Masterpieces NOT of Stone
Michelangelo's famed sculpture of Moses was created in the early 1500s. It is, like all of Michelangelo's works of art, considered a masterpiece. Unique to this particular masterpiece is the depiction of a small muscle in the forearm that contracts when lifting the pinky finger — the Extensor Digiti Minimi. This particular muscle is usually invisible, unless and until it is contracted to raise this small finger, as indeed Moses' sculpted form is doing. Such attention to detail serves the purpose of making this work of art appear perfect in its representation of the human form.
Art historians and critics the world over marvel at the “master’s” knowledge and understanding of human anatomy, giving praise and glorious laud to his skill, his artistry, and the perfection of his craft.
Yet Michelangelo, as skilled and gifted as he was, was merely copying the design of the True Artist, the Creator God, who Himself formed and fashioned the very muscle structure the sculptor was emulating. So, when all is said and done, Michelangelo’s creation was still and all just a piece of stone. Lifelike, yes — but mere stone, designed to bring honor and glory to its creator, the artist.
While Michelangelo crafted masterpieces from stone, the Lord crafts masterpieces of flesh and bone, of heart and soul. WE are his workmanship, His masterpieces, created to bring HIM glory!
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV).
The High Cost Of Justice
Belinda Geary For The Daily Mail Australia, writes:
A man who has been to five different courts and racked up a $100,000 legal bill over a $250 speeding fine said that after a four year battle he still won't rest until 'justice' is served.
Mustafa Al Shakarji, from Townsville, Queensland was pulled over and fined $250 for speeding in March 2012 after a police radar allegedly detected him doing 28 kilometres over the speed limit.
But the pharmacist, who immigrated to Australia from Iraq in 2002, insists that he was not speeding and is determined to continue to fight until the courts give him justice.
Now, after going through five different courts and losing a final appeal the determined driver said he will be the first person to take a speeding fine all the way to Australia's High Court.
Everyone one of us is counting on one of two things when we face our Maker. We will either be seeking justice or mercy. Those who insist on justice will receive God's justice, which requires a just punishment for every transgression. However, those who repent and seek mercy will receive God's mercy, which promises all the joys and rewards of heaven.
What most people want, what they insist on as a matter of principle, is justice. And just like Mr. Shakarii, they are determined to take their case all the way to the highest court to get it. If you are one of those who insist on justice, be forewarned. It will be far more costly than you imagined.
"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).
"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matthew 9:13).
Stop Feeding The Rats
At the peak of his power, the “king of cocaine,” Pablo Escobar, supplied 80% of the world’s cocaine, smuggling it into the US at an astounding rate of 15 tons per day. This translated into $420 million in revenue a week, making Escobar the wealthiest drug lord in history.
Escobar made so much money he didn’t know where to put it all, so he heaped huge piles of it in open fields, in old warehouses, and even in the walls of cartel member’s homes. Escobar’s brother and accountant claimed that the cartel spent $2,500 a month just on rubber bands used to stack and organize the money.
In a 2009 interview, Escobar’s only son, Juan, claimed that his father actually torched $2 million just to keep the family warm while they were on the run. Juan wrote, “Pablo was earning so much that each year we would write off 10% because it had been eaten by rats … or lost.” That 10% added up to a cool $2.1 billion. That’s over 2 billion a year eaten by rats!
What is hard for many to understand is how someone can be in one of the world’s most dangerous businesses, have entire government agencies hunting them down, possess so much money they’re feeding it to the rats to a tune of 2.1 billion dollars a year, and not just quit! Why would anyone keep going? When is enough, enough? Why would anyone cling to this lifestyle?
The Bible tells us the wages of sin is death—sounds pretty dangerous! It also tells us that God is not mocked, and will most certainly bring us to justice—sounds pretty hopeless. So why not quit? Why do so many keep going? Why isn’t enough, enough? Why would anyone cling to this lifestyle?
Stop running from God! Stop hiding! Repent of your sinful lifestyle!
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).
Stop feeding the rats!