eternal Heaven? Or a temporary painting?

C.D.

What Would Jesus Do?

Wow, imagine this, Christopher Witmer is actually updating his WordPress! SURPRISE! Life has been good and God has been good, as always. That is the interesting thing about life, it can be either negative or positive, but when God is walking alongside, one can usually look back and say it was good.

I just recently ate my first full Chick-Fil-A meal on August 1st. (I wonder how many people remember the date of the first time they ate at a fast food restaurant . . .) I and the group I was with did it mainly to show support for the organization and its employees in light of the attacks they have come under from many who support gay rights.

I am intrigued by the modern discussion of homosexuality and the stark difference between the two worldviews. Unfortunately, both sides of the argument can sometimes come through very hostile to each other. As a Christian, I hope that I am known as a safe and accepting person to be around, even though I believe homosexuality is a sin, just as I believe adultery, period, is a sin (adultery including: sex before or outside of marriage, lust, et cetera). Many times the very thing these people are longing for is love and acceptance and the only place they can find that is in a perverted way of relating to each other. I find this very sad because what they truly long for is Jesus and His powerful love, but many Christians have turned them into a spiritual and political enemy, which is not giving them the love they need and desire.

We all want love. Love is an amazingly powerful force. When a person feels loved, he has a sense of worth and dignity; and he  can begin to see from the lovers point of view, and will listen to what the one showing the love has to say. God is not a heavy-handed old man sitting in a booth upstairs just waiting for us to make mistakes so He can call us out and punish us. Rather, He is compassionate and extremely long-suffering. He loves us with an everlasting love. Not a cheesy love, no, but a love that will change one’s life. It changed and is still changing–transforming–my life.

I wonder if maybe the reason it is so hard for Christians to demonstrate love is because we often do not fully realize the extent to which God loves us! How can one give what one does not have? The reality is that He loves us so much that He died to live inside of us! – Do not resist it! – But He is a holy and jealous God and we are completely sinful–there is no way for us to have fellowship with God and receive His love and blessing: except through Jesus Christ, glory hallelujah! God sent His own son, Jesus, to make a way for us to be connected to the Father who loves us.

Realize, Christian, that there is nothing that can separate you from God’s love, yet there is nothing “lovable” about you, and yet He loves you passionately. It’s called grace. It’s called amazing. Now live it. Show some love to your homosexual neighbor–it will probably change their life. . .and yours.

C. D.

Beauty Deceived

In the beginning,

God, Creator, Supreme Spirit,

Formed a perfect world,

Stood back and smiled.

Such beauty and perfection

Could not be matched.

It was lovely, it was gorgeous,

And He was delighted.

Laughter was heard throughout Heaven.

The angels rejoiced,

And danced among the fresh stars;

Even the solemn and beautiful Lucifer Played his harp.

But as he played,

The desire to be praised

Sprouted within his restless heart.

Was he not a beauty among the angels?

So it began:

Angels were deceived,

And feet were stilled,

Yes, even those feet Which had danced the hardest.

And Heaven’s peace

Was split by the cries of war.

Lucifer and his legions;

Took up sword against the mighty Michael.

And from His throne,

God watched the battle below.

He knew what was to result.

His army would win,

But only then, the real war would begin.

The battle ended,

And Satan fled with his demons.

Michael trembled watching his friend rebel.

How could it happen?

Beauty was now deceiving.

The enemy had gone,

But God was the more disturbed,

For He knew what was to come,

And Heaven fell silent.

Perfection was yet among the stars,

But no voices were heard now,

No angels danced,

Something was taking place on Earth.

To the beautiful Eden,

Where God had placed his prize,

Satan had gone first.

The humans were too innocent.

Not knowing fully what had happened,

The angels gaped,

As the human’s souls

Turned suddenly red.

Beauty had deceived.

Those powerful white creatures

Knew not what to do,

So they turned to God,

And there they saw love, unravel.

The Great One came down from His throne,

Hurting and lamenting.

He wailed in sorrow:

His loved ones had died.

He shouted to heaven,

And rattled the planets.

The angels stood,

shocked,

How could this have happened?

All of Heaven cried,

And God went below to the humans;

So torn, so loving, so angry.

He knew what would happen.

———

As the ages went by,

Perfection left completely.

