A REDEMPTIVE COMMUNITY

There are, I should say, four elements in a redemptive community.  It is personal, with things happening between people as well as to and in them individually; it is compassionate, always eager to help, observant but non-judgmental toward others, breathing out hope and concern; it is creative, with imagination about each one in the group and its work as a whole, watching for authentic new vision coming from any of them; and it is expectant, always seeking to offer to God open and believing hearts and minds through which He can work out His will, either in the sometimes startling miracles He gives or in steady purpose through long stretches where there is no special "opening".  It may fairly be said that unless one enmeshes oneself in this "redemptive fellowship" of the church, one lessens one’s chances of steady growth and effectiveness, in one’s Christian life and experience. 

-- Samuel M. Shoemaker (1893-1963) in “The Experiment of Faith,” adapted

#5386

A NEW THING

"See, I am doing a new thing..." -- Isaiah 43:19, NIV

God likes to do new things. After all, He's the master artist, the source of all human creativity.

Some of the new things God creates, such as planets or galaxies, are pretty mind boggling. But there are also a lot of other things God creates every day that sometimes go unnoticed -- new babies, new insights into the Word, and even things like opportunities... God creates opportunities for each of us every day...

Is God looking to do a "new thing" in your life? Is there an opportunity that's suddenly available to you? My guess is that if you look around, you'll see that God has opened up doors in your life that promise to draw you into deeper fellowship with Him.

God never seems to put down His paintbrush.

-- Matt Donnelly, Christianity Online


#4147

MIRRORING GOD'S CREATIVITY

Engaging our creativity, whether by coloring, cooking, making business deals, or sculpting a work of art, enables us to be more ourselves than at any other time in our daily routines. In losing ourselves in a creative act, we find our true self as well as a pathway to experience the presence of God. In the creative act, whatever the medium, we mirror God's creativity.


-- Karla Kincannon in Alive Now Magazine, published by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN.   Used with permission.




#3693

STRENGTH IN OUR LIMITATIONS

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

Limitations force us to yield, to abandon ourselves to our creator, God. And when we do, His creativity flows!

-- Joni Eareckson Tada


#3617

CREATIVE WONDERS

"Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,… Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples."  (1 Chronicles  16:12, 24 NKJV)

When we are writing, or painting, or composing, we are, during the time of creativity, freed from normal restrictions, and are opened to a wider world, where colors are brighter, sounds clearer, and people more wondrously complex than we normally realize.

-- Madeleine L'Engle in Walking on Water


#3470

CREATIVE PERSONAL PRAYER

Since I was already in a stew, I decided to literally make a stew. Upset by some sort of squabble, I was soon chopping, dicing, sniffing, mixing, simmering, stirring my way back to sanity. Losing myself in the colors, aromas, taste, feel, and the chop-chop of the knife became a kind of sensate prayer that brought me to my senses.

Cooking is often a vehicle of prayer for me. As I sort out flavors, adding leftover vegetables from the refrigerator, I try to blend them into some sort of tasty combination, using what I already have. In a surprising alchemy of attention, my thoughts are led to explore how my life can be better blended into balance and harmony, what belongs and what doesn’t belong, what adds spice, what ingredients bring a balance of flavors. The kitchen becomes my place of creative personal prayer. 

-- Linda Douty in Praying in the Messiness of Life: 7 Ways to Renew Your Relationship with God, © 2011 by Linda Douty. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books

 

 

#3439

CREATING SACRED SPACE

I recently read an article at www.rethinkchurch.org by Sophia Agtarap, a United Methodist deacon candidate, about creating sacred space in your home. In it she noted that "With the change in seasons comes the opportunity for a change not just in our schedules and wardrobes, but also in our physical, mental and spiritual spaces… This act of creating a sacred space, when done with purpose, can help move us into a deeper connection with ourselves, with God and with our physical environment." She goes on to suggest that while some might set aside a small room to transform, others may simply find a small corner of their space, however big or small.

What are those reminders of the sacred, of faith, that you might include? What are those reminders of love and fellowship, of peace and calm? What are those reminders of the beauty and uniqueness of God's creation? It may be a painting or photograph. It may be the warmth of a glowing candle or the simple shape of the cross. It may be that Bible your grandmother gave you, or a smooth stone from a walk along the lakeshore. "Whatever those pieces are that ground you, and tell you that you are beloved," she wrote, "assemble them to call to you so that whenever you pass them by, you are reminded that you are safe and you are loved."

 

On my photography website I have captured some images that you might want to consider in creating a sacred space for yourself. They have to do with sunsets and water, wood and stones, crosses and crucifixes, and Lent and Easter. I invite you to visit the various galleries on the website to see what might help you create a sacred space this Lenten season. 

 

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson 

David T Wilkinson Photography


#3390

TAKING PART IN GOD'S CREATION

There are great limits upon the human imagination.  We can only rearrange the elements God has provided. No one can create a new primary color, a third sex, a fourth dimension, or a completely original animal.  Even by writing a book, planting a garden, or begetting a child, we never create anything in the strict sense; we only take part in God's creation. 

-- C. S. Lewis in Mere Christian


#3157

CREATIVE COMMUNICATION

Jesus is a role model for creativity. A wonderful Scandinavian sculpture portrays Jesus in a wooden frame with His arm extended outside the box. Jesus was a marvelously creative "out of the box" person -- a master of analogy and metaphor. The parables He told, including the sower, the prodigal son, and the mustard seed, as well as His "I am" statements in John's Gospel, show the way He used creativity to communicate the Good News.

 -- Barbara Bruce in Alive Now Magazine, published by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN.   Used with permission.

#2973

A GOOD AND GRACIOUS GIFT

"The world had many kings, but only one Michelangelo," said his contemporary Aretino.

Do not be discouraged. History is on your side. God has given you a talent. You are important to Him and live in the court of God, not the court of men… By expressing yourself as an artist and by exercising those talents God has given you, you are praising Him… [Your creative talents are] a good and gracious gift from our Heavenly Father, freely given, to be enjoyed, practiced, and treasured.

-- Franky Schaeffer in Addicted to Mediocrity


#2791