Tag: hope

Peace

On By Charis PsalloIn Art, PhotographyLeave a comment

“I leave behind with you—peace; I give you my own peace and my gift is nothing like the peace of this world.” – Jesus (in John 14:27, Phillips paraphrase)

Most people think of peace as the absence of hostilities or of war. Even when we talk about personal peace, we often mean the absence of things like annoying interruptions, chaos, lack of resources, or worries that something will interfere with our priorities. I wonder if the peace that Jesus offers is not like that. I wonder if his peace is not the absence of something but the presence of something.

What if peace is more like completeness? What if the peace he left us means having all the tools necessary for a task, or being so convinced that God will provide everything we need that we can not only survive storms, but walk into them with assurance that it’s going to be alright?

What if this perfect peace creates an appreciation of divine priorities. What if this peace that passes understanding comes with complete trust that God loves us and allows us to engage with him in his purposes? What if we become aware of perfect peace flowing through us and allow it to help us to perceive the direction of the wind of the Holy Spirit?

What if the peace that is nothing like the peace of the world means Christ has made more available to us than we ever imagined?

Arise

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, PhotographyLeave a comment

 

But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.  For this reason it says,

“Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you.

So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:13-15 NASB)

It’s becoming more obvious to many people that we live in perilous times where evil abounds. More people, despite great efforts to remain in the denial that surrounds their personal peace and prosperity like a white picket fence, are waking up. Evidence of evil piling up on street corners and in graves around the world is becoming more difficult to ignore.

Some leaders, trying their best in the face of suffering, can offer only a cruel compassion, with more tools of destruction, with a flip of victim/oppressor roles, or even with medically induced death marketed as a solution.

The scripture doesn’t say “Arise and panic,” or “Arise and shoot back,” or “Arise and declare evil the winner.”  This passage calls the listener to arise from deep sleep and orient to the Light of Christ.

In Isaiah 61 the phrasing is, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you.”

Those who follow the light of Jesus Christ are meant to reflect his light, to be the opposite of darkness. Reflecting more darkness is rather pointless. If, instead of focusing on evil, we focus on Christ we will reflect his beautiful light, the light that seems counterintuitive to our “normal.” We will hear the Holy Spirit’s words of wisdom. Oh, how we need wisdom! Don’t be afraid to ask for wisdom.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)

Walk carefully, but walk in the Light.

Creative Meditations for Lent, Prompt word: Arise

Belong

On By Charis PsalloIn PhotographyLeave a comment

I took a photo of a plant outside the building for today’s creative meditation for Lent. The word prompt was “Belong.” The bold striped leaves have thrived despite everything a discouragingly cold winter could throw at it. Each leaf is growing in a different direction, but all are connected to the same root. All receive sustenance from the same source. It reminds me of belonging.

In the time when Jesus and the disciples walked the earth, belonging to a family or tribe or nation was important. None of this lone ranger, I-did-it-my-way stuff. Losing your place in a community was (and for most still is) a terrible punishment. Shame was both the cause and result of rejection. A person who brought shame on the family by an act considered to be disloyal was expelled. That’s why leprosy was a disease feared more than most. “Leper” has become a word synonymous with the opposite of inclusion.

For the majority of the world’s people, (and increasingly so in the West) belonging is more important than being right or wrong. It’s all about your connections, your family name, or your tribal identity. (Which may help explain why some people with extremely loose interpretations of the law are voted into positions of power.)

We call it “cancel culture” or “boycotting” now, but rejection has had many names in the past. Historically, those who failed to honour the group were banished, shunned, excommunicated, or disinherited.  It’s an effective tool for maintaining power and control. Various religious institutions have used it for ages. We see an example in the Bible when the parents of the man who Jesus healed of blindness were afraid to respond during the temple leaders’ inquest lest they be thrown out.

Jesus told his followers they could expect the same kind of treatment he experienced. What greater rejection could there be than the “honour killing” calls of “Crucify him!” that the mob in Jerusalem shouted?

