There is possibly no quality more Christ like than that of meekness. The humility and beauty of such a spirit is truly breathtaking. So rare is this charecter that when it is revealed in a person’s soul it is striking and powerful.

Meekness. A quality so opposite pride, so self forgetful, humble and gentle, when one encounters it in such a person it is quite disarming. Do you know someone like this? If you do, I imagine they are very dear to you, for such ones do leave their mark on us. Not intentionally for that would contradict such a charecter. No, meekness only seeks to bless, to engage, to prefer, and defer to someone else. Meekness is kind, and harmless as a dove.

Our Lord said “Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me , for I am meek, and lowly of heart and you shall find rest for your souls. Our God is meek, and lowly of heart.

How opposite this is to the entitlement mentality so common today. Everyone has a beef with someone else, a bone to pick, some root of bitterness, or wound that must be avenged. You see it everywhere, you feel it in society like the pulse of a heartbeat gone so very wrong. Anger and rage are the sisters of this mindset and the fruit of this tree is ripening more and more as time winds down. We are in a world of hurting people and the hurt when swallowed in pride becomes the catalyst for hate, distrust and destruction. Entitlement says, ” you owe me”, you hurt me, and you will pay. But meekness, it does not seek its own, it is willing to be hurt, and pay the price with love.

This is what our Lord did when He took our sin debt upon Himself on Calvary’s tree. He died in love for you and me. He gave His life to repair the breach our sin caused in His creation. He made a way to save us from the just punishment our sin deserves and to swallow up our due death in victory through the shedding of His precious blood. Meekness says, yes you hurt me, but I love you. I will make a way to restore you. I forgive you.

The cross is meekness. The cross of Jesus is the greatest demonstration of love and meekness the world has ever known. Are we so proud and entitled that we don’t even recognize this amazing gift, or the incomparable Giver offering it?

“He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him” Proverbs 28:22

Wanting to be rich, to own a beautiful home, possess exquisite things, drive an elite car, to wear costly and fashionable clothes, and fine jewelry; it is the end all to some. The final frontier for these erring ones is to own what they think they want and will finally make them happy. It’s a lie though sadly, and won’t bring the desired happiness. For riches surely do make wings and fly away like an eagle towards heaven, the Bible warns. Surely poverty comes one day. We cannot keep earthly wealth, or any home for very long. One day we must each face poverty. All face it. All go to their graves the same way they came out of the womb, with nothing, naked.

An evil eye longs to be rich, believes and hopes in riches, in whatever form they come, power, success, material possessions. They hope in these earthly treasures for life itself, happiness and somehow believe in the eternity of their worth. But it fails, the hope fades, money, homes, possessions, they fail to bring the promised happiness as many an honest rich man will tell you.

Beautiful homes and lands that we even in arrogance, name after ourselves, thinking they will last forever are soon gone, never to be seen or lived in or enjoyed again. But a stranger lives in the home that was once ours, bought and sold and lived in by someone else. For we can own no home but our eternal one.

Have we considered that poverty will come upon us? There is but one we can possess, one such precious person as the Son of God! His gift to us eternal life with Him forever. This is true wealth, what death can’t steal and time can never fade.

Jesus is precious!

“The hay appeared, and the tender grass shewth itself, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered.” Proverbs 27:25

The beautiful Aspen trail in the Sandia Mountains caught fire one summer while I lived just miles beneath the crest of these majestic trees. I saw the black smoke from a long way off, down in the plains beneath. Black billows soared to the sky while a firey glow of orange could be seen underneath. One of the prettiest terrains was going up in smoke. What was left when it was all said and done was the blackness of charred trees, barren of leaves and life, a moonscape of sorts, just endless sticks of what was once graceful aspens. Now but a memory and even the smell of fire remained in these once pristine woods.

“The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself and the herbs of the mountains are gathered”. I read this verse this morning and got to thinking about it’s meaning. “The tender grass appears”. It is spring right now in the woods of Maine. Everything is still brown, trees, forest, and old dried leaves. I’ve walked these roads all winter, and the color pallette is very earthy, dormant, and dull. Suddenly a bright Forsythia appears, seemingly out of nowhere. I marvel at it’s brightness against the barren winterscape around it. It seems a sentinel announcing a new season is upon us. Rejoice! Winter is past.

It’s beauty is unchallenged. Never did yellow look so bright as against the brown backdrop and gray skies of winter’s last weeks. Majestic Forsythia in all her glory. God is faithful. He brings new life.

