hope

Posted on October 1, 2018January 4, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter Something Greater…Than Walking on Water

“Emmanuel In My Boat” © by Donna Gonzalez

This prophetic painting is based upon a sermon from Mark 4:35-41 where the disciples are in a boat late at night on the sea of Galilee when a sudden storm arose. Jesus comes to them walking upon the water, they think they have seen a ghost but He comforts them, enters the boat rebuking the waves and sea.

I found it interesting that my Pastor said the miracle wasn’t so much that Jesus was walking on the water – though a miracle nonetheless; but that He the Son of God in all His glory was willing to come down from Heaven, into a broken world into our broken lives by entering our boat. I went before the Lord in prayer and meditation of the scriptures and this painting is the result.

Iconography:

The type of boat is a skiff and it represents a person’s life. Skiffs are generally used in fishing or for leisure sailing and others are used in racing competitions.

The young woman is representative of any believer who puts their faith in Jesus Christ.

The waters represent several things; the world and all its anti-Christ philosophy, all the temptations, evils, the pain and sorrows caused by sin and the multitudes of unsaved people.

How does the application of this iconography in the painting relate to the 21^st century disciples in Christ? A lot actually.

First, notice the boat is a simple craft, it doesn’t appear too sea-worthy, and isn’t unless Christ is in control of that boat. I purposely didn’t choose a personal yacht because it’s not the everyday life most Christians can relate to. Since skiffs are generally used as a fishing boat it relates perfectly to Jesus’s command to go forth and make disciples, by becoming fishers of men.

¹⁹Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19

When one becomes born again Jesus willingly enters our boat (our life) regardless how much it has been broken because to Jesus all human life is precious to Him. That the holy King of Glory, the Son of God who created all things and holds all things together by His will, would choose to come and make His abode within a repentant sinner’s life offering the forgiveness of sin, eternal salvation and transforming them into a new creature for God’s glory with a new purpose in life – is so much more of a miracle than Jesus simply walking on water!

¹⁷ “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – II Corinthians 5:17

As the Christian surrenders every part of their life to God He takes control of the sail’s rope leading the believer onward to maturity in Christ Jesus. The believer’s faith, which is more precious to God than gold is refined through all kinds of storms and trials.

⁶In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” – I Peter 1:6-9

Jesus promises never to leave us and truly He is Emmanuel – God with us, if He sustains everything and holds the world together surely, He can hold our lives together!

¹⁶“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:16-17

Christ’s back is to the wind, His hair blowing representing Him protecting the believer from much of the wind and waves, often without the believer’s knowledge. Jesus lovingly and firmly holds His precious child close to His heart. Likewise, the believer holds tightly unto Christ, steadfastly refusing to give into fear or doubt, not allow anything, no compromise of heart or of mind to come between them. The believer rests her head securely upon His breast, her face serene in full child-like trust knowing He is mighty to save, He is faithful in all His promises and His way is best.

The goal is Heaven the journey is the faith walk of every believer in Christ. The Apostle Paul compares it to a race, competing for a prize, for believers in Christ are promised an imperishable crown through endurance.

²⁴”Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.²⁶” -1 Corinthians 9:24-26

May this painting encourage and strengthen believers everywhere not to give into fear or doubt Christ’s promises, no matter what stormy seas may lie ahead. To experience the incomprehensible love, the un-surpassing joy and peace of the Lord that can be ours through obedience and trust in Jesus.

In Jesus,

Donna

Posted on June 7, 2018May 29, 2023 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Living Stones Mosaic

“Living Stones Mirage Stained Glass” © Donna Gonzalez

Would it surprise you at all if I told you that what you are looking at is not a painting of a large stained glass window but instead you are looking at one painted mosaic duplicated multiple times? Fifty-four times to be exact. Each mosaic piece is not haphazardly placed but purposefully, resulting in a consistent pattern which is a unified whole.

If one of the mosaic pieces could speak about itself it would tell you it thinks it is of no consequence whether or not it were in the painting…because what is it among so many other identical mosaic pieces? Quite insignificant hardly serving any purpose at all.

