Timothy J. Pruitt's Blog, page 446

The Red Steps

1 Kings 10:11-12

11 And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.

12 And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

 2 Chronicles 9:11

11 And the king made [of] the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king’s palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.

In The Temple Of The Lord, King Solomon built what are called terraces in one place, and pillars in the other. While there are some opinions, they are most likely a pathway or steps, each with balusters attached. Solomon knew that at some point, these balusters would be needed. It’s one thing to simply have steps in the Temple, but it’s another to have railings attached.

Solomon must have known, that after a day of service, the Priesthood would be tired.  They would need the support that the banisters and steps would offer.  King Solomon had a son who would one day be king.  He must have known that his children would need the stability of those steps and banisters.

God had chosen King Solomon to lead his people, that made him the Captain of the Armies Of Israel.  He knew that his soldiers would enter the temple weary.  They would need the strength that those steps and railing would offer.

Finally, people who had made mistakes would come to the Temple with sacrifices.  In hopes of Atonement for their sins.  They knew that they would need the saving grace that comforted them from the embarrassment of their sins.

What made these steps and banisters special, was the type of wood that was used in them.  It was from the Algum or Almug tree.  According to Bible Commentators, it is mostly likely a type of wood known as red sandalwood.  Ophir, was believed to be a trade city of India, and this was where this wood was found.

It is red, or garnet in color, and rulers as far off as the Emperors of China, prized it for it’s value.  While it is most certainly beautiful, there are many more amazing qualities of this tree.  It is an unusual tree, it is so dense, it will sink in water.  Red sandalwood is used as a medicine to enhance mental function, at the same time, it is effective in giving rest to those with insomnia.  It’s no wonder that the royalty of China treasured it so.

It is said to treat both the inside and outside of man. Red sandalwood is used as a method of blood purification. From skin conditions to stomach ailments, it has even been known to be effective against multiple types of cancer.  Wouldn’t you love to have some of this tree?

Trees have been vital since the beginning, The Tree Of Life springs to mind immediately.  While the sandalwood tree may not have been the Tree Of Life, it pointed to it.  It pointed, not to the one in the Garden Of Eden, but to The One that would pray in the Garden Of Gethsemane.

Those steps imitate the steps of Jesus.  The journey to Calvary was covered in blood.  Christ was beaten and mocked by both Herod and Pilot’s men.  Blood overflowed from the whipping post to The Cross, and finally His blood covered body was carried to the Tomb. While He left death behind three days later, He kept the scars to remind us of His love and mercy.

The Lord Jesus knew that His blood would support the Christian throughout His entire walk.  When we come to Him as sinners, we turn from our ways in Repentance, and begin to die out to our old life.

Romans 6:4

4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

According to Romans 6:4, we are buried with Him in Baptism.  His blood is applied to our lives.  Our sins are dissolved in His blood when we are baptized.  Like the sandalwood, they sink into oblivion.  This connection with The Blood and Baptism is why, when Christ’s side was pierced, out came blood and water.  Just as He told Nicodemus in John 3:5 foreshadowing the future.

John 3:5

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

When we arise to walk in newness of life with Christ, we will sometimes be weary.  We will struggle, and make mistakes.  This is why 1 John 2:1 the Apostle tells us two things. First, we are to purposely live a Godly life.  Notice The Bible still says, if we sin, not when we sin.  The second tells us that if we make a mistake, Christ’s blood is present, in our new life, to forgive us.

1 John 2:1

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

He is the righteous pathway yes, but He is also the stabilizing banister.  This isn’t only for when we make a mistake, but like the Priests He strengthens us when we are weary from service.  He is The Rest for our souls! Christ Our King is the strength for the soldiers of The Cross.  He is the stability for our children, as we raise them in the fear and admonition of The Lord!

Lastly, Solomon also made harps and psalteries out of this same wood.  Christ is our song!  In the Temple, there were both the old instruments of David, and the new instruments of Solomon.  Whether it is played on the Hammond, or on the acoustic what does it matter?  As long as our song is Christ, and Him crucified, what difference does the tempo make?

 1 Peter 2:21

21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Let us imitate Christ, following His steps, holding on to Him. As He holds us up, let us hold up one another.  If we do this, then together, we will follow His steps in love and unity from here to Heaven, singing as we go!

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles

Cambridge’s:Gray Hair And Dentures

Your Mother sat me down and explained two things.  “First, I love you, you crazy, mixed up man.  Second, I wasn’t wanting you to propose out of fear that you’d lose me.  I just wanted to know that your plans for us involved gray hair and dentures.”

