Deliver Us From Evil

This composite is quite simple in meaning, so I won't have to write much here.  Obviously this depicts danger and the need for guidance, protection and deliverance from evil, as the title says.

The waves and the rocks are one easy-to-find danger: there are many difficulties and obstacles to overcome in our lives (a ship represents a person's life, and/or ministry), including natural disasters that happen at an increasing pace.  The lighthouse is shining, which is the Truth of the Gospel (and thus, the Church, who has the Truth in her).  We do not have to fear, for He is with us always:

". . . teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."  Matthew 28:20

This does make it clear that He expects us to hear and obey His commands. 

Jesus instructed us to pray for deliverance from evil in what we call "The Lord's Prayer" (which is really His example for us to pray):

"And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."  Matthew 6:13

Some translations say simply "evil" rather than "the evil one".  One reference stated that the presence of a certain article makes it clear it is being specific about "the evil one" rather than simply "evil".  If we know what Jesus accomplished by His life, death and resurrection, we realize that Satan is already defeated, and that Jesus gave us an example of how to resist the enemy:  "it is written".  I don't intend to go into depth on that today, as it is a topic clearly seen in Scripture and much written about. I exhort you to study it out yourself if you feel that Satan is constantly defeating you.  Jesus won the victory over Satan and over all evil.  He made you to be "more than a conqueror"!

In the artwork, there are some gold coins in the corner.  This is a representation of this truth:

"For the love of money is a root of all [kinds of] evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. "  I Timothy 1:10

Notice that "kinds of" is in brackets, meaning that these words are not in the original: therefore it says "a root of all evil".  I didn't write it!  Is is so hard to think that any evil you see can somehow be coming out of a root of the "love of money"?  In the picture, somebody buried some treasure, and someone apparently died over it!  In a "parable" sort of way, pirates are the epitome of the "love of money."  Don't we all have greed, selfishness and whatever else that is unholy and unworthy inside of us, until we allow the Holy Spirit and the Word to rout it out of us.  The danger depicted in this artwork is not only physical danger, danger from a marauding enemy, danger from the temptations of this age, but also the evil that lurks in the depths of our own hearts (God calls it "iniquity").  Thank God Jesus paid for this as well, forgives us and cleanses us. 

Another part of "The Lord's Prayer" is relevant to this:

And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us." Luke 11:4

Taken very literally, we see we must forgive "those who are indebted to us".  If we're greedy, we won't even forgive someone a monetary debt.  But there is pride and other things that keep us from releasing others from whatever debt they may have incurred, for example, even a small thing such as "hurting our feelings".  So I see unforgiveness as a definite danger we need to be delivered from.

I could go on and on, but I'll try to stay close to the picture.  The last symbolic reference I see here is the burning bush, representing God's manifest presence, as Moses saw it:

So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."  Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." Moreover He said, "I am the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the LORD said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.  So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites."  Exodus 3:3- 8

Moses had a fear of the Lord, which enabled him to obey Him and deliver the Israelites from their land of captivity.  Moses is a "type" of Christ, showing in a real-life parable everything that Jesus would do for us, including delivering us from evil and leading us to His Kingdom flowing with milk and honey.

"Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."  Galatians 1:3-5

Without a proper fear of the Lord (not a "phobia" that keeps us away from Him), we do not listen for His voice, follow His lead, or enter in by faith into the promises.  I, for one, want to submit to Him so that I can not only watch the devil flee from me, but be freed from the iniquity that leaves me open to temptation.  I want to overcome all the obstacles of this present age and enter safely into my King's presence.

If you see anything else in this artwork, I'd love for you to leave a comment and share it with me.

Here are the credits for the individual licensed images I used:

Treasure Beach Tree © Greg Payan | Dreamstime.com

Flames and brush © Peter Armstrong | Dreamstime.com

Carved Skull © Claire Collier | Dreamstime.com

Unfolded book dark smudged paper © Alexmax | Dreamstime.com

Surf & Clouds 3 © Joe Gough | Dreamstime.com

Seagull on the beach © Eric Gevaert | Dreamstime.com

Treasure! © Kristin Speed | Dreamstime.com

Bass Harbor Head © David Davis | Dreamstime.com

Rugged Coast of Pt Lobos © Ron Kacmarcik | Dreamstime.com

Atlantic Ocean coast © Anton Gvozdikov | Dreamstime.com

Hermit Crab 4 © Jose Gil | Dreamstime.com

Lighthouse No.2 © Npage | Dreamstime.com

Dreamy Sunrise on Tropical Beach © Heico Neumeyer | Dreamstime.com

Green waves I. © Erik Van Den Elsen | Dreamstime.com

Three-Masted Schooner On York River in Virginia © Kcastagnola | Dreamstime.com

This blog and artwork is by Karen Gladys Henry, Copyright 2009, All rights reserved.  For permission to use please email me at ArteZoe@gmail.com   Thank you.
This work is available for purchase at Imagekind.com, See my gallery.

