Out of Egypt I Called My Son

"Out of Egypt I Will Call My Son"

Matthew 2:14 & Hosea 11:1

by JAS

"When they* had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up" he said."take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you,

for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet*:

"Out of Egypt I called my son"

* the wise men from the East

* the prophet Hosea 11:1

The Book of Matthew 2:13 & 14 (NIV)

Art Journal:
This is my second watercolor about 11"x 8" on multimedia paper: JAS

IF: written by a 16 year old girl on the street*

If all lips spoke the truth,
All pride was cast aside,
Greed was packed and stored away,
And jealousy subside,
If love could rule the universe,
Kindness was sown to every race,
Then one could glance into a mirror
And view God in His face …

*From “God Please Save Me”
Covenant House 1998
Sister Mary Rose McGeady

The Book of Luke 22:16

Luke 22.16

"blindfolding Him 'Prohesy who hit you' they said"

chalk pastel on paper 11" x 8.5" by JAS

Art Journal:

A very early experiment in freehand color quick sketching using only chalk.

I just didn't want to give up the security of those pencils & charcoal

Josephus: The Antiquities 18:63,64

"About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standings among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who in the first place had come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of Christians, so called after him, has so far to this day not disappeared."

Flavius Josephus was a Jewish Historian writing for the Romans around the time of Christ...

The Lion of Judah (Revelations 5:5) by J.A.Stratemeyer

The Lion of Judah

(Revelations 5:5)

as after C.S.Lewis

Art Journal:
This is my very first attempt at use of acrylic based paint. It is not connected in any way with the poem below which is a poem that I posted on FaithWriters.com back in 2005.
This painting is my interpretation of Aslan as the Lion of Judah.

Aslan is a fictional charachter
created by C.S.Lewis in his
"Chronicles of Narnia" stories.

I have read that Aslan is the Turkish word for lion.

If you like this painting or not please take a moment to leave a comment either on this blog or at:
http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/StraighTruth/

The Savior's Riddles

Rabbi, what do You mean, in John fourteen?
Your promises are many.
You say we know the place, we know the way;
but questions, there are plenty.

You say You go before us,
and blaze a trail, just for us few.
In Your Father's house of many mansions,
You make a place for us to be with You.

You say, let not our hearts feel trouble,
because You promise us redemption.
Yet what happens if we stumble,
before we reach Your mansion?

You say, the wonders that You showed us,
in Your Name, we can do them too.
What do You mean by "in Your Name?"
Just what are You leading us to do?

When we look into Your written word,
to seek Your Eternal Truth,
will we find It, before our temples gray,
and waste our vigor, and our youth?

What do You mean Savior Jesus,when You say,
You'll leave us orphans, not?
I know this prayer is nothing but questions,
but right now questions, are all I've got.

by James A. Stratemeyer
HCCJM Newsletter, editor

Harford County Christian Jail Mnistry (HCCJM) website: www.hccjm.com

more work by J.A.Stratemeyer & StraighTruth sites:
http://www.americanflier.blogspot.com
FaithWriters.com:
http://64.235.52.11/member-profile.php?id=15342
EzineArticles.com index:
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=James_Stratemeyer
StraighTruth’s “Six Degrees” AIM Page for HCCJM
http://www.aimpages.com/straightruth/profile.html
MySpace.com:
http://www.myspace.com/stratetruth
ImageShack.com:
http://profile.imageshack.us/user/StraighTruth/

I was ... in prison and you did not visit me." Matt. 25:43 by J.A.Stratemeyer

Matthew 25: 41-45

(ESV)
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me,
sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'
Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you,
as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' "

*Art Journal:
The painting above of the praying hands reaching through the cell bars which I entitled "Matthew 25" is my very first attempt at using oil pastels, linseed oil & brush. It is the first time I have ever ground and mixed pigments so that a brush and palette knife could be used as applicators. It is on mixed media paper and is about 8"x10" in size. The original sketch was done with charcoal. I have used oil pastels before but experimentally, more like you would use crayons, without very good results. I am new at using color and was intimidated by thought of expanding out for some time. My former mediums were simple lead pencil & charcoal on paper or cardboard.
Up until this summer they were the only tools with which I felt comfortable.
And if it were not for encouragement
of my lovely wife
I would most likely have never tried it.
I hope you like this painting and I pray
that the imagery and the verses which inspired it are meanigful to you.
Whatever the results, either positive or negative take a second to leave a comment either here on this blog or at: http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/StraighTruth/
I would appreciate it so much.