The earth was reformed,

The heavens were dead.

The souls of the humans,

Stayed very red.

But God did not seethe

He only received.

Things were different,

Never to be the same.

Hell had been formed.

(At which the angels shuttered.)

God had not hardened,

No He was the same.

It was they who were different:

The people on Earth.

God’s spirit was white,

Pure and alive.

Theirs were dead.

And their souls were red.

Yes God was still giddy,

But not as often,

For His prize still would not soften.

They were separated by a great veil.

They had lost all understanding

Of the God they had known,

While in the garden to roam.

They saw Him as angry and harsh.

No, He was the same.

It was they who had changed.

They were sinners,

And they were dead.

They saw His wrath, yes.

And why not?

They had rejected His perfection.

They had left, they had changed.

They had agreed with Satan.

God had created them all

To worship Him.

Yet they set up temples to worship the devil.

And Lucifer smiled, satisfied.

But no one knew

That God had a plan.

His love would, in the end, be shown

To even the rebellious ones.

Yes, He would go down one last time,

And show them Himself.

He would appear as a human.

And few would know.

His plan was clear and His mind set.

He was born of a virgin.

He lived as a carpenter.

And no one, except a few who believed,

Knew who He really was.

Yes, God was walking on earth,

And yet He was in Heaven.

God was convicted and tried,

And condemned to death.

Truth be told,

Their own folly would kill God.

It was Adam who had sinned,

And it was Adam who would kill Him.

So the red souls bound Him and stripped Him.

And took Him to death.

It shouldn’t make sense,

And it doesn’t.

The Creator created.

The Creation rebelled.

Now the Creation was killing the Creator,

And yet He would save the Creation.

And all of Heaven stood still.

Not an angel moved.

Even Hell was oddly silent

Above its screams.

Not a star fluttered in space;

It was so calm,

One could almost hear

The planets rotate on their axes.

And far down,

On the earth below,

With only a handful of humans observing,

God died.

And therein lays the paradox.

How could God die?

Especially after all they had done?

It was the humans who should have died,

Only now, if they repented, they never would.

But God could not remain dead.

For in Heaven He was ecstatic.

In one, two, three days,

He would rise, and prove to all

Who really was to be praised.

So now to all men, women, and children,

There is a choice.

A choice of worship,

Of agreement.

In Heaven the angels dance once again.

God’s joy is overflowing,

His passion revealed,

His love demonstrated.

There is a great battle,

Satan continues his struggle,

But we know the end of the story.

God wins.

Yet there will be casualties, my friend.

Will you be one?

We are caught between this great battle;

On one side stands Hell, on the other is Heaven.

Each of us is given a choice of allegiance.

Who will you choose?

C.D.

Spilled Blood

Recently something made me think about how we have all been hurt. It is a fact of life. The world has been cursed. People are not perfect, it is natural to get lost in the busyness of life, and tread upon someone’s life and feelings. It is not right, it is not nice. God hates to see us hurt; he knows what it feels like. But it happens, and hopefully we can learn from it. I have been hurt sometimes in my life, and I know that I will be hurt even more and probably much worse, but there are some people who are deeply wounded–wounded to an extent that it is all but impossible to forgive. Grudges can be held, bitterness is formed and the hurt never fully heals… they live the rest of their life out of their pain. They show everyone their wound. They expose it, and parade it about in order to gain sympathy. . . . . .

– – – – – – – – – –

There are some pains no amount of time can mend, some pains that reoccur like a childhood dream. We try to stuff our hearts with distractions and fantasies so distant that we fade into a quiet existence of delusional realities. We can forgive and forget, love and learn, and yet not escape the ever reoccurring dream.

It is the devil’s great pleasure to grab us with his bloody claws, and penetrate our hearts with his fangs. Our lives are devastated. We rush to the closest alternative of reality in a desperate attempt to forget our throbbing heart that remains lying at the feet of the enemy. The open hole in our chest repeatedly reveals to our dearest comrades that we have experienced great trauma. Out of a desire to show them how badly we have been wounded, we rip open the bandage, tearing off the scabs of healing–creating fresh pain and larger scars. Disgusted, our friends turn away; leaving us no excuse but to blame the past for what has happened in the present.

