Looking Through Dirty Lens

Today I heard a pastor from Hillsong church in Australia talk about the restoration of Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's painting of God in Creation of Adam.

Scholars who studied the painting said that God was in the shadows because it was so dark in that area of the painting.  They thought that Michelangelo wanted Adam to be the highlight of the artwork.

Yet when the work began on the restoration, layers of dark soot were removed carefully only to discover that God and the entire area around God were NOT dark but in the most brilliant colors available to Michelangelo.  The soot came from the candles below the painting burning at all times and the smoke from those candles had darkened the painting.

The pastor went on the say that the sad thing  today is that the churches in all their religious teachings have lost the brilliance that is God.  Some churches have so many rules and regulations as part of their platform that God gets into this darkened area of the church whereby the message is on the religious regulations.

God is the bright and morning star and he is to be praised, through our excitement for the relationship and not for rules and regulations that have darkened who God might be.

Never condemn those who are excited about their worship or call them any names.  Instead focus on your own life and how to improve your relationship with the creator of the Universe.   You will then know the brilliance that is God.

Quit looking through dirty lens and strive for that personal relationship with the Lord which is really exciting!

Love Like a Dog

 

 I believe God made dogs to let us see a little of what unconditional love can look like each day on earth.  The only way that you can train a dog not to love you is to beat them, yell loudly at them, keep them in a cruel place chained down with no hope.

Yet if you take care of your dog, love them and train them, you will never have a more loyal friend.  

We have four dogs and each one has it's own personality.  Yet when I come home in the evening, all four are at the door with their tails wagging and thrilled to see me.  Rusty, our Golden Retriever, even has a big broad smile with his greeting.  Yet if I accidentally happen to step on his toes, he does not run and hides but puts his head down, then quickly rises back up with a smile and is ready for love and play.  He never recalls what you did for any length of time but inside loves me at all times unconditionally.

Two of our rescues were dumped at our gate and you could tell they had been beaten because we assume their master had wanted hunting  dogs and these two were afraid of loud noises.  Yet they are two sweet dogs who are great watchdogs and protectors with unconditional love for us.  Over the years these dogs have been the most loving dogs you'll find but I'd hate to be an intruder as they know to protect us.  Yet when there is a storm, they simply want reassurance from us that everything is alright.  The impact of the past easily comes flowing forward.

God loves us the same way.  His love is unconditional and will never go away.  Yet the hurt of our past, many times in the name of religion will turn us away from God.  So God uses the attitude we see in our dogs and always smiles at us,blesses us even when we have been hurt, and has compassion waiting with open arms.  He caresses us with his peaceful whisper and loving hand of mercy in every part of our lives no matter what is happening around us.  He demonstrates in our hearts what our dogs show openly.  Great example of unconditional love.

Take a moment and think of how your pet is like God int this way with unconditional love for you.  The difference is that God loved you so much that he sent His son to have an eternal relationship with you!

Then there's Princess Rosie,our Alpha dog, but that's for another day's devotion!