Creativity and Spiritual Warfare

In my last blog post, I talked about prophetic music and singing, and I mentioned that music is meant to not only stir the emotions, but also to impact the spiritual realm.

That's where today's article comes in. Today I'm going to share with you a biblical story, some modern-day evidence, and a warning to help you in your Christian walk.

Let's start by seeing what the Bible has to say:

1 Samuel 16:14-16 and 23--Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better." ...Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. (NIV - *see footnote at end of article)

David's musical skills became a weapon of spiritual warfare! He wasn't even singing words that commanded the spirit to leave. David simply played the harp, and the demon would go!

I've heard it said that there's no such thing as "Christian music" only "Christian lyrics." The person saying this was trying to make the point that good music is just good music. According to this argument, instrumental arrangements (like classical music, relaxation music, and the like), which have no lyrics, are spiritually neutral.

But if that's true, what do we do with David's harp playing? Okay--I know David was a Jew and there wasn't yet any such thing as a Christian, so it wasn't "Christian" music; but that doesn't change the fact that David's instrumental harp music caused an evil spirit to leave!

And for that matter, there are tribes in Africa that use dancing and drum playing to summon evil spirits to do their bidding. Many missionaries have attested to the reality of these dark spiritual forces and how they really do come at the beckoning of the drums. Would you call that music spiritually neutral even though there aren't any lyrics?

The spiritual value of music has a lot to do with the purpose behind it. Songs with lyrics are easier to figure out. For instance, Christian lyrics tend to either glorify God, prophesy, encourage, uplift, share the Gospel, wage spiritual warfare, or be a prayer. Clearly, we would call all these things "good!" On the other side is what we would call "secular" music, which often has a purpose of mere entertainment.

But entertainment is just the surface-level purpose. We have to read deeper into what the enemy might be accomplishing through that music. Remember, mere instrumentals can be used to either calm evil spirits or conjure them up. So the songs meant to entertain may actually be opening doors for depression, bitterness, envy, greed, sensuality, drunkennes, lust, rage, promiscuity, jealousy, and more. Even secular songs with supposedly "good" lyrics can stir up sinful desires.

There's no such thing as spiritually neutral music any more than there is such a thing as a spiritually neutral person. Music is born out of the soul and spirit of human beings who are constantly being influenced by one spiritual kingdom or another. We have to be discerning! Even classical music impacts you spiritually in one way or another.

Armed with this knowledge, I want you to examine the music you feed yourself on. What's your favorite CD? Radio station? Recording artist? What do you play on your stereo or computer when you're having a party at your house? What's on your iPod? If your write music, what's it about? If it's instrumental, what are your trying to express? Really think about this.

What is the spiritual value of that music? Take a prayerful audit of all the music you listen to on a regular basis. Does it serve the purposes of God? Or does it serve the purposes of the flesh, the world, and/or the devil? Does it encourage you in your faith? Or does it encourage you toward the things of this world? Does it draw you closer to God? Or does it distract you from a prayerful mindset?

There's no such thing as spiritually neutral music, and you have the free will to choose what you listen to. Why waste your time on music that accomplishes the opposite of your mission as a Christian?

Ephesians 5:15-20--Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV)

God bless!
--Art--

*(Some questions are naturally raised from the opening passage about demons, but the answer requires more attention than this blog post has room for. To keep from distracting from the topic at hand, I've published an article titled, "Evil Spirits from God?" on www.SupernaturalBlogger.com that should help those of you who want to understand this topic on a deeper level.)

Labels: music, singing, spiritual warfare, the enemy, understanding the battle

# posted by Art Thomas @ 10:59 AM 0 Comments

I was raised in a Pentecostal church. The scene was all too familiar: At a certain point in the worship and singing, the music would break, and someone would shout out, "My people, My people...." What followed was generally a declaration of love, encouragement, or admonition spoken in the first-person as though God Himself were speaking. Based on 1 Corinthians 12-14, we respected these exclamations as prophecies. Still today, I love to hear a prophetic shout of encouragement from God! But this method of presenting prophecy has overtaken an ancient form that, in many ways, is often more stirring.