Jesus took time to assure his followers they did belong. They belonged with him. Those who trust in him now also become part of the family of God and members of the household of faith. They are the called-out sons and daughters from every tribe and every nation who become one as part of the body of Christ. They grow from the same nourishing root.

Through Christ, we are not only forgiven, but welcomed into the family of God. One day we will be welcomed as the honoured, shame-free, guilt-free bride without spot or wrinkle at the marriage supper of the Lamb. This is where we truly belong. The Lover of our souls will never leave us or reject us. He promised.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV)

Love

On By Charis PsalloIn Black and white, Just folks, PhotographyLeave a comment

Recently I met a refugee family who has demonstrated love in a way that goes beyond the usual experience in North America. They come from a country where it is illegal to change religions or influence anyone to change religions. When approached by two young men who were looking for an understanding of God, a Christian man gave them Bibles to read. After they read about the God who loved us so much that he let his son die and overcome death so that if we believe in him we will have eternal life, they chose to follow the God of love. They found new life in Christ.

The consequences of assisting at the birth of this new life were dire for this man and his wife and children. They faced serious death threats. Even after they fled to another country, they were incarcerated, the mother and the children for a short time and the father for five years.

Conditions in that prison were appalling. The father endured great stress. The mother and children knew great hardship as well living without him in the home. And yet everyone in the family says their love for God grew most during this time as they experienced his faithfulness and provision. They are truly beautiful people, and the love of God shines through tears as they tell their story.

Today I thought about the way love takes the risk of birth. My granddaughter asked me if childbirth hurts.

“It does,” I told her, “But the reward is so great that most women who have given birth once choose to give birth again because they know the joy of seeing new life and that love is greater than pain.”

My mother nearly died giving birth to me. I heard the story many times. The physical consequences for her lasted a lifetime. And yet she chose to give birth to my brother even when a doctor warned she could face problems again. She did it out of love for someone who would not understand the significance of her willingness to suffer for him until many years later.

As I think about it, I realize that the greatest force in the universe is love. It was love that motivated Jesus to suffer, die, and overcome death. It was love that sent my new friend to those men knowing that he could suffer and even die for doing so. It was love that sent my mother to the delivery room for the second time knowing she could suffer like the first time, or even die.

It is love whenever someone is willing to extend themselves beyond a low-risk comfort zone to make it possible for new life to begin and grow. Only the love of God is strong enough to overcome the fear of suffering or even death and cause a person to know they are loved even in the middle of severe trials. We can love because God loved us and gave us first mortal life, then the opportunity for eternal life through Jesus Christ.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV)

Creative Meditations for Lent, Word prompt: Love

Hope

On By Charis PsalloIn Art, faith, nature, Photography, spring2 Comments

“I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

(Romans 15:13 The Voice)

Photography has taught me to look for the beautiful in the midst of the ugly. Faith is teaching me to see joy and peace in the midst of a world full of anger and fear. It doesn’t deny the dead and decaying, but when it is focused on the lovely, and the good and the true that say, “Look! New Life!” faith creates a portrait of hope.

Freedom

On By Charis PsalloIn Black and white, PhotographyLeave a comment

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;[
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…

Isaiah 61:1

Not all captives are bound in chains. Not all prisoners are held behind bars. Jesus came to set us free from many things that keep our hearts and minds oppressed. Shame is one.

Guilt is feeling like I did something wrong. Shame is the sense that I am something wrong. To be shamed is to be rejected. Christ did not come with more condemnation, more impossible standards, more reminders that we don’t measure up. He came to reconcile us to the Father, and to set us free.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:6.

Creative Meditations for Lent, Word prompt: freedom

Refine

On By Charis PsalloIn Art, Photography2 Comments

“Jesus leads us into a place of radical grace where we are able to celebrate the hope of experiencing God’s glory.  

And that’s not all. We also celebrate in seasons of suffering because we know that when we suffer we develop endurance,  which shapes our characters. When our characters are refined, we learn what it means to hope and anticipate God’s goodness. 