I Care

*"Prometheus" drypoint by Wolfram Geothe

I Care

I care about my city, which I have seen slowly dying under the attack of the demons of illicit drugs and criminal activity, from the mayors and crooked city counsel members to the kids on the street; of course, the only ones who end up in jail are the underprivileged (poor) kids.
I care about my countrymen who are serving and giving there best around the globe and are proving that the people of our nation care about other countries.
I care about the people of other nations.
I care about them whether the governments of those nations would make themselves our enemies or not.
I care about every single prisoner anywhere in any prison anywhere for any reason.
I care about the homeless,
the ones who many of our citizens
in the financial upper strata don’t want to see.
But I also care about the rich people too.
I am a Catholic and I care about my Church, because like my nation, she is always at work to help people (mostly anonymously) and no matter how much she gives even the people whom she has helped still put her down.
I care about grandmothers who are raising the third and fourth generations of their progeny because the first and second generations succumbed to the drug & vice scene and ended up disabled, dysfunctional, dead or institutionalized for some reason or another.
These courageous women (mamas) keep our country together, their love and faith are the gravity, fabric and glue that binds and unites our society at its roots and keeps our nation from dissolving into something that would be an unrecognizable mess; they are the Suns around which our families orbit, believe it or not, this assertion is true.
Think about it.
I care about my family,
even though they can be self-absorbed jerks,
I still love them.
I care so much that I have to declare it just so I can try to understand it, because I don’t understand why I care so much now; I spent most of my life not caring about anything and being a self-absorbed jerk; I’m still a self-absorbed jerk just like most of the rest of my family, at least now I care about it and am trying to change and I know that the young ones are going to make the same mistakes I made and no matter how much I care I can’t prevent them from doing that.
All I know for sure is that I started to care when I surrendered to the will of God, I know that sounds korny to some, but I really heard It, that Still Small Voice, which is written of in the First Book of Kings and which said to me “Let go” when I responded in my meditation “Let go of what?” the whispered answer was “Everything.”
I care about the ministry for which I volunteer. I pray that she is always guided and directed by the Holy Spirit.
I care about the outreach agencies and medical institutions that help me, I care about those who work for them and the other people they help.
I care about and love my wife in ways that go so deep into my Soul that I haven’t found its limits and don’t believe I ever will.
I care about you.
It is a beautiful but hard and painful thing, to care so.

Copyright © 2007 by James A. Stratemeyer

HCCJM Newsletter, editor

The Harford County Christian Jail Ministry Is a non-profit, all volunteer, prison outreach. Visit the ministry website @ http://www.hccjm.com/
We rejoice in the opening of Lydia's House our safe house for women in the Aberdeen/Edgewood area of Harford Co. Md. this August 2007.

If you like this piece or not take a moment to leave a comment either on this blog or follow this link: http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/StraighTruth/
and post it there

links to more of my writing and artwork:
http://www.americanflier.blogspot.com
FaithWriters.com:
http://64.235.52.11/member-profile.php?id=15342
EzineArticles.com index:
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=James_Stratemeyer
Straightruth's "Six Degrees" AIM Page for HCCJM:
http://www.aimpages.com/straightruth/profile.html
MySpace.com:
http://www.myspace.com/stratetruth
ImageShack.com:
http://profile.imageshack.us/user/StraighTruth/

I would like to thank our Ministry President Mr. Phil Kenny for providing me access to the internet since 2004. (Thanks Phil)