Longing to see ourselves changed–longing to see our heart restored to our body we start life anew. We tell ourselves that all will be better. Nobody knows our past, no one knows of the wound that even now affects our life’s walk. We stoop over from the pain as if our very backbone has been ripped out as well. It is obvious to all around us that something is wrong, and again, desiring sympathy and attention we rip off the bandages exposing our bodies to new pain.

We feel hopeless. We are hopeless. No one seems to care. Nobody is wallowing at our door begging to comfort! So we return to that place of horror, ready to give into the old venomous devil. We see him on his hellish throne–eager to consume our souls. But first, in a grudge of submission he turns to the heavens, as if for permission. And in stark wonder, we see a bright light, so bright to our sore eyes that we fall to the ground, overcome with even worse pain.

We see, in all His glory, the King standing at the threshold of Hell–blood gushing from His hands. He holds our hearts, but the blood comes not from that–now black, crusty thing–but from His hands, and His side, and His feet. And to the wonder of the whole world, our heart begins pumping, anew, His blood.

– – – – – – – – – –

Forgiveness is not a thing we can manage on our own. It is a miracle of God. Only GOD can forgive on such high levels of trespass. Jesus Christ never proved His divinity more than when He requested on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

As humans since it is so difficult for us to forgive, our immediate tendency is to fill our minds and lives with distractions and such in order that we do not have to sit and think about our pain. But we constantly live with this subconscious fear, and memory of what happened to us. We go through our lives “stooped over” as it were with this wound–or burden, so much so, sometimes, that we look at life upside down. And we live a life of constant failure, and hate, and fear–we live a wretched life.

But we must remember that all these distractions…whether it’s movies, books, music, work, alcohol, drugs, spirituality, friends, romance—whatever it may be, none of this can replace our “missing” heart. Only God can replace and fill that hole with what it truly needs. Only God, can truly make amends, take revenge, and ultimately forgive. So we must lean on Him and trust in His strength. Then we can truly live a “happy” life.

C.D.

“Those Guys”—Happen to be God’s Kids

As I caught the rebound of my basketball, a whiff of tobacco came my way from the picnic tables. I looked over and saw that it was those guys. Yeah, the stereotypical 16-year-old cigarette smokin’ guys–you know the kind.

But what about those guys. Doesn’t God love them too? How can I reject these guys because of their lifestyle, when no one has ever showed them a different one? I have a good family. They probably have multiple bad families.

Jesus is standing in Heaven, telling His people, “LOOK! I have children down there! Can’t you see them? I died for these kids! They’re lost and all alone. They’re lives are broken! DO something!”

Can we just stand back and say, “Hey, I serve a powerful God. If He wants these guys to change, He’ll make it happen.” The problem is, He is making it happen. If you are a Christian and you see “the least of these”, He is making it happen. If we ignore “the least of these”, we are ignoring Christ.

I am no longer content to just look on and criticize with clean and unscathed hands. I have clean hands now, but they better be dirty when I stand before Jesus–who’s hand’s were pierced for these kids.

C.D.

He Did it For You

I wonder how often I have read the gospels, and more specifically the Crucifixion story, and merely stored it up in the old brain as simple information?

I think this is a common mistake. It seems hard to transfer the severity of the situation from mere facts and apologetics to an actual belief and conviction of the heart. From a story, to a way of life.

But it just struck me–or maybe I should say He struck me.

As Jesus was dying on the cross, it was not that He just thought: “I am doing this for the world.” But as they drove those nails into his wrists, He was thinking, “That one is for Christopher.” He did it for me.

And He wasn’t just thinking of me, He was thinking of everybody! He was thinking of my neighbor, the President, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, even the dude I passed on the street and the homeless guy under the bridge.

People, this is phenomenal! As the Creator of the universe was “dying” at the hands of His creation, He was thinking of His creation. He was thinking of US!

Imagine it. Basically, when we sin (whatever it may be, no matter how big), we are re-driving the nails through His wrist, we are killing Him all over again. And He says, “That was for you.”

If that isn’t love…

C.D.

Perfect People

There is no such thing as a perfect person–and no, I have not be listening to Natalie Grant.

So often I am consumed by trying to make my life look good. Making sure all my failures and downfalls, insecurities and faults are hidden from the rest of the world. I make an attempt (a futile attempt) on my own, to lift myself up, to appear like what I am not.