And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love.” (Romans 5:2-5 The Voice)

One of my photo editing programs has a “kaleidoscope” feature. A photo processed through this app seldom resembles the original, but it’s fun to play with. I tried processing a photo I took of rubble from a building leveled by fire. The result caught my attention because I could see what looked like areas of engraved gold and silver set in a polished stone tile. That would be a luxury on the floor of any palace.

How precious are the foundations laid for us by saints of the past whose lives were refined by the fires of tribulation.  It’s a lot easier to appreciate the refining process in the after picture than in the middle-of-the-disaster picture. It’s easier to sing, “Refiner’s fire, my heart’s one desire is to be holy,” than it is to recognize a refining process, let alone cooperate with it. Yet suffering leads to endurance and to character. The ability to hope and anticipate God’s goodness lays a precious foundation for the next generation – especially in the middle of what looks like a disastrous mess.

Creative Meditations for Lent, Word prompt: Refine

Shift

On By Charis PsalloIn ArtLeave a comment

Two years ago this week, we drove across the province to visit family and see our granddaughter perform in her first play. One warm spring afternoon we explored the grounds of Mission Hills Winery. We stood on this spot overlooking the vineyards and lake –away from the children’s hearing– and discussed what we would do if our world shut down because of this new virus from China.

Nearby, the children were jumping through a huge iron circular sculpture. They said they were passing through it into a new space and a new time.

Sometimes children are more perceptive than adults.

A few days later we hurried home, while it was still allowed, to sit out the lockdown in our own house. By then we all knew the world had shifted.

Jesus, the world changer said this to his friends: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27 NIV)

Our own world has shifted even more than we expected since that day. We now live in this beautiful place. He still reassures us as we walk into this new space and new time, “Don’t let your heart be troubled and don’t be afraid.” Stay close to God. He gives his peace.

Creative Meditations for Lent. Word prompt: Shift

Forgive

On By Charis PsalloIn faith, PhotographyLeave a comment

I thought I had forgiven, but it was hard. Every time some innocuous thing triggered a painful memory, I prayed hard to forgive again.

I thought I had forgiven, but I hadn’t. I forgave them for bumping into me and knocking me off balance. “There were extenuating circumstances,” I reasoned. “I’m sure they didn’t mean it.”

I thought I had forgiven, but I hadn’t. I thought I was just knocked over, but I wasn’t.

I couldn’t ignore the damage done. I had been trampled, broken. My trust lay in the dust in too many shattered pieces to fix. Even the desire to be the good person in this scenario was not a strong enough glue to hold my heart together. I wanted revenge. I wanted payback!

I made up an invoice and looked squarely at the cost of repercussions from their actions that played out for years.

“Oh God,” I cried. “This is too much! I can’t get by without what they owe me!”

“Take your hands off their throats,” He said. “I forgave you. When I was on the cross, I said ‘Tetelestai.’ It was finished. Done. All legal requirements met. I paid your debt. I paid their debt. Take your hands off their throats. Give up any expectation that they will someday apologize or give what they owe.”

“But how am I to live?”

“Empty your hands so I can fill them. I am your provider. I will give you everything you need.”

“Really?”

“Listen, beloved, I am telling you the truth.

I will give you what you need. I will even give you the trust you need to trust Me.

I give you My love first, so you can then love.

It all comes from Me.

It always has.”

Creative Meditations for Lent, Prompt word: Forgive

Stand

On By Charis PsalloIn Art, faithLeave a comment
Little Warrior

“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand… In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” -from Ephesians 6 NIV

Like it or not we were born into a war. The powers of darkness still hate the Kingdom of Light. I see his warriors like much-loved children. Their armour and weapons are not impressive to most people in the world, but they are mighty for pulling down strongholds of satan’s lies and even their own vain imaginations.

They fight evil with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

They stand in the strength of the Lord, and not in their own might. They know where their authority comes from.

Creative Meditations for Lent, Word prompt: Stand