CHRISTIAN FINE ART GALLERY > SPIRITUAL WARFARE, VICTORY, FREEDOM, HEALING SERIES > Don’t Forget Who You Are
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Print Sizes: S, M, L | Original Artwork: SOLD, Watercolor Pencils, Colored Pencils, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper
The devil is a liar and the “Father of lies” (John 8:44). He tries to convince us believers that we are weak, condemned sinners that are subject to his oppression. However, God’s word is truth (John 17:17), and it teaches us that when we repent and believe in Jesus, our sins are washed away and we are clean and full of the power of the Holy Spirit. I “saw” this image when I was deep in worship.
Artist’s Reflection:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…” (2 Corinthans 5:17)
When I first met Christ I was set on fire for him, for he had set me free from the burden of my sin and terrible bondages. My newfound freedom ignited me in praise and worship, and the Lord made me very bold and strong as a lion in my spirit. All I wanted to do was exalt God in the highest in every way at all times. I also exceedingly rejoiced that God had changed me into a brand new creation. The old was gone; the new had come (2 Corinthians 5)! (Hallelujah!!! Praise and thank you, God!!!)
…Of course the devil didn’t like this…so he set out hard to take me down. As a new Christian I wasn’t yet experienced in spiritual warfare nor did I have the Christian maturity I needed to discern spiritual deception nor deal with the major attack he launched against me. One of the most effective tactics of the enemy is to cloak his flaming arrows (Ephesians 6:16) in sheep’s wool, and this is exactly what he did to me. The attacks of the devil came through the words of those who professed to be Christians. His arrows hit me very hard, for all my defenses were down around those whom I naively trusted (this was before I understood what wolves in sheep’s clothing were (Matthew 7:15) and before I knew that Pharisaism existed in the professing church (Acts 15:5)).
The devil’s heavy, sustained attack really harmed me and drastically changed my perception of myself. I foolishly began to believe the lies of the devil (coming upon their misguided words and actions), and I began to believe I was somebody a lot different than the bold, new creation I truly was. I believed the lies of the devil instead of the truth of what the Word of God says about me. For many years my belief in these lies harmed me, hindered me and brought me right back under the oppression God had so beautifully set me free from (and all needlessly, may I add).
Many years later, after journeying through lands of confusion, I began to find my way back to praise and worship and intimacy with God again. The more I worshiped, the more I beheld Jesus; the more I beheld Jesus, the more I saw who he truly made me to be: his bold, intimate worshiper! I began to remember who I truly was, and this time, with a lot more conviction and certainty. God was tearing off the cloak of lies that had veiled the Word of God from me for so long.
I know I am that bold lion of a worshiper, strong in spirit and dearly loved by God. I know I am a brand new creation, cleansed and forgiven.
The idea for this drawing came to me during a powerful time of free worship. The lion in this picture represents a Christian. I used this imagery based upon the Scriptures, “…the righteous are as bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1) and “…For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). As Christians we also have Jesus, the powerful Lion of Judah, dwelling within us, “See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed” (Revelation 5:5).
Jesus says of the devil, “…there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). I have illustrated the devil as a snake, referencing the imagery of him in Genesis 3:1.
The devil holds up a mirror to the Christian but, through lies and deception, has changed his reflection into a rat. The rat in the lying mirror is an animal who embodies two of the characteristics which the devil most often tries to deceive us Christians into believing we also possess. First, a rat is a dirty creature. The devil’s most common attack is to accuse us and condemn us for our sins. He attempts to make us feel like filthy, sinful creatures who have not been washed in the blood of the Lamb or justified by God (see 1 John 1:9, John 13:10 and Romans 5:1-2). Secondly, the rat is small and timid, which is the opposite character to the strong, powerful spirit he has given us (2 Timothy 1:7). This represents the way the devil not only tries to belittle us as Christians, but also, how he tries to make himself look much bigger, stronger and powerful than us. This, of course, is not the truth (See 1 John 4:4, Luke 10:18-20 and Psalm 91:13).
The lion has been gazing upon the devil’s lying mirror, but something to his right has grabbed his attention. It is the Word of God, which is a crystal clear, pure mirror that reveals and reflects the truth. “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). As the Christian gazes upon it, he sees a true reflection of himself in it and is saved from the devil’s deception and attack.
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25)
Although this Scripture is referring to doing the Word, we can logically conclude that in order to do the Word we must continue to believe the Word. The Word tells us who we are as Christians. As we continue to believe what the Word says about who we are in Christ, we will naturally live accordingly. We will walk in boldness, holiness and power–who we really are in Christ. It is only as we forget the Word of God, or gaze upon other things or begin to believe lies instead of the truth of God’s Word that we forget who we are and begin living less than what God re-created to be (Ephesians 2:8-10).
What God’s Word says about who we are is a reflection of who we truly are. Let us continually hear it, believe it and walk in it so that God’s life and power may be manifested in our lives.
If you have been gazing on the lying mirror of condemnation, here is the true reflection of who you are:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4)
“Therefore, since we have been justified though faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)
“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Romans 8:28-34)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them…God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (1 Corinthians 5:17-19, 21)
If you have been gazing upon the lying mirror of worthlessness, here is the true reflection of who you are:
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)
“As the Father has loved me [Jesus], so have I loved you.” (John 15:9)
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13-16)
“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39)
If you have been gazing upon the lying mirror of estrangement from God, here is the true reflection of who you are:
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39)
“Therefore, since we have been justified though faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
If you have been gazing upon the lying mirror of fear, here is the true reflection of who you are:
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
“…the righteous are as bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1)
“There is no fear in love. But perfect loves drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment…” (1 John 4:18)
“But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)
If you have been gazing into a different lying mirror, then go right now into the Word of God and ask God to give you the specific truths that will set you free. Refuse to live another day needlessly harmed and hindered by believing the lies of the devil instead of the truth of God’s Word.
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
“But when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13)
See also:
The Spirit of The Lion of The Tribe of Judah (The Lion of Judah Series)
Spiritual Warfare (Spiritual Warfare, Victory, Freedom, Healing Series)