A Secret

 

“An Old Man in Military Costume” was painted by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1630 and is obviously a portrait of an old man in his uniform.  Some say it could have been a portrait of his father.  But this painting by Rembrandt has a secret that has only recently been revealed.  During a routine cleaning in 1978, a ghost image was detected by technicians.  Using X-ray and atomic spectrograph, they discovered an underlying portrait of a young man!  Evidently, Rembrandt had painted a portrait of a young man, but later repurposed the canvas, painting a portrait of an old man over top of the young man.  After 350 years (and modern technology), the secret came to light!  The canvas held not one but two paintings by the Dutch master.  Hey, your sinful heart holds secrets as well.  But God can regenerate your sinful heart, remove those skeletons, and restore the pure heart that God Himself had originally made.  Paul said in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  The old sinful self has hidden God’s inner self that has been covered up for years.  Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the new creature that is in Christ Jesus.  Hey, let Jesus make your old portrait into a brand-new picture!  Jesus can give you a beautiful, new life … a new life in Him!

Silver Minnows

 

Years ago, my daughter went to Hilton Head for a week of relaxation at the seashore.  On her way, she stopped by our house for a visit.  As she sat in our living room Friday evening, she said, “I need to change the color of my toenail polish.”  I asked her why, and she said, “My polish is silver - just about the color of little minnows.”  Good thinking, Becky, good thinking.  And that reminded me of when Peter and Jesus had to pay their taxes.  Jesus told Peter to throw a fishing line into the water.  And just a moment before, I can imagine a fish gobbling up a shiny coin off the sea floor – just about the color of Becky’s toenails - and then taking Peter’s bait and being hauled on board Peter’s fishing boat.  Jesus told Peter in Matthew 17:27 to “… go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”  I’m sure Peter was surprised.  And if Becky hadn’t changed her toenail polish, I’m sure that she would have been surprised too as she swam in the ocean.  But then again, Jesus knew all about Peter and fish and coins and Becky and … well, you get the picture.  Just trust Jesus.  He knows everything.  Today, yesterday, and tomorrow.  Really.

Glowing

 

When my daughter Beth was little, she was afraid to go to bed upstairs.  So I would take her upstairs, tuck her into bed, and place a glow-in-the-dark key fob in the overhead light to “charge up”.  Then I would look in the closet and announce, “Nothing in here.”  Then I would look under the bed and announce, “Nope, nothing under here either.  Finally, I would take down the “charged up” glowing key fob and give it to her.  She would promptly take it under her covers as she covered up her head, and she would drift off to sleep, feeling safe.  Hey, just as that key fob glowed from the light of the light bulb, we should reflect the light of Jesus Christ with our lives.  Paul said in I Corinthians 6:19&20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”  Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, we should reflect the glory of God as we show others our Christian testimony.  Hey, do people see a reflection of Jesus Christ in your life?  I hope so.  If not, why not behave like a real Christian today?