As this painting was given to me after praying for a bit I was reminded of the woman who asked Jesus to help her.
She had a problem that she could not fix.
She worshipped and asked Jesus to help her. She fell at his feet. She worshipped.
When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we too are letting him know that we also need his help.
God’s written Word is multifaceted to me. Every way I consider it, it is revealed in a new beauty that is light filled and life changing.
I challenge you to come to the LORD and ask Him to reveal all that He is and ask Him to give you all that you Can receive from Him.
~ Debbie
Prayer: Father God, help me. Help me to honor you and receive all that your Son died to give me. In Jesus name. Amen
If you have never asked Jesus to be your Savior, ask Him. God loves you so very much.
Matthew 15:21-28
Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.
And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Mark 7:24-30
And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.
For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
June 3, 2024 as I fell asleep I saw a quick image that startled me awake.
I saw a line of fire and two feet made of metal and clay with legs attached descending from the sky. I immediately thought “ That looks like the statue’s feet from the book of Daniel! (chapter 2 verses 40-45)
The line of fire appeared first, then I saw the lower legs and feet descending above it.
I quickly looked up the scriptures about the statue. I was not reading or studying the book of Daniel at that time. Yet I believe the vision was to turn my attention to these particular scriptures.
The kingdoms of this world will end.
Be ready.
Have your lamps full of oil and trimmed, no man knows the time of the Lord’s return, yet He shall return for his own.
As it states in Daniel 2:45 “and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof is sure.
The fourth kingdom shall happen, possibly on the horizon.
Times and seasons are established by the Lord. His kingdom shall break in pieces and consume all kingdoms and it shall stand for ever. In Jesus name. Amen.
~ Debbie Turner Chavers
Daniel 2:19-23
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.
Daniel 2:27-45
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king,and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
28 But there is a God in heaven that revealed secrets, and markets known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what shall come to pass hereafter: and he that revealed secrets markets known to thee what shall come to pass.
30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightiest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 Thou, O king,sawest,and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terriable.
32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out withouthands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all.Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
** If you click on the art or parable painting title you will be redirected to its website for more information about the painting and content.
I have studied Jonah and tried to understand his choice to run.
Jonah was charged with the task to go and tell a message from the LORD so that a nation could be saved from destruction.
He did not want to tell or go where the Lord was leading him.
Jonah rose up and fled from God’s presence, or so he thought.
Yet as noted in Psalm 139, there is no place that God will not or cannot reach you.
One of the things that I have noted on this scripture journey is that the goodness of God is an opportunity for you and I.
How will we use our opportunity?
Will we run toward God or run from God?
Jonah decided to run from God, definitely not a wise choice.
At first glance, Jonah appears very selfish and judgemental, yet even before his three days in darkness Jonah shows he has compassion.
His compassion is shown toward his fellow boat mates, they are floundering spiritually, as well as physically. Why does he feel kinship with them and not the Ninevites?
Is it because they are in the same boat?
As I read Jonah, I realize that I will become confused by looking at man instead of God. Man changes and has his own agenda, which is usually opposite of God’s plan.
So, a brief look at Jonah quickly tells me to keep my eyes on Jesus, the Light of the world.
Jonah 1:6 So, the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise,call, upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
Jonah 1:12 And he said, unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
Jonah noted. The issue at hand was caused by his disobedience and chose to die rather than submit to God‘s leading.
God was patient.
God is very patient with us.
In God’s mercy, he did not allow Jonah to perish, but took him to the end of himself.
Running away from the presence of God puts us in a dark place.
Yet, repentance brings us to His light.
Jonah 2:10 And the LORD spake onto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
*Note God’s mercy. The LORD spake unto the fish.
Jonah 3:1-2 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
So Jonah finally obeys and the people repent. But Jonah is not happy, in fact, he was very angry. Why?
His response directs us toward looking up, to take our eyes off of man and his obstinance.
To obey the LORD who said to go and to tell.
Look to God, gracious, merciful, Jehovah God.
Even in Jonah’s “backslid, ain't gonna listen attitude “ he confesses God’s goodness.
This realized goodness of God eventually causes Jonah to repent of his own way of doing things.
As a people who acknowledge our God is good, we also must repent of doing and living in our own way.
Jonah 4:4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?
It is amazing that Jonah feels betrayed by God’s goodness and mercy when it is being extended to others. Jonah acts like a man betrayed. He states he would rather die than live. Jonah is grieved and angry.
Yet, God still does not judge him, but continues to teach him.
Look at God’s tenderness and patience. God prepared a covering, a gourd, to shelter Jonah from the heat as Jonah waited to see what would become of the city.
Jonah 4:6 And the LORD God, prepared a gourd and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
God is tender towards us, yet wants us to learn, so the next morning….
Jonah 4:7–11 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
And it came to pass, When the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, That he fainted, and wished, in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou has not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand, and their left hand: and also much cattle?
Has God ask you to reach out in mercy to “a Nineveh,” from your comfortable place?
Are you having a hard time reconciling or obeying?
Who?
What?
Where is our Nineveh?
~Debbie
If someone you care about or are have a relationship with is a “Jonah”… Do not be the boat. -DtC
Referenced scriptures:
John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, And then come at harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift Up your eyes, and look on the fields: for they are white already to harvest.
Romans 2:4 Or despiseth thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me
shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
*My post has been updated, reposted and vlogged from my original post in 2009.
I have noticed that when we start a new beneficial thing that there is often opposition. Yet, prevail. There is a push and pull in this life. At times you push yourself through and at other times you are pulled. God tells us not to be weary in well doing, for in due time we will reap. This deals with the spiritual as well as the physical. All action has a reaction. Persevere.
May God bless you,
🌻Debbie
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due time we shall reap, if we faint not.