There's no doubt that music stirs our emotions. There's nothing wrong with that! In Psalm 108:1, David declares, "My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul" (your "soul" is your mind, will, and emotions). When Mary was declared "blessed" by Elizabeth for bearing the Messiah in her womb, she sang out, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior!"

Music is meant to stir the emotions and also to have an effect on the spiritual realm (I'll write about this more in my next blog post). God wants to touch our emotions! Nevertheless, we've separated prophecy from music. Why? Perhaps because it's practical--in a large church gathering, it's not easy for an individual to be heard above our loud stage shows.

In the Bible, however, music and prophecy were often interwoven. While it may not be practical for the average Christian to prophesy this way in a big church service, it shouldn't stop musicians and singers from practicing it at all!

Throughout the Psalms we find songs that convey prophetic words from God. Consider, for instance, Psalm 50. Here a man named Asaph sings a prophetic word from God--first to His people and then to the wicked. God's proclamation gets declared in song! The music didn't stop and wait for a prophecy! Instead, God joined in the music by singing through a willing and yielded human being!

Apparently Asaph's gift for prophetic song was handed down to the next generation. King David placed Asaph's sons and the sons of two other Psalm writers in charge of prophetic music in his kingdom.

1 Chronicles 25:1a--David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals... (NIV).

Asaph was a song writer. Heman was a musician. And Jeduthun was himself a prophetic singer.

1 Chronicles 25:3--As for Jeduthun...who prophesied, using the harp in thanking and praising the LORD (NIV).

It's interesting to note that all these men carried out their ministries within the context of being under authority according to God's order:

1 Chronicles 25:6-7--All these men were under the supervision of their fathers for the music of the temple of the LORD, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the supervision of the king. Along with their relatives—all of them trained and skilled in music for the LORD --they numbered 288 (NIV).

So King David oversaw the three fathers, and the fathers oversaw their sons. What's interesting to me is how relevant this is even today. It's one thing to interrupt a moment of silence by shouting a prophecy (or supposed prophecy). Anyone can do that! But to get in front of people with a musical instrument and sing a prophecy is more likely to happen if you've been granted the venue by someone in authority!

So my advice to musicians who want to exercise their prophetic gifts in song is this: Submit to authority! God wants to use you to sing His heart to His people and stir their souls. Gain an audience through humility.

This is a completely different world for most musicians. Our culture has taught us that if you want to go places with your musical talent, then you have to put on a show. You've got to be the star and perform with blind confidence. In other words, you've got to raise yourself up. That's called pride, by the way; and God opposes the proud.

Prophetic singers and musicians, however, can only rise to prominence through humility and submission to authority. That's how they receive their platform. That's how they're granted an audience with kings!

Luke 14:11--For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (NIV).

Spend time with the Lord. Get to know His heart. As you sing to Him, listen for Him to sing back to you!

I can't tell you how many times I've been impacted through prophetic song. Prophetic singing fuels spiritual warfare. It soothes life's hurts. It accelerates inner healing. It can be a tool for the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and awaken our conscience. It encourages, admonishes, and uplifts. It comforts. It spurs us onward. It rallies the Church to take action!

If King David recognized the need to officially appoint prophetic singers and musicians in his earthly kingdom, how much more important are they today in Christ's heavenly Kingdom? Let the prophetic singers and musicians rise up! Let prophetic songs burst forth from the Church! Let the emotions of mankind be gripped with the word of the Lord!

It has been said, "Sing unto the Lord a new song!" But today I say to you, "Let the Lord sing a new song through you!"

Labels: God's voice, music, prophecy, prophetic revelation, prophetic songs, singing, spiritual gifts, spiritual warfare

# posted by Art Thomas @ 11:07 PM 0 Comments

Creativity doesn't have to be limited to design and craftsmanship; rather, creativity is about expression! Music, speaking, teaching, and more can be spur-of-the-moment expressions of inspired creativity through which the Holy Spirit reveals Christ through human beings like you and me.