On the contrary if that mosaic piece wasn’t there, it would have a great impact on the entire composition. My painting would be incomplete without it. Because the entire pattern relies on each mosaic piece fitting alongside the next mosaic piece in order to achieve any kind of symmetry, unity or harmony. Not one mosaic piece can be placed at random. Hmmm…

Christians, though not identical to each other are born of the same Spirit. We are one in Christ and in that sense each of us are like a mosaic piece or as the bible says a living stone being built up into a building for God’s purpose I Peter 2:4-5 . In Christ none of us are inconsequential in the Kingdom of God. All of us are His workmanship created to do a specific work Ephesians 2:10. A Christian cannot say because they don’t have exactly the same work or gifting of the Holy Spirit as another that they are less qualified, insignificant or serve no purpose in His Body. I Corinthians 12:15-19

Have you noticed not all of the mosaic pieces create an optical illusion of rings in the painting? Would those mosaics be considered less important than the others? Just the opposite! Those pieces are crucial as they unify the entire artwork and serve to frame and support those mosaic pieces which do create the optical illusion. The illusion wouldn’t appear otherwise!

The optical illusion of rings is highlighted in black below and run throughout this mosaic.

We do not come into this world unplanned by God nor are we place in His Body haphazardly. Just the opposite, the Lord Jesus knows us and puts us exactly where He determines us to be in His Body in a specific time in history and for a specific work to accomplish. When believers come together making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace something remarkable occurs Ephesians 4:3. Like the stained glass window made up of many pieces working together to create something beautiful, so do we and it’s pleasing in our eyes…and in His eyes.

Be blessed!

Donna

Posted on May 20, 2018May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Wait for The Lord

“Water Lilies Stained Glass” © by Donna Gonzalez

Note: This is a longer iconography but well worth the reading!

wait /wāt/verb

Stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens. Synonyms: hold on, hold back, bide one’s time, hang fire, mark time, stand by, sit tight, hold one’s horses.
Used to indicated that one is eagerly impatient to do something or for something to happen.

noun

A period of waiting.Synonyms: delay, holdup, interval, interlude, intermission, pause, break, stay, cessation, suspension, stoppage, halt, interruption, lull, respite, recess, moratorium, hiatus, gap, rest

pa·tience /’pāSHəns/noun

The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset .Synonyms: forbearance, tolerance, restraint, self-restraint, stoicism, calmness, composure, equanimity, imperturbability, phlegm, understanding, indulgence, perseverance, persistence, endurance, tenacity, assiduity, application, staying power, doggedness, determination, resolve, resolution, resoluteness.

I happen to love words and learning new ones too. In truth while writing this post I had always thought the word “wait” meant the same thing as patience and was a synonym for it as well…hmmm….was I wrong!

Perhaps you knew the difference. Take a look at the definitions above; two very different words and not having even the same synonyms! This past month while doing my errands I’ve noticed how very impatient some people are on the roads, perhaps you met them too on your travels.

Waiting is something most people are genetically opposed do even less show any patience. Because waiting and patience are two very different things. Staying where one is or to delay action until a particular time or until something else happens is one thing. One can pass their time by becoming busy changing the radio station in the car.

But who wants to learn a virtue at the cost of experiencing trouble and suffering – as in paying attention, using the breaks to slow down to the actual speed limit behind me before I quickly completed my right turn before said driver plowed into me? No, that is extremely difficult for some people to do.

Instead it’s far easier for driver to keep foot glued on accelerator gunning the engine past me on the left while mouthing something and shaking their fist in the mirror.

Hmm…. no wonder people warn others about praying for patience – but they should do it anyway. Patience really is a much higher noble virtue to attain! Which brings me to the artwork I created. “Water Lilies Stained Glass – Green” is an acrylic painting composed of 16 mosaics placed into a pattern. It comes in purple and pink too.

I happened to be conversing with a friend sharing favorite bible scriptures after a group bible study. Her favorite is Psalm 27:14. And when I got home I did something different again, usually the scripture comes after the pattern but this time I had to “find” which painting would best suit this scripture.

