ART: Whence It Cometh - Spirit in Motion

Spirit in Motion

"The wind bloweth where it listeth (wishes), and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." John 3:8

The Scripture passage for this painting is John 3:1-21 where Jesus talks to Nicodemus about being born again, born of the Spirit. In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is compared to the wind. The Hebrew name for the Holy Spirit is Ruach Ha'Kodesh. (ROO-akh ha-KOH-desh) Ruach means wind or spirit. Kodesh means holy, thus Ruach Ha'kodesh literally means Spirit, the Holy, or The Holy Spirit.

HEBREW LESSON:
HaKadosh is a substantive that means "The Holy One" (as in Ha-Kadosh baruch hu, "the Holy One, blessed be He"). The accent falls at the end: ha-ka-DOSH. 
Ruach HaKadosh would mean "the spirit of the holy one" (as in a saint).  It is NOT used for the Holy Spirit... 
Ruach HaKo'desh means "the holy Spirit," just like har ha-ko'desh means "the holy mountain," admat ha-ko'desh means "the holy land," ir ha-ko'desh means "the holy city," and so on.



In the New Testament, the Greek word for Spirit is pneuma. 

• a movement of air (a gentle blast)
• of the wind, hence the wind itself
• breath of nostrils or mouth
• The third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, co-eternal with the Father and the Son 
• sometimes referred to in a way which emphasizes His personality and character (the "Holy" Spirit) 
• sometimes referred to in a way which emphasizes His work and power (the Spirit of "Truth")

John 3:1-21 NLT
 1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
 9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
 10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

 16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

 18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

THE CREATIVE PROCESS
When the Holy Spirit guided me through this painting, the piece began with broad horizontal strokes of green, blue, gold and purple hues. Then diagonal brush strokes, sweeping the hues across the canvas.The result is a painting that depicts the work of the Holy Spirit indwelling in born-again Christians, God's children.  

Green means new life.
Blue signifies the Holy Spirit, heaven, holiness.
Gold indicated the glory of God.
Purple represents royalty & majesty, robe of righteous, riches.

All my paintings begin with prayer. I ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance from beginning to end - from choosing the canvas and paint colors to the last brush stroke. I pray that the Lord's message would go forth through the art and that Father God would be glorified. 

I believe all prophetic art has a message, but what the Holy Spirit speaks to me about a specific piece of art, may be different than what the Spirit says to you. Seek Him for a personal interpretation.

Spirit in Motion by Christine Nichols

ART PRINTS NOW AVAILABLE! 

Find more Contemporary Christian Art 

on my website, Christine Nichols Fine Art.  

Look me up on Facebook and like the page 

if you have been blessed by the art. 

May the Lord be glorified and may the art speak to your heart!

Thanks for reading this blog. 

Feel welcome to comment below.

Blessings,

Christine

Copyright Notice
All images and texts are copyrighted and may not be copied, stored, used or adapted in any way, by any means mechanical or otherwise without prior written consent from the artist and author.

King of Glory

KING OF GLORY!

King of Glory - Christine Nichols, 2009

Psalm 24 is one of my favorites Scriptures. God knew my heart and graciously, most generously, gave me a painting entitled, "King of Glory." The Holy Spirit guided my mind and my hands to create this acrylic painting in 2009. It was the first time that I used a palette knife for an entire piece of art.

When I finished the painting and stepped back, I saw Christ's face. Tears ran my face as I gazed at His. A Picasso-like abstract perhaps, but the face of my Savior and Lord, nonetheless. This was accomplished by following the Holy Spirit's lead. I did not intentionally paint the form of any image. I'm a novice painter - no lofty art school for this Minnesota Mom, but I was called by the Lord to paint for Him and it is He that I seek during the creative process for I know that without Him, I can do nothing! John 5:15

Studying the painting further, I saw a lamb and lion combined in one - depending on the angle of your view. Jesus is the Lamb of God and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He is the Savior of the world for all who believe that He died for their sins and God raised Him from the dead. He is the triumphant King of Glory who is coming soon!

