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Personal Retreat

Oklahoma City, OK

Date: January 06 - January 09

marydemuth

Numbers 24:17a says: I see him, but not here and

Numbers 24:17a says:

I see him, but not here and now.
I perceive him, but far in the distant future.
A star will rise from Jacob;
a scepter will emerge from Israel.

Matthew 1:2 says:

Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.

Jesus descends from Jacob as well. I created this piece with a walking cane in the middle as a mark in time between Jacob wrestling with God and then walking with a limp as Israel. Through Israel, the Messiah would come, only this Messiah wrestled with Satan in the wilderness and prevailed. He didn’t walk with a cane, but he was stretched out on a cross. And he saved both Jew and Gentile alike.

#advent2023 #adventart #adventpainting

So when I last read through Leviticus, I found mys

So when I last read through Leviticus, I found myself stuck in the infectious skin disease cycle where it talks about the priests looking at everyone's icky rashes and declaring them unclean or clean.

It doesn't seem like a fun job to me. (Maybe this is why I am not a dermatologist.)

But then I read about the folks who are unclean, how they have to declare it, how they have to stay outside the camp.

Then, my mind drifted to Jesus who dared to look beyond the label UNCLEAN and reach His holy hand to touch lepers, the Clean One touching unclean ones and making them clean.

Imagine not being touched for many years, only to have the God of the Universe reach out and touch you, essentially declaring you noticed. And then your health transforms utterly. Your nerves do their firing. Your skin becomes a baby's. And you're utterly changed.

I love Jesus for doing that.

I have often felt outside the camp. I have raised my eyes, but not my voice, afraid to tell the truth of my uncleanliness.

But He sees all that inner wrestling. He sees my despair. He holds His holy hand to me, rescues me from banishment, and gently pulls me into His family. I love that about Jesus.

Once I was far, far away. Now I am near. All because of Him.

Once I was cut off; now I am unsevered, connected, like a vine to its roots.

These are His gifts to me (to you): inclusivity, community, new beauty, hope.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Grateful for my spouse. He’s a keeper.

Grateful for my spouse. He’s a keeper.

“Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will

“Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants [seed] after him.” Genesis 17:19

I portrayed Isaac as laughing because that’s what his name meant. When his mother Sarah found out her aging body would carry a baby, she laughed out loud.

I can imagine if your name means laughter, you would not only be a child of promise, but a person of joviality.

Interesting parallel: Sarah had an impossible pregnancy in her old age. The Virgin Mary had an impossible pregnancy in her teen years. Both carried a promised one, the second being a descendent of the first. And the second one saving us from the weight of sin.

#advent2023 #adventart #adventpainting #paintingadvent #isaactojesus #christmasart2023 #joyeuxnoel

When Abraham lifted his eyes to the stars, God rev

When Abraham lifted his eyes to the stars, God revealed that through him the entire world would be blessed. That fulfillment came through Jesus who gave himself for the world, opening up a way toward relationship.

You can see the fulfillment here in Matthew 1:1-2. “This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.”

We’ll learn about Isaac tomorrow. But for today, remember this: God’s unfolding salvation plan culminated in sending his Son, Jesus, to earth. We celebrate that coming this Christmas.

#advent #advent2023 #adventpainting #adventart

I’m worn out from being underestimated in my car

I’m worn out from being underestimated in my career. I am a strong writer. I always turn in my books early. I am an engaged speaker. I work very hard. I am empowered to speak about Jesus and his healing ways.

It’s a difficult thing for me to say these things (about talent and worth), but as someone who has put words to paper and speeches (messages, sermons) for decades now, it does no one favors for me to shrink back.

Have you ever felt this way? Do people in your field underestimate you? Does it happen to you in ministry?

Today I felt my voice rise up in me. I recounted this verse: But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it! (Jeremiah 20:9).

I don’t need your permission or the blessing of gatekeepers. It’s time for me (with the strength God provides in my weakness) to stand, to speak, to write. Full on. Come what may.

The fire inside is weary of being contained.

I

Must

Let

It

Out.

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