Our Creator's Epic Creation -- the Skies AND You and Me

Sunday morning, on the way to church, I was mesmerized with the Eastern skies. I stopped several times to take photos of the panoramic view of God’s handiwork. Oh my, He was certainly showing off. I told Him so! It was as though He wanted us to see Who could a thousand times over one-up the ability of any brilliant artist on the “human” scale. Michelangelo was sometimes called “the divine one” because his works were so grand and full of strong emotion. I agree that Michelangelo’s works were breathtaking. I have seen many of them, firsthand, but there is only one “DIVINE ONE” and that is our Divine Creator Who set the bar for creativity, artistry, musicality, spirituality, physically and in every other way.

All of creation is God’s epic painting, and the really good news is WE are in the painting. Unlike a landscape on canvas, God’s painting is three dimensional and living and breathing and when He looked at us (humankind) in the beginning, He declared “It is good!” We can gaze up into the sky that God painted with the brush of His Word, "Let there be...." and understand that the God who painted this landscape is the glorious Creator of us. We realize He had a divine purpose for us, just as all of the rest of His creation. We look at this world and see God’s brushstrokes everywhere. It amazes me that anyone could deny that God created all of this.

Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” Notice that scripture is in present tense. The heavens ARE declaring and the sky IS proclaiming God’s handiwork. All of nature itself shows the greatness of God. It’s a continual display. And all of that greatness is inanimate. If the inanimate declares His glory and proclaims His handiwork, how much more should we be declaring and proclaiming His awesomeness in living our lives out loud, fulfilling the purposes He had for us? We should be constantly showing off the amazing Creator He is and that He really exists by the way we live as His reflection on this earth!

The sky is preaching the glory of God to us every day. I really sensed that God was showing off on Sunday to get our attention. I suspect that I wasn’t the only one awed by His display of His greatness. I felt honored that He got my attention – not once, but several times as I made my way to church. After church, I looked at the Eastern sky and by then, the painting was blue and white instead of the yellows and reds and oranges and blues that I witnessed earlier. Specifically, the Psalmist wants us to look up and see all the wondrous things God has created.

Again, Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Creation shouts the glory of God. Whenever we look up our eyes partake of this epic portrait and epic perpetual sermon to the Glory of God.

How do we know God? We look up. We open our eyes and take in His creation and understand that this magnificent work of art has a Divine Artist. Then we take a deep breath of the air of His creation, and breathe out our praise to THE ONE who put it all on display for us, the ones He created and who are on display for the world to see Him in us and see what He saw “And God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

You Are the Potter. I am the Clay.

Last week I spoke about the brilliant and God-inspired artwork of Michelangelo. When I visited St. Peter’s Basilica for the second time in June, I was taken with the “Pieta” the magnificent sculpture of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, holding His body after His death on the cross. What was it or rather, Who was it, that inspired Michelangelo to envision this breathtaking scene and carve it from a single slab of marble? No doubt, God was orchestrating his talents and abilities to “declare the glory of God in all of his artwork.

The Pietà is the only work Michelangelo ever signed. If you look closely, his signature can be found across Mary's chest. Sixteenth century art historian Giorgi Vasari told the tale of how Michelangelo made his mark: “One day Michelangelo, entering the place where it was set up, found a great number of strangers from Lombardy, who were praising it highly, and one of them asked one of the others who had done it, and he answered, 'Our Gobbo from Milan.' Michelangelo stood silent, but thought it something strange that his labors should be attributed to another; and one night he shut himself in there, and, having brought a little light and his chisels, carved his name upon it. Michelangelo later regretted the vanity of this act, and resolved never to sign another piece of his work. And, he didn’t, but thanks in part to putting his name in plain sight on the Pietà, his reputation grew as the public's love of the statue did. Surely God was BIG in this man’s life. I think of the scripture in James 4:10 “ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.” Most certainly Michelangelo regretted signing his name on the statute, but, obviously, learned his lesson well. Never putting his name on any of his artwork after that, God still lifted him up in fame for his artistic genius. Michelangelo was God’s handiwork.

In our own America, how in the world did Sculptor Gutzon Borglum foresee the sculpted faces of U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt by just looking at a cliff in the Black Hills of South Dakota? But he did by envisioning what those Black Hills could become, and after 14 years, he finally completed his project — Mount Rushmore.

Just think about it -- the Master Sculptor/Designer/Creator -- Father God -- has already envisioned who we are to become. But in order for Him to make a beautiful monument of us....that others are inspired and drawn to Him by -- we must be pliable and moldable in His hands -- yielded to His will and way. And when we give way to thoughts like "It hurts too much" or "I can't take it anymore" or "I'm just fine the way things are", then we are refusing His desires to chip away and smooth out the rough edges in our lives, and make us into a fine work of art.

Why would He want us to be a masterpiece? He wants others to be awed by His handiwork -- so much so, that they are drawn to Him through us! As the Great Potter, God’s desire is to make us into a beautiful creation that is useful to Him. The key we must remember is that the Lord can only shape us if we submit to His loving hands and allow Him to do so.
Have Your way, Lord! Have Your way!
You are the Potter. I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, after your will.
While I am waiting -- yielded and still.

Do You Have a Rich Family History and You Don't Know It?