In Psalm 24, David asks a good question, "Who is this King of Glory?" and answers it at the end of the psalm.

 

Psalm 24 NIV

Of David. A psalm.

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;
² for He founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in His holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god.

⁵ They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek Him,
    who seek Your face, God of Jacob.

King of Glory close-up

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.

⁸ Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is He, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty—
    He is the King of glory.

The answer to David's question: "The Lord Almighty—He is the King of glory." In Revelation 1:8 Jesus declared that He is the King of Glory when He said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."  

The King of Glory is the Almighty, 

and Jesus is the Almighty, 

so then you can easily deduct that 

Jesus is the King of Glory!

 In the videos below you will view the creative stages of the painting,

King of Glory, and the song by Third Day with the same name.

King of Glory - Christine Nichols, 2009

All my paintings begin with prayer. I ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance from beginning to end - from choosing the canvas and paint colors to the last brush stroke. I pray that the Lord's message would go forth through the art and that Father God would be glorified. 

I believe all prophetic art has a message, but what the Holy Spirit speaks to me about a specific piece of art, may be different than what the Spirit says to you. Seek Him for a personal interpretation.

You can find more Christian Abstract paintings that the Lord has given me on my Facebook page, Christine Nichols-Art, in a Photo Album called FOR HIS GLORY. If you've enjoyed the art, I invite you to LIKE and SHARE my art Facebook page: STEEN ART. Thanks!

King of Kings and Lord of Lords

King of Kings - Christine Nichols, 2009

Jesus Christ has many names and titles given to Him in the Bible including the Lamb of God, Immanuel (God with us), the Alpha and Omega, Savior, Redeemer, and King of Glory, just to name a few. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus said told His disicples just prior to His ascension to heaven: "All authority (power) is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords and every knee will bow to Him! In Revelation 19, we are told that the name KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS is written upon His robe and upon His thigh. 

The prophetic paintings of the same titles were painted with quick, deliberate brush strokes and within minutes of each other. In both paintings there is a similar figure in the heavenly setting. When the paintings were completed, the Holy Spirit gave the titles for each painting, but I didn't understand why the images appeared similar yet distinctively different because when I think of the name given Jesus, "KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS" I see it as one title for one God whose name is above all names. 

Revelation for the paintings came through another believer a couple of years after the paintings were completed. She said that in the painting, "Lord of Lords" Jesus is sitting on His throne in Heaven, whereas in the painting, "King of Kings" He is appearing in the clouds. When I heard this explanation, Scriptures came to mind for each painting and it made complete sense to me:

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

KING OF KINGS:

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which God will bring about in His own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To Him be honor and might forever. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:13-16

 

They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.” Revelation 17:14

 

On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:16

KING OF KINGS on left, LORD OF LORDS on right.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. Psalm 136:3

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2

 

 

 

As Christians, followers of Christ, 

we are to bow to His majesty 

for He is indeed the KING OF KINGS 

and LORD OF LORDS!
Is Jesus Christ the King and Lord of your life?

"King of Kings" by Christine Nichols, 2009

"Lord of Lords" by Christine Nichols, 2009

 

All my paintings begin with prayer. I ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance from beginning to end - from choosing the canvas and paint colors to the last brush stroke. I pray that the Lord's message would go forth through the art and that Father God would be glorified. 

I believe all prophetic art has a message, but what the Holy Spirit speaks to me about a specific piece of art, may be different than what the Spirit says to you. Seek Him for a personal interpretation.

You can find more Christian Abstract paintings that the Lord has given me on my Facebook page, Christine Nichols-Art, in a Photo Album called FOR HIS GLORY. If you've enjoyed the art, I invite you to LIKE and SHARE my art Facebook page: STEEN ART.

(The) King Knocking

Jesus Knocking at the Door of Your Heart

Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20 KJV

This verse talks about a close, personal relationship with Jesus. The word "sup" means intimacy in the Greek. Jesus Christ wants a very intimate relationship with you.

