Sandi Hester

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord Your God.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.  Exodus 20:8-10,11

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.  Hebrews 4:9-10

Grady was enjoying his ‘Sabbath-rest’ one afternoon and I decided to paint his restful feet while they were good and still. 

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.  The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”  John 4:13-14

Where do you get your water?  From the River Himself or from something this world has to offer?  The lady Jesus was talking to knew all too well (no pun intended) what the world had to offer – she had drunk deeply from it and often.  She was reminded of her sexual sin and shame daily as she came to that well at the most inconvenient and most uncomfortable time of day.  She came at the hottest time of day to draw water because all the other ladies in town came at the cool part of the day and she was going to avoid them – and their looks, comments, snide remarks… no matter what it took.  Coming to this well was a daily reminder of her shame – and her sin.  She was sick and tired – probably more tired than sick – of the reminder.  Can you hear the desperation in her voice as she pleads with Jesus to give her the water He was offering?  Oh how wonderful it would be if she no longer had to come to that well at the hot part of the day and be reminded of the mess she had made of her life.  She would no longer have to avoid the taunts of the other ladies in town.  She would be free.  Jesus had something else in mind though.  He didn’t want to free her in her sin, but to free her from her sin.  After she drank His Living Water, what she use to try so hard to hide she now proclaimed from the streets to everyone… “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did.”  Shame was no longer part of her life.  That’s what happens when we drink from His water.  Our sin no longer brings us shame, but shows His glory.  My past sin is deep too, but my Savior’s arm is long and mighty.  Do you know what I love most about this story in scripture – after she drank the Living Water the scripture says, “Then, leaving her water jar…”  She had no need for that jar any more – precious, just precious! 

Grady is out of town tonight and I am painting my heart out.  He’s at a men’s bible study retreat.  He loves weekends like this – deep in the Word.  I am so thankful for him and love him so much.  I painted this water spout today from an art video painting lesson.  As I was painting it I was thinking of the scripture I wanted to put with it and just couldn’t get this story of the woman at the well off my mind.  I love that story.  I love my Savior – He is mighty to save!

All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.  Oswald Chambers

We’re halfway through Easter week.  If you’ve taken time to stop and look at this blog I want to encourage you to take time to stop and remember your Savior today too.  Don’t let the business of the week cause you to ignore the importance of this week.  Take time to savor Christ this week.  Take time to taste Him, to look upon Him, to meditate on Him, and after you’ve done all that – take time to praise Him this week.  May we get less caught up in bunnies and eggs and more focused on the death and resurrection.  Some suggestions of things to do to savor Him this week: watch the Passion, read from the gospel accounts of what took place during this week and look-up where they were prophesied (using the cross references in your bible), use a devotional to help you focus on Jesus and what He did for us (Grady and I are using a devotion that John Piper’s wife, Noel, wrote titled “Lenten Lights” – for some reason I keep calling it lentil lights 🙂 – oh brother!), play music that focuses on Christ’s death and resurrection, etc. 

I did this piece of art work years ago.  I love this quote by Oswald Chambers and I did a piece like this for Christmas gifts one year.  Let’s not ignore the meaning of the cross this week – savor it with me.

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; He suspends the earth over nothing.  He wraps up the waters in His clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.  He covers the face of the full moon, spreading His clouds over it.  He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.  The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at His rebuke.  By His power He churned up the sea…by His breath the skies became fair… And these are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him!  Job 26:7-14

I’m in the book of Job (one of my all-time favorite books in the bible) right now for my quiet time and I read these verses last week and I can’t get them out of my head.  I don’t know how many times I’ve gone back and read them.  Job takes just a portion of creation and describes what God amazingly did with it to the glory of His Name.  The words are poetic, beautiful, full of power, and they make you want to stand up and praise the Lord at the top of your voice (at least that’s what they made me do) – and then Job drops the bomb on you and tells you that as majestic, powerful, and mighty as these things are – they are just the beginning of the majesty of our God!  It’s all just a whisper!  I just haven’t been able to get over it.

The painting is just a quick sunset painting I did a while back.  I just stuck this painting on here because this is a painting blog and therefore felt it necessary to post a painting, but I really just wanted to share this scripture with you :).

How sweet are Your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  Psalm 119:103

Psalm 119 may be my all time favorite Psalm, because it talks so much about the Word of God.  It uses such beautiful pictures of delighting in God’s Word over and over all through the VERY long Psalm.  Grady and I are reading Psalm 119 right now.  Grady reads a Psalm every night to us before we go to sleep.  It’s my favorite part of our evening together.  I love hearing him read the Word over us.  I think the Lord delights in it too.

Grady calls Psalm 119 “Bertha” because it’s so long :).  I asked him if we could break up Psalm 119 instead of reading in all in one night – I really like to savor this one.   It resonates with me, because I love His Word so much.  It truly is sweeter than honey to my mouth.  May I ask a personal question?  How does it taste to you?  I remember a time in my life when His Word was dull tasting – almost sour.  I had no desire for it at all.  But the Lord tells us to ask and we shall receive.  He is the Giver of good gifts.  Ask Him for a sweet taste in your mouth for His Word and see if my precious Jesus doesn’t give in abundance.  Increase our hunger Lord Jesus!  May our appetite be for You and You alone!

I painted this several months ago.  It’s my sugar dish.  The scripture on the painting is actually on my sugar bowl.  Grady got me the most amazing dishes ever for a birthday or anniversary gift (I never can remember what gifts I get when – sorry Grady – I know you’re smiling as you read this!  It’s hard to remember when your man spoils you rotten (AND when you have a brain the size of a pea.)  I know… and I’m sorry if you’re jealous, but I truly do have the best husband in the world!!!!).  Ok so back to my dishes… the dishes all have scripture on them – they truly are beautiful!  Each set has a different topic such as family, love, faith, etc. and there are different verses for each topic.  Did I mention how much I love them :)??!!! 

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.  For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did.  And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”  Matthew 21:31-32

The contrast is staggering – it always has been.  The value of the world and the value of God has never been, and never will be, the same.  We know, and are reminded every day, what the world values, but we may every now and then need to be reminded of what Jesus values.  He finds the outcasts priceless, the nobodies significant, the worthless worthy, the dumb useful, the unborn treasured, and the handicap valuable.  His value system is different.  His thoughts and ways are higher than ours.  So I ask, who will we value today?  Will I value the down-syndrome lady who bags my groceries today?  Will I look her in the eye as a valued, useful, treasured person?  Will you?  Lord Jesus, we are in desperate need of a value change in our hearts.  Oh may we honor what You honor, give worth to what You count worthy, and treasure the things You see as priceless. 

I painted this around Christmas time.  It’s no master piece and is painted in a loose style, but I wanted to capture the silhouettes of these young prostitutes standing on the street – their silhouettes symbolize how they stand in darkness.  And if we were truthful, we’d say we are just fine with them standing there.  We don’t want to see their faces, their shameful ways, or their sinful lifestyles.  But Jesus does – He not only sees their precious faces, He knows their names.  Therefore, Jesus reminds us of the fact that those who have stood in the shadows – those we could care less to know – “they are entering heaven ahead of you.”