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| The New Wine: 16 x 20 Acrylic on Canvas. Interested in purchasing? Send an e-mail to auntiesworkshop@outlook.com |
The inspiration:
Matthew 9:17 - Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. (KJV)
I recently heard Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church teach a message on how to be lead by the Spirit of God. One of his points was that in order to start hearing from God, one must stop focusing on both the inner and outer voices that would lead one astray. One of the loudest voices is current culture.
Though oxymoronic, current culture is often an "old bottle." Ecclesiastes 1:9 in the New Living Translation says, "History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new." Styles and attitudes are based on what was before. The riotous behavior we see splattered across the news isn't new. It's been going on since the fall of man, but new technologies simply bring it before our eyes faster and more frequently.
The Holy Spirit is represented in Scripture by wine (Ephesians 5:18), or spiritual drink (I Corinthians 10:4). When we receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit immediately takes residence. As we "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12), the attitudes of the Spirit--the new wine--clash with the attitudes of current culture--the old wine bottles.
Yes, they will break. Let them!
Let the breaking of those bottles lead you to seek new ones not damaged by sin and misguided thinking. Let the new wine stimulate you to the joy of salvation (Psalm 51:12), and bring out new attitudes of love and worship.
About the painting:
The pattern for this painting is from Susan Schewee Brown's instruction book Simple Elegance. At first, I wasn't going to attempt it. Why? Because the only other painting I'd tried with clear glass as part of the subject was a disaster. The first time I painted it, my instructor took over to correct my mess. The second time, I purposefully managed to creatively leave it out of the composition.
The spiritual inspiration for this painting kept me from giving up before I started. Yes, I know I had instructions for it, but those generally don't help. I'm not using the same kind of equipment or technique as the author. Plus, though I took painting lessons for years, I still don't understand most of the terminology used in the instruction manuals.
The best way I can describe how I completed this was that I messed up, wiped away the mistake, and tried again until I was satisfied. Once I was happy with it, I left it alone. I have a tendency to keep touching up a painting until I've absolutely ruined it and have to start over. Not this time.
Maybe there is some "new wine" to my painting technique.
Though oxymoronic, current culture is often an "old bottle." Ecclesiastes 1:9 in the New Living Translation says, "History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new." Styles and attitudes are based on what was before. The riotous behavior we see splattered across the news isn't new. It's been going on since the fall of man, but new technologies simply bring it before our eyes faster and more frequently.
The Holy Spirit is represented in Scripture by wine (Ephesians 5:18), or spiritual drink (I Corinthians 10:4). When we receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit immediately takes residence. As we "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12), the attitudes of the Spirit--the new wine--clash with the attitudes of current culture--the old wine bottles.
Yes, they will break. Let them!
Let the breaking of those bottles lead you to seek new ones not damaged by sin and misguided thinking. Let the new wine stimulate you to the joy of salvation (Psalm 51:12), and bring out new attitudes of love and worship.
About the painting:
The pattern for this painting is from Susan Schewee Brown's instruction book Simple Elegance. At first, I wasn't going to attempt it. Why? Because the only other painting I'd tried with clear glass as part of the subject was a disaster. The first time I painted it, my instructor took over to correct my mess. The second time, I purposefully managed to creatively leave it out of the composition.
The spiritual inspiration for this painting kept me from giving up before I started. Yes, I know I had instructions for it, but those generally don't help. I'm not using the same kind of equipment or technique as the author. Plus, though I took painting lessons for years, I still don't understand most of the terminology used in the instruction manuals.
The best way I can describe how I completed this was that I messed up, wiped away the mistake, and tried again until I was satisfied. Once I was happy with it, I left it alone. I have a tendency to keep touching up a painting until I've absolutely ruined it and have to start over. Not this time.
Maybe there is some "new wine" to my painting technique.