The painting is an abstract profile of Jesus robed in purple with His right hand extended as if knocking on a door. Open the door of your heart to Him! The Scripture and painting also deals with the lukewarm church of today. Here's the verse in context:

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.
²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on His throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Note about the painting: I did not intentionally paint a profile of the Lord. As I was being lead by the Holy Spirit in choosing the colors and the brush strokes, I thought I was painting a seascape with multicolored waves - see photograph on the right. Imagine my surprise when the Lord told me to flip the painting and there before me stood an image of Jesus knocking on a blue door! To me, this piece is a modern version of the famous painting, "Christ at Heart's Door" by Warner Sallman. 

The King Knocking - Christine Nichols, 2009

X  X  X  X  X  X  X

All my paintings begin with prayer. I ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance from beginning to end - from choosing the canvas and paint colors to the last brush stroke. I pray that the Lord's message would go forth through the art and that Father God would be glorified. 

I believe all prophetic art has a message, but what the Holy Spirit speaks to me about a specific piece of art, may be different than what the Spirit says to you. Seek Him for a personal interpretation.

You can find more Christian Abstract paintings that the Lord has given me on my Facebook page, Christine Nichols-Art, in a Photo Album called FOR HIS GLORY. If you've enjoyed the art, I invite you to LIKE and SHARE my art Facebook page: STEEN ART.

Lamb of God

Lamb of God - Christine Nichols

The Lord has given me a few mysterious "portrait" paintings through the years and I count, "The Lamb of God" as one of them. I say mysterious because I have never intentionally painted a portrait in my life. Faces are not my forte, believe me, but that has not stopped Father God's purpose from going forth.

This piece was painted in 2010, and although I lost my detailed artists notes for the paintings, I do remember the Holy Spirit choosing the paint colors and instructing me how to apply them to the canvas diagonally to achieve the diamond shape in the center. The face in the center of the diamond was achieved by applying paint and lifting it off. I remember that I was totally surprised to see an image, which to me, looks like a lamb. An abstract lamb, but a lamb none the less! What do you see?

Jesus Christ is referred to as the “Lamb of God” in the Bible. This symbol points to Christ being a perfect sacrifice for sin. It also conveys His meekness and His willingness to submit to suffering and death. Here's a passage of Scripture from John 1 when John - the Baptist, and Jesus met for the first time:

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ³¹ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
³² And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

The Apostle Paul spoke of Jesus as "Christ, our Passover Lamb" in 1 Corinthians 5:7

The Apostle Peter said of Jesus:
^" ...but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." 1 Peter 1:19

In the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ is the glorious Lamb:

• The Lamb is worthy Rev 5:8-12 See also Rev 7:9-10; Rev 15:3
• The Lamb is upon the throne Rev 17:14 See also Rev 5:6; Rev 7:17; Rev 22:1-3
• The Lamb will execute judgment Rev 6:16 See also Rev 6:1-3; Rev 14:10
• The Lamb is the Bridegroom of the Church Rev 19:7-9 See also Rev 21:9

My all-time favorite praise song is Agnus Dei sung by Michael W Smith

Alleluia
Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns!

Alleluia
Holy
Holy are You Lord God Almighty!
Worthy is the Lamb!
Worthy is the Lamb! 

Lamb of God - Christine Nichols

All my paintings begin with prayer. I ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance from beginning to end - from choosing the canvas and paint colors to the last brush stroke. I pray that the Lord's message would go forth through the art and that Father God would be glorified. 

I believe all prophetic art has a message, but what the Holy Spirit speaks to me about a specific piece of art, may be different than what the Spirit says to you. Seek Him for a personal interpretation.

You can find more Christian Abstract paintings that the Lord has given me on my Facebook page, Christine Nichols-Art, in a Photo Album called FOR HIS GLORY. If you've enjoyed the art, you're invited to LIKE and SHARE my art Facebook page: STEEN ART.