When my mother was up in years, I realized I didn't know much about her history -- stories about her 12 siblings, what it was like living in a large family, how their parents were able to support them financially, how she met my dad, and what it was like for them to have children, etc. What a shame it was that I waited so long to find out. I realized that I was so "me" focused that I didn't treasure and appreciate where I came from, so I took my camcorder and set it on a tripod and spent many hours (a few at a time) and days interviewing her. Oh, how precious and dear were her stories. Fortunately, I finally stopped to spend quality time with her that resulted in VHS tapes that I could give out to my siblings and their kids when mom passed away at age 94 in 2004.. I was able to pass on to my kids and siblings the rich (not in money, but in faith and fortitude) family history.

That's the message I received yesterday as we continued on our Day 4 Rome pilgrimage. The more we have delved into the rich history of Christianity in our tours that explained so many of OUR "God's" family history, the more I realized how much I need to be living everyday with great appreciation and gratitude for what our forefathers and foremothers gave us. How can I do that unless I make the effort to know that heritage?

Our day, yesterday, started out with Holy Communion in St. Peter's Basilica before the crowds started. The songs we sang were heaven-on-earth with the spectacular acoustics in that magnificent Holy Place that took 120 years to complete. The scriptures we read came alive in that place of history that is dedicated to keeping the Church alive and the Gospel message declared. It is arguably the greatest achievement of late-Renaissance architecture. I assure you that my Christian walk has become richer because of the traditions and symbols that opened my eyes to the reality of God's incredible plan to perpetuate His word to the world.

It is like that "city on a hill" that Christ talked about when He was speaking about letting our lights shine. Peter the Apostle, now St. Peter, is buried in a tomb under St. Peter's. Remembering St. Peter moves us to remember the earliest days of the church. After the Council of Jerusalem in AD 49, Peter returned to Rome. There he served as the bishop of the small Christian community, holding mass in homes. During this time, he also dictated the Gospel, ascribed by name to his secretary, St. Mark, and his two letters are included in our New Testament.

Tradition holds that when the Roman Emporer, Nero, arrested Peter for his faith, Peter protested that he was not worthy to die as the Lord and so was crucified upside down. After his death, the faithful recovered St. Peter’s body and buried it in what is the present site of St. Peter's Basilica.

St. Peter's Basilica houses the grandeur of the magnificent marble sculptures, one of which is Michelangelo's statute, the Pieta (Mary holding her son at his death), the solemnity of the many chapel areas where you can hear pilgrims from all of the world in their native languages praying, praising and bowing before our Holy God.

The message that resonated with me is "The Lord is the same yesterday (the Church's history), today (continuing today the purposeful sharing of the good news of Christ's love for us), and forever (loudly communicating that the Lord really is the same yesterday, today, and forever more).

In Rome, you hear the bells echoing through the ancient streets with a crispness of joy and thanksgiving. The bells somehow ring in our hearts that He is alive, and that we are His people, coming forth in the name of the Lord. The art in the church — enveloped in paintings, stained glass windows, sculptures, and the like — caused me to meditate and bring to life the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I find myself observing others prayerfully taking in these images, which so vividly remind me of Jesus. To me this experience is not even close to becoming boring or a ritual, but instead breeds life. He is far from boring.

I started this post with talking about my own family history and how it has affected my life for so much good. But on this faith journey and pilgrimage, the history of our faith isn't OLD NEWS. It is the yesterday, today and forevermore news and if we continue to review it, rehearse it, and make it known to our children and our children's children, we will all be living in the plans and purposes of God's great love for mankind.

Much more to share about yesterday, but for another day. Today we're heading to Assisi to the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Love to you, until tomorrow!

"The Healing Hands"

Day 39 of Photo Inspirations -- The Praying Hands
On my quest for a photo inspiration for each day this year, I do my best to stay in the moment when I'm out and about.  I want to be sure I don't miss those special little messages from God. I was headed to Wal Mart with an intended purpose, but when I looked to my left, there were those enormous "healing hands" at the entrance of Oral Roberts University.  How many times have I passed those skyscraper hands, seen buses of tourists from around the world stopped there to take photos of one of Tulsa's most identifiable landmarks -- and I NEVER took a photo of them myself?   But, this day, my in-the-moment assignment beckoned me to do a U-turn and get out and take a photo of those "big boys".

I became a tourist myself.  I took this photo and I found out that those formidable bronze hands stand 60 feet high and weigh 30 tons.  They are the largest bronze sculpture in the world.  The casting was done in Juarez, Mexico in 1980.

The hands were originally called "The Healing Hands" and they stood in front of the "City of Faith," a medical center dedicated to merging God’s healing streams of prayer and medicine in one place. For many years, patients were able to come to Tulsa to receive care from Christian doctors and nurses. And although the City of Faith closed in 1990 and they were moved to their present location, these bronze hands still remain a strong model of the power of medical science and God’s supernatural healing power working together to bring restoration to people’s bodies and minds.

I love that.  It reminds me of our visit to the Sistine Chapel in Rome and being so inspired by Michelangelo's painting in the ceiling "The Creation of Adam" -- the finger of God touching the finger of man.  God touching man -- man touching God.  God and man merging to accomplish His plans and purposes.  Isn't that what He intended from the beginning -- that we would be His hands on earth -- reaching out and touching our world?   This beautiful "Praying Hands" statute reminded me of His purpose for my own hands -- to type these messages each day to share His love and light, to touch someone who needs a gesture of love -- but most of all --  for my own praying hands to seek Him with my whole heart -- for it is in my seeking,,,..that I find the perfect, tender and loving hands of God.
#PrayingHands #ORU #HisHandsTouching