Today I want to show you some surprising things about the gift of teaching, which includes (but isn't limited to) public speaking. Who knows? You might have a spiritual gift of teaching and not even realize it! Check out what the Bible teaches:

First of all, it’s important to note that there’s a difference between the "office" of "Teacher" (in Ephesians 4:11) and the spiritual gift of teaching and public speaking. The Teacher is sent to equip the saints for works of service and help the Church grow into unity to express the whole measure of Christ’s fullness (Ephesians 4:11-13). The teacher’s role is specifically to teach and train the church so that Christians can be more fully prepared to take action in the world.

Those with the gift of teaching, however, are a little different. Such people seize moments and capture the attention of people to convey truth in a way that can be remembered and learned. They also often find themselves teaching those outside the Church who don’t yet know God. Consider the example of Jesus in the Temple courts:

Mark 11:15-18—On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: "'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
      The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching (NIV, emphasis added).

We can learn three great things about this gift from that story. First of all, this gift comes with boldness! Second, as I mentioned earlier, it involves teaching those who don’t yet know God. And thirdly, actions speak louder than words!

This third issue is the most important lesson to grab from that passage. Notice how the word “taught” was used. It says Jesus was turning over tables; then is says, “...as He taught them, He said...” In other words, Jesus’ actions were the teaching, whereas His words merely explained what He was doing.

Those with the gift of teaching have a knack for object lessons and teachable moments, and the Spirit moves on them with just the right words to drive the point home. Jesus taught with boldness and action. His life was a lesson. I find it interesting that this is one of the few stories that finds its way into all four gospels. Clearly, it was a memorable teaching, and Jesus conveyed His point!

The gift of teaching and public speaking is different, of course, from the natural talents of teaching or public speaking. Talents express the person, but gifts express the measure of Christ in the person. So having an ability to speak effectively doesn’t necessarily mean you have the spiritual gift. In fact, one can be a lousy public speaker and yet demonstrate this gift powerfully.

Consider Moses. In Deuteronomy 4:1, 5, and 14, Moses points out his God-given gift of teaching. But we learn in Exodus 4:10 that he had a speech impediment that made him “slow of speech and tongue.” He also admitted that he had never been eloquent. Nevertheless, God used Moses to effectively teach Israel His entire law!

What matters above all is that the gifted person’s teaching is delivered with the authority of Christ, as though God Himself were speaking and acting.

1 Peter 4:10-11a—Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God... (NIV).

Mark 1:22--The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law (NIV).

The gift of teaching/public speaking takes place when the Holy Spirit makes known to us what Jesus would do or say in a given situation. Then, as we speak and act, we reveal Christ’s teaching through the power of the Holy Spirit. As a result, people are impacted. Whether they take the teaching to heart or not is irrelevant—that’s not up to us. Our role is simply to speak and act on Christ’s behalf in a way that teaches what’s on His heart.

So get creative! Let the Lord inspire your actions and your words!

Painters have their canvas; musicians have their recordings; but teachers have the lives of people! Use the hearts of people as your canvas. Record truth on their minds. Use your creativity to teach and express Christ! No matter what your talents are, hand them over to God and let Him transform them into gifts. Furthermore, hand Him your weaknesses (like Moses) and watch Him do the same!

God Bless!
--Art--

Labels: creativity, expression, public speaking, spiritual gifts, teaching

# posted by Art Thomas @ 11:55 AM 0 Comments

Did you know that God can supernaturally inspire you to design something that speaks prophetic destiny over those who look at it?

Back in March, I wrote about The Prophetic Potential in Creativity, but that's a different situation because no one was affected by looking at Ezekiel's model. I'm talking about onlookers being dynamically affected so that physical results occur! Did you know it's in the Bible?

In the book of Genesis, we find an obscure story that doesn't get told very often--probably because most folks don't know what to do with it. There's no beautiful moral lesson or doctrinal teaching. However, we know that God included it in His Word for a purpose. Here's the story:

Genesis 30:29-36--Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care. You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The Lord has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?”

“What wages do you want?” Laban asked again.

Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”

“All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.” But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons, who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.

So Jacob was cheated by his father-in-law. But earlier, he had received the family blessing ("birthright") from his father, Isaac, which meant that God wanted him to prosper. What action would Jacob take to fulfill God's blessing on his life? Frankly, he did something that many of us would call superstitious. Nevertheless, it worked!

