Where will the music take you?

I did this drawing a couple years ago titled "Where Will the Music Take You?*" I don't often comment on my purpose or intent in creating my artwork but in this case, I remember I was playing with a new medium and working on an idea for a jazz poster. In the end, I was content with how it turned out.

Music is one of those things that talks straight to my emotions. It so often carries me away in a swirl of harmonies that I can't have it on when I'm writing or doing other work I really need to focus on. I think that's probably what was going through my mind and my fingers as I worked on and named this piece.

Then last Sunday, we read in Matthew 24: 31

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

In this passage, Jesus was talking with his disciples about the end times, those days just before He returns again to earth for the last time. I know there can be a lot of discussion about the hows, whos, whys and whens of His second coming, but what struck me was this: That trumpet call will be the signal for our eternity. As that trumpet's brassy note rings across the heavens, some will be gathered up and others will be left behind. For those who have accepted Christ's work on the cross, it will be a song of triumph and freedom. For others, it will mean they've ignored Him one too many times.

So I want to ask you, when that final trumpet sounds, where will the music take you?

If you're not sure, there are a couple links on the left under "Questions?" that can get you started on the path to certainty. Please don't wait too long. That trumpet might sound any day now.


*"Where Will the Music Take You?" copyright VJCoulman, 2007.
Prismacolor pencil on Crescent matboard, 18" x 24". All rights reserved.

A form of godliness

I was listening to a familiar passage of scripture when a particular phrase caught my attention. You'll probably recognize the passage:

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. "

2 Timothy 3:2-5 NIV (emphasis mine)

I have a vintage dress form that stands in my studio. In a past career, I was a seamstress that specialized in bridal and formal wear. I loved taking a flat fabric and giving it shape and style. Tailored suits still catch my eye and I love to see novel and imaginative touches worked in or on fabric in all sorts of styles.

I don't have as much time to sew these days, so my dress form will occasionally display a vintage suit, a formal gown or a fun jacket. Why? Because it doesn't look the same on the hanger as it does on the dress form. Because the form fills it out and makes it look better. But I also know that if I take it off the dress form it will not stand on its own. That garment will never serve its intended purpose until I put it on a living, moving body.

I think some people are content to display their faith like I display certain outfits. I may have done it myself on occasion. We dress up our faith to make us look good, to let people think there is substance under the surface. We want "the look" of a good Christian.

But if we really examine it (or worse yet, if someone else does) that show of godliness is hollow. Just like the emperor's new clothes, there's no substance. It might fool a few people, but it won't stand up to the close scrutiny of daily life. There is no God at the core of it. That nasty list above might be all too visible if that's really what's underneath. Just like the garments I put on display, the "form of godliness " may look the right shape but it ultimately cannot stand on its own.

But that's the power of true godliness - truly having God fill our lives - it puts substance behind our faith. It helps us fulfill our intended purpose. It helps us stand. It shapes us - past, present and future - as we let God use us for what He intended.

Ultimately, a hollow faith is merely foolishness (see verse 9 of the passage above). So let's not just display the form of godliness, let's keep God at the core and let Him fashion for us true robes of righteousness. It's better than being the dummy in the window.

With All I Am (Hillsong)

This has been a favorite song of mine for some time. Beautiful, simple but powerful. I hope it strikes a chord with you too.

Designer Women: Made By God (book review)

The issue of women in ministry can be a divisive one and there has been much written on the subject from very disparate perspectives. Ruth Tuttle Conard, rather than argue whether women should or not, skips the argument and instead goes straight to the fact that women were used by God throughout history.

In Designer Women: Made by God, Conard looks at ten (11 actually) women from the Bible and the extraordinary way God used them in their unique settings, circumstances and personalities to be part of His plan. As she says, “These women, as leaders and strong examples in varied facets of life, did not act because there were no good men, but rather because they were good women, created in God’s image, gifted by God and working in obedience with their Maker.”

Conard’s tone throughout this book is warm, supportive and reminiscent of a chat across the kitchen table. She has faced the “hoops” that many women in the church face when trying to exercise their gifts and still is confident in God’s desire to use women to advance his kingdom. Too often, it is easy to become strident or militant when defending a woman’s place in the church, but Conard avoids that pitfall and focuses on the qualities of the women God used in extraordinary ways through the Bible. She encourages modern women to develop those same qualities to prepare for God’s opportunities and in the last chapter recommends some tools to do just that. She also footnotes her work for those who want to study further.

Conard does take a brief look at some of the “problem” passages of the Bible, that are frequently used to downplay or dismiss women in ministry or leadership and, again, provides some recommended titles for those that want to explore further. But as she so excellently points out, “ there are some who will probably keep laboring over the minutiae of certain words and customs and never come up with the perfect answer to all of this. … What is extremely fascinating to me is that this continual battle over women does not seem to have caused any problem for God and how he designed his daughters. … God is still creating baby girls, all over his world, who grow, confess Jesus as Savior, and are given spiritual gifts from the complete list of gifts, as the Spirit wills, even while men and women continue to say that it just isn’t possible!”

Highly, highly recommended.


Review copy provided by The B&B Media Group.

Fear itself

I've been reading through the The Chronological Study Bible: New King James Versionpublished by Thomas Nelson. It's got all sorts of archeological and cultural notes along with the ordering of the Scriptures by their time frame, rather than the traditional canonical orderings.

One of those tidbits caught my eye today. On the passage relating to Exodus 15, with the victory songs of Moses and Miriam, the writers of this particular note make this statement:

"Terror, or fear, was assumed to be a separate substance which went before the deity, defeating enemies even before the god arrived."(p. 87, "God Among the Warrior Deities)

Those who are familiar with Franklin D. Roosevelt's inaugural address in 1932 might recognize the same sentiment: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

How often do we let fear defeat us? We're afraid things might not work out so we don't even try. We let fear or uncertainly slow us down when we've been given the go-ahead. And yet one of the most common injunctions in the Bible is "Fear not."

Maybe today we need to buck the trend that dates all the way back to ancient times; to see fear as something in and of itself that is capable of defeating us. Instead, let's remember,

"I've commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the LORD your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 (CEV)

The B-I-B-L-E (or something like that)

This is one of those things that circulates through the internet every once in a while. But it might bring a smile to your face today. Or a challenge - can you spot the mistakes?

The (Children's) Bible in a Nutshell

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that.

Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did.

Then God made the world.

He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden.....Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.

Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.

God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff.

Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.

One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore.

There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats.

Jesus also had twelve opossums.

The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount.

But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

__________

My apologies to the original writer of this piece. If I knew who you were, I'd let people know. But thanks for sharing it.

Bill's problem

During a Bible study last night, the pastor made this observation based on his years of counseling:

"If Bill and Mary have a problem,
and Bill and Joe have a problem,
and Bill and Bob have a problem

... then Bill's the problem."

Hmmm. Sometimes one of those gauges for your internal health is your external relationships. It can also be a quick way to do a spiritual inventory. Take a look at the people around you and how you are getting along with them.

How are you doing?

^"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

Romans 12:18 NIV

"Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time."

Hebrews 12:14-15 (The Message)