Iconography: I chose “Water Lilies Stained Glass – Green” as its bright colors resembled a stained glass window. There are pink and violet opened lilies surrounded by great big green leaves, highlighted in peachy orange. (See below)

The big green lily pads are highlighted in yellow and have a closed purple flower in between them. All of which is surrounded by the dark and light blue portions of the mosaic that representing water.

Easy-peasy.Now, did I know before hand that this mosaic painting placed into a pattern would create a flower, a lily pad and water? No.

Now here is where it all gets quite interesting…

I did some research on waterlilies to see if there was anything I could learn about them. I found that water lilies grow quickly and are invasive the lily pads can get really big (some up to 6′ across) covering almost the entire water surface of a lake or pond, preventing any other water plant from reaching the surface. Hmm.. so does this artwork have a good amount of lily pads too!

Now, the white lily flowers bloom in the evening, sending out a rich fragrance throughout the night. The flower must wait for a certain little beetle attracted by the fragrance to come pollinate it. Once it lands on the flower it enters in searching for nectar. The flower then closes up for a full day keeping the beetle safely inside, which it doesn’t mind at all, since it is happily drinking sweet nectar, but the flower has slowly started to change color – to pink.

And in the meantime the flower’s pollen has mixed with the pollen on the beetle. At last the blossom opens up to let loose the now heavily nectar-logged pollen-encrusted beetle as it flies away in search of another white blossom to imbibe and pollinate unknowingly. Hmm… fly, drink, pollinate and repeat…what a life! Lovely story.

But just how is all of this making any sense with Psalm 27:14? Well, a lot actually. There is so much deep biblical application in this for all of us, that I will try my very best to keep it succinct.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14

This verse is part of King David’s prayer to God to deliver him from his enemies who conspire to bring him down. Being a king David could do anything at anytime against those who hated him, but instead he prays to God. David accepts that those who oppose him will most likely still give him trouble before God vindicates him, but instead of getting angry or upset he instructs his heart to be strong and wait for God’s timing to vindicate him. This is what it means to be patient before God.

Now the water lily blossoms at God’s perfect timing in the evening just as the beetle is out flying over the water in search for white water lilies. As the lily waits to bloom at God’s command so it is with us Christians. God’s word tells us to wait upon Him, not to go before Him but to sit tight, hold on, expectantly, He understands the whole matter better than we do.

So we wait with patient endurance, whether or not it includes struggles, trouble or suffering we persevere with calmness, because we know that in God’s timing it will all work out. As David did. We as believers are encouraged not to faint, or loose heart in the endurance of persevering, because when it is complete it leads us to maturity in Christ.

James 1:2-4 says: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance, Perseverance must finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

What would happen if the water lily didn’t wait at God’s command to bloom but chose it’s own time to bloom; or chose instead to close up it’s petals before the beetle arrived? It would have missed its one chance at being pollinated.

When we take matters into our own hands and do not wait upon God as He says, we miss out on blessings. This is what happened to Saul when he lacked patience, didn’t restrain himself nor have the capacity to accept delay in waiting for the prophet Samuel to show up. Saul became perturbed, disregarded the word of the Lord from Samuel to wait to do the sacrifice until he came and it ended up costing Saul not only his blessing from the Lord but his very kingdom! I Samuel 13:8-14

The flower does not lack anything when the wait is finally over. You see, pollination isn’t the end of it all. For after the pink blossom has been pollinated it will shrivel up and sink back under the depths of the water and die – but here is the wonder of it all…it will bear fruit – a seed!

And this seed will now grow up in maturity to become a beautiful new water lily for the glory of God!

⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. -John 15:8

Hmmm….Maturity in Christ by waiting on God showing self-control in patience – leads to blessings and fruit which glorifies God! Now, isn’t that were we all want to be?

Be blessed my friend!-Donna

Posted on April 11, 2018April 3, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – His Brokenness Our Healing

“My Body Broken for You” acrylic on canvas 16″x20″ © by Donna Gonzalez

I had been waiting on the Lord to give me inspiration in painting another prophetic artwork. Usually it comes after prayer, during praise and worship or like Sunday as a thought.

