Gospel.com Blog

On December 12, photographers across the nation will be taking pictures of people for free as part of the Help Portrait movement. Help Portrait is an attempt to mobilize the amateur, hobbyist and professional photographers of the world to bring some good to those in need.

The goal of the project is to provide family and personal portraits to people in need. For some, this will be the first and only portrait they ever have taken. Aside from taking the picture, printing it and delivering it, Help Portrait urges the photographers to take time to get to know the people they’re photographing: cook them a meal, talk to them, serve them.

The below video has more information:

So why is this important? After all, there’s a lot of money and time going into this movement that could be spent on other things. And more to the point, why is this important for Christians?

Personally, I feel that as children of God we’re called to celebrate the beauty in Creation. Yes, we live in a world tainted by sin, but art gives us an amazing outlet through which we can explore aspects of this world that still reflect, however dimly, the perfection of Eden.

Portraits in particular are a way to highlight hidden and often-overlooked characteristics of their subject. When a photographer—or any artist for that matter—lovingly crafts an image of a person, that image can show a side of the person you barely knew existed: the beautiful, the cool, the composed, the handsome, the joyful.

For the Christian photographer, showcasing the good and interesting in people also showcases the good and interesting in God. Art gives us a distant but compelling glimpse of God’s original Creation.

Do you know anyone who is involved with Help Portrait? Do you think you might volunteer to help out? How can photography and other art forms point the way to God?

Editor’s note: While Help Portrait is not explicitly Christian, it’s interesting to note that Help Portrait was partially inspired by Advent Conspiracy.

When I was younger I remember going to the Tomb of the Unknown solider. I was too young to appreciate what it meant and spent much of the time profoundly bored, wondering how many more days it would be before we could go home and I could play Nintendo. Everyone was so quiet in front of the tomb, especially considering there wasn’t actually anyone buried there.

The monuments we build in the aftermath of battle reflect what a culture finds important. For all of its foibles, the United States is a nation built of and for its people, and nowhere is that shown more perfectly than in the way we memorialize those people who’ve died for it. The Tomb of the Unknown Solider is our country’s way of saying the unidentified will not be forgotten; that we appreciate each drop of blood and sweat spent in service to us.

The Tomb is important to Americans because it represents our remembrance of those who gave their lives for our freedom. Yet the tomb can be important to Christians too. It also stands as a sobering reminder that our service on this earth rarely ends in accolades and medals. Sometimes it ends in obscurity, and it’s only the truly humble that will take walk that path.

Jesus talked a lot about serving one another. He stated that:

 ¹³Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, King James Version)

And

 ⁴⁵For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45, King James Version).

It is this picture of service that we should strive for: laying down our lives expecting nothing except to be counted last and among Christ’s chosen. And while not every solider goes into service with a selfless attitude, far more do than we give them credit most of the time.

Earlier this year my family laid my grandfather to rest in an Army cemetery. They gave him a 21-gun salute with all the pomp and circumstance he deserved. He served in World War II and lived a long and generally happy life full of love of his family and country.

Unless you’re cognizant of it, Veteran’s Day could just be yet another of those annoying days during which the post office is closed, and the Tomb one of those things you just have to be quiet around—which is a shame, because spending a day and giving a place to honor our servicemen and women is ultimately a small matter. Today is the one time we stop to say thanks for doing the unenviable job of serving us. Even the one’s who might never be known by name.

What veterans are in your life? What are you doing to celebrate them?

This morning’s devotional, from Lifetime Guarantee Ministries, challenges us to think about obedience by looking at the story of Naaman. How obedient are you? And exactly what role does obedience play in your relationship with Jesus Christ?

Do you sometimes wonder about your level of obedience? You approach the topic sincerely and very logically: “God loves me unconditionally. I believe that with all my heart. I also believe that there isn’t anything I can do to make Him love me more or anything that I can do to make Him love me less. What part does my obedience play in His plan for my life when I believe in His unconditional love for me?” [...]

[For Naaman,] searching the prophet out and telling him the problem was not enough. Hearing the prophet’s instructions was painful—it hurt his pride to think of doing something so demeaning. Naaman did not believe, but he was desperate. He did not understand the prophet’s remedy, but he was hurting. He merely humbled himself and obeyed, that’s all. He obeyed and that obedience brought healing. His life was rerouted—changed forever!

And you and me? We must allow God to be our God—we must submit to Him before we can submit to His plan for our life, before we can be all that He has planned for us to be. Obedience paves the way for His way—the only way. His way may be humiliating, embarrassing, something you would never dream of doing, something that seems absolutely ridiculous to you. But I have the courage to say to you, “Oh, please! You are here. Why not at least try what the Lord has told you to do?”

Read the complete devotional at Lifetime Guarantee Ministries.

Can you relate to Naaman? Have you ever chosen to obey, even if you weren’t sure you believed? If we’re saved by grace alone, where does obedience fit in?

This weekend in Detroit, Craig Gross and Jason Harper gave away a house.

As part of their Jesus Loves You book tour, Gross and Harper are attempting to live out some of the things they talk about in their book. The house giveaway was prompted by a chapter in the book, “Jesus loves the disconnected.” Here’s the report from their blog:

We were in Detroit for the Free House Sunday giveaway that corresponds with the “Jesus Loves The Disconnected” chapter in the book. We have been working with Citadel of Faith Covenant Church since May to pull off this great day…Over the past several weeks 113 people have filled out an entry on www.freehousesunday.com. We worked with Citadel and Lisa Johanon from the Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation to select the family for this house and to restore the house.

The house went to a woman who was facing eviction after losing her husband. To me, one of the most remarkable things about the event was the response from those gathered after the house was given away:

At church 30 people committed to following Jesus as Pastor Carey shared a dynamic message. He talked out of Genesis about the word “Covenant”. He assured people that Jesus would always hold through on his part of the agreement. He mentioned that “Jesus loves you before you do what you do because he did what he did.”

At the close of the service Pastor Carey asked for people to consider joining Citadel of Faith Covenant Church if they did not have a home church and wanted to get plugged in. About 55 people came forward to join the church after the service.

Around 3pm, we took a tour of the house. We were able to pray over the house and for the moving in of the Baker family. Pastor Carey, Lisa Johanon, Jason Harper and I took a photo of the house on our way out.

It’s a heartwarming story of the body of Christ gathering together to meet someone’s specific needs.

What other examples have you seen of Christ-followers loving the disconnected?

Thanksgiving is coming. Do you feel thankful?

The Bible tells us to “always give thanks to God the Father for everything” (Ephesian 5:20). But what does that really mean—are we expected to literally say prayers of thanks to God as we go through the day? Prayer is a wonderful way to thank God… but what if there was a more tangible way to express our gratitude?

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Want to make a different in somebody’s life this holiday season? This Thanksgiving and Christmas, consider giving a gift that will make a real impact: volunteer!

If you thought that Christian service meant committing to years of overseas mission work, think again! ChristianVolunteering.org is a new site that can put you in touch with over 1,000 ministries and more than 2,000 volunteer and short-term missions opportunities. With so many opportunities, there’s almost certainly a niche that matches your skills and interests. Here’s just a few of the ways you can serve this holiday season:

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