The tender green grass appears, along a dirty roadway, filled with sand and gravel from the remnants of the snow plow. They bravely shoot up, one couldn’t imagine it a month before. Its coming, new life, new grass, new growth. What was dead for six months is coming back, newer, greener, and all of the earth is beckoning it’s arrival

How often our lives mimic nature. We go through storms, harsh winters, where nothing is left, all seems lost. Only a desolate landscape remains, our cherished hopes brown and charred or removed altogether from some destructive power. We suffer loss in this life, we go through trials, we experience pain, sadness, betrayal, and our world can grow very dark in these times. So dark, we give up, we forget about the Lord. Nor can we imagine renewal, new life, new hope. Yet God says “the hay appeareth”, the tender grass sheweth itself “. God can create beauty from ashes. God can bring new life out of death. Where there is nothing but old dead grass, God can spring forth tender new shoots of green stems. He is God and that is what He does for us. He gives us hope. Because you see, He hadn’t forgotten you! He knows all about it. He loves you. When you think all is lost, there is no hope, look! New grass comes!!

God is not bound by any limitation of time or power, or our own petty rules. He does what He wants…when He wants. Isn’t this wonderful? It should grow our faith. Nothing is beyond His grasp. He holds the world in His hands. He gives beauty for ashes.

Clouds and sky are my inspiration in art. I love the big sky country out west which I was first introduced to at the age of 25. I was a Rhode Islander, and never traveled beyond New England when I moved to AZ. The trip out west was an adventure and as we approached Texas the sky just opened up, and I felt like I was transported into another realm. I never knew there was that much sky! The earth and everything on it suddenly seemed very small. To this New Englander who grew up on the ocean, this was an amazing experience.

I’ve always loved the ocean, and from the time I was a child my father had me out sailing the sea with him and my sister on his little Towney, a small day sailer that he first learned on. It was an exhilarating adventure and one I’d never forget. So was my love of the sea established. Of course I was an avid swimmer and looking out at the endless ocean off the coast of Newport RI was my favorite pass time as a kid. But as a young adult, to be introduced to big sky country out west was a thrill I hadn’t even imagined.

I’ve come home to my childhood roots after spending many years out in the southwest and Midwest, but the impression of the majestic skies has left a permanent mark on the creative expression of my mind.

Here in this post I’d like to share with you some of the paintings I’ve been working on over the last year or so. They have a storm theme and as of late I’ve been fascinated by tornados, super cell thunderstorms and the beautiful skies they create. Having spent a short time in Oklahoma City last year, I was able to see some of the most interesting cloud formations I’ve ever witnessed and I have taken to my paint brushes and canvas to try to recreate some of those amazing clouds and storms.

There is something very exciting and mysterious about a storm rolling in, and I love the feeling that comes with the anticipation of a big storm. The wind picks up, and the breezes have a unique sound. The color of the sky changes as the storm gets closer and the house grows dark as you realize a force of nature is about to take place. Its majestic and exciting to see a storm blow through. I hope you enjoy some of my portrayals of a “Perfect Storm” in my imagination.

The beginning of wisdom is to fear God and to understand that God is in control of everything that happens. The days are short. Times are so evil, yet God, He is in control. There have been evil, perilous times like this before.

“My heart is sore pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.”

“As for me, I will call upon God, the Lord shall save me.”

” For it was not an enemy that reproached me, for then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me, then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together and walked into the house of God in company” ~ Psalm 55

So often those who hurt us the very most are our family, friends, fellow Christians, acquaintances in the church, people, the very people who are supposed to love us. Thus it is harder to forgive these erring ones. They catch us off guard, we didn’t expect that from them. Their common faith, or bonds to us disarmed us, we didn’t see it coming, didn’t think it possible. The Lord binds up our wounds. He cares for us.

“Evening and morning and noon shall I pray, and and He shall hear my voice”. God shall hear and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, they fear not God. ~ Psslm 55

We ought to fear God. We ought to be afraid to sin. We ought to fear his chastisement.

Here in the 4th chapter of Proverbs we receive a warning. Get wisdom! That is the principle thing, and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt wisdom, not man, not people in the church, not the admiration of the Pastor, or impressing people with our good works. No, the Bible says get wisdom! Exalt her, and she shall promote thee, she shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her. She shall give thee an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

  Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it , pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. Put away from thee a forward mouth, and preverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left. Remove thy foot from evil. ~ Proverbs 4

We are to worship God and exalt Him above all other things, institutions or persons. Then we will serve Him alone with a full heart. As for wisdom, He promises in his word to give it liberally to all who ask, only do not doubt. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. But He that seeks the Lord shall not want for any good thing.

“Will not the end explain the crossed endeavor, earnest purpose foiled? The strange bewilderment of good work spoiled? The clinging weariness of the inward strain? Will not the end explain?

