This is what I painted during our harp and bowl night which is basically free-form worship mixed with prayer. We had dance and various worship leaders, and I was asked to paint a painting in the spirit. I came in with a loose idea already of what I wanted to do regarding fire, water and the cross. 

  The idea behind this comes from a trip I took to New Orleans recently where I ate some soft shell crabs. A soft shell crab is one that is about to go on a growth spurt, and has to leave his shell to do it. The crab is soft until he it is finished growing, and then he becomes hard again. But, what is important is that he can’t grow until he comes out of his shell. We Christian’s often don’t grow because we are so busy fitting into our culture. This revelation about the crab needing to come out of its shell to grow came to me as we were praying about all the changes that we have gone through lately as a church. Change can be messy. 

  I had the same type of experience while painting this picture. I was thinking as I went about it, how messy it was. As I thought this I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me and say, “Revival is messy.” I have studied the great revivals and it is true that many strange things happen during those times. It is easy to want to go back to your comfortable shell. 

  After I was finished with the painting someone pointed out to me that they had noticed a progress that went on during the painting of the picture. First, I painted the fire, which is first thing that happens in revival. Something comes and consumes those things that are not of God. Even the things that are not necessarily bad. This makes it easier to function according to what the Holy Spirit says. 

   Second, came the water. Water of life is such a powerful image in the Word. From the throne water flows that grows deeper and deeper so that at first, you are up to your ankles, then you are up to your knees, and so on until you can’t walk in it in any longer. You have to swim. Its a healing water that changes you in a way that makes you person God wants you to be. It makes the Church the church God wants it to be. 

  This all happens around the cross. So, that was the third thing I painted. It is the cross that brings the Holy Spirit. The cross is not about death, but about life. It is the ultimate paradox. Out of the death of all that we think is right and necessary something so radically new and different springs to life that we would never have been able to imagine it. 

  The last thing I put on the painting was the grapes for the new wine that is coming forth.  Jesus said, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” Luke 5:37-39

  Does this mean we should prefer the old wine? No, this means that we can get satisfied with the old wine and never want the new, like a crab refusing to come out of his shell.