Let There Be Light

Let There be Light - Christine Nichols

This painting was a few years in the making, unlike God's proclamation of "Let there be light" and instantaneously light appeared! We know this by the first few verses of Genesis 1, which is the first book of the Bible. The word genesis means "a coming into being" and in this instance, it was the absolute power of God's very words. He spoke light into existence.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day." Genesis 1:1-5 

The first chapter of the Bible outlines creation from bringing forth light to humankind. Note that the sun, moon and stars were created on the fourth day.

Genesis 1

V 1: START Genesis and the Bible begin with God who created everything.  
V 2: SPIRIT God’s Holy Spirit is there in the beginning, bringing order from chaos and light from darkness.  
V 3–31: SEQUENCE The order of God’s six-day creation is as follows: 
Day one—light; 
Day two—sky; 
Day three—land, including vegetation, and sea; 
Day four—sun, moon and stars; 
Day five—sea-life and birds; 
Day six—animals and finally man in His image as a special creation to rule over all living creatures and to benefit from God’s provision in His creation, which is ‘very good’.

The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.

 As Genesis 1 shows the six days of creation, I thought I would show the creative steps of the painting:

First, the background layer was painted horizontally across the canvas. It was a combo of gesso and hues of blue.

During this creative step, I wondered is the Holy Spirit was leading me to paint a flower.

The "flower" became a starburst background and I began dabbing the wet paint from center outwards.

 At this point, the Holy Spirit told me the title of the piece: "Let There Be Light" in 2010.

 Three years later, the Holy Spirit lead me to slightly adjust a photograph of the painting. It looks like the birth of star to me.

As I was given the title, I assumed the painting was complete, but there a part of me that didn't quite know what to think of the artwork. It seemed too pastel to me. Then three years later, as I was working with image editing software on another project, the Holy Spirit told me to import an image file of this painting and with a couple of minor adjustments, the painting went from pastel to vibrant! The newest version of this painting brings Psalm 33:6 to mind..."By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth." In fact, I used this painting in blog I write entitled, Psalms Blogger for Psalm 33. 

Let There Be Light - Christine Nichols

Perhaps the lesson to be learned by this experience is that light is shown by it's contrast to darkness. In the Bible, light stands for goodness, purity, and life, whereas darkness equals evil, perverseness, and death. This contrast of light and darkness is repeated throughout Scriptures from the first book of Genesis to last book of Revelation. 

~ x x x x x x x ~

All my paintings begin with prayer. I ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance from beginning to end - from choosing the canvas and paint colors to the last brush stroke. I pray that the Lord's message would go forth through the art and that Father God would be glorified. 

I believe all prophetic art has a message, but what the Holy Spirit speaks to me about a specific piece of art, may be different than what the Spirit says to you. Seek Him for a personal interpretation.

You can find more Christian Abstract paintings that the Lord has given me on my Facebook page, Christine Nichols-Art, in a Photo Album called FOR HIS GLORY. If you've enjoyed the art, you're invited to LIKE and SHARE my art Facebook page: STEEN ART.

Lord of Lords and King of Kings

"Lord of Lords" by Christine Nichols, 2009

Jesus Christ has many names and titles given to Him in the Bible including the Lamb of God, Immanuel (God with us), the Alpha and Omega, Savior, Redeemer, and King of Glory, just to name a few. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus said told His disicples just prior to His ascension to heaven: "All authority (power) is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords and every knee will bow to Him! In Revelation 19, we are told that the name KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS is written upon His robe and upon His thigh. 

The prophetic paintings of the same titles were painted with quick, deliberate brush strokes and within minutes of each other. In both paintings there is a similar figure in the heavenly setting. When the paintings were completed, the Holy Spirit gave the titles for each painting, but I didn't understand why the images appeared similar yet distinctively different because when I think of the name given Jesus, "KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS" I see it as one title for one God whose name is above all names. 

Revelation for the paintings came through another believer a couple of years after the paintings were completed. She said that in the painting, "Lord of Lords" Jesus is sitting on His throne in Heaven, whereas in the painting, "King of Kings" He is appearing in the clouds. When I heard this explanation, Scriptures came to mind for each painting and it made complete sense to me.

