Contest Winner

Thanks for all the entries to my illustration contest! Matthew Miller is the winner and will get a free copy of Teach the Bible to Change Lives! I also sent a special report on praying continually to all the other people who entered.

Here is Matthew's illustration:

"This picture is a box isn't it? But it is a box without sides allowing us to peer straight through it. It is also a box that appears to be confused, with one normally farther edge oddly overlapping a normally closer edge. Look closely! Isn't that weird?

Sides would prevent us from seeing this anomally wouldn't it? But because it is an open box we see everything inside, whether good or weird.

Have you ever tried to cover up something on the inside: confusion, frustration or even sin?
Often times we are like boxes, we keep our sides up and closed to protect ourselves, to keep others from seeing the real us, the anomalies, the frustrations, the questions, the sins.

Unfortunately many people base their love for others on what that exterior looks like. If our sides, our appearance looks fine, then everything is cool, but too much information about reality scares them away.

But here the wonder and beauty and goodness of God comes in. God sees us completely and He still loves us. We all have contorted insides, broken and bent motivations and thoughts that we want to hide. But Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Jesus came to die for us while we were still sinners. So we don't have to be ashamed to pull away our exteriors and let God work through us and in us. That is what He longs to do, He longs for us to open ourselves completely to Him so He can lavish His forgiveness and grace upon us and through us."