A shiver ran through my body as I looked up at the outside of the church. I noticed a large stained-glass window centered between two towering steeples. Not only did the window of the Holy Spirit move me, but also the steeples looked just like the ones that I painted in my recent painting “Heaven is My Home.”
Walking up to the church entrance for the first time, I felt like a celebrity walking the red carpet as greeters met me every step of the way with smiles and hellos. Of course, since everyone had to wear masks, all I could see was the smile in their eyes. I knew then that this was no ordinary church. It was one where Jesus was not only present but also His flock (church members) truly had a passion for their Shepherd (Jesus).
Once inside, I couldn’t help notice all the old stained-glass windows that lined the church walls. Especially the one of the Holy Spirit that I had seen outside. Without hesitation, I got my phone out and took a picture of the window with the streaming light shining through the colored glass. Little did I know that day my next painting was already in the works. Easter was just around the corner, and I started to feel that God was calling me to use the stained-glass window as the center of my subject matter for my painting. Since the name of the church was The Rose Church, it didn't take long before the thought that a crown of thorns with roses needed to be added.
Before laying out what would be my final draft, I had to do a little research. I knew a red rose stood for love, and a white for purity. I didn't know that both together stood for unity. What a great symbol and name for the church that my daughter Hannah, her husband Koty and my granddaughter Noa attend! Who knew that a red and white rose stood for unity? I guess Jesus did, and that's why after dying for our sins on the cross, He rose from the grave and then sent His Holy Spirit as our guide so that each and every day He could be united with us as our BFF for not only now but for eternity.
What the Resurrection Means to Me by Debbie McDaniel iBelieve:
It proves that He was Jesus - “And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 1:4
He offers us the gift of forgiveness - “The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:10-11
It offers the gift of salvation through Christ - “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
It gives us the ability to live free - “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,” John 11:25
That we can have hope - “That you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” Ephesians 1:18-21
That we can have the power of Christ dwelling in us today - “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33
Offers the promise of eternal life with Jesus in Heaven - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3-4
I would like to finish with ROMANS 8:11-13 - "The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. If the same Holy Spirit lives in you, He will give life to your bodies in the same way. So then, Christian brothers, we are not to do what our sinful old selves want us to do. If you do what your sinful old selves want you to do, you will die in sin. But if, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you destroy those actions to which the body can be led, you will have life."
How awesome is this. We have the power of the Holy Spirit in us!
Sincerely,
Paul German
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