Renaissance

I made this collage with the true Easter message in mind, that is, the Resurrection of Christ. But it goes beyond just a celebration of the event, which boggles the mind if one really thinks about it! Jesus Christ rose from the dead!! This picture has a lot to do with what that means for us. I'll try to go in a straight line in describing this, but the image is easier to do than the description! "Renaissance" refers to rebirth, new life and vitality, and in the historical context and application, a great revival of all creativity, knowledge and industrious pursuit that comes from being tapped in to the life of God.

The "headless" mannequin represents the individual Christian, and also the Body of Christ. He is the Head and we are members of His Body. This is not just a metaphor~ it is a reality! Unless we get a handle on this concept and begin to live it, we will not be able to appropriate (grasp, receive, put into practice, get the benefit of) what Christ did for us. When He died, He set the "will and testament" in motion, meaning we can now receive our inheritance as the children of God and joint heirs with Christ. When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered death, and is now alive forever to see to it that we come into the full oneness with God that was intended. Without submission to God and His will, we are not allowing the Head to rule in our life, and truly we are cut off from the source of life that is in us.

Too many Christians quote the verse "we have the mind of Christ" and don't seek to actually have it. We're not born with it!! Surely we have a new nature in our born-again spirits, with the capacity for spiritual understanding and growth. But it is not a given that we will grow and mature, or that we will gain all that we have a potential for. We must pursue it, according to the Scriptures and the leading of the Holy Spirit. His mind, more expansive and full of all wisdom and knowledge beyond what we can comprehend or imagine, is available to us at all times. But we must undergo a transformation! Our carnal mind(which is earthly, sinful and dark, and focused on death and lies) must be changed and renewed in order to understand and act upon the truth and light that is in the mind of God. Jesus made a way for us, but we must give up our old ways of thinking. Our belief systems are grungy, don't function properly, and lead us down all the wrong paths. The Scriptures are alive and active to restore the functions of our minds, and emotions as well. This enables our bodies to work properly also. The more our minds are changed from the old dead nature to the new, the more of a "renaissance" we will experience. This is true revival, not just church meetings.

In this image, you can see an iconic picturization* of Jesus carrying the cross. The mannequin has got its arm through it, signifying that we must embrace the cross. This means saying (and meaning) the same as Jesus did in Gethsemane, "not my will but thine be done." This place of submission to the Father's will gets us out of a place of religion and into true relationship. Jesus sought to know the Father's will, and when He knew it, He obeyed it. If it's good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me.

The Lamb is the symbol of Christ in the place of sacrifice for our sins. The fact that He calls us His lamb and His sheep, indicates that we are meant to identify with Him: but substituting Himself for us, we are spared the eternal punishment we deserved and by accepting the resurrection, we accept the exchange of our old life for His new one. Thus, with the verse that was "cut and pasted" into the collage, we recognize that we suffer the loss of the old, that which was death to us, but we rejoice because the end is in sight: abundant life now and life with God eternally.

The communion chalice is included: it is beautiful and entwined with vines, because He is the Vine from whom we draw our life. His blood, represented by the wine, was shed so that we could be made holy. There are three spheres in the artwork, showing that redemption is for us in three parts of our being: the spirit, the soul and the body. It also means we must overcome in three arenas: the world, the flesh and the devil. One is being dipped into the cup, a picture of the "host" of the Eucharist: because His body was broken, then resurrected, our body can be healed, and resurrected into an incorruptible life. Jesus has gone before, and is leading the way.

I hope the explanation of this artwork helps you understand more of the covenant we have in Christ, and what it means to have His mind.

Jhn 3:7
Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

Jhn 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

1Pe 1:23
having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,

1Cr 2:16
For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

"that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another." Ephesians 4:22-25

Luk 9:23
Then He said to [them] all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Mat 7:21
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Mat 26:39
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You [will]."

Eph 5:23
For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

Col 1:18
And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Eph 3:19
to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Eph 4:13
till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Col 2:9
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

Rev 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then [I saw] the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received [his] mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Col 1:9

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding

Rom 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Act 20:32
"So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

Col 1:12
giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

A bonus message:

Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror." I Peter 3: 1-6

*"picturization" is a word I coined, meaning "making a picture as a representation", (similar form as "verbalization")