Be Salt and Light

“Be salt and light” was the third word I hear from the Lord recently. A small still voice as I thought about the post Colin put on his Facebook note concerning their Christmas adventure to minister to the homeless. The boys minus my son Scott stopped by Christmas night to borrow my old boom box before they headed downtown to see what they could do in the name of Jesus. The plan was to show up where the homeless hang out and feed a few people, maybe dance, thus the boom box. They hoped to pray for or with some of the men they might meet. I love these guys and was not disappointed when Colin posted last night. God does speak to us. He desires to do so.

And from that post of Colin’s came a question to me. Again, what will I do with it, the it being what God gives me? His imperative lest I not draw the conclusion myself… “be salt and light.”

The word to me came in context of art, art ministry and how the Lord might use that. And so know I can tell the story of the woman from Illinois with no home but a dream. I have written an encounter with this homeless woman into a poem. Truth is I am being shaped by the women I meet at the shelter too, like Colin was by the man Christmas night. Like Colin I know I can be their voice. That is something Sara Groves suggested at her concert when she asked her audience to consider the plight of the needy, to help, to give, to be the voice of the oppressed and hurting.

Recently my pastor suggested we make our families larger, extend that to the church, pull up our tent pegs and enlarge our tent. That is my prayer for my church as I enter the new year, that and the task of speaking truth to people in love.

As I looked up the reference to the image of “enlarging our tents” I find it in Isaiah 54 along with the first word spoken to me in the series of utterance that the Lord has blessed me with as I seek His face and his will for my life at this intersection.

Now He has my attention.

Matthew 5:13 - 16
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

I have had a heaviness in my heart, a burden that hasn’t been lifted, for years now. In the spirit of this verse it rages against the lies of the enemy and speaks truth, “be salt and light.” And I often fall back in dismay and look at the ruins of a life of service I once knew. “Be salt and light” breathes life into a dream, it awakens hope, it implores justice, mercy and reconciliation. It longs for wholeness. I know the source of the message and I believe what He says to me is not in vain.
Isaiah 54

The Future Glory of Zion

1 "Sing, O barren woman,
who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,"
says the LORD.
2 "Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.
4 "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
5 For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
6 The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected," says your God.
7 "For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.
9 "To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,"
11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise,
your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your sons will be taught by the LORD,
and great will be your children's peace.
14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender to you.
16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work.
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.

Faith Walk

Have you ever heard the voice of God? Does He speak to you? What do we mean by that, when we say God speaks? When the Spirit brings to mind a specific scripture to use in the situation we find ourselves in, God speaks. We may hear a sermon and know what is preached applies to our situation, God speaks through our pastor. We may have a friend speak truth to us, God speaks through our friend. Sometimes it is a still soft voice that isn’t audible but a voice none the less that answers a prayer, God speaks to us directly. The Bible says we will know his voice, just like a sheep knows the voice of the shepherd. John 10:14

When Chris LaRue spoke to us on Sunday he asked the question, "have you ever heard Jesus speak to you? If you have, what was the last thing He said to you and what is your response to that going to be? Are we as individuals and as a church body going to act on these things in faith based on what was said to us? What are we going to do with what Jesus tells us?”

Whoah!

I fast and pray regularly with expectation that God will speak to me. He usually does. I don’t know how it works, just that is does. I can’t explain it. He has given me two specific words in the last few weeks, speaking to my situation. He has given me an unexpected but definite change of direction. Not that I was entirely caught off guard. He has a way of preparing us in advance, we just don’t always know until the circumstances present themselves. Sometimes God speaks before I fast, preparing me for the fast. Sometimes He speaks during the fast. But most often he speaks when I break fast.

As I begin the new year I have these specific words to me in my mind. I am letting them seep through my thoughts and color my perception. I have written them in my journal. As I make decisions amd interpret situations I will remember these truths. I will share them at the right time… for now they are to ponder in my heart.

We are responsible for what we know. When we study a scripture we become responsible for its application in our life. As people speak truth into our lives we again are responsible for that message. In taking these divine messages and applying them to our lives we become obedient to God. When we act according to them even though our circumstances don’t make our way clear, we walk by faith not sight. We chose to walk by faith not what we see, what we want to see or what we hope to see.