Meanwhile He comforteth them that are losing patience.  Tis’ His way: but none can write the words they heard him say, for men to read; only they know he saith sweet words and comforteth. Not that he doth explain the mystery that baffleth, but husheth the quiet heart, that far far hense lieth a field set thick with golden grain wetted in seedling days by many a rain.

The end it will explain” ~ Gold Cord

The road does grow weary and at times nothing does make sense. We don’t always see what God is doing, and there are moments when it appears all is lost. At times there seems to be no grand design to our journey,  just existence, just waiting to be set free from this flesh to go to our eternal home and be with Him.

Life goes by and sometimes it seems all that we try to accomplish seems fruitless, our efforts spoiled and our mistakes seem ruinous, our heritage squandered. One thing is for certain, in the midst of many a disappointment,  God is faithful,  God is merciful. He knew it all along and He is here with us. Yes we reap what we sow. He who sows to his flesh will reap corruption. For some of us sadly, the only way to God will be through a long journey to a far off country that leads to a pig pen. We would never chose this for ourselves, or those we love, but sometimes its the only way there. We all know someone like this,  and when they find life at last in the Lord,  we rejoice with them. God still works! He has great mercy and long suffering towards his children.

What if however, you don’t know him.  What if you have never become a child of God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ? Then we must come to Him, and recognize our sinfulness and hopelessness before Him, and put our trust, our personal stake in what He did at the cross on our behalf.

Faith must be personal. Simple knowledge of the Saviour’s gift, and provision for us is not enough. It must be received. It must be personally hoped in. You can know about something,  some free gift out there that is yours for the taking anytime you want it, but until you go get it, its not really yours is it?  Thats the way it is with salvation. You can know about it, intending to one day retrieve it, when you get around to it. Meanwhile you’ve tucked it away for future, some day later, when you finally chose to receive what has been offered to you. Or, you may say, “I must earn so great a gift, it will cost me to have it.” So you go about trying to earn it in hopes one day the giver will bestow it on you as a reward for your efforts, when you have finally proved worthy to receive it. Ah, but in both cases you are left empty, as you have not yet in your possession the gift you so earnestly seek and require for eternal life. But if you do not take it by faith now, make it your own, you are not saved, but lost and will die in your sins one day, and find your despair in hell.

Salvation must be possessed by faith now! You must claim it as your own. Once this is done it is yours! No doubt or sin will forfeit it. So many think, I don’t deserve it, therefore I cannot have it yet. I must be better. I want to work for it, to prove I’m worthy. NO, my friend! You must receive it now in your present filthy sinful condition.  For this is the only way to get it. You’ll never be worthy of it later, thats the devil’s lie.

In truth,  we will never be any less sinful than we are at this moment. For we are full of sin, and we define sin in its entirety.  We are the very essence of sin in our true natures and will never, apart from Jesus Christ’s divine Spirit, be anything but that. If we cannot accept God’s love and grace in our true condition before Him, we will fail of it in this life.

There are two parts to play in the act of salvation. There is the sinner and there is the Saviour. We will always be the sinner. We cannot take the place of the Saviour,  and be our own Saviour. Our good deeds will never qualify us to become our own Saviour. If we depend on ourselves, we will be greatly disappointed in hell. We must realize and accept what we are before a Holy God, that we cannot impress Him, that He knows us all so well. We can never patch ourselves up or hide who we are to win His favor. It can’t happen! He’s God! Yet He loves us! This is a fact! He is willing to give anyone, even you or I the free gift of salvation if we will believe Him for it.

The gift needs to be received today. There is no time to ” get it later”No!  It’s today! You will never be any better or more worthy than you are today, in truth.

The hardest thing to accept and believe is that God in all His Holiness is willing to save and forgive our sins,  right here and right now, just as we are, with no promise on our part to be any better in the future. Oh but to just fully rest in what He has done! To believe He is ok with that and He is willing and able to save us by Himself!

Just rest, thats our part. Sit back, rest and let Him do it.

What do you wish for today? What is your heart’s desire? Mine is to simply be thankful for today. Its not a perfect life, but it is a gift just the same. There are no perfect people, nor any perfect lives, just the creation of God, souls created in His image and spiritual beings, the objects of His love.

I came across this lovely scene which inspired the above painting and it warmed my heart as I do so love these country settings. This one taken from a quaint village in Wales, a place where my great ancestors called home. I’ve never been to Wales or England but my search for my roots has brought me to this place in my pursuit of my origins and I’m am pleased to think that maybe some of my great great grandparents called this place home.

