Beauty Instead of Ashes

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." Isaiah 61:1-3

Many have put forth the question as to what I'll be doing in Scotland, what exactly is an art ministry? There are a few layers to what I intend to do there; this is a vision the Lord has been cultivating in my heart for many years. First, the art that I create is one way in which I worship the Lord. As I put my work in shows and galleries throughout Edinburgh, my aim is to publicly proclaim the Gospel and have it be to the praise of his glory. The art will be accompanied by my artist statement which is something to this effect:

All art is an abstraction to some degree. We take our inspiration from life, nature, experiences, people, and a myriad of different things. There is one and only one artist that is an exception to this rule. The Lord God created everything, He needs no inspiration outside of himself, rather he is the source of all creativity. He is the master artist, we all are His apprentices. We are created in His image and His character is one that is creative, artistic, and beautiful. His body of work is incomparably diverse. We are surrounded by a glimpse of His glory in nature, but also in experiences. Our lives are complex works of art. I have seen Him replace beauty for ashes. He makes glorious lives from hearts that were broken. Passionate worshipers of people that persecuted His church. He creates art from the most unexpected means, displaying His workmanship in us. I was a broken life that He rescued. My art can only faintly echo the mastery of His work. I take metal, a material that is cold, hard, lifeless, and flat, and make a form that is delicate and communicates the life, beauty, and ephemeral qualities found in nature. The process to transform the material takes hammering, fire, and time to complete, not unlike our lives. The change is painful, but it is through this that beauty comes forth. There is purpose to the pain. (Below are a few images of my work to help further illuminate what I was just discussing)

                                     

Secondly, as I create work and dive into the world of galleries, lectures, and exhibits, I will build relationships and share my story of redemption with those whom I meet. Discussing our art is a great way to dive deep in our conversation very quickly and naturally. I plan to mentor and disciple people that I see come to faith or that are placed in my path there. I hope to also dialog with artists on different ways our gifts can glorify the Lord in the midst of a dark world.

All of that to say that these are my ideas and plans, this is what I hope to do, but the Lord could very well tweak and change things as I go. This is where my heart lies and what I intend when I say that I'll conduct an art ministry. I hope you catch the vision and get excited with me!

Freedom in Christ

Lately I've been seriously convicted on my misuse of this phrase. Do I seek to justify my actions or to look more like Christ? Sadly, most of the time, it's the former rather than the latter. In Galatians 2 and Acts 15 we see Paul strongly oppose those that say men must be circumcised. Titus wasn't and yet Timothy was. Was Timothy being legalistic? Of course not! He was called to minister to the Jews and knew that being uncircumcised would hinder the Gospel. Yet Titus was called to minister among the Gentiles, so he was not. Circumcision is nothing, it is the heart God is looking at. (1 Samuel 16:7) In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul discusses eating food that has been offered to idols. The conclusion is, "Whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God." Can I say that that is my end goal? Is that the lens through which I filter all decisions? I mean everything. My jokes, my choice of movies, or pastimes. Every word that comes from my mouth. Not even close, but it should be. "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God." Galatians 2:19 The purpose of my freedom in Christ is not for me, not so I can do  whatever I want, but so I might be free to live for God instead of for the law. Do I look like a PG version of the world or do I look like Christ? What a radical difference that is! So my goal is to be more like Christ, not because I have a righteousness of my own, but because my savior died for me and deserves nothing less, because I have been crucified with Christ and it is him that lives in me.

Retreat

How often we view the word retreat as a defeat. Retreat means to lose, to not be able to stand your ground, to us. And perhaps in a way that's true, I can't handle everything I've been faced with lately on my own. My stresses, trials, convictions, and worries have been wearing on me and last night came the breaking point. Not everything I've been dealing with is even bad, but there have been many changes that have come up quickly. And not everything is even my own burden, but rather burdens my loved ones are bearing, but I feel them keenly, as if  they were my own. Everything I'd been putting of dealing with and repressing exploded and suddenly I felt so defeated and lost. The Lord knew my breaking point was coming of course, and as we speak I sit in a condo in Breckenridge with a few of my good friends on a retreat. The point of a retreat is to regroup, to build your strength back up so you can fight another day, so you aren't crushed. I've clearly been relying on my own strength and understanding to try and deal with all the curve balls life has thrown at me. I needed this weekend to spend prolonged quiet time with the Lord, to read, to listen, and to not be so busy. I've been forgetting to take the Lord with me into battle. But I want to be able to say as Paul did, that I have run the race, fought the good fight, kept the faith. On this retreat I recognize and admit how weak I am by myself. I need the Lord always. I was so discouraged because I was thinking thoughts and wrestling with things I haven't in so long. I thought, "I've had victory here! Why is this still an issue for me? Where did that victory go?!" But victory in battle doesn't mean you never guard against that attack again, it doesn't mean it will never come back, it means you know how to defeat it. I know that I need to rest in the Lord, in his promises, and in his strength. When I am weak, then I am strong. I'm so glad I hit a place where I needed to retreat, because on Monday when I head back into normal life, I am not returning alone. How foolish to ever go into battle without our armor and our defender; may we never forget where our strength and power come from! Praise the Lord that when we retreat back to him, he is always there, ready. Asking, ok, are you ready to win now?