Chris said something I thought was profound. He said that the house of faith is built on the character of God. We trust in Him, who He is, His promises. How our house looks depends on us, it depends on our obedience to what we know of God.

2 Corinthians 5:7

Christmas Bloggin’

To tell the truth I haven’t looked forward to Christmas for many reasons. But it is here and I am pleasantly surprised that I am ok. I cooked all day and Scott and Tori are coming over to eat soon. We sort of didn’t plan things. I just wanted to do what I wanted to do. The fact that I cooked on Christmas borders on the miraculous and shows that God has done a healing work in my life. One of the ways I shut down during the divorce was not being able to cook. I just couldn’t do it anymore, or only with dread.

I have been drinking chocolate coffee. There is a candle burning called Christmas Eve. I have been playing Christmas music alone in the house; the boys are off at their girls friends. That is the way it should be. Bryant, Miles and Collin stopped by on their way to South Dallas to minister to the homeless. They borrowed my CD player so they can dance.

I am at peace with the world for now and grateful for some time off work. I have been taking photos of Christmas, like a diary to remember.

I called my parents and thanked them for all they do to help me and to tell them I am looking forward to seeing them in two weeks. They said it is supposed to be 50 there tomorrow. Maybe it won’t be too cold when I get there. Who knows?

I am starting to get excited about the direction God is nudging me in even though I feel awkward and maybe even foolish. But sometimes it is better to be a fool than play it safe. I would rather people say I was a fool than be known for playing it safe when all is said and done. But maybe when you are following after God and listening to His heart, then that is the best, no matter what people think. After all the crap I have been through, why should I even waste the energy to type even a thought about what people think. People talk that is a given, glad I can give them something to talk about.

But in the end, what I want is this, to know I listened to God.
The kids are on their way over, I am going to set the table.

Merry Christmas!!

Burden: Will I Dance Before Him?

There is something that God stirs up in my heart over and over again. It is a burden for single moms, particularly single moms with young children. Years ago he gave me a vision of the wounded woman as I call it. I have come to realize as I became a single mom, it was a vision of being a single mom.

I had two visions about the time I went forward in church to make my calling public. The first one was during a quiet time. I sensed women around me crying. There was deep wailing and grief, pain that went to their very core. I had the sensation of my shoulder being wet with their tears, but it really wasn’t. All I can say is it was a sense of it being that way. I didn’t really hear the crying, but felt it.

Then a few weeks later I sensed one women crying, she wasn’t a single woman, she represented many. She was crying like before and she was enveloped in darkness. Then there was a light, like a lamp that came and entered into the very core of her darkness and grief. I knew the lamp was Jesus. I feared the woman was me. (from Vision, Blessed Lady.com)

Heartache abounds in our world and I don’t think it is always expressed. We put on a brave face and do what we must to take care of our kids. My are grown and I can only imagine being alone and on my own with little ones. Where does one find the strength to keep on moving?

I decided last month to take my mentee Tara* out for the afternoon one Saturday in December. I decide to make it special as I could and make it my gift to her. I decided to ask her mom and two year old sister to come. We decided on the Nutcracker Ballet. I soon found a performance online that fit our time frame.

Cheryl* Tara’s mom greeted me Saturday in the lobby of the shelter with excitement and we began our afternoon. With just a few questions I had Cheryl sharing her difficulties and frustrations, her hopes and fear in the car ride up to the Eisemann Center in Richardson. As she talked and shared two realizations occurred to me. First she was a woman of my vision. Second the gift of time and getting out was the most precious gift I could have shared with her. I was glad Tara was anxious to have her mom and sister tag along with us, I thought for a fifteen year old that was different. I also discovered Cheryl’s struggles were not too different from my own and I often feel completely overwhelmed by the task at hand. I differ in the resources I have at hand.

I think knowing our connectedness could make me uncomfortable, but it didn’t, instead I received a burden. I have to commit to helping this woman in whatever way I can. Maybe for now it is prayer and encouragement. Maybe it is just loving her daughter… whatever God lays on my heart. After the drama on Sunday my pastor said the biggest need we have as believers is to make our families bigger. We don't think big enough.

The ballet was beautiful and we all drank its beauty in. The two year old danced in the aisle and I was delighted and never so glad to follow through on an intention as this one.