I go through life trying to make every area exactly how it seems–or I am told to be done.

I pursue ideals. But the ideals I pursue are a mirage. I can never reach them. They are forever out of my grasp.

I ruffle the seas of my life, trying to steer a boat in the direction I want it to go. And out of my struggle to make my appearance and my relationships bright and shiny, I only create larger and bigger waves.

And God just steps back and says, “Ok, if that is the way you want to go, go ahead. But I’m here whenever you need me.”

So out of my rebellion and pride I continue to struggle on. I tackle the imperfections of my life–and off in the distance God still stands waiting for me to give it all to Him.

Imagine with me for a bit.

We are out in the middle of… … …well, let’s say the Sea of Galilee, it is known for its storms. But only this time, let us call it the Sea of Life, and the boat you are in is called, Your Life. You have sailed this sea up and down and all around–the fact is, you are the master, the expert on the Sea of Life. You know which exact routes are the best, which islands are the nicest. You even know which ports are the most convenient to dock at.

But this particular night wasn’t so great. It was a BIG mistake to set sail tonight. And now you are out in the very center of a great storm. Waves are toppling over the edges of your boat every second. The wind howls around you, close to hurricane speeds.  But you do not despair. Having always been a good leader you take complete command. “Do this! And do that!” you shout to the crew. But no matter how many times you change course, or how many times you bail water out, things just get worse and worse.

But then as you are leaning over the rail with your pail in hand, exhausted and resting from the long night’s work. You notice that a light has appeared behind you, thinking it strange for the sun to be up so early you turn around. And you come face to face with the full glory of the light. Out in the dark horizon stands a cross. A distinct cross–a stark contrast to the night sky. And on this cross of light hangs Jesus, looking down into your eyes. And you hear Him whispering–

Just leave your imperfections to Me. It is already done, I have taken care of it. Let Me make you and break you, guide you and keep you. Mold you into the perfect shape I have planned for you.

And so I rest on this comfort. I don’t need perfect relationships. I don’t need a perfect life. I don’t need a perfect church. All I need is God–and He is perfect! 😀

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.” – Psalms 55:22a

C.D.

Passion–in a Passionless World

Today I saw one of the coolest things I shall ever see…

As I sat in a truck that was being refilled with fuel, I observed a mother and son walking toward the gas station. The son appeared to be 12-13 years of age. There was nothing particularly strange about this picture–until, for no apparent reason, the son reached around his mother, and hugged her. And they kept walking like that until they arrived at the door. That is what it is all about.

🙂 When is the last time you hugged someone you loved–for no apparent reason?

C.W

This Is What I Call–Fail

Is this really what we have come to? As I scroll down Facebook lane, the only meaning I see, now, is that it is the weekend…and weekend means party. The only thing I see during the week is longing for the weekend. Then we party, and then on Monday the course starts all over again. Are we this shallow? Are people really satisfied with this, this fakeness?

Am I really that weird to long for something deeper?

ALL WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IS THE LATEST TOP, BOX OFFICE MOVIE!

I think I finally get it…I finally begin to see the devil’s trick.

Are we really going to accept defeat? Are we going to let Satan laugh and claim victory over our lame lives? WHY IS THERE NO MORE PASSION?

It breaks my heart that this is what we call, great. Success.

You wanna know what I call great? I call people like Bruce Olson (Aka, Bruchko), who went to South America to be a missionary when he was NINETEEN! I call the five heroes of 1956–who were speared to death for their passion–great.

I call people being saved by Jesus, success!

The devil would love to see us, especially young people, just partying our way through life. Satan’s whole scheme is to suck the very life out of us. And you can see it. He wants us to spend time on Facebook, rather than reading the Bible; he’d rather have us watch the latest, violence filled, immorality endorsing, time-wasting movie, over spending time with people.

Don’t tell me it doesn’t affect us!

We are the product, I am the product.

If our lives are this shallow, we must be doing SOMETHING wrong.

So what do you say, shall we accept this defeat? Shall I sleep in until lunchtime tomorrow? Shall I eat pop-corn and drink soda, and just say “Such is life”?! Please tell me this is not the way it must be. Please tell me there is something deeper. If all my security, my life, my all, depends upon the next party, then there is truly no meaning in life.