“I’m sorry for waiting so long to say what was in my heart.  My plans for us have included, as you say, gray hair and dentures since the day I met you.  I was just waiting for the right time, and I wanted to ask the right way.”

A month later, I found the right way.  I had a hat box delivered to her at college.  It contained a hat, but a very special hat.  It was actually a flower arrangement made out of a hat.  It was a black hat covered in an artificial flower that grows in America, known as black-eyed-susans.

If you remember, your Mother told me once that black eyes were better than roses, I never forgot it.  In it, was not a ring, but a riddle. It read, “When is a hand to heavy to move?  When is a face covered with sparkles?”  Lastly, the box contained a map.  It lead her home to her clock, which was turned off.

When she looked at the face of it, she saw a diamond ring.  A much less expensive one than the three I had once ask her with, but it was ours.  The door of the kitchen opened, I took the ring from the clock, and got on one knee.  “When is a hand to heavy to move?  When it is weighted down.  When is a face filled with sparkles?”  I was about to say, “When it’s covered in diamonds.”

She interrupted to say, “When it’s filled with happy tears.”  I softly ask her if she would be my Bride, and she whispered yes just as softly.  Our Grandmothers clapped from the kitchen, as our Mothers burst through the door.  I thought the hardest part was over, but I had never not planned a Wedding before!

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles

God Fights With You

God gave me this around 3:30 am for someone. Take heart for God is with us!

To all those who are fighting a battle, take heart, God is with you. David’s hand clave to the sword because he knew that God was leading him in battle.

The mulberry trees rustled because The Ancient Of Days walked forth armed against the Philistines. You are not fighting alone, He is with you!

No matter how hot the battle, no matter how long the engagement, and no matter how weary you may feel, you are not alone! God said “Be not weary in well doing, for ye shall reap if you faint not.”

There is victory for you, yes you, the one who is reading this in the middle of the night. He knows you feel like you’re in the middle of despair, but you are closer to your victory than you know. Just as long as you don’t lay down your weapon.

The Bible says that The Word is our Sword, and He is The Word Of God. We cannot lose, because we hold Him, we fight through and by Him! He is our strength in our weakness as He said.

You will make it, you will have Peace, you will win this fight! Hold on! Fight strong, not in your strength, but in His!

It is time to stand, and at the right time, He will walk you out of this fight with the sweet taste of victory!

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles

iPainting: A Night In Europe

 

We hope you enjoy our newest landscape, it’s based on a photograph fromItaly. Italy seems to have a major creative impact on me right now. This is true in both writing and painting. From “The Italian Hatmaker” Serial, to the upcoming eBook “The Kite”, as well as the “Italian Countryside” painting. Now, we have “A Night In Europe” that we hope you like.

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles

iPainting: George Washington Watercolor

We hope you enjoy the latest in our “President Series”, our digital watercolor, “George Washington.”  Also, we hope you enjoy the Hisbit article on Washington as well.

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles

iPainting: Light In The Fog

We hope you enjoy our new watercolor, “Light In The Fog”.

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles

Guest Article: A Weak In The Life By Travis Cantrell

God brings special people into your life to inspire and encourage you.  One such person is my friend, Travis Cantrell.  You’ve seen his beautiful artwork in the past, including his interpretation of the hero Zorro, on our site.  What you may not know, is that he is an incredible writer.  As well as working full time to support his family, he is a Teacher at his Church, a writer, and an artist. 

The following article first appeared on July 24th on a blog for his church, Community Heights Church.  It was such an inspiration to me, that I immediately asked if we could re-post it.  I hope it blesses you as much as it has me.

 

A Weak In The Life By Travis Cantrell

Sunday: Today’s church service has me so pumped up for Jesus! I can’t wait to get to work tomorrow and share my love for the Lord with my unsaved/unchurched coworkers!!!

Monday: Waking up at 5 AM is ridiculous! Need coffee, stat! I’d share my faith at work, but this day is starting off all wrong and I’m grouchy! I don’t want to be a hypocrite. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day to initiate a God conversation!

Tuesday: *yawn* I am definitely going to bed by ten tonight! I have way too much to deal with today! I wish I didn’t have to work on that project with weird-Angela this afternoon… maybe she’ll be sick today so I can just do it myself! I can hope! Wait, am I wishing someone ill?

On the plus side, I had alone time with God. I prayed for forgiveness for wishing sickness on weird-Angela!