Genesis 30:37-43--Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them. Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated. And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s.

Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, male and female servants, and many camels and donkeys. (NLT)

Jacob whittled away at some wood and used his handiwork to speak prophetic destiny over certain sheep. He claimed all the strong offspring for himself and was richly blessed by God as a result. The sheep were constantly kept aware of their destiny through the logs Jacob designed, and God used that tool to produce physical results.

But those are animals. What about humans?

In Numbers 21:4-8, we see the story of Moses and the bronze snake. Moses made this statue of a snake and hoisted it up a pole according to the Lord's command. Any time an Israelite was bitten by a venomous snake, they could look up at this piece of artwork and be healed. Later, Jesus said that this spoke prophetically of his own death on a cross:

John 3:14-15--Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (NIV)

Was there some supernatural power in the speckled logs or in the bronze snake? Nope. In fact, the bronze snake had to be torn down when the people of Israel started worshipping it (2 Kings 18:4). There wasn't anything special about these objects on their own. But as artistic representations of the Lord's prophetic command, they kept the promise and purpose of God before the sheep and the people in a tangible form. God used those items as instruments and was pleased to use things that his children had made with their own hands.

Be open to the Holy Spirit inspiring you to design prophetic instruments for Him to use. This can be a powerful way for Him to tangibly speak destiny into people's lives. You could be the craftsman He chooses! Imagine what could happen through your hands!

# posted by Art Thomas @ 10:13 AM 0 Comments

Why do you express your creativity in the way you do? Is it so you can bring glory to God and allow Him to minister to people through you? Or is it to get attention for yourself and please people?

Most of us would probably answer with the first reason because it's the good "churchy" answer. But churchy answers never lead to transformation! Churchy answers are the ones we Christians give by default when we know what's right and want to ignore the fact that we aren't doing it. Churchy answers come from the same place as the second reason listed above: Performance Orientation.

Performance Orientation is one of the most insidious blocks against healthy creativity. If you can escape it, then you'll not only have more fun; but you'll also be way more effective in the spiritual warfare that God wants to wage through your creativity!

Performance Orientation can be defined as "the inner compulsion to please yourself or others through perfectionism and unhealthy striving." If you'll take a moment to think about that, you'll see how it can stifle genuine, godly creativity.

I used to be extremely performance-oriented. As an example of how bad it was, let me tell you about when I used to work on a farm. One day my boss sent me out into a horse pasture that needed to be used as a parking lot for a big event coming up. To make things clean for the visitors, all the manure had to be shoveled into wheelbarrows and hauled away. Nearly ten horses, a few donkeys, and a couple cows all shared this field, so there was plenty to shovel!

Knowing that my boss really liked speedy work, I zipped through the first quarter-acre. Seeing his truck rolling toward me, I was rather pleased with myself and couldn't wait to hear his words of affirmation.

Instead, he said this: "You're going too fast--there's no way you could have caught everything! Go back and do a better job."

It was a big blow to my ego, but I wanted to perform well to please my boss. So naturally, I hurried back to the beginning and cleaned up what little I missed.

By the time I got half-way through the pasture, it was nearing my time to go home for the day. I had gotten my scooping down to a science! Not a bit of manure was left, and I was once again rather pleased with myself. One wheel barrow after the next had been hauled off to a pile at the end of the pasture. Once again I saw my boss rolling up in his truck. I got excited--rather proud of myself for my excellence.

"What's taking you so long?" he asked.

I started fuming. I could feel my blood rushing to my head and a flood of frustration building up.

"Hey, I'm just trying to do a good job for you," I calmly managed to reply.

"Well, it doesn't have to be perfect," he said. "Perfect takes too long and isn't necessary. Just do ninety percent."

That made me even angrier! It wasn't so much that I felt like I had just wasted a lot of time and effort (which was true), but I was mostly bent out of shape about the "ninety percent" instruction. Being performance oriented and a perfectionist, I couldn't handle such an un-measurable statistic.