The scene also invokes in me the simple pleasures of a country hillside. The quietness perhaps of such a place and what seems like the primitive joy of an unencumbered existence that far too many of us cannot even imagine these days.

To be thankful for the gift of life, the knowledge that the one who created each one of us loves us dearly and is not ashamed or disappointed in us as we may be in ourselves. He is ever watching, ever loving, ever wooing us to His throne of grace and mercy. We don’t need to impress Him, or fear His rejection, if we will only take His hand and receive from Him the gift of life He so longs to give us.

God is my friend. The very best friend I’ve ever had. I want to bring glory to His name . The Lord Jesus Christ is all my hope.

Have you ever come to the very end? The end of options, the end of hope, the end of the road. I am talking about that long weary road you’ve been traveling for a very long time. No one knows about it, only you. That road in your mind and in your experience, that leaves no opening, no future, only sorrow and regret. The road where the walls are starting to close in and there’s no place to turn. And your very being, the core of who you are starts to crack. The hope you’ve carried with you all this time starts to fade, the clouds gather and there appears to be no way out, nowhere to go from here, life is a dead end. In this struggle your thought is, its time to die. My life is over. The pain you’ve been carrying for so long is getting heavier and heavier, the optimism you tried to cling to grows faint, and there’s no reason to believe life is ever going to be any better than at this moment, but worse, far worse. The ending you dreaded is here, you must face it. There is no denying it any longer. Hope fades, life dims. What now?

We are not allowed to check out of this pain, unless we break the rules and take what doesn’t belong to us. But the thought comes, in desperation it comes. As it appears to be the only answer, the only hope in hopelessness. When death is the only hope, you are at the end. Life is unbearable and excruciating. Death looks hopeful, as it is unknown what the experience will be yet there is the possibility that it will be better than life. Life is known and life hurts. Oh how it hurts and feels awful. The soul yearns and longs for release. Learned helplessness, learned defeat, is the origin of such pain. The belief, the bravery it takes to imagine extracting oneself out of such a dismal place grows dimmer with each passing day, and each sequence of failure. Something shuts down, something closes our vision to a new and better life. It doesn’t happen, the win we longed for escapes us and we are trapped in a maze of despair.

There is a place to run when this fate has gripped us. Yes there is a person who knows and cares. A person who knows the depth of our despair and wants to reach down and lift us up, give us hope. He is the only one in such times who can. He made us, the creator, and He has been with us through this journey every step of the way. He alone understands how we got to this place and what we need to get us out. Wisdom is His name and His understanding is inscrutable. His mercy reaches down to our lowest point of pain and his love touches our hearts. There is hope for the one who will turn to Him. He is real, He is here and waiting to comfort and console the brokenhearted.

You may feel like its too late, you are too far gone in this wayward tunnel of one chaotic failure after another, one destructive loss or anguish of sorrow after another. Yet, your heart still beats, your lungs bear oxygen and He is not finished with you yet dear friend. No not yet. He alone will write the last chapter in your life.

He decides when life is over, and you are finished. He holds the keys to life and death, and He controls your fate. We don’t know what time it is, …but He does. He knows our days, and times, and what we must learn and what we need. Are you in the crucible of God? He is the refiner of silver and gold. He knows His work. He is our God, and He has not failed us, nor forsaken us. His hand of mercy is ever extended to our broken heart, but will we take it, take his loving hand in ours?

Its not over, and life goes on, and God still loves us, and He’s still on the throne. This is a low time in life , perhaps the lowest hardest time you’ve ever experienced. But there is a God in heaven who loves you, who sees you and wants to help.you. He moves the chess pieces, and though He seems silent He is intricately involved in all that we hope and fear. He waits. He longs for our prayer, our cry for help. We may have cried many times and heard nothing, yet He hears, He listens, He acts on our behalf. Angels may be the only ones who know the magnitude of his actions towards us as we cry out to Him. Someday we may know, and it may be one of the greatest demonstrations of His love ever revealed to us.

The God of whom I speak is the God of creation, Jesus Christ. The God who exists in eternal everlasting light, the God of heaven. He knows of your sorrows, he too was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He gave His life, for a world He created that rejected Him when He came to save them. He came to give His life a ransome for many, and He was the only one who could pay the debt we owed. Why? He was perfect. He was sinless. His blood was shed to atone for the sins of the whole world. This was His mission in coming, to pay our sin debt with His blood, the required payment according to scripture. In His death, burial, and resurrection He made the way open to forgiveness and eternal life for all those who believe. He freely bestows this gift on all who call upon His name, who hope in His mercy.

