Blood Moon

Acts 2:20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

 Here lately there has been much discussion concerning the four total eclipses (Tetrad) appearing over the next two years (2014, 2015). To some it is an unbelievable attempt to try and schedule the day of our Lord Jesus the Christ. With others it is an indication that He is soon to appear. The scripture appears to mention its occurrence in over 90 different scriptures (Red Moon) located in the Holy Bible. I believe that its appearance in scripture should only verify that we look to the Heavens for the sign and begin to celebrate His coming. In particular the occurrence of this Tetrad seems to set itself around very important Hebrew celebrations. The time of His return in near.

When we look at the scripture in Genesis 6:8  it says:  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. The grace that was afforded Noah for that time has been afforded to us in the present time.  It also says that Noah walked with God ( Gen 6:9) . In this time it is important for us to build a relationship with our Lord. Knowing  His word coming from the prophet Joel and the Apostle Paul definitely heightens to urgency to fall on our knees in praise as an expression of great joy. Through the precious blood of the Lamb we will appear with him on that “great and awesome day “to celebrate His kingdom. As a member of the Lords body I welcome these great signs and look forward to his coming. There is evidence all around us that the earth is groaning his coming. Amen

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindred’s, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Revelation 7:9

Free

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; Revelation 5:6

As I manage my current trials and situations I’m assured by the blood of Jesus today I am a free man. Just knowing that I’m a child of the most high God there is no longer any situation, circumstance or trial I can’t overcome. The joy in knowing Him allows me to rest and let God be Lord over all of me. Not some of me all of me. Those attachments that were not meant to be apart of me leave at the sound of His name. All of the hurt, shame, guilt, anger, frustration, and so on becomes so irrelevant when I am in his presence.  His anointing empowers me to speak of His tremendous love... His power and great glory come by virtue of His grace and mercy. Through his love I become more and more like Him whose life that was given to save me. Oh the tremendous power of the cross with the precious blood of Him who gave His life to save me. Free at last, free at last Thank God Almighty I’m free at last!!

For those who encounter this piece of art and these few words let go out live freely for the one who has freed us Jesus the Christ. Amen.

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36

His Workmanship

 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.1 Peter 2:14-17

His workmanship is an image of the peculiar people of the Christian faith and our efforts to represent the King in great love and honor. There are periods and times in our life where the result we look for can only be translated spritually. As we are translated we become more acute to the issues of doing the will of God. As the scripture says 'For so is the will of God, that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.'Lets take the time out to use this truth to live our the glory of God in our homes,neighboorhoods,communities and this wonderful nation we live in. Amen

Where are you at?

However, to anyone who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of those to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:  "Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed are those whose sin the Lord will never count against them."  Romans 4:5-9

What a beautiful statement to wake up to. As I begin this September morning I was blessed through the word of God and how much He loves us to incorporate such a wonderful gift through his Son Jesus the Christ. In the 54 years of my life what have I done to deserve this? The truth is nothing. None of my works such as my lies, hatred, selfishness my discord, sexual immorality, impatience and all of the issues I have against the spirit of God allows me to be blessed with such a beautiful and loving gift of God. This morning I realized through the spirit of God as he writes on my heart the love of Jesus Christ which can only be translated by faith. The scripture here out of the letter to the Romans identifies with King David as he speaks of the "blessedness of those whom God credits righteousness apart from works" 

Today this blessedness is not translated through me by condemning those who are away from God by virtue of their sin but by allowing the spirit of God to live through me in believing on the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not by saying it amongst my fellow believers but living it through those who do not see, hear or live the love of Christ on a regular basis. It says blessed are those who sin the Lord will never count against them meaning that Jesus Christ has taken it all on Himself. If we believe anything other than that then we need to fall on our knees and ask the Holy Spirit to help us find the liberty that God provided at the cross through the precious blood of His son that we may be free of the sin conscience of the law. Amen.

 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

Love

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge , that if one died for all, then were all dead : And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again . Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away ; behold , all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.                                         2 Corinthians 5:14-18

On this Friday April 18 2014 I found myself awoke in the tremendous love and glory of God..In his presence today I bore witness to the love commited on this day on my behalf. Jesus the Christ laid down his live for me regardless of my deeds , faults, failures and so on. 
While reading the scripture in 2 Corinthians and through the message of Creflo Dollar I began to realize in my backsliden state that his love for me set forth the ministry of reconciliation. It is in this reconciliation of the world unto himself he did not impute my trespasses. As i visited the term impute I needed to have an understanding of the term. To impute means to: ascribe to or charge(a person) with an act or quality because of the conduct of another over whom one has control of for whose acts or conduct one is responsible.
What a powerful term! It is determined by the word of God that his attention is not centered on my sin but on my belief of His love that occured on the cross of Calvary more than 2000 years ago. To weight of my sin can not and will not dismiss the love centered at the cross.  On this Friday before resurrection Sunday I am blessed to reconciled unto God through the precious love of God through His son Jesus the Christ. For what occured will seal my fate for eternity. To my religious brothers and sisters stop imputing sin on those who do not line up with your religious dogmas. Our sin will not send anyone to hell it is our unbelief in the Holy Spirit and blasphemy towards the Holy Spirit which will determine where we will spend our eternity. (Matthew 12:31) Amen.
The image Praise is available through my Imagekind website. 

Happy New Year

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house.