How does he expect me to know what "ninety percent" of a pile of manure is? I asked myself. For that matter, he didn't see the whole pile; so how will he know when I've succeeded? For all I know, he'll just come out here, see the ten percent remaining, and make me clean the pasture all over again!

Have you ever been there? Have you ever felt like no matter what you did, you just couldn't please someone? How did that make you feel? Were you cool with it? Or did you nearly have a nervous breakdown like I did?

If your reaction was like mine, then you might be struggling with Performance Orientation. If not dealt with, this can stifle your creativity and limit your effectiveness in spiritual warfare; so I want to offer you the truth that can set you free!

It's actually very simple. Sometimes it's as easy as realizing that God is the only one who we need to please, which is really easy since He's already pleased with His children. Other times--as in my case--we need to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the root cause of why we think the way we do.

After that experience on the farm, I chose to deal with my frustration through prayer (always a good idea, by he way). I asked the Holy Spirit to show me what event in my life set me on this course of performance orientation.

Instantly, a memory popped into my mind that I hadn't considered for years. Even though it had been the last thing on my mind for so long, I just knew it felt right.

The memory was of myself as a young child. I had just colored a picture with some crayons and raced to my dad to show him my masterpiece. He looked at it, said, "Very good, son," and went back to what he was doing. I remembered standing there stunned and tearing up.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"I thought you'd be more excited," I whimpered back.

"Well," he replied, "if I get too excited about everything you do, then you won't know when you've really done something well."

My dad is one of the greatest men of God I've ever known; and I know his heart was in the right spot when he said this. But in my young mind, it translated as hurtful. Deep inside, I determined to do everything with intense excellence so that people would get really excited about me...rather than mediorcely pleased.

I began to only tackle things that I could excel at quickly. If too much practice was involved, I would bail. As a result, I loved English in school and hated math. English came naturally, but math was a chore and took practice. I realized that if I "hated" math, then I could have a reason for not putting much time into it.

I would pass the tests, but never turned in homework assignments. I was failing in the gradebook, but succeeding in my mind. After all, anyone can ace a test after doing all the homework and studying. Isn't it way more amazing to be able to simply pass it without having done the homework or any other preparation? This was Performance Orientation, pure and simple!

This spread throughout all my schoolwork. I was never satisfied with projects and writing assignments because they could always be better. The only things that gave me peace about schoolwork were deadlines because they established an end to my otherwise endless tweaking. Knowing this, I would put projects off until the last-minute so I didn't have to waste as much time fussing over things.

And that brought me all the way through life until that day on the farm.

The Lord led me through a process of forgiving my dad. Then He revealed a few more instances in my life that reinforced my need to please people and perform, and I walked through the process of forgiveness in those instances as well.

Suddenly, I found a depth of personal inner freedom in Christ that I had never known before! I stopped letting the expectations of people drive my motivation and simply surrendered to the love of God. I found a release of creativity in my life, unhindered by the inner drive to perform for others. Now my creative expressions were purely for the sake of bringing glory to the God who loves me--free from compulsion and full of enjoyment!

Do you want this kind of life? Ask the Lord to reveal what situations in your past may have set you on a course of Performance Orientation. Allow Him to walk you through the process of forgiveness through Christ, and embrace the freedom He gives. Take some time right now to seek the Lord and see what He might do in your life!

God bless!
--Art--

Labels: creativity, expression, freedom, performance orientation, performance-oriented

# posted by Art Thomas @ 1:48 AM 2 Comments

If you're a creative person, the army of darkness wants to destroy you. Yup, you read me right! I don't say this to scare you, but rather to alert you to the battle taking place in the spiritual realm right now!

The enemy knows that creativity is a powerful spiritual weapon in the hands of a Christian! So if the army of darkness can eliminate the creative, they'll have a strong advantage.

That's why we see such an assault against creative people. Musicians get tempted by money, sex, and drugs. Artists get tempted by the institutions that train them as nudity seems to be a favored topic. And consider all the creativty that's possible through computers--graphic design, animation, digital recording, and so forth. Is it any wonder why the internet is littered with pornography and sin? The devil wants to do all he can to destroy God's creative army.