It DOESN’T have to be this way!

But it starts with us, with me, with YOU! Pull yourself out of the muck, and call yourself a man! Life doesn’t need to consist of such shallow wandering.

When I get through life, what will I look back on? Will I look back on a life of trying to desperately grasp what I could have easily held on to while growing up? Satan would love to see us go through life and accomplish nothing.

So, is the weekend all I have to look forward to? I think not.

C.D.

The Cross

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” The cross is where true purpose lies.

Satan would love to see us go through life and accomplish nothing.

Exercising the Spirit

I love to exercise! I love the invigorating feeling of complete relaxation after an exhausting bike ride, or jog. I love the feeling of burning muscle after I benched more than I am used to. I love exercise. There is nothing that feels so good as taking a shower, after you worked hard all day–or played a strenuous sport, and then just sitting down in a comfortable chair and just chill-axing.

I hate exercise. I hate the complete exhaustion of a bike ride. The completely wiped-out feeling of a hard basketball game. The last push-up that I can barely do. I hate nothing less then exercise.

Now you are probably thoroughly confused. I am sure you are thinking, “Well, does he like exercise or not?”

But you know what the difference between the two last scenarios is? I love exercise after I have done it. I hate it during the intense moment, the last push-up or the longest hill on my bike ride. I hate pain. We all do. I hate stress. We all do. But afterwords, I LOVE it. I just love it. My muscles begin to relax, and the feeling is splendid. It makes me go, “Ah!” It refreshes me for the rest of the day, and, in fact, many times, it gets me ready to serve God. I do not know if it is the exercise itself, or the relaxing feeling afterword, or both, but in any case it exhilarates me for God.

I guess maybe it de-stresses me and therefore I can serve God better. I must admit, I do not always want to serve God, but after a good workout and a shower maybe, I am ready to face the trials. It helps that while I am exercising that it is one of my only, alone times with God. I can pray, sing, memorize, etc. etc.

Now, the reason I say all this is, not to discourage anybody who does not enjoy exercise, but to compare it to spiritual exercise.

And remember, spiritual exercise is better than physical . . . 1 Timothy 4:8

“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

I find that reading my Bible everyday is very similar to say, jogging/biking.

It is definitely not the first thing that comes to my mind when I wake up…at least not most of the time–there are a few days now and then that I think “Ah, I shall go read my Bible first thing.”

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not this high pious preacher’s boy. But then again, what is wrong with being spiritual?–Of course, if ‘spiritual’ is defined by, reading your Bible everyday and sharing deep holy thoughts, than I am far from spiritual.

BUT, if spiritual is defined as needing to rely on my daily devotions with God, or striving to be holy as Christ was holy, and yet being very, very, far from perfect, or where I’d like to be, than yes, I am spiritual.

Anyways, back to reading the Bible being like exercise.

I do not always enjoy the reading of the Bible while I am reading it. I mean, come on, when’s the last time you read Isaiah? I don’t understand more than half of the book, and there are sixty-six chapters!

But usually after I have read the whole thing, or gotten through the intense verses that made my head spin, then I sit back and say, “Hey! That was a good passage!”

Or let’s take praying for example. Prayer is one thing that I actually enjoy sometimes. But then sometimes, I groan and say a short prayer. And usually, after a few short prayers, I begin to feel more encouraged and keep on praying. But that is only the conversational type of prayer—the type that I just talk to God about all my problems, and praise Him, and all that cool stuff.

But, oh my, I do not like the kind of prayer where I pray for missionaries over seas, or where this person as a certain problem or struggle. And you know what, that is the true spiritual exercise prayer. The other kind is like drinking water, where you feel refreshed. But praying for other people is the kind that takes real effort. And the kind Satan hates the most, because those people need special strength from God. Ohhh, my I cannot stress the importance of praying for missionaries, or for people who randomly pop up in your mind. Believe me, I know.

And then there is memorizing scripture. I DO NOT enjoy it, and yet I love it. I love the fact of knowing the verses, but I hate the process. This is the spiritual exercise that you can compare to benching, the hard, muscle-building exercise.

But there again, it feels great afterword. Just like exercise.

C.D.