Number of Monster Energy drinks required to make it through daughter’s karate practice: 2

Bedtime: 11:47

Wednesday: I didn’t talk to my coworkers about Sunday’s message yesterday! I’ll start off with that joke the pastor told… let’s see, three guys are on a boat and… how did he say it? Aww, man, we’re learning that new process today. Nobody’s going to want to hear a joke while dealing with that!

Number of Red Bulls to maintain consciousness through training: 3

Thursday: What is that smell? Oh no, I think that’s skunk smell! Did a skunk die under my house? I think a skunk died under my house!

On the plus side, I had alone time with God today. That alone time consisted of praying, “Lord, please don’t let me smell like skunk at work today! Amen!”

Friday: Woohoo, it’s Friday! TGIF! Fridays would be much better if I didn’t have to work all day! I need coffee. And an energy drink. Maybe two. Of each. But it’s family night! Maybe we’ll watch a movie! What could we watch that we’ll all enjoy and won’t damage the children? It’s too much to think about and I don’t want to stop at the DVD machine on the way home!

Saturday: Yes! No work today! Now I can get the yard work done and repair the cabinets and snake the bathroom drain and fill up the kiddie pool and play baseball in the front yard with the children and…. oh, I need to work on my Sunday School lesson! Can I just call in sick to church tomorrow?

Sunday: I should’ve gotten in bed earlier last night. Must wake up children, ensure they’re fed, and get to church with a smile on my face so nobody knows how stressed I am! What would people think if they really knew?

….

Today’s church service has me so pumped up for Jesus! I can’t wait to get to work tomorrow and share my love for the Lord with my unsaved/unchurched coworkers!!!

Does any of this sound familiar to you? If this sounds like the week you’re having, I pray it gets better! We all have times in our lives where we have so much on us and we’re so overwhelmed that it seems like it’s just too much. It seems like the world that we live in demands more time and effort than we have to offer. But is that what God wants for us?

After God completed His creation of the universe, He rested. Had God exhausted Himself over the previous six days? I don’t believe God is exhaustible, but I do believe He did this as an example for us. Later, the Lord declared a Sabbath for the Jewish people. While we do not observe a Jewish Sabbath, the message is clear – God wants us to take a break.

God doesn’t want us to live lives that are so filled with activity, stress, and responsibility that we spend every waking hour wishing we could rest. He didn’t give us bodies that do not tire. If we fail to rest, our week will make us weak. When I fail to follow God’s example, it leaves my priorities askew and hinders my effectiveness in the areas I should focus on. Occasionally, I come to the realization that my life is too busy. So, I’m going to reflect and acknowledge that some things have to go. If you’ve read this and thought, That week sounds like my week and it’s leaving me weak, then hopefully you’re encouraged to do the same!

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles

iPainting: Italian Countryside

We hope you enjoy our latest iPainting, the digital watercolor “Italian Countryside”.

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles

140 Mile Stretch: Project Skylark

The Colonel was waiting for the signal, once he had it, he acted quickly.  Within minutes, he was inside the archives.  He had to hurry, the Secret Service would be there within minutes.  Thankfully, this was a time when they still kept physical files.  Cameron found the file marked “Project Skylark”, copied it’s contents, and engaged his time device.

When the agents arrived, they would only find a layer of smoke.  Upon further investigation, they wouldn’t notice anything out of place.  Even though their top agent was a young lady named Phyllis.  This was before her accident, and before anyone knew of her involvement with the agency.

Meanwhile, two men were having coffee in a small coffee house in Philadelphia.  One man was much older than he looked, the other was around 30.  “Councilman, we have very little time.  I doubt you’ll believe it, but my name is Samuel Osgood.” A young Alex Whittaker sat down to listen to what he thought was a crazy man.

“When we leave here, go to the library, and look me up.  I was the first Post Master General of these United States.  Now, I’m a man far from home, on a mission.  Tom sent me, it’s the Tom you know, but not when you know him.  At least not yet, but you will.  One day, you’ll have some important roles in government.  When that time comes, you’ll be involved in something that reopens ‘Project Skylark’.”

As soon as Samuel Osgood mentioned “Project Skylark”, he had Alex’s attention.  “I hoped that I would never have to hear that term ever again.  What do you know about it?”  “I’m afraid more than I should, and more than I would like.  Unfortunately, you don’t know enough.  There is far more to it than the misery you’ve already faced.  I’m afraid, if one person gets their wish, there is much more misery to come.”

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles

Sketch: Green Arrow

The protector of Key City and Seattle caps off our Justice League series with Green Arrow.

Follow me on TwitterMy TweetsOur Facebook Fan PageTweets, Likes, Pins, and Tumbles