It's nothing new; this idea goes back thousands of years. King Saul once faced an ocean of Philistine warriors with his little army. And even though the Israelites were outnumbered, guess what the Philistines did?

1 Samuel 17:13 and 19-22--Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments....Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, "Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!" So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. The price was two thirds of a shekel for sharpening plowshares and mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads. So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them. (NIV)

I'm not sure if this means that the blacksmiths were killed or taken captive, but the fact remains that the Philistines removed these creative people from Israel's army. As a result, the Israelites had no weapons! And they ended up having to pay the Philitines to sharpen their gardening tools in hopes that they could fight with those!

Since creativity can be used so mightily in spiritual warfare, the enemy wants to destroy the creative people in God's army. If there are no blacksmiths, who will make the weapons? If there are no creative people, who will create spiritually dynamic media that has the power to transform the world?

As it stands right now, we have a tendency to take gardening tools to the enemy's camp for sharpening. We copy the world. We take a style of music in the world and mimic it--often at lower quality, and usually a few years behind-the-times. We use secular stock photography and video because the world seems to be better at what we want to do than we are. We try to make things trendy and stylish--hoping to make people comfortable...but not convicted.

I believe God wants to empower Christians to be on the cutting-edge of creativity--on the cutting-edge of music--on the cutting-edge of graphic design, videography, web development, writing, and so-forth. I believe the Holy Spirit wants to inspire Christians to take their media to a level far beyond where the world has gone in their own strength. This, I believe, is the difference between being a blacksmith and simply taking your tools to be sharpened by the enemy. One is powerfully creative while the other is merely an attempt to keep up with the enemy.

But make no mistake. If you're going to be a "blacksmith" in God's army, then you're going to be a target! The army of darkness will pull out all the stops in an effort to undermine your faith. An assault of temptations will come your way. You must maintain an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

So cling to Jesus Christ and get out there on the cutting edge! Don't wait for the world to lead the way! Blaze a trail! Create spiritual weapons in the form of music, graphic arts, pottery, video, web sites, books, articles, blogs, paintings, and more! Ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration, and take action!

Any thoughts?

Labels: blacksmithing, creativity, graphic design, music, spiritual warfare, the enemy, understanding the battle, web design

# posted by Art Thomas @ 11:02 AM 0 Comments

One day, God told the prophet Jeremiah to take a little trip down to the house of a local potter, saying, "I'll give you a message there." Upon his arrival, Jeremiah watched as the potter's clay started to fall apart on the wheel. So the potter took that same clay and formed a new pot. That's when God spoke to Jeremiah about what He was about to do for the nation of Israel (Jeremiah 18).

It struck me how God used the process of creativity to speak prophetically. It wasn't the finished product that had prophetic significance; it was the process. As you engage in the creative process--no matter your medium--listen for the Lord to speak to you!

Then there was the prophet Ezekiel. Take a look at what God had him do:

Ezekiel 4:1-3—"Now, son of man, take a clay tablet, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel" (NIV).

In Ezekiel's case, God gave him specific instructions about what to draw; and then he was instructed to build a model around the tablet to demonstrate what would happen to Israel.

So now we've got two different cases. With Jeremiah, he was observing the process of creativity, not knowing what it was that the Lord wanted to speak. And in Ezekiel's case, he heard the word of the Lord first, and carried out obedient creativity as a prophetic act. In each case, God used design and media to bring a prophetic word to His people.

Why should we think that God is any different today? Especially in an era where creativity is so valued, why wouldn't we expect God to speak prophetically through creativity? I am convinced that God wants to use His people in creative ways to advance His kingdom; and prophetic revelation is just one of those ways.

Looking back on my life, I remembered a case when God used me in a similar way. I don't share this to boast in my own works, but to bring glory to God and give an example of what is possible today.

About seven years ago, the Holy Spirit led me to pray for an older woman in my church and specified that her husband was an alcoholic. During my time of prayer, the Holy Spirit showed me a specific shape, sort of like an "L." As I drew the shape on a piece of paper, He started to prompt me of several places to put "X's," which I did. Then I felt like the Lord was saying to draw circles surrounding the shape to represent the angels He was sending to change the situation (not knowing how many to draw, I actually started with a ring of circles and then thought, Why not fill up the rest of the paper!). I did everything as instructed, and continued to pray for this woman and her husband.

