Becoming Like Children...

By Hazel Holland

 God is bringing His children back into childlike joy and

 freedom so that He can make them fisher's of men.

As I was drawing this picture for Jakey today I was remembering how much he always loves the water.  So I can just imagine his delight at finding a big fish like this while playing in the ocean! 

You know God is interested in finding big fish and little fish in His ocean, too..  Since He's fishing for people, He's calling us to leave the "nets" we have trusted in and follow Him instead.  His Spirit is still drawing men and women, boys and girls to Himself... one by one.  He's still calling His children into childlike joy and freedom so that he can make them fisher's of men...

Link: Leaving Our Adventist Nets

Called to Be Free!

By Hazel Holland

Since we are called to be free, let's serve one another in love.

 Galatians 5:13

I decided yesterday that I would try using pastels to draw a picture for my three year old grandson, Jakey.  Since he can't read yet, I thought that he might enjoy receiving a new picture in the mail from me each week as a reminder of how much I love him.  So this is my first try at doing a kid picture...

Drawing this picture for Jakey brought me such unexpected joy!  I really was not expecting it to bring out the playful child in me, but it did.  And then God's Spirit began to speak to my heart about how drawing pictures for Jakey will bring about further healing of my childhood memories as well...  As I send Jakey weekly reminders of how much he's loved, I'll be able to enter into priceless moments of his exuberant childhood joy... 

Have you received a "picture" lately of how much you're loved by the Father?  If you have, go share it with someone who needs to know how much He loves them, too.  If you haven't, ask God to give you a fresh picture of His heart of love... not just for yourself, but for someone who may need to be touched by Him through you.

You know... God sends us "love pictures" all the time.  But they don't usually come in the way we expect them...  So let's open up our hearts to His joy today.  We are called to be free and and to serve one another in love.

Link: Free in Him!

He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not...

By Hazel Holland 

 "He loves me...he loves me not...he loves me...he loves me not..."

Do you remember making daisy chains when you were a child?  I sure do. It was fun picking the daisies and seeing who could make the longest chain.  The first daisy we counted was always "He loves me!"  The second daisy was "He loves me not!"  The third daisy was "He loves me!"... and so on until we got to the end of the daisy chain. I remember the excitement and tension we felt as we finished threading our last daisy into the chain... What were the odds that we had picked the "right" number of flowers so that the last daisy would be "He loves me"? 

Yesterday, when God brought back this childhood memory to my mind and told me that this "daisy chain" is a picture of the church today, I began to weep.  This is a picture of many of us in the body of Christ who do not want to let go of the old covenant!  So we do our best to "weave" both the new and the old covenants together.  It's like we're still children, content to play our childish games instead of leaving the "shadows" of childhood behind us... forever.

Trouble is... playing "daisy chains" with the covenants to see how we fare in our relationship with God gives us a distorted picture of His love and grace.  Not only that, but it leaves us in a world of contradictions and confusion.  One minute we're loved, and the next we're not.  One minute salvation is a free gift, and the next it's not.  One minute we're forgiven, and the next we're not.  We catch a glimpse of the Father's heart of love for us, and then suddenly we nose-dive into a world of fear and condemnation.

It's time to leave this childish guessing game behind us.  It's become obsolete.  The old has gone and the new has come!  It's time to grow up into who we are in Jesus Christ, and embrace the truth that "He loves me...always!"

The "Old" Has Disappeared...

By Hazel Holland

The "old" has disappeared... and the "new" has come!
 

Jesus knows the hearts of His children.  He knows that many of us try to hold on to the old wineskin of old covenant law believing it to be better than the new wineskin of the new covenant gospel.  He knows that in the natural realm old wine does taste better than new wine. 

That was why the people at the wedding in Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle were so surprised when they tasted the new wine.  The old wine—the good wine was always served first, but at this wedding the best wine was served last!   

Do you see the prophetic picture?  Jesus was declaring Himself to be the New Wine—the Best Wine.   The Son of God was declaring Himself to be God’s final Word.

Although we have been accustomed to drinking “old wine,” believing the “old” is better, Jesus came to show us that the “new wine” of the new covenant gospel is far better than the old wine of old  covenant law.  He is defying our expectations just like He surprised the guests at the wedding feast by showing us that the new wine—what came later is better!  Indeed, the host of the wedding banquet did serve his best wine at the beginning.  

But like the glory of the new covenant (2 Corinthians 3), the New Wine surpasses the old!  We thought we had great wine through Moses, but it doesn’t begin to compare with the New Wine of the Spirit...

*Excerpt from "The Naked Truth...", p. 74.  

Your Harvest

By Hazel Holland

God longs for you to know that the wilderness is the place where He calls you to be alone with Him!  The wilderness is the place where He draws you into His presence with His deeds of loving-kindness and tender mercies that He has towards you.  The wilderness is the place where He gives you back your vineyards of lost fruit (Hosea 2:14-15)!  Yes, it's in the wilderness where He shows you your fruitfulness in Him...

A Spiritual Awakening

By Hazel Holland

As I was doing this pastel tonight I was reminded of how God has ordained each season in the natural world to come at its appointed time.  In a similar way He has designed each season in your spiritual life to follow His chosen plan, too.  As you look back on your life, you will recognize some of these times of spiritual awakening...

You will remember the tug on your heart each time His Spirit revealed Himself to you as you and He walked down life's path together.  You will remember how your heart burned within you at times when you were deeply touched by His goodness and love.

During those seasons of spiritual awakening your life was being prepared to respond to His Spirit at the next appointed time...

Solitude

By Hazel Holland

"The Lord is my Shepherd... He leads me beside quiet waters... He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." Psalm 23:1-3