beauty for ashes | portia

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

isaiah 61:1-3

to anyone who first meets her...she is an orphan...an alien...a widow...and outcast. but spend time with her and all of those things disappear and are replaced with something new. on earth...portia is an orphan who came from zimbabwe to seek a better life. she raises her son, michael, by herself. but portia has learned something...this is not who she is.

she has been transformed...made new.

portia has begun to understand the abundant life she has in Jesus. and she has begun to see that he chooses for his work...the most unlikely of people. he values the ones who are seen as useless and unimportant...the ones who are voiceless. and he love the forgotten outcast. 

he loves portia.

jesus chose portia to be a part of His kingdom. He chose her to be his daughter. she is no longer an orphan but instead has a Father who is loving and will never leave her. and he gives good gifts. he has given portia the gifts of freedom and comfort. she has been adorned with royal robes and has been anointed with gladness.

he has crowned her with beauty.

and he has set her on the path to proclaim His goodness. to the one who was once voiceless...he has given a voice...a voice to proclaim His favor in her life and his love for all. portia has found freedom in jesus and in turn...he has chosen her to help bring that freedom to others...

...and to multiply His kingdom at the same time.

lost are found | stella

if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? and when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. when he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, 'rejoice with me because i have found my lost sheep.'

luke 15:4,5&6

looking into the eyes of this young zimbabwean woman, one would never know what she has had to endure. but in the winter of 2008, stella was lost and afraid...an alien in a country about which she knew very little.

stella...forced to flee her country because of the political and social unrest wreaking havoc on her people...arrived in south africa...

homeless.

foodless.

friendless.

added to this was the weight she was carrying concerning the baby in her womb. unsure of what other options she had...stella contemplated suicide.

stella was lost.

but the arms of the good shepherd found her. she was found at her most desperate and lifeless place.  in her desperation...stella was met with...

grace.

truth.

love.

and as a result...she found a Savior. and the response in both heaven and on earth was a celebration of great rejoicing. 

stella now beams with excitement...because she has been found...she has been rescued by the love of Jesus. it is a love that thrives on giving second...third...and fourth chances...

even to seventy times seven.

when the shepherd finds his sheep...he doesn't simply lead it back to the others...but he carries it...and rejoices all the way.  jesus is still carrying stella. he will continue to carry stella...and rejoice in the new life she has been given.

for though she was once lost...stella is now found.

man of peace | joseph

when you enter a house, first say, 'peace to this house.' if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. when you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'the Kingdom of God is near you.'

luke 10:5,6&8

when the peace of God comes to one who is ready to accept it...to have it rest upon them...the result of that peace will change one's life forever. joseph is a man who has experienced this peace...and he has been changed forever because of it.

left practically crippled by a near-deadly accident, the pain joseph carried reached far deeper than the bodily pain he was forced to endure ever day. disappointed and hurt by people, he resigned himself to being an angry, pained man...

...left to die lonely and afraid of what was next.

but then the kingdom of God broke into Joseph's life in the most dramatic of ways. peace was offered to joseph and it remained on him.  he accepted it...and believed...even for a faint moment...that being healed was possible. that faint flicker of hope was enough room for the kingdom of God to break into his life...and as a result...joseph was healed.

his spine was healed.

his neck was healed.

his head was healed.

his heart was healed.

at the age of 62...joseph is a new creation who's identity is now in Christ.  he no longer lives by the ways of the kingdom of this world, but he is a joy-filled prince dwelling in the safety of the kingdom of God. that is what happens when the kingdom comes to people...

it comes with the life-giving peace of Jesus that is accompanied with overwhelming joy. 

when peace came to joseph, he did not run from it...

he accepted it.

and for this man of peace...it has transformed him completely. 

pure spotless bride | vovo

the Lord will hold you in his hands for all to see- a splendid crown in the hand of God. never again will you be called 'the forsaken city' or 'the deserted land.' your name will be 'the city of god's delight' and 'the bride of God.' for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride.

isaiah 62:3&4

the wetland area of masiphumelele is a forgotten place. it is a place where the poorest of the poor in this township are forced to live, to fend for themselves.  this is a place of sadness, of desolation, filled with people who are seemingly left on their own.

vovo lives in the wetlands.

vovo's life was once thought to be forgotten, desolate...wasted. the virus that lives in her body reminded her of the way she had been abused, taken advantage of and then quickly abandoned.

alone. forsaken. damaged. hidden.

but this is no longer the case. vovo is a story of hope. for the Bridegroom himself has extended his hand to her. and she has grasped firmly to the One who has never turned away from her but has loved for for exactly who she is. she has been claimed by the one who has taken all of her blemishes and washed all of her stains. she is the delight of the Lord, the bride of God. she has been made new.

it is true, the kingdom of God has come to vovo. she has been married to the ruler of that kingdom. her sadness has turned to praise. she is beautiful in the sight of her husband, Jesus. she now rejoices because of how he has changed her...how he has given her a new name...

beloved. pure. spotless. bride.

|photo by chelsea gentry|