Two Earmarks of God's Work

Everywhere we look there are forces and circumstances that break apart and scatter people.

Two Earmarks

We have recently been reminded by Christ's life that faith is characterized by "gathering" and "generosity" (Luke 11).

These are earmarks of God's actions among us. When we see these happening, we know where to put our support and what to cooperate with.

Want to see what God is
doing in the world?

Look for deeds that are healing divisions between people and gathering us together. Avoid people, organizations, and media that are divisive in language, visuals, attitudes and actions. Embrace what is conciliatory and usually you will find openness and generosity in there with it.

Generosity seems easier to spot, but it comes in many forms from handing a street person some change, to listening to someone's problems. We thank God for a generous plumber who recently broke away from his schedule to come over and help in an emergency.

In Tough Times

When times are tough it is harder to be generous with schedule and resources. But, without generosity toward one another, how will we survive the tough times? Yes, God will save us. God's way is to engage the flesh and blood walking on earth. We come into tough times often because we do not live as God's gathering, generous people.
That's learning the hard way. We know we're tired of it. How about you?

Still learning and growing,

Mark and Donna Turner
November, 2010

The Power To Be Christ Extended

We just celebrated Pentecost Sunday, the empowerment of Jesus' followers to go into all the world as Christ extended. You can not think of Christ without observing the engagement of the spiritual with the material. Jesus said it was necessary for him to ascend to the Father so that the Holy Spirit would come.
"But, why not just stay? We don't need the Holy Spirit; we have you, Jesus."
What he MEANT was: the Holy Spirit was to come so we would be him in multiplied numbers, rather than just one to whom everyone clung without the slightest thought that they would ever speak, act or be like him.
Christ treated material things as servants and vehicles of the spiritual. The Holy Spirit came to empower us to do the same, to open eyes, heal the sick, multiply the bread and fish, turn water into wine, release the prisoners, calm storms and, when appropriate, walk on water.
What were we thinking? Of course, you are right, Oh Lord. Yes, come Holy Spirit. We have hung back fearfully from the needs of the world, from the blindness, the lame, the sick, the prisoners, the hungry, the storms and from those who need us to walk on water. Come, Holy Spirit, transform us into Christ extending into the world with creation power.

Yours,

Mark and Donna Turner
June, 2010

"Glow In the Crowd"

"Glow In the Crowd" by Mark Turner

Christ said, "Let your light so shine before people so that they will see your good works and praise (worship) the Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

We offer enlarged prints of inspirational images illustrating spiritual truth signed by the artist, Mark Turner, and suitable for framing, as a "thank you" for your donation to sustain the artists engaged by our arts organization.

See all images at Mark's blog "Artingle" .

A 9"x14" print of "Glow In the Crowd" is available as a thank you for a donation of $35 or more.

To donate and receive your thank you gift reply to this e-mail stating your donation. We will send you a reply with a link to PayPal and send your print within approximately ten days of your donation.

Get Out and Mix

Many of us Christians live with an underlying sense of responsibility to "recruit for Christ".
Such an obligation is something different than what Christ calls us to. We are being formed into the radiance of Christ, into his image, as children of God. As we conduct our lives in the world the Family resemblance is manifested in the way we work, play, relate to others, in the things we make and say, in the conversations we have and the care we give. Sometimes we are verbally specific about the truth of Christ, but always we are "little Christs" (the meaning of "Christian"), the presence of Christ which is redemptive wherever we go.
A major delay in the world coming to God is that many of the little Christs, don't get out much, feeling more comfortable keeping to themselves and their regular routines. But God has put a light in us which yearns to radiate; not to promote, or sell itself, but to simply be its beautiful self and, in so being, to beautify those around it by its radiance.
This is why Christ said, "Let your light so shine before people so that they will see your good works and praise (worship) the Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16
Look at the next post listing ways you can get out and mix.

Ways You Can Get Out and Mix

Never before in history has there been a time when so many ways were offered to get around. Even from your kitchen, or an obscure Starbucks table you can send the light of Christ around the globe. Here are a few ways we do it. Following each item are actions you can take to participate.
1. E-mail: Even this is getting a little archaic! But, friends, associates and family can be blessed by the words, pictures, audio and video which can be sent for far less than the price of a postage stamp. Go to our homepage , scroll to the bottom and sign up to receive your free copies of our e-newsletter. When you get your copy each month use the links provided to forward it to others with encouragement to subscribe too. Consider more creative uses of your own e-mails.
2. Social Networking: Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo, Linked-in, and many other sites facilitate building existing and new relationships. You can even create such a site yourself designed for a specific type of interest group to gather in. Whether for fellowship, voluntary activities, marketing, or professional networking, these sites help connect people who in the past would never have found each other. Through our presence on Facebook alone Horizon Gate is regularly addressing potentially over fifty-thousand people. When you sign up for Facebook you immediately gain the capacity to bless and influence many more people. Become a "fan" on Horizon Gate's Facebook page by clicking here - http://artist.to/horizongate/ . Start your own Facebook page and build your own network.
3. Blogs: Here you can present your thoughts and inspirations in countless genres from recipes to Bible studies, in pictures, video, audio and text. You can be all verbal, all pictorial, or both. You can promote, or comment on others' presentations elsewhere on the web. What you post on a blog remains available to the whole world 24/7 until you decide to remove it. In ten years, whether you are on earth, or gone to heaven, someone could be blessed and drawn to God by what you post. And these are but a few possibilities to shine your light world wide, for free through blogging. Make comments on Horizon Gate's blogs - HorizonGate - SayLetThereBe
Visit other blogs and write comments mentioning Horizon Gate providing a link to our blog and web site. This motivates others to visit ours.
4. Online Businesses: You could have a web site where people with special needs can find solutions produced, or represented by you. Ebay.com, CraigsList.org and Etsy.com are examples to explore. Through business you could shine the light into people's lives, whether or not they are in your immediate village. We have had accounts on Ebay and CraigsList. The Turners are planning a shop on Etsy.com besides their business through www.GraceProceeds.com . Become a participant in iGive.com , a free service through which over 700 well-known businesses donate to Horizon Gate a percentage of the cost of your online purchases. Click here to join free of charge:



Browse and send others to the Turners' business site, GraceProceeds.com where their ministry is extended through business that helps support their presence in Horizon Gate.
5. All of the Above: Combine these and other avenues to reinforce one another. For example our audio programs on BlogTalkRadio.com are posted on the "Say Let There Be" blog and are also available as text articles which give links to businesses and the Horizon Gate ministries. These find new people and build relationships which increase our light shining in wider and wider circles. Visit, listen to our programs and leave comments on our page at blogtalkradio.com .
For a much fuller experience where you can read along and see illustrations listen and leave comments on our "Say Let There Be" blog.
Someone in your friends and associates and in each of their circles needs some blessing that contact with Horizon Gate could bring. Help them connect with us through the ways listed here. The light of Christ will reach through you as far as you allow it to shine.

Being God's Instrument

This past Sunday sermon reminded us of three aspects to our mission.

Our Weakness is God's Opportunity
(Jeremiah 1:4-10) Jeremiah resisted God's call because he felt unqualified to be the Prophet of God. We are constantly aware of our weaknesses and flaws. Sometimes people around us point these out. Our confidence has to fight to stay on top long enough to get something done. But, as He told Jeremiah, God is with us, telling us where to go and what to say in the grand plan to renovate the world. Our weakness is the perfect place for God's power to fill the gap (I Corinthians 12:9-10).

Produce Like Christ
(Luke 4:16-30) Jesus told his home town that he was the embodiment of the prophets' message. But, when he did not fit their expectations, they tried to do away with him. Our word and deed (scripts, speaking, teaching, films, art) must be extensions of Christ, expressing the Truth in Love. Though we go about this as the image of Christ, we will not always be accepted.

Love is the Bottom Line
(I Corinthians 13:1-4) The Apostle Paul points out that all our films and art are validated only by their service to Love. Our films and art, as well as the way we produce them and exhibit them, must be motivated and guided by a kind of Love which is the fruit of God's Spirit born in us.

These three aspects are realized only in a close relationship with God, a state that only God can make possible through Christ and that only we can choose.

Greetings from 2010

Look what God has done and know more is to come. Though we may have wondered how we would make it through 2009, here we are in 2010.

Let this blog article be evidence that God has sustained Horizon Gate and the Turners through the challenges of another year. Thank you for your prayers, faith and contributions through which you participated in God's provision.

Many times in 2009 we have looked at our end, the limits to our capacity materially, emotionally, spiritually. Seeing our end cleanses our hearts and balances our perspective as we re-discover "God beyond". How do we press on in the face of the world's opposition? By knowing we are connected beyond our end to the One beholden to no one, nor to our circumstances. Though circumstances appear to hold little hope, expectations, or vision, our connection with "God beyond" gives us confidence to take initiative. Part of growing in Christ is to frequently re-establish that anchor in God rather than in circumstances where it tends to gravitate. Though it seems unreasonable and audacious, we focus on the Source of solutions rather than the problems.

This is the insight we recently gained from the prophetic imagery in Zechariah 4. The picture of oil lamps (us) on a stand with a reservoir tapped into two olive trees feeding a ceaseless supply of oil (God's Spirit) to keep the lamps lit. The prophet wraps up the image with God's pronouncement, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit." All our resources for life and accomplishments are not from our own finite capacities, but from God Who is abundant and generous.

We urge everyone to uproot from your challenges and put roots deep in Christ expecting God's real guidance and provision. This change from self-sufficiency to union with God will open your eyes to paths and resources you could not access in your own capacities alone. In this partnership with God we are whole.

In God's ceaseless supply,

Mark and Donna Turner

Believing Is Seeing

Artists inspire hope. Artists call us to act on that hope. That action is what we call “believing”, letting the hope affect our behavior. Artists lead us in making concrete that for which we hope.

So, we proclaim these affirmations as steps in becoming artists who inspire, call, and lead in faith. We have a hope of the Greater Reality which God intends for us and we want that hope to affect our work, play, health, finances and relationships with others.

Christ's earthly behavior was based on the Greater Reality which God has for us. The signs he gave showing God's Greater Reality were healings, life-giving words, world changing deeds, and release of people from bondage. By dying and rising back to life, he demonstrated that the Greater Reality promises even eternal life. As if in darkness, most could not see the Greater Reality in which he lived. But at least they could see the signs.

In some, he sparked the hope that there might be more to life. To those with hope he called to act upon the hope. Those who trusted his call and acted upon that hope he transformed to be able to see the Greater Reality, to live, die and live again as he does.

Christ commissioned the transformed ones to go throughout the world sparking the hope in others, calling to act upon the hope and conducting life based on the Greater Reality of God. Ages later we at Horizon Gate have chosen vehicles to spark, call and demonstrate the life of the Greater Reality: the arts, media, literature, business. As people trust Christ who reaches through us to them, God transforms them to live in the Greater Reality.