The next Sunday at church, the woman came up to me while I was playing piano after the sermon. We didn't even really know each other at the time, but she said, "I felt like the Holy Spirit was leading me to have you pray for my family."

"Alcoholism," I said calmly.

Stunned, she asked, "How did you know?"

I shared with her how the Lord had already been leading me to pray for her. I flipped over some sheet music and drew the shape just like before. "Does this shape mean anything to you?"

The woman looked quizzically at it, and didn't recognize it at all. I was about to dismiss it as having been my imagination, but then she called her daughter over to the piano and asked her if the shape meant anything to her.

"Yeah," said the daughter, "That's Dad's room in the basement."

Then I started drawing the X's. "What's here?" I asked with each X. First was his bed, then his television, then the refrigerator where he kept his liquor. Then I put three X's in a small cluster, just as I had in the first drawing, and asked, "What's here?"

"That," she answered, "is the chair where Dad drinks all the time."

To make a long story short, a team of us went over to this family's house to pray while the husband wasn't home. Within a matter of a couple weeks, the woman's husband decided to give up his years of drunkenness and leave the basement to sleep once again in the room with his wife. The last I heard, his family is still praying for his salvation; but they're all in a lot better shape because of God's intervention so far!

God can use your creativity as a means of conveying a prophetic message! I wouldn't try to rank myself alongside Jeremiah and Ezekiel; but if I'm any indication, it's not out of the question for God to speak to and through people with media today! In Jeremiah's case, the prophetic word came as he observed the process of creativity that was carried out by someone else (someone who, I might add, probably didn't have a clue that God was speaking through them!). In Ezekiel's case, God gave him specific instructions about what to do and what it would mean prophetically. And in my case, I just had a hunch that the shape I kept seeing in my imagination might mean something, so I drew it and God revealed more with time.

As you pray and seek the Lord in the coming days, don't shrug off images that might pop into your mind. Instead, ask the Lord if they might mean anything. If you feel a confirmation in your heart that the image does mean something, ask Him what you're supposed to do in response. Maybe He's just guiding your prayer. Maybe He'll want you to write it down for later. Maybe He'll give you a specific interpretation right away. And maybe He'll have you exercise your creativity. You might build a model like Ezekiel, draw a picture like me, write a song, carve a sculpture, play an instrument, write a letter, or even develop a web site. After all, that's how this web site came into being!

Let's expect God to speak prophetically to you and through you as you carry out the creativity that He has placed within you!

Labels: creativity, drawing, God's voice, graphic design, obedience, pottery, prophecy, prophetic revelation, spiritual warfare, visions and dreams, web design

# posted by Art Thomas @ 5:01 PM 2 Comments

All throughout the Bible—particularly the Old Testament—we see creativity and craftsmanship going hand-in-hand with warfare. The same is true for us today when it comes to spiritual warfare!

God used the creativity and craftsmanship of men and women to win many battles for His people; and He can still win mighty victories through you! But before I show you where you fit in, let's take a look at the biblical examples.

First we have conventional warfare. In these battles, Israel fought using weapons and armor. But think about it: where would all those swords, spears, shields, and armor pieces come from if it weren't for the blacksmiths and leatherworkers who creatively and skillfully made those items? Today, we don't really think about this stuff in terms of creativity; but back then, it was an art form!

Then we have unconventional warfare. These are the cases where God used unexpected methods to win victories for His people. Sometimes it involved worshippers leading the way. Sometimes it involved shouting. Sometimes it involved smashing clay pots.

Consider, for instance, the battle of Jericho. The Israelites marched around that walled city for seven days in silence, following the ark of the covenant (a gold and wood box that represented the presence of God and became a meeting place for Moses and God to meet face to face). On the seventh day, when they had finished marching around the wall, a loud trumpet blast was sounded on "shofars" (made from ram's horns). Then the Israelites let out a loud shout! The wall crumbled, and they took the city!