LORD OF LORDS: 
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1

"But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” Luke 22:69

KING OF KINGS:

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

Compare the paintings side-by-side:

KING OF KINGS on left, LORD OF LORDS on right.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. Psalm 136:3

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2

On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:16

As Christians, followers of Christ, 

we are to bow to His majesty 

for He is indeed the KING OF KINGS 

and LORD OF LORDS!
Is Jesus Christ the King and Lord of your life?

"King of Kings" by Christine Nichols, 2009

"Lord of Lords" by Christine Nichols, 2009

All my paintings begin with prayer. I ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance from beginning to end - from choosing the canvas and paint colors to the last brush stroke. I pray that the Lord's message would go forth through the art and that Father God would be glorified. 

I believe all prophetic art has a message, but what the Holy Spirit speaks to me about a specific piece of art, may be different than what the Spirit says to you. Seek Him for a personal interpretation.

You can find more Christian Abstract paintings that the Lord has given me on my Facebook page, Christine Nichols-Art, in a Photo Album called FOR HIS GLORY. If you've enjoyed the art, I invite you to LIKE and SHARE my art Facebook page: STEEN ART.

Love the Lord your God

The Greatest Commandment

Love the Lord your God - Christine Nichols

You may ask what this painting has do with the Greatest Commandment in the Bible. The answer is found in Mark 12:28-34. You see, after I had finished this piece, I stepped back to look at the painting and wondered what it meant and the Holy Spirit said, "Love the Lord your God."

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked Him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^{[Deut. 6:4-5] 31} The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[Leviticus 19:18]} There is no commandment greater than these.”
³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him. ³³ To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask Him any more questions. Mark 12:28-34

In the painting, I see the large gold heart representing our love for God. It is our first love, which is above all other loves, for Christ is to be first in our hearts and in our lives. The two smaller dark blue hearts symbolize our love for one another. The painting also symbolizes heaven touching earth through the power of God's love. 

This morning as I was contemplating how to write this blog (which I've been doing for more than a week) I looked at the painting and between the sunlight and the angle, the gold was shining brightly - much brighter than the photograph. I took this as confirmation that the gold heart and the "markings" were important to the overall meaning of the painting. Some folks see the upper left marking as a question mark. Others see it as the number seven. I see it as the Hebrew Letter Vav which confirms the heaven and earth connection. 

Here's an excerpt from Hebrews for Christians that explains the meaning of the Hebrew letter Vav:

The letter Vav is the sixth letter of the Aleph-Bet, having the numeric value of six. The pictograph for Vav looks like a tent peg, whereas the classical Hebrew script (ketav Ashurit) is constructed of a vertical line and conjoined Yod. The meaning of the word vav is "hook," as a connecting hook used when the mishkan (tabernacle) was assembled.

The first Vav in the Torah occurs in Genesis 1:1:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The placement of the Vav suggests two of its essential connective powers:

• By joining heaven and earth () it implies the connection between spiritual and earthly matters.
   
• Since it occurs as the 22nd letter in the Torah attached to the sixth word, (et), it alludes to the creative connection between all of the letters. Vav is therefore the connecting force of the God, the divine "hook" that binds together heaven and earth.

I found it interesting that when I read another Christian artist's blog today, bringing heaven to earth was a definition of Prophetic Art. The blog was called Faith Colors by Lula Adams. 

A word from the Lord about prophetic art:
It is a way to bring heaven to earth…
To plant seeds of faith through vision…
It shows My face to the world. Just as music touches the soul, art reaches into the soul and stirs My love and mercy.

Prophetic art is done in union with Me, and My blessings shine forth from it. It speaks to the heart, where I dwell. In prophetic art, I connect with the artist who produces a good work, a good deed in art. What is a good deed but a demonstration of my love? My art is a demonstration of My love, an expression of mercy and grace.

Let Me stir my answer in your art.
Let Me stir passion in you.
Let worship come from deep places in your heart. To praise God’s glory is to spark life into you. To use art to express worship is to share worship. Sing into art and watch it stir up living water.

 

Love the Lord your God - Christine Nichols, 2009

In all of my art blog posts, I encourage everyone to seek their own personal interpretation from the Holy Spirit concerning the artwork. Usually the Lord tells me what the painting is about and He did with this painting in giving me the title, but I was stuck on the symbolism. I asked some friends to seek the Holy Spirit's interpretation and it deepened my understanding of the painting. Here's a few of their interpretations. When they mention the question mark or the number 7, it's in reference to the upper left gold marking. 

• Heaven touching earth through the power of love.
• The question mark like shape on the left intrigues me, I'm not sure what to make of it in comparison to the rest, which I agree is about love and heaven touching earth, at least at the moment..
• All our questions are answered with His love.  
• I like that. After reading what you wrote, it came to me. Instead of "his" love, it would be "their" love. The triangles meaning "Father, Son and Holy Spirit".
• This is the calling inside of a person. Of course I see it as the call on a woman's life. I see the shape of her body with the heart in the middle. The multiple hearts are the adornment on the dress she is wearing and also represent the love on the inside of her. Her heart is carrying the love of Jesus to the nations. The nations are represented in the bottom triangle, also the bottom of her dress. The yellow coming from the top of the dress or top triangle are the adornments of the Holy Spirit flowing through the woman. The blue is the sky, the ocean, the world. There is no limit to where we go when we are called to this mission of delivering the love of Jesus.
• the two red triangles connected represents the sands of time. when sin is in our lives our time is running out. but because of the grace of God, Jesus covers our sin. therefore our time never ends. we will live forever because we have a relationship with our Father and he loves us so much and he forgives all our sins. oh I didn't think of it it as a ?. to me look more like a 7. and seven means completeness. the dot was just the balance of the other dot on the other side. so along with what I was saying earlier. 7 means complete. was Jesus washing our sins with his blood we are complete. all the dots in the swooshings is all the mystery behind that. 
  
  
  • The first thing that came to mind was "on earth as it is in heaven".
  • Mountains and Valleys: interesting how the two mets or how their connected...the two seasons of our lives...both are needed, both lead to deeper revelation of His love
  • I see two main things: 1) an hour glass, measuring time til Jesus' return. The hearts are love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for us, the Bride. You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times." Matthew 16:3 2) a goblet, drink from His cup. The cup of red wine is symbolic of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ "In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 1Corinthians 11:25 The sky reference is about people desiring signs. red skies in the morning ..purrhos is greek for red like fire. In the Bible, (Matthew XVI: 2-3,) Jesus said, “When in evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: For the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering.”
  • I saw the hourglass as well and thought of the eternality of God and timelessness we are destined to live in forever with him. I see his parameters in which we are carried in the endless ocean of His love and anchored to his cross/covered in every
  way by his blood sacrifice - the ins and outs and ups and downs of our journey are extraordinary - carried in His arms of love and living out our enlightened destiny thru his multi-purposes means & dreams. His heart of love swallows up any darkness as we meld into oneness with Him. I love his perfection and secure hold!!! Double reinforcement of the Trinity with the two triangles!
  

It truly amazes me how the Lord uses His art to touch people's hearts and impact their lives. In closing, I'd like to return to the title of the painting, "Love the Lord your God" and pray that you do indeed love Him with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and with all your strength, and love others as you love yourself. By doing this, you are part of the heaven and earth connection! 

All my paintings begin with prayer. I ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance from beginning to end - from choosing the canvas and paint colors to the last brush stroke. I pray that the Lord's message would go forth through the art and that Father God would be glorified. 

I believe all prophetic art has a message, but what the Holy Spirit speaks to me about a specific piece of art, may be different than what the Spirit says to you. Seek Him for a personal interpretation.

You can find more Christian Abstract paintings that the Lord has given me on my Facebook page, Christine Nichols-Art, in a Photo Album called FOR HIS GLORY. If you've enjoyed the art, you're invited to LIKE and SHARE my art Facebook page: STEEN ART.