Life may feel like its over, sorrows mount and griefs bear us down, but God! God the Son, Jesus Christ is our everlasting comfort. In His presence is fullness of joy. Believe on Him, hope in Him, He will save you from this world of sorrows.

“They looked unto Him and were radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” ~ Psalm 34

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

On the brink of a new year my thoughts and goals for the future surround the hope of little more than peace , peace and good cheer for 2022.

We’ve come out of a time of tremendous upheaval and conflict. Sorrows and grief have left many of us reeling and searching for what can’t be taken from us, what can’t be lost in these uncertain times. My mind and heart turn to the Saviour, Jesus Christ. The person, the Creator, the God in eternity who cannot change and offers to all mankind peace and everlasting comfort.

Jesus warned his disciples, as He warns us, that in this world we will have tribulation. This world is in a fallen state of sin awaiting judgment but according to the good news announced to the shepherds by the heavenly host that first Christmas night, there is a blessed hope to escape this judgement and receive eternal life. That is why we celebrate Christmas. Indeed what good news it is, that though we suffer loss and pain in this life, and commit sins and sins are committed against us, there is a Savioiur who gave His life to redeem our pain and loss, and recconcile us back to the Father through his life and death on the cross.

He gives us great comfort in His promise of life eternal. For this earthly life is temporary and traveling so fast to it’s conclusion. A staggering truth so many of us have been painfully reminded of as we see our dear loved ones pass into eternity in what seems like the blink of an eye. He promises, “verily verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life “.

We may find ourselves suffering great loss at this year’s end, and the future at best may seem bleak. But Jesus promises” blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. “Blessed is the man whose iniquity is covered”. “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life, and will not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.”

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Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I shall give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

The offer, the most gracious gift of the heavenly Father is life everlasting, forgiveness of sin and eternal comfort from the storm of this fallen world, it’s sinful nature, and the wrath to come. The gift is free, as all true gifts are, though it cost our God everything. It is a gift that is permanent, perfectly provided, perfectly given from a perfect God. Once received, it can never be lost, forfeited, or stolen.

A shelter of Peace. The Prince of Peace is calling all men to Himself, to the Peace of God, which passeth all understanding. Will you receive his gift to you? How do you receive this gift you might ask? You simply take it, by faith. You believe on His name.

Seasons of change come upon us in life, like the long awaited Spring, eventually the page turns, and our lives take a new direction. Healing is in the wings, a new day approaches and the Lord graciously binds up the wounds of our past. We can often sense when these bursts of new life are about to emerge onto the horizon. Like the falling leaves in Autumn, the barren trees speak to our souls that a new beginning is not too far off in our future and may be just around the corner. Time, that great healer reminds us that there is life left to be lived, joys yet to be realized and new adventures to discover. We must go on, and leave the past behind us as it is truly but a distant memory and it’s power over our lives must be diminished so that we can become all that God wants us to be.

It takes a brave soul to walk on. To keep your chin up and face the new world that a past sorrow has created, but like the crushed corn of wheat that falls to the ground, a new harvest will sprout in our existence as the death and pain of the past brings us to a new place, and an inevitable new beginning. Maybe we’ve been humbled, the stormy winds that a trial has led us into have weathered our hearts and minds and we are a little wiser, a little quieter, a little meeker. These are good things, and will prove valuable one day as we look back over our lives.

A new Chapter brings with it the awakening of hope. For our God is not finished with us yet. He has lessons to teach us in each season of life. He promises new blessings never experienced before, new memories, new joys never seen or realized yet. Its a journey, this thing called life and we are on a road that He, the Great Shepherd is taking us through. He navigates and leads through the hills and valleys, and all the unexpected stops we hadn’t planned on. He wants us to trust Him. He alone knows “the way there”. He knows what He’s doing in our lives. We are His workmanship in Christ Jesus and He will faithfully lead us all the way home.

Life with my Saviour is a journey, an ever new discovery of the love that He has had for me all along. His everlasting arms are always there holding us up, carrying us through to our final home at heaven’s gate. Each day that passes we are closer to our heavenly home where He will one day greet us and it will all make sense. Until then, it’s our’s to trust Him, to rest in Him and not let this lonely dark world turn our love cold. For He holds your heart, in His very palms and will never let you go. He is here. He is closer than you think. He loves you with a love that cannot be fathomed, nor can it ever be lost or forfeited. Even in your failures, life’s failures, He loves you, and will never leave you, if you have believed on His name and belong to Him.

The scripture tells us in this beautiful verse of hope “To as many as have received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God. ” To receive Him is to place your trust in the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, our Lord. To become a son of God is to become His everlasting child and the recipient of Hie eternal grace and mercy forevermore.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”