A Life-changing Encounter

By Hazel Holland

As I painted this watercolor today it reminded me of the life-changing encounter we may all experience with the living Christ.  When we do, He makes us realize that we have been destined and appointed to live unselfish and love-filled lives for the praise of His glory.  

Our destiny in Him is never to remain a captive, crippled by fear, but to be transformed into His image.  He has given us wings to fly so that we are free to love and forgive others as He has loved and forgiven us. 

As the light of His love continues to shine in our hearts, we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  And we are compelled by His Spirit to declare the glory of the risen Christ, and the amazing gospel of His grace for all people everywhere. (2 Corinthians 4:6) ♥

Click here to see a larger image of the painting!

He Will Provide

By Hazel Holland   

"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap
 nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
 Are you not of more value than they?" (Matt. 6:26)

Sometimes we wonder how God will provide for our needs.  As you look at these birds I painted, remember that He cares for you far more than the birds...  Since He knows when the sparrow falls, He most certainly knows every detail of your life, and is with you during every difficult moment you face.♥

Click here to see a larger image of the painting!

God's New Creation

By Hazel Holland

When we look at this beautiful blue jay and the vibrant colors of the Fall season, we forget that what we are enjoying is part of the old creation that is gripped by an unbreakable law... the law of entropy which Paul calls "the law of decay" (Romans 8).  Eventually the autumn leaves will turn brown and die, and so will this living creature.  How we wish we could break through this unbreakable law, but we can't. 

But in Christ the breakthrough has already occurred.  In Christ, God is beginning a new creation that is not subject to this law of decay and death... and this new creation has already begun!  But in Old Testament times believers didn't know about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the effects of it on our lives right now.

In Christ, God has already broken through the old creation.  And right in the midst of the old creation, He is creating a new creation.  This means that we can choose to live each day on the basis of this new creation!  In the realm of the Spirit the breakthrough has already occurred.  When we begin to walk in the Spirit, then we can love, forgive, and reach out to others.  We can experience new life in the Spirit right now.

This is the mystery of the gospel.  We're no longer a part of the old creation, but a part of the new.  Now we may live our lives as sons and daughters of this new creation.  We're not part of the old any more.  We're part of the new.  We've broken loose from the old creation and are part of the new creation through faith in Jesus Christ.  We are heirs through the gospel and sharers together in the promise.♥ (Ephesians 3:4-6)

(Talking about the "law of decay"... I painted this watercolor while I was suffering from the painful effects of a decayed tooth that I had extracted last week!)

Click here to see a larger image of the painting!

Garden Sanctuary

By Hazel Holland

As I painted this watercolor the other day using wet colored tissue paper and water soluble wax pastels, I was reminded of the time twelve years ago when I felt impressed by the Spirit to make a prayer garden out of my back yard.  As I worked tirelessly in my garden to make it a place of beauty and sanctuary for others, I learned how to enter into His Garden where the “work” has already been done.

As I entered by faith into the “rest” of His grace I found that it's a place where no “work” is allowed.  That's because in His Garden the “work” is already finished!  I learned that the only thing left for me to do is to enjoy sweet fellowship with Him as I hear Him calling me upon the gentle wind of His Spirit to enter more fully into the “rest” that he has already provided... Himself!

Can you hear the Lord calling you to come into His Garden and find true intimacy in Him as you enter into the "rest" of His grace?  "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come..." (Song of Solomon 2:10-13).

Hearts After Him

By Hazel Holland
 

This watercolor painting is an expression of our love for Jesus because of how He demonstrated His amazing love for us. ♥♥♥

His Heart is Wide Open

By Hazel Holland

Today I had problems painting this watercolor.  I kept getting my hand in the wet paint because the size of the painting was larger than what I'm used to.  I had chosen to increase the size of the paper because I wanted to have a larger space to paint hearts reaching up to Him.  But after I finished the painting I reduced the size of it, because not only was it too busy, but it seemed like it might be a distraction for this post.

You will remember that at the moment of Jesus' death the the veil of the temple was split in two.  This was God's dramatic way of telling the world that for all time and for all people the way into His heart is wide open to everyone.  God is not planning revenge towards those who gathered around the cross in hatred towards Him.  Neither is He planning to judge you because of your sins of selfishness, pride, or indifference towards Him.

The rending of the veil means that the penalty for all sin has been paid once and for all.  The way into God's heart is wide open because Jesus paid the penalty for the hateful, the cruel, and the ignorant.  The way into His presence is wide open to all of us, in spite of the wrong attitudes we so frequently have toward Him.  Since God holds no grudges against anyone, He is waiting to restore the hopeless, the helpless and those who are filled with fear.   He is longing to reconcile each one of us to Himself.

God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God in Christ.  To me there is no greater wonder in all of the universe than this.  If this isn't the greatest gift that God gave you then perhaps you haven't yet grasped the astounding impact, and timeless benefit of Christ's death for you.

God's heart is wide open to you continually.  If you've been building up treasure here, know that His heart is a far greater treasure awaiting you.  As you catch a glimpse of His goodness you'll see that you've already been forgiven.  So let Him wash away your guilt with His love so that you are able to receive His spotless heart.♥

The Depths of His Love

By Hazel Holland

As I was painting this watercolor yesterday I kept thinking of the words of Romans 8:35-39.  Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us?  Can troubles and problems of various kinds?  Can suffering or hunger?  Can danger or even death separate us from His love? 

NOTHING!

Because of God's promise to us in the gospel, I am sure that neither death nor life can ever separate us from His love.  Because of the new covenant that the Father and Son agreed upon long ago, nothing now or in the future shall ever be able to separate us from the heart of the One who gave us all things in Jesus Christ.

No angels or demons or powers of darkness shall ever be able to separate us from Christ's love so freely given for us on the cross.  Nothing in all of creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of the Father so clearly revealed in the face of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.♥