Cherly has nothing on a worldly scale. She is the poorest of the poor. She wants to preserve what there is of family and nurture it and make it flourish. She wants to provide for her kids. She needs support from a church family and she wonders what her future will bring. And I want to be a part of a dream. I want her to make it.

Cheryl said something that I always thought about when I taught Bible study at the homeless shelter. I could go there and encourage, but I got to go home at night. What Cheryl shared was what is was like to stay. Realizing I could leave made me want to be as genuine as I could in what I taught. I couldn’t throw some scripture at then like a bandaid and go home to my beautiful home and feel proud that I went. So many are afraid to go. But what I bring, what I offer better be real and tested before I ask a lady like Cheryl to listen to me and what I have to say.

Do we walk the walk or talk the talk? Is my faith real enough for the Cheryl’s of the world and will I go and share it? Will I be the beautiful hands and feet of our Lord?


*(not her real name)

ART

Oh the very name “Christian art” makes me wince. I think of imitation, playing it safe… should I label myself a Christian artist I expect the thought police would soon be at my door to fruit pick my work looking for any deviation from the sanctioned norm. I speak as a visual artist. There has always been a place for the musician in the church, however the visual artist is often suspect, I think. Maybe that is changing?

Am I being unfair?

I don’t think so. As a Christian who happens to be an aspiring artist, photographer and writer I had the privilege of listening to a room full mostly nonbelievers discuss Evangelicals, in the midst of laughter and their perception of us.

Even as their thoughts and talk displayed a misunderstanding of my faith, they nailed us on the Christian culture. We look ridiculous in their eyes for the very reason stated above; imitating the culture at large than offering a sanitized version of art and music or whatever. We were discussing what they called “offensive or creepy” Christian T-shirts, ones is particular that suggest certain types of people are going to hell. I immediately thought of Derek Webb and The T-shirts that We Wear. Webb is one of the more edgy and controversial “Christian artist” who I greatly admire and love.

I also love my writing class who had this discussion and when I heard it I immediately wanted to blog about it, but I had to wait until I was done with school.

Their refrain was, “why can’t they come up with something original; Christian rock, Christian t-shirts, Christian Guitar Hero. (roll their eyes) And I feel the same way. But I wish it were different.

As a proponent of what I call Art Ministry I am forever thinking and rethinking what it means to be a Christian artist or maybe an artist who happens to be a Christian. I am not satisfied with either description. In my evolving definition of art ministry I find myself proposing that all art references something. There is no art that is completely original. Art is revision at its worst or dialog at its best. As an artist you speak truth to me in song, paint, poetry… then I engage and respond and hopefully something will come forth that is fresh and connected to you or to the community we find ourselves a part of. True dialog doesn’t have rules or a set of expectations but a natural flow. If you are conscious of God at work in you and observant of life around you it births an authentic art that references both the world I live in and the God who dwells within me. That doesn’t happen with a formula.

Life is rough sometimes, how can we avoid being edgy? How can we speak to the culture if we ignore the injustice and the needs we see around us? If we would just open our eyes. I think sometimes as the church we don’t want to talk about it, what is happening to people, how we can impact them. We will make a t-shirt to tell them they are wrong. Wouldn’t dialog instead be refreshing?

How many times did Jesus say, “those who have ears let him hear?”

How many times was Jesus accused of eating with sinners?

If we have the Good News to speak, let us do so creatively and with excellence. Let us share it with those who need to hear it in a way that they understand. Let’s not play it safe. Let us not preach to the choir. Let us not be a subculture that speaks a language that those who need to hear the message don’t understand.

Over my winter break I have the opportunity to do art with some my son’s friends. As believer we will wrestle with the question of being an artist and speaking for God and what that means and how do we do it with excellence. How do we impact those around us and what role do we play in redeeming a culture.

One of the most profound things to happen to me in art class at UTD was a dialog I had with Greg Metz, my instructor. I was taking his silk screen class and I wanted to do silk screen of a last supper presentation at my church. I wanted to use a photo one of my art ministry students took. His comment was this. The last supper is the most reproduced art in the history of art. It is old. Do something new. Think about this, as we enter the sanctuary we bring the world with us. We do it seamlessly. We take the elements. The question is when we leave the sanctuary do we take communion out with us? Think about that.