This past Sunday at church while discussing with another Christian about the uniqueness of similar events occurring like bookends in Jesus’ birth and death/resurrection a vivid image occurred in my mind; and I knew it as an answer to prayer.

“My Body Broken for You” is that idea.

Praise God! I’m so excited to share with you this painting!

A bit of background. During a Passover meal there is a plate of matzah on the table. It looks like this:

Curtesy PublicDomainPictures – Pesach Matza

Three matzah breads are wrapped together and placed on the table. There are various explanations for these three, some rabbis call these three a unity of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Among Christians and Messianic Jews the three represent the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, where the middle matzah represents Jesus.

In the matzah we can see a picture of Messiah, notice that it is striped…
“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

And that it is pierced…

¹⁰“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10

That vivid image was this…what jarring emotion and feeling Jesus must have had when taking that middle matzah, seeing the holes and stripes, knowing the true meaning of it and having it broken in His hands?

The Jews of the Old Testament for a thousand years earlier and His disciples knew the matzah pertained only to the story of the children of Israel who fled Egypt so quickly they had no time to wait for their dough to rise; instead they quickly made unleavened bread and allowed the hot desert sun to bake it flat. Scripture teaches that leaven symbolizes sin.

⁶“Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? ⁷Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” I Corinthians 5:6-7

That night Jesus explained to His disciples the unleavened matzah in the New Covenant now represents His sinless body. In a few short hours His body would be marked with scourging and pierced as the bread He held in His hands. Did they fully comprehend that?

What if Jesus after having given thanks to His Father … intending only to gently break the bread neatly into two identical halves, instead to His shock it shatters violently into many pieces!

What if with tears in His eyes picking up pieces of broken bread hands it to His disciples saying: “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Would He have been cut to the core by the striking confirmation from His Father of the savage brutality that would happen to His body to redeem mankind? Of course they both planned it in eternity past…but oh how jarring when that hour becomes reality!

What if the Father purposely allowed the bread to fragment with such ferocity as to demonstrate a powerful visualization to everyone around of what Jesus had just said? Did the disciples get that?

The bible never tells us if Jesus’ broke the bread neatly in two perfect halves. Tradition and artists have always portrayed it as so as it’s only aesthetically pleasing to the viewer…. and to do so otherwise is …well not kosher! [forgive the pun!]

I’m reminded of how before He ever felt the cold rusted iron spikes pounded into His hands and feet, before ever a cat’o nine tails sliced and tore His back into ribbons, His heart had been crushed by the sins of His people.

“Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations.” Ezekiel 6:9

Then His heart, now His body.

I captured a moment in time, a visual aid for 21st century disciples of Christ, depicting the deafening crack representing the intensity of Jesus being crushed for our wickedness. The wine that was poured into His cup has spilled upon the tablecloth, the wrinkle in the tablecloth reminds us of His greatest accomplishment.

Jesus was willing to be broken for us, so that we may be completely whole, healed…..what a wonderful Savior!

May this post encourage you in your walk with Jesus Christ!

-Donna

Posted on March 11, 2018March 23, 2022 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – God Reconciling

“God Reconciling” digital art by © Donna Gonzalez

I wanted to share with you a post I written a while ago that I still think is apropos for this Lenten season.

That artwork up there is not a painting rather its a mixed media graphic art composition I did last summer after spending quite some time pondering on II Corinthians 5:18-20 and Romans 5:6-11. It was supposed to be a painting but having considered the depth of what was pondered, painting what was in my head on canvas that adequately captured the full meaning of it was quite difficult. And still this graphic composition doesn’t fully show what I meant to portray; perhaps it’s an impossibility.

Iconography: I had no wood laying around so I made a cross using two large cinnamon sticks. Cinnamon symbolizes the fragrant sweet life of Jesus our Lord. The Ceylon cinnamon pictured below has a uneven textured surface, often with holes or damaged areas and is made up of multiple layers of rolled bark which when peeled apart break easily. This cinnamon symbolized our Lord Jesus after being beaten and scourged which left His body bruised, broken, lacerated and torn apart in ribbons. Not knowing this until later, but the ground bark of this cinnamon as well as cassia was used in the holy anointing oil for the priests in the Old Testament as they ministered to God in His tabernacle and then later in the Temple (Exodus 30:22-30). Isn’t that what Jesus is – our holy anointed High Priest? I’m sure there’s probably a sermon hidden in all of that!

The flames enveloping the cross represent God the Father as Hebrews 12:29 states, “For our God is a consuming fire.” Jesus isn’t shown on the cross because this artwork is an allegory. Sufficient to say, Jesus the One Who knew no sin became sin and in His great love for us took upon Himself the full penalty that was ours – His Father’s wrath against sin. Just as fire annihilates, Jesus destroyed the power of Satan, sin and conquered it (Hebrews 2:14).

Jesus sacrificed His life for all of humanity represented by the dark green rays extending outward from the cross reaching out towards every corner of the world. (II Corinthians 5:15). Simultaneously He poured out His blood for all of humanity that everyone, everywhere can be forgiven by God represented by the bright red rays extending outward from the cross (Matthew 26:28, John 3:16-17).

God the Father was at work in His Son reconciling us toward Himself. He extends His forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of His Son (Hebrews 9:22) granting us eternal salvation which is represented by the bright burst of green emanating from the cross reaching anyone, far and near (Ephesians 2:13) who would believe in His Son and accept His free gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8). Both the Father and the Son worked in tandem to secure our salvation (John 3:16-17). Only the Son of God could endure the wrath of God. Only the Son of God could break the power of sin and death. No angel, no mortal nor demon. Later the Spirit of God would raise Jesus on the third day (Romans 8:11). At a very important time in history – the Creation of the world, all three persons of the Trinity were actively at work likewise at another significant time in history, the cross of Christ, all three persons of the Trinity were at work.

And yet, I had to correct my thinking on a point while meditating on this. One, that I had always thought a specific way about God regarding Jesus’ death. Perhaps because God was always portrayed “up there”, seated in the heavens on a majestic throne by artists all throughout history that I naturally assumed He was only observing from Heaven while His Son was doing all the work down here. Scripture says otherwise. Most incredible is Romans 5:10 and II Corinthians 5:19 where God didn’t even count our sins against us while we were an enemy of Him! This is profound.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit imparts life. Yet He chose to continue to allow life in those who were mocking, blaspheming, beating, scourging, hating, spitting and crucifying the innocent Son of the Living God. Incredible. And all the while the Father is pleading with everyone through His Son on the cross…..come to Me for forgiveness and salvation! (Isaiah 1:18) Can we fully grasp the enormity of that kind of extravagant lavish love of God? (I John 3:1) And how does an artist even begin to paint something like that?

Hmm…crazy-kinda–radical-incredible love… no wonder the Apostle Paul was so excited wanting people to boast “how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

“⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:6-11

^“8All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” II Corinthians 5:18-20

What a wonderful God we have not only offering us forgiveness of sins, eternal life but the awesome ministry of being ambassadors for Him in bringing the message of reconciliation to others! May you be encouraged and blessed to know how much you are loved of God this Lenten season.

In Him,

-Donna

Works cited:

“Cassia and cinnamon.” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Revised and Expanded. 2011.

Posted on November 30, 2017January 4, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — 1 Comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Jesus Close to the Brokenhearted

“Jesus Close to the Brokenhearted” 16”x 20” acrylic on canvas, © by Donna Gonzalez

¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
¹⁸The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

¹⁹The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
²⁰he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.”

I painted this artwork as an encouragement to Christians who’ve experienced trouble, hardship and grief in life. The woman’s face portrays that very difficult moment which tries our faith, where one wavers whether to go on or give up, and it is precisely that moment when Jesus is right there in the middle of it with us. She has a tear in her eye with a very slight smile as she recognizes though she cannot ‘feel His presence’ by faith she will walk by faith and not by sight knowing He is there, He hears and understands and will bring her comfort and deliverance.

This time of year, is for celebrating festivities, lots of Thanksgiving food, candy, Christmas music, the bright lights, snow falling, warm hugs, hot cocoa, cozy fireplaces, eating around the table with friends and family, joyous reunions and colorful presents, gift giving and memory making. As it should be.

But for many this time of the year life is far from a Norman Rockwell painting. Fraught with hardships it can be is as bleak and cold as a winter’s icy wind. When loved ones have passed away or gone, and burdens increase it makes having a grateful heart very difficult during the Thanksgiving season.

The good news is despite the difficulties, it doesn’t have to be without joy, peace, love and faith. We have someone on our side, Jesus, who not only sees the light at the end of the tunnel but knows the end from the beginning. Who chooses to stick with us, through thick or thin. Who wants to be close to and loves the broken, downtrodden and hurting. One Who is desirous to save heal, restore and deliver when there just doesn’t seem to be any way out. It is during these intense moments that He wants us to turn and call out to Him to find He is our only hope the answer to all our problems. Jesus is our source of strength, joy, peace, love and faith.

The most amazing thing is Jesus doesn’t even have to do any of this towards us! And yet, because of Who He is, and His great love for us, He is more than willing to help us. All free for the asking. Glory to Jesus!

And that right there is so much to be thankful for!

Be blessed!

Donna

Posted on September 3, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Pastel Mosaic

“Pastel Mosaic” © by Donna Gonzalez

I love good surprises don’t you? And this artwork is no exception, it’s now one of my favorites and I’m so very excited to unpack what this mosaic painting holds for us. This acrylic painting is composed of 16 panels put into a pattern.

A bit of a background here… a couple of weeks ago I had asked several of my friends on social media for their favorite scriptures because I wanted to have some bible verses to put on my already painted mosaic artwork so that it would bless others, and unbeknownst to me, God would honored that!

One friend’s favorite scripture is from the Gospel of John:

“Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ; whom you sent.” – John 17:3

As with many of my mosaics there are often hidden Christian symbols in my work which I call God’s fingerprints. And I did noticed the central cross, but nothing more.

God’s like that, sometimes He won’t let me see all the symbols until later, and that is perfectly fine by me because in finding them, I get to praise His Name, and in sharing what I find out with another believer who happens to be blessed by it; they too get to praise God! What you’re about to read is His doing not mine. Glory to Jesus!

As I said, the obvious symbol is the center cross.

Hmmm…

John 17:3 reminds me of the cross of Christ and why He came and the answer is found in one of the most beloved and often quoted bible verses:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

God loves us and desires that none perish and to show His love He gave His Son Jesus to take the penalty of our sin and to die in our place. God’s love enables us to love Him and to love other people.

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” – John 4:7-12

Is not the heart a universal symbol of love? And there is not one but two in this painting! What is really cool is notice how each heart is joined together with their points encompassing the central cross. Upon further reflection this thought came to me:

Two hearts. God’s love shown at the cross is extended towards us radiating outward to reach all people. While the love of a redeemed heart set free by the cross of Christ extends upwards towards Him. But there’s more!

When a person is saved the Holy Spirit makes them a new creation.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” II Corinthians 5:17

And isn’t that what a butterfly not only represents but is?* An brand new creation with wings to fly heaven-ward from once being a lowly earth bound caterpillar? We die into His death but live a new resurrected life in Christ Jesus when we come out of baptismal waters.

“³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” – Romans 6:3-4

But there’s even more surprises!

As believers in Jesus He sends us his help through angels. There are four of them in the painting. Though the image below is only a portion of the painting they are found at each quadrant corner of the mosaic just to the right and left of the center cross. Now these are harder to see which is why I never saw them before.

“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” – Hebrews 1:14

And still there is more!

After studying this painting more I noticed there’s this figure….doubled actually (one upside-down which is part of the first figure). Each doubled figure is located above and below the center cross and it’s body is what makes up the butterfly. As I pondered about this figure and realized the figures have their arms raised like an orant figure. Just like the orant figures which were painted on the inside walls of Roman catacombs.

The orant figure was a person standing with arms raised and it was considered to be the gesture of prayer for the early Christian church. Early as in the days of St. Peter and Paul and afterwards. Wow! The figure in the painting even has a face and wears a type of hat… or maybe a helmet? Hmmm…The helmet of salvation?

¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” – Ephesians 6:17

Now I don’t see a sword in this painting (and if you find one let me know!) but I’m reminded of I Thessalonians 5:16-18.

“¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – I Thessalonians 5:16:18

Now I ask you….isn’t that what we as Christians who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and have been shown God’s great love, mercy and grace are supposed to be doing all throughout our lives? Praise God! I soo love this mosaic!

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship.” – Romans 12:!

May this artwork bless and encourage you in your walk with Jesus my friend!

in Him,

Donna

*Yep, caterpillars really do a death and resurrection

Posted on February 24, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC

Are you really trusting Him?

As born again Christians we are commanded by God to:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Sounds easy enough right? It’s a favorite verse for many. Until we get into the car and head for work. Sure enough someone cuts us off from our exit, causing us to slam on the breaks nearly missing an oncoming car. Top it all off that crazy driver sneered, laughing at us while flipping the bird on the expressway. And that old nature immediately kicks in; we lean on our own understanding by following the world’s wisdom. Ignoring the checking of the Holy Spirit to slow it down and stop entertaining evil thoughts towards another person, instead we chose to ignore His words. We curse that driver as we begin tailgating him hoping to cut him off at the next opportunity. Later we start arguing with the Spirit of God as He admonishes us that we didn’t obey Him:

¹⁷“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:17-18

Pride won’t budge, and to make matters worse we have a mental tribunal in our minds justifying our actions as we misquote scripture to excuse our behavior of “doing unto others as they did to us”. Besides someone had to teach that driver a lesson! Clearly he was in the wrong!

But indirectly whether we realize it or not we are telling God “I don’t trust You know the best way of dealing with people, You are wrong too.”

Hmmm…

We sinned and in that ungodly behavior we grieved the Holy Spirit, negatively affected our witness to the other drivers around us, who unbeknownst to us, were probably some of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to be ambassadors for Christ and instead that little stunt put Jesus’ reputation at stake just to prove a point.

Worse it just proved that we are not really trusting in the words of Christ. Don’t excuse it under the rug that it’s a moot point. To the world it is moot, but to God it’s a matter of whether or not we choose to fully accept that Jesus knows exactly what He’s talking about when He tells us how interact with others that insult us. Like turning the other cheek and leaving room for God’s wrath.

^{23 “}Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” Luke 9:23-25

Jesus’ His words ring clear but does that mean I’m to carry my cross by denying myself that little pleasure of getting back at someone who flipped me off?

Yep! Trusting in God means to lay aside our old way of thinking for His ways, of laying aside our agenda and our understanding of how to do things for His perfect better way of doing things, whether they make sense to us or not.

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12”

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

It’s the narrow way. Entering into the narrow gate means one has to crouch low, humble oneself just to squeeze through that narrow gate. The narrow path will lead to eternal life but until then we will endure hardships, trials and even persecution in our lives. We live in a broken world but God uses those trials for our good.

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything to make us mature in Christ. James 1:2-4

Faith is complete conviction and confidence in and who Jesus is. There is no room for doubt. It is knowing that trails come as a testing of our faith to produce perseverance, that it must finish it’s work. We must not hinder His work in us otherwise we will be lacking and not reach maturity in Him.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” II Corinthians 5:7

We must walk as Jesus walked, persistent in faith in His Father. To live fully convinced that His words are Spirit and they are Life. Those that obey will be rewarded by God.

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” Proverbs 16:20

Let us therefore not be like those of long ago who amazed Jesus.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” ⁵He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶He was amazed at their lack of faith. Mark 6:4-6

One would think that trusting Jesus and in His word is given for a Christian yet what is interesting is what Jesus would say at the end of His parable of the persistent widow.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8

Christians who are steadfast in faith no matter their circumstance or outcome are placing all their trust in the Father who has their back, who will answer in due time. Apparently Jesus felt faith in Him and explicit trust in His words was so important that He needed to call into question whether or not people will have any unwavering faith and trust in God as this widow had portrayed when He returns the second time. Trust in Jesus …it’s really that important.

-Donna