Or how about Gideon?  He and only 300 men took the entire camp of the Midianites when they blew their trumpets, smashed clay pots on the ground, raised their torches, and shouted!  God brought such confusion on the enemy that they turned their swords on each other!

Have you ever thought about how much of these stories couldn't have happened apart from the creativity and craftsmanship of ordinary people like you and me? First we have the ark of the covenant (which was part of the Tabernacle explained on the Home Page of this site). And what about the shofars? Those all had to be cleaned out and have mouth pieces shaped. Then there are the torches, which each had to be crafted by hand. Or how about the pots? Did you ever think about the fact that someone had to physically sit down at a pottery wheel and shape every one of those pots? They also had to be baked correctly or else they wouldn't make any sound as they made contact with the sandy ground.

But there's one common thread through every story, and this is the key to powerful creativity! Whether in conventional or unconventional warfare, the success of the Israelites was based on their obedience to the voice of God! The same is especially true when it comes to spiritual warfare. God can use your creativity to bring confusion to the enemy's camp and advance His Kingdom! The only necessary component is your obedience to His voice. Creativity coupled with disobedience is devious and leads to discipline; but creativity coupled with obedience brings supernatural victory!

It's God alone who brings the victory—not our craftsmanship! Rather, our craftsmanship becomes the tool or vehicle through which God brings His victory!

What is your craft? Graphic design? Music? Web development? Videography? Painting? Photography? Cooking? Public speaking? Illustration? What is it? Where is your talent? You may feel like it has nothing to do with spiritual warfare; but when coupled with obedience to the voice of the Lord, it will be powerful! If you want your creativity and craftsmanship to be used by God in effective spiritual warfare to bring victories according to His will, then seek His voice so that you can respond in obedience. He's ready to win the victory through your Christ-centered creativity!

Labels: blacksmithing, craftsmanship, creativity, God's voice, leatherwork, obedience, pottery, spiritual warfare

# posted by Art Thomas @ 12:07 AM 0 Comments

Once upon a time, Christians had a lot of success handing out pamphlets that explained the Gospel message. Today that success has waned; but I'm convinced that it's because God has new ways to impact our rapidly changing culture! In today's blog post--the first of many--I'll show you how God can use various media in supernatural ways through Christians like you and me.

Many cultural analysts these days agree that we're in a "postmodern" era. Few of them agree on how to define that word; but the basic gist is this:

• People tend to value dialogue more than lecture.
• People want relationships more than isolation.
• In the midst of these relationships, people still value individualism.
• This individualism is often expressed in creative and artistic ways.
• Thus, art and creativity are often associated with human individuality.

In light of all this, the most meaningful artwork tends to be the kind that has depth, symbolism, dialogue, and individuality attached to it. In other words, it's not enough to paint a pretty picture. What does it mean? How were you feeling the day you painted it? What is the symbolic value of the picture? Have you caught yet how world transformation can be tied into this?

People are often curious about the life behind the media. They want to know what makes the artist tick. Media, then, can become a launch pad for dialogue; and since dialogue is so treasured by this generation, people will actually listen to what you have to say and engage in conversation. It's through this process that ideas are challenged and convictions are formed. So when the topic becomes Jesus Christ and the active presence of His Holy Spirit, you've now opened the door for personal transformation in the life of someone else! And personal transformation can ultimately lead to world transformation!

Finally, here's the application. If you want your artwork and design to impact this postmodern generation, then you need to remember three things:

1. Let your individuality shine through! Don't be generic. Make sure your work has meaning.
2. Don't be afraid to use symbolism that doesn't make sense at first glance. Depth of symbolism makes people curious and gets them to ask questions.
3. Remember that as a Christian, your identity is in Christ. So when we're talking about "individuality" remember that this word is intimately interwoven into your faith. They're inseparable. Make sure the symbolism you're conveying reveals Christ in you rather than just you.

No matter your medium of choice, now is the time to let the Holy Spirit breath creativity into your soul! Get ready to take your talent to the next level as you incorporate testimony into your design and engage our postmodern generation!

Labels: creativity, evangelism, postmodernism, testimony

# posted by Art Thomas @ 8:47 PM 0 Comments