Tag Archives: Revival

Ash Wednesday

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As I drink my tea in the morning, my favorite cup reads,
‘Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ Hebrews 11:1. But when I go back to my ESV bible the same verse reads, ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’img_6592

Those slight variations in translation can be an opportunity to explore further the nuances of the Holy Scripture or the beginning of misunderstanding and doubt. The whole chapter of Hebrews 11 digs deeper into those faith filled people of the past. But what of today? Who are the people really walking in faith with Jesus?
Our church, the whole body of Christ, seems to be divided as to what truly walking in faith means. Is that because there are so many ways to translate the bible, or so many ways to interpret what it says, or so many ways to make it fit with our own life styles and values; or even political world views? img_6480

Those are all good questions. However the question of real significance is, are Christians truly getting the benefits of walking in faith, believing they are new creations in Christ and receiving fully the power God assigned for that walk? Are we Christians making things happen, which in our own strength could not be possible, because we have faith that the Holy Spirit will back us up? Are we so grounded in our relationship with Jesus that we are sure we are walking in His will not our own? When we are in that intimate relationship, God will do extraordinary things through us, more than we can possibly imagine.img_6549

God calls us to take the first step and believe that He will be there with us when we take the second step and the third. It is our faith that He will be there for us that enables us to move forward. Having God’s path for us, completely set forth from the start to the finish with all the details in place, has never happened in my own experience, as Hebrews 11:1 says, ‘the conviction of things not seen’. I believe He calls us to push forward in ways far beyond what our rational minds can see, but by being guided by the Holy Spirit and having faith, Jesus is with us. We will fulfill His call on our lives. It is in the journey that we share daily with Christ that we receive His promise of life and life more abundantly.img_6582

Christine has been working on an icon of the Archangel Michael which depicts the scene of Revelations 12:7, where there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels and the dragon lost the battle. It is an extraordinary icon and dynamically shows the energy of the fight. The dragon is seen with seven heads and each spitting furiously. It is always a good thing to hold fast in our minds that the dragon and his angels lost. That is a fact we can have faith in as we keep our focus on Jesus and what He is doing through our lives as we walk as new creations in Christ.***  cshportrait

 

Christine is preparing for three Icon Writing Retreats this Lent.  The last one will be at Morningstar Renewal Center in Miami Florida, and will finish with the Stations of the Cross, using her Icons for prayer and meditation.

Another one will be at Holy Cross Monastery, in West Park, NY, March 21, 24.  There is still time to register! Contact Br. Joseph, guesthouse@hcmnet.org

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As we often pray for you, each one, we continue to send our prayers and thoughts for your good health, wisdom, and peace.  I’d like to pray a blessing over you now, that comes from Roy Godwin’s book “The Way of Blessing“:

“I bless you in the name of Jesus, that God may reveal to you everything you need to know to enable you to be fully who you were made to be, and that you receive everything you need, that the fulness of life might be released to you.”

Amen!

Love and prayers,

Michael and Christine

Mick’s Photography Website    Christine’s Painting Website  American Association of Iconographers

 

 

October Pumpkin Time!

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“I love the Lord, because He hears and answers my prayers.  Because He bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!”  Psalm 116:1-2photo copy 3

Hello Friends and Family:

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Just as October draws to a close, our Kingdom School students are preparing to travel to Baltimore for on site street ministry training from the amazing Burning Heart Ministry with Jay Baylor.  Michael will be leading two of our second year students and four first year interns with a very full schedule of ministering to the poor and taking the Gospel to the streets in Baltimore, MD.  We fully expect miracles to take place, so more on that next blog!photo copy 8

Kingdom School is going well, with merging second and first year students for many of the teachings, but each year having a separate curriculum and reading list.  Only God could have orchestrated this combination but we are gratefully enjoying the interactions of our new group.  Great people, all in Love with Jesus!

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My iconography teaching is going well – loving the students and the devotion to prayer and sharing the Presence of God in icons.  We have now formed the St. Luke’s Guild of Iconography with a FB page and lots of great photos of icons in progress.  We are an ecumenical group of artist who share a similar vision for  God’s Kingdom and how icons play a part in experiencing and bringing the Presence of God into our daily  lives.hm-141_t

I’ve been blessed with the honor of having the Catholic Missal publication for 2014 using my Christ in Glory Icon.      Michael has had an article recently in New York Cottage and Garden Magazine and we are having fun getting our images out into the world.  Seed!  Because God is in everything we do and we want more and more people to receive Him through images.  The stealth method of Evangelization!

Second year students have just finished reading Danny Silk’s “Culture of Honor”and it is a must read, having to do with creating a culture amongst ourselves that allows us to make mistakes, repent and stay in relationship to God and each other. photo copy 2 “Remember, the Old Covenant was an external covenant, a system of controls to keep sinners in line.  But the New Covenant is an internal covenant for sons and daughters who, because of their new nature, can be trusted with the responsibility to govern themselves and have access to the power of self control through the Holy Spirit”.  Isn’t that good?  There’s so much more worth sharing – I hope you can get a copy of the book, too.

Our prayer requests for this season are: For more good clients for Michael’s Photography, for good galleries to represent and sell my paintings, and for our Kingdom Community to flourish, grow and multiply. We pray for wisdom to take all the steps God wants us to take to further His Kingdom in the realms He has placed before us.photo copy 4

Please pray especially for our team going to Baltimore, that they experience God’s Holy Spirit healing people today and that they bring that with them wherever they go!photo

We earnestly desire contact with each one of you, so please keep in touch and know that you are in our prayers, also.

Much love,

Christine and Michael