 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Matthew 12:25-30

Happy New Year! As the start of this New Year begins I believe that there are some fundamentals of our Christian faith in the word of God that many of us Christians need to exercise in order to see a victorious year. When I visit the scripture out of Matthew 12 starting in verse 25 it presents an image to me of the challenges I receive on a daily basis. In my house there is some division between myself and my love ones. The dividing issues usually align themselves according to the measure of faith between us. There are times when my measure of faith seems greater than those who are around me and therefore there issues and challenges become insignificant to me.  I believe in order for our home to receive the unity and blessing of the spirit of God I need to seek his face concerning the differences. God doesn’t want these differences to exist.  For verse 25 of this passage of scripture which precedes this writing  illustrates the effect of a home or “kingdom” divided against itself. The result of this action is destruction. As a Christian in the discipline of Christ can we continue to exist like that?  The answer is no. I believe that God wants us as Christians to minister the truth and work on the challenges within ourselves in order to be there for our love ones and others we encounter every day. We need to minister to our homes the power of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is that simple. He is the only one with the power to take care of every area of our lives. Let’s not get it twisted there is no way we can go into the strong man’s house  and spoil his goods and bind him only the Christ has the power to do so. Unless we champion his virtue in every area of our lives regardless how small it is we will never get the victory.

Men minister to your homes through our Lord Jesus the Christ. Allow the spirit of God to come into your home and cast out those devils which divide us (Matthew 12:28). Amen

Enter In is available at the Imagekind website

Calendar Cover

Enter  by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Mathew 7:13,14

The cover for my 2014 calendar. The theme for the calendar is set by the Spirit of God in the image of Christ. Presenting an image for African American males to align themselves in the image of Jesus Christ in order to become better fathers, husbands , brothers, uncle's  and friends. My prayer is that the message of the calendar  will help free and release us from the strongholds  that shackle the way we live our lives.. Just as the scripture give us the image of Jesus Christ as the narrow gate that leads to life it is our job to allow the spirit to lead us through that gate.

Our Daily Bread II

This piece will open my calendar for 2014. Opening the year in the presence and glory of God will set the tone for a blessed year. This is based off the scripture in Matthew 6 starting in verse 6 which says:
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 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. 

Living Water Praise

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

John 7:38

Eighth in my living water series of images Living Water Praise presents the power of the living water of Christ which lives in the hearts and minds of those who live by faith and not by sight. In my own life there are times when streams of living water flows from my heart. During these times my heart encourages the word of God as the root of the stream of living water. It is in the image of Christ that by grace it becomes the flow necessary to usher in the Holy Spirit in the garment of praise.

As African American men in a American culture that assimilates to find issue with us there is good news  for us. The good news is the living water of Christ. It is in that good news that He who created us presents us with the opportunity to drink from the living water. It is in this process that we find great success in living out the glory of God concerning our lives. Through faith the living water becomes such a great life force that it begins to shut off the cycle of fear, hatred, discrimination, death ,poverty and the likes of that separate us from ministering to the lives of our wives , children ,family and community. This day it is necessary for us to choose who we will serve in order for us and our seeds to live. Amen

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God   I Corinthians 4:5

Our Daily Bread

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. "This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,  your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. '  For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:8 - 15

Second in my series of images denoting the power which resonates as we become knowledgeable of the image of God through His son Jesus the Christ. As Jesus presents the example of the "Lords Prayer" it compels us to meditate daily on the request made before heaven and it's power to free us from the attempts of the evil one and spirit which removes us from the glory of God

Power

Power
But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.
Matthew 12:28,29

As I was creating this image the scripture out of Matthew 12 came alive in me. At the time I was being challenged with a life situation with the inablility to manage it in my own right. It was a heart challenge that I was unable to rationalize. I was overwhelmed with my flesh as it was dictating to me a response which would have brought death to the whole situation. As I kneeled to pray and asked God to release the challenge from me it felt like a hundred pound weight was lifted from my back. The spirit of God had rested upon me. This image ministers to my moments when I don't have an answer and when I surrender to God the issue it becomes apparant that the Spirit allows me to enter into the strong man's house to bind him concerning the issue. Without surrendering to the Spirit there is no way to enter the strong mans house to bind and rob him of God's glory which was yours in the first place. What the enemy has is already yours by the blood of Jesus. Amen

Image is available at the artist  Imagekind portfolio

Slain

Slain is the image of the sacrafice made by God when He placed on the cross His Son Jesus the Christ.

Fate

Fate is the first in the series of my painting a day series of images. It is an illustration of  a life desitined to affect a world engulfed in greed , kaos.evil , hatred, envy, strife and ignorance. My perception of how this is matriculated is through a genuine love of God that resonates in the soul of the man.

Proverbs 23:13,14

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.  Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.  Proverbs 23:13, 14

This image was derived through the process of the Rhema (living) word which ministered to me during a recent tragedy concerning a young man whose life was lost as a result no discipline in his life. The scripture out of the book of Proverbs (23:13, 14) sets forth the illustration necessary to save the souls of our young generation. It starts with us the parents and not the Ideas of the media, world, and culture that lure our children into lives with no purpose or direction. Notice this piece of scripture ends denoting death meaning if the love action is not applied death is the result. Now remember even though it mentions death it refers to the soul not the physical but the spiritual. Remember the message from Satan to Adam and eve was that they would not die if they took hold of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was a lie. That same lie is embedded in our culture and as a result we find our moral and ethical compass dead in its efforts to guide us into our eternity. When our spirit dies there goes our natural. There is no foundation to encourage life and as a result an early departure into eternity.

My prayer is that we stand on the word and image of God through our Lord Jesus the Christ.  Let him become the guidepost that is necessary to encourage life into living if not for our sake at least for the children. Amen

This day I call heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live Deuteronomy 30:19

Living Water Rain

For the Lamb at the center of the thr one will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 7:17

This image represents the power of the living water as it is ministered through prayer. It is our prayer life that will produce the result favorable through the precious Lamb who sits on the throne. Amen