Our Issacs

It was not until Abraham's Issac was lay down on the wood that a provision was sent for the sacrifice. It was not until Abraham had finally given up all his hopes and desires that provision came to him. When Abraham lifted up his hand to slay his only son, it was then that God send him what he needed.

Isn't it true that we are also called to lay down our "Issacs"? First we need to recognize who they are and confess to God their names. They can be your goals, your good name, your house, your money, your security; But they also can be your dreams, your health and or a love one.

When we give them up to God. when we give up our "Issacs" to God, something amazing happen. God is displayed as the greatest treasure in our lives. I am not saying that we should not care about things or that we should depreciate God's blessing. I am saying, we should put God where God belongs, namely, as our greatest treasure. 

photo credit: James Marvin Phelps via photopin cc

The Loving Holy Spirit

The period of the Renaissance (14th and 16th centuries) brought with it many important changes in the social and cultural position of the artist. Over the course of the period there is a steady rise in the status of the painter, sculptor, and architect and a growing sympathy expressed for the visual arts. Painters and sculptors made a concerted effort to extricate themselves from their medieval heritage and to distinguish themselves from mere craftsmen.
At the beginning of the Renaissance, painters and sculptors were still regarded as members of the artisan class, and occupied a low rung on the social ladder. A shift begins to occur in the 14th century when painting, sculpture, and architecture began to form a group separate from the mechanical arts. In the 15th century, the training of a painter was expected to include knowledge of mathematical perspective, optics, geometry, and anatomy.

A major development in the Renaissance is the new emphasis on the realistic description of figures and objects in painting and sculpture. The call to "imitate nature" involved an almost scientific examination of optical phenomena. In order to make figures and objects appear three-dimensional, forms were "modeled" employing the optical principles of light and shade. These correctly rendered three-dimensional figures and objects were placed in a three-dimensional illusionistic space created through the newly developed device of linear perspective.