Because of His Ascension Exhibit
Because of His Ascension
Mary Ann Echols | Original acrylic
“He had to go. He had to leave the Earth. He had to leave us. How lonely the disciples must have felt when they saw Him ascend up into the sky. Their Savior. Their Lord. Gone. It is very tempting to become terribly introspective and self-centered when one is left seemingly alone during uncertain times. It is tempting to ask oneself the question: “What does this mean for me?” But the disciples gathered first. They waited. They prayed. They remembered.
“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7 Little did they know. Oh, how little do we know. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you. In a little while you will see Me no more…” John 16:12-16
Because He ascended there is so much more. Things I cannot see. I still often find myself humanly thinking,“He is there and I am here.” But He is here… and there… and there and…here, all the time active in our hearts and souls; active in the world; in the heavens. And between the “here” and “there” much has happened, is happening, and even more will happen. More than we can bear to know. He is in me. He is in you. We wait…He works. He waits…we work. And He sits at the right hand of the Father. It can’t all be explained but we know. We know because He said it was for our good that He goes away. Because of His Ascension.”
Sunset Over Heaven
Rachael Moore | original oil, 24x30
“I have always seen the beauty and power of our Lord and Savior within the vibrant colors and serene peace within a sunset. As I picture Acts 1:9 where scripture describes Jesus ascending into heaven and being “taken up into a cloud” (NLT), I hoped to capture this spectacular image within this sunset over the water.
With angel-like wings making up the brush strokes of the sunset, this is how I picture our Lord and Savior ascending into heaven. Though this has been a season of sickness and fear for our nation, I am comforted by the everlasting promise in Romans 8:38 (NLT): “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”
Our perfect, loving God sent his one and only son to SAVE us and He is seated in heaven continuing to provide for those who love Him. My prayer through creating this piece of art is that we may rest during this season and trust in the promise that NOTHING can separate us from the love of our perfect God.”
Fear Not
Rita Wiley | original oil over acrylic
“When I received this exhibit theme and prayed about what I should create, we had not yet entered into this pandemic, but this is what I felt I needed to paint. I wanted to portray what it was like to be facing a terrifying situation that would feel impossible to handle. Little did I know what was coming, and yet, God does.
Along with this portrayal of horror came the title, "Fear Not." This is rooted in Romans 8: 31-39. Nothing, and that means nothing, in this world or under this world, no power or principality or any other thing can separate us from the love of God. Fear not.”
Freedom
Chris Gross | Colored pencil
“As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:36-37 Sin wreaks havoc in our soul so much that we face the certainty of death; it’s a battle that can only be won by the Holy Spirit through faith in our conqueror Jesus Christ. His power is made perfect in weakness, like the bird who is able to master flight escaping certain difficulty and hardships on earth. I used a photo reference for this piece I had taken from the internet, changing color and design in a few areas.”
Lion of Judah
Frances Okubo | original acrylic; 11x14
“The Resurrection is my favorite doctrinal factual event of all time and Easter is my favorite of all Christian traditions we celebrate. The reason is that without the resurrection of Christ, our faith would be in vain. Tie this into Jesus' ascension into the Heavens--He ascended as Isaiah had described Him to be--the Lion of Judah.
This multifaceted piece reminds me of Jesus in His glorious present state as Supreme Ruler over all our affairs, along with the universe, and we cannot even begin to imagine how beautiful it would be to see Him face-to-face. I would immediately fall prostrate before His majesty, out of sheer shame and deep gratitude for His incredible mercy, that I am not consumed, indeed, but deeply loved. This painting style was inspired by local artist Amy Eichler.”
Rescue Story
Karen Humphrey | original acrylic
“This original acrylic painting was created during a time of brokenness in my life. Like life, though the light of Jesus was glimmering there, it never felt quite finished.
In this piece, I wanted to put more emphasis on His redemption and the power to transform and mend what is broken in our lives...so upon reflection, I added "first aid”-scripture, encouraging words, light and SPARKLE! Through all He has done, and continues to do, He will forever be my "Rescue Story!"
He Is Risen
Wayne Rhodes | Original Photography
“The scene reminds me of the light that surrounded Jesus as He ascended from the grave. The darkness of the crucifixion was overcome by the light of the world, and this is my faith and my hope.
Even in times of trouble, even during this strange pandemic that has brought suffering and death to multitudes, and many challenges for me personally, the light of Christ’s resurrection inspires me in the daily moments of life. “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” -John 8:12. “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” -John 11:25 This photograph is of a church and cross at sunset taken in Fayetteville.”
The Believer’s Walk
Terri Stricker | original oil
“This is my inspired artwork as related to Romans 8: 31-39, with emphasis on verse 37, stating we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. This oil is a visual allegory of the believer’s walk with the Lord. The distance represents Heaven and the shining Light, the presence of God in the Shekinah Glory.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 31-39”
Sarayu-Holy Spirit
Annessia Davis | original acrylic/gold and silver leaf
“In chapter 8, Paul mentions the Spirit almost twenty times. It is the Spirit who frees us from sin and death, enables us to fulfill God’s law, changes our nature, gives us the ability to overcome the desires of our unredeemed flesh, confirms our adoption as God’s children, and guarantees our eternal glory.
There can be no success or progress in the Christian life apart from an utter dependence on the third Person of the Trinity. The three verses that speak to me the most are Romans 8:26, 28 and 31. V 26 - Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
V 28 - And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
V 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? What you don’t see is that I wrote the verses on the canvas first before painting and made a cross with the names of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the cross. For me, when I think and pray about the Holy Spirit, I envision a beautiful white dove and the wind. I want to convey the purity, light and love of the Holy Spirit.
The gold and silver leaf of the dove’s body help convey this. He is our helper, comforter and guide. The crisp, defined white lines of the dove’s body reflect purity. I also wanted to capture the movement of wind. The Spirit is invisible, like the wind. A person cannot see Him move or work. However, one can see the effect of what the Spirit does and how He acts on things – just as the wind going through a tree full of leaves and the branches sway. I wanted the wind to be colorful and vibrant against the outline of the dove.”
Freely
Felicia Chenault | watercolor, ink, iridescent medium
“I was reading through Romans 8 and verse 32 stood out: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Freely - the opposite of caged. And as I started thinking of what keeps me from the freedom we find through Christ’s ascension, I realized it’s often my own stress behaviors that keep me caged in sin.
In the painting, the cage is made up of what keeps me locked in my sinful nature - my need for control, my anxiety when I don’t know what to expect ahead, my criticalness when things don’t go the way I want, my resolve to just do it myself vs. lean into Christ’s strength, my rigidness I display when I’m hurting and scared and fighting against turning control over to Christ, my resentment that builds when I feel I’m stepping up and doing the right things and others aren’t.
The birds remind me I can “escape the cage to fly” unchained into the freedom Christ offers - but only if I acknowledge Him and what He’s done. Only if I lay down at His feet the things that are keeping me caged. And while sin tries to keep us down, like these birds, Christ’s death frees me from the weight of my sins so I can live freely.”
The Growth Continues
Lorinda Gray | Photography
“Jesus’ apostles witnessed His Ascension into heaven at the Mount of Olives. When I went on a Holy Land tour, we visited the Mount of Olives in March 2019. We saw many ancient olive trees. Some were perhaps hundreds of years old and some dated back to the time of Jesus. I captured a photograph of the new growth on an old tree.
Remarks were made at how impressive it is that something so old could support new growth after all these years. New growth still finds life in an old foundation. Generations of believers have continued to sprout from The Ancient of Days.”