Throughout my study on the armor of God and the spiritual warfare we face daily, the LORD reminded me that we as His children need to take a stand for Him. With the way our world has been going lately, we need as His children need to stand even more firmly in Him.  As we learned in Ephesians 6:10-20, we are in a spiritual war with the enemy of darkness. After writing the devotional for this series I wanted to have one final picture that kind of says it all. Before I even painted on the canvas, I wrote Ephesians 6:10-20 all over the canvas, I love to do this as it reminds me that the painting is bathed in God’s Word. 
     As you look at the painting, my friend whom I painted, is standing there holding a sword with the word TRUTH written on it in one hand and in the other hand, she is  holding God’s Word which is also the Sword of the Spirit. The enemy cannot touch us with God’s ‘armor’ on us. The yellow around her represents the shield of FAITH. The fiery darts cannot penetrate through that shield as we see here in the painting. If you look closely at the ones that are touching the shield, they are cracked! Jesus is our shield of FAITH and when we keep our focus on Him and cling to Him those darts cannot touch us.  I painted her shirt green to represent our growth in the LORD. By being in His Word and learning from it, praying, and going to church faithfully, we grow in our relationship with our LORD. I painted the Bible red to represent Christ’s blood shed for us, our payment for our debt.
    My prayer for this painting is that it will remind us that we are STRONG because He is standing there beside us, as we fight the enemy of darkness. We need to remember to put His armor on and spend time with Him daily! In our daily lives, we don’t physically see God’s armor on each believer, but we do see it in their lives if they have it on! Remember, with His armor on we are dressed in His TRUTH and are “Standing FIRM” on the foundation of the GOSPEL! 

“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Philippians 1:20-21
     As I worked on this devotional on the armor of God, I have learned even more,  the importance of putting on the whole armor of God. We cannot imagine a soldier going into battle without their armor, so why do we go throughout our day without putting on God’s armor. One of the first things we should do when we get up each morning is start our day in prayer, asking the LORD to help us put on His armor. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-11, “ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” I cannot imagine facing the enemy daily without God’s armor. Unfortunately, there have been many times that I have done that and struggled in the battle throughout the day.
      Each day, we see the spiritual battle heating up more. Evil is around every corner, and those challenges are becoming greater. We need to wear that armor to face those challenges, but we also know who is fighting beside us…our LORD Jesus Christ!!!  He gives us that hope that is steadfast and secure which the enemy cannot touch. Our hope in Christ is eternal, and nothing can separate us from Him as Romans 8:35-39, says “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
    As a child of God, we are running a race of endurance and fighting a battle that is not of flesh and blood. Philippians 3:14 says, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”. The goal here on earth is to strive for Christ-likeness and the prize in Heaven IS Christ-likeness. The time will come when God calls each of His children up to Heaven and into His presence where we will receive the prize that was so unreachable on earth.
     Here on earth, we need to wear God’s armor DAILY. When we get to Heaven, we will not need that armor. As you look at the painting, you will see Jesus Christ welcoming His child with open arms as she runs towards Him on the streets of gold. The River of Life is to the left with the Tree of Life behind Christ. I don’t know what color the fruit on that tree is, so I decided to paint them teal as that color represents culturally TRUTH and FAITH. If you notice to the right there are three butterflies representing NEW LIFE along with the TRINITY (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). In the far background, you see the LIGHT representing the very presence of God the Father. I painted Jesus’s sash red to represent His blood that was shed for all our sins, paying the debt that we could never pay. The girl running to Jesus, I wanted her sash to be the color of purple which represents forgiveness. None of us can get to Heaven by our own merit because of sin and that’s why Jesus paid the debt. Finally, you will see that the believer has placed her armor at Heaven’s gate. She no longer needs it, because “The Battle’s Over, Victory’s Won”. She is safe with Christ! What about you? Where will you spend eternity? I hope it’s with Christ.

    I had painted this a while back after seeing a photograph that a friend of mine had taken of her grandfather and son walking hand in hand. I knew there was a story to tell through a painting, and a few years after painting this, the LORD has also shown me how it relates to His armor. 
     The shoes of the Gospel of Peace give us that firm foundation we need in this spiritual battle we are in with the devil. How can a great grandfather walking with his great grandson illustrate that? As I studied the great grandfather walking hand in hand with his great grandson, I thought of the heritage this man was leaving his great grandson along with future great grandchildren and how it tied in with Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” This great grandfather loved to delight in the LORD and his great grandson is like a tree planted near the water soaking in the nutrients of his great grandfather's example.
     As parents, grandparents and great grandparents we need to ask ourselves what kind of heritage we are teaching our little ones. It reminds me of Psalm 37:23-24 which says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand."  Whatever comes our way, our little ones need us wearing the ‘shoes with the preparation of the GOSPEL of PEACE’, walking in God's truth. They need to know that God is Sovereign, that He is in control even when things seem chaotic in this world.
     Finally, I am reminded of the verse in Proverbs 22:6 which says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  Yes, it is our children who are training our grandchildren, but we as their grandparents train them in a special, unique way. Are we walking alongside our children guiding and encouraging them, when needed, as they guide and teach our grandchildren? Are we bringing our grandchildren before the LORD in prayer? By being that godly example, we are showing them how to wear these shoes of armor, not only for our own children, but for our grandchildren also.  Our grandchildren need to see us exhibit Christ, not just talking about Him, but living in Him. Do they hear His words or ours? Do they see Him in what we do or what we desire? Do they see us standing firm in what we believe ready to fight the enemy for them? What example are we leaving? They need to see us not wavering in our faith and standing on the firm foundation that is in Jesus Christ! Are we “walking through the ages in TRUTH”?

     How can this picture represent the ‘shoes with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace’, you might ask? As I studied about these shoes, I learned that the shoes were designed to keep the soldiers’ feet healthy when they were in long forced marches. They were different from what most of the people wore back then. These shoes were made from three layers of leather, being pulled up and laced around their ankles. This helped protect their feet from receiving blisters and other foot diseases. On the bottom of the shoes, small spikes were driven into the soles to help give them a firm footing when the ground was uneven.
     During this time, walking was their primary means of transportation. It was necessary that they would be able to move around with comfort and ease. They also needed to go into battle without wondering how to place their feet as again the ground could be uneven.
     Paul mentions in Ephesians 6:15, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”, reminds us that the Gospel itself is the firm footing of the believer. Colossians 1:10 says, “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;”. When we walk in a manner worthy