Sharing God with a Post Modern Dance Proffessor--Modern Art Critique

He Bore Them and Carried Them. Isaiah 63:9

In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

I chose paintings by Mark Lawrence that effective use elements of space to each evokes powerful emotional responses. Lawrence’s draws his inspiration from passages of the Bible and through his artwork he makes powerful spiritual implications. His unique approach in creating modern art takes concrete words from Scripture and translates them into abstract representations of the spiritual concepts: hope, love and faith.

This piece titled “He Bore Them and Carried Them. Isaiah 63:9” was inspired by the angel that delivered the Israelites from Egypt. The prophet Isaiah reflects the immense suffering endured by the Israelites as they were enslaved by the Egyptians an God’s compassion on His people. Lawrence takes this specific situation and creates a piece of art that is universal to the human experience. The winding, crooked and staggering lines travel in a linear fashion across the horizontal dimension of the canvas symbolizes the suffering and pain that all humans endure in this lifetime. On the vertical plane these jagged lines seem to travel from the bottom left to the bottom right evoking humankind persist and survives that amidst the oppression and evil by still being bound to this earth. However, the artist adds the bright diagonal dimension in which fragmented pieces are seem to float from the deep left forward to the high left backward. The gradual change of shading through the darkening of the colors from the bottom to the top of the canvas contribute to the three dimensionality of the space. The artist uses the diagonal dimension to represents the possibility to be lifted from the suffering of this world through the faith in God.

Redemption

redeemed past participle;
redeemed past tense;
redeeming present participle;
redeems 3rd person singular present

* Compensate for the faults or bad aspects of (something)
* Do something that compensates for poor past performance or behavior
* (of a person) Atone or make amends for (error or evil)
* Save (someone) from sin, error, or evil
* Gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment
* Repay (a stock, bond, or other instrument) at the maturity date
* Pay the necessary money to clear (a debt)
* Fulfill or carry out (a pledge or promise)
* Buy the freedom of

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because off your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Colossians 1:14-23

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace Ephesians 1:7

Micah 7:8

Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise ; Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness.

Indwelling Sin.

“instead of acknowledging the the depth and complexity and ugliness and danger of sin in professing Christians, sin is either minimized because we are already justified or psychologized as symptom of woundedness rather than corruption. This is a tragically light healing. I call it a tragedy because by making life easier for ourselves in minimizing the nature and seriousness of our sin, we become greater victims of it. We in fact are not healing ourselves, those that say they already feel bad enough without being told about the corruptions of indwelling sin misread the path to peace...they assume that justification springs them from ongoing attention to their sin that ongoing attention to their sin is optional not essential to their journey...the pastoral challenge is to train Christians to exalt in the solution without ever losing sight of the problem, to delight in the cross without avoiding discussion on why the cross was actually necessary and why we need the cross each and everyday. Because we can not just proclaim the Gospel of grace or help people apply the Gospel of grace without addressing sin.” -Paul Harvey

You see my tears You see my fears and You love me still.

Life!

God has really been showing me the importance of having an accurate understanding of the Holy Spirit especially because I often have a spirit of timidity, fear, and guilt. But the Spirit has been breaking through many misconceptions I have about Him. I have had many discussions about the Spirit and they have encouraged me to rely on the Spirit especially when evangelizing. I have had many opportunities to share the Gospel at Starbucks, restaurants, Mckeldin library, and my dorm room and every time I realize the Spirit's power and importance in my life.

I am also reading through Psalms and Romans I am just completely moved by Pauls writing about the impact of the Gospel as well as the reactions to God the psalmists express during times of joy and sorrow. I am also slowly (I mean really slowly) studying through Acts and the beginnings of the Church and I am amazed again by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Biblical community the Lord builds within his believers.

With all of that said I was hoping you could pray for me this week for a few things:

* For peace and joy in Gods plan, He closed the door to going to Haiti for now. Our trip was canceled because of the upcoming elections and the potential for rioting and violence. Please pray for Haiti
* Salvation for my mom. I could see that God has softened her heart this past week and I praise Him for that. She asked to come to church today and she enjoyed it. Afterward she explained the Gospel to me in Chinese on our ride home. It was like learning the Gospel for the first time for me because I couldn't understand of it in Chinese :P
* For the ministry at school and at church. Pray that College Park would be flipped upside down for Jesus and that REM would grow as a Biblical community, there was some dissension and conflict that has caused some people to leave REM. I am reminded of Acts 2:42-47

...they devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and to fellowship, to breaking of bread and to prayer Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common! They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need! Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

* Finally for my academics and my work. I am starting a new job tomorrow and I am submitting it under the God through prayer but I need His strength!

How can I pray for you?
<3
Georgia

I need your prayers...and your money too :)

For your prayers and For your money

Thanks <3
Georgia

Without You

To my fish Nemo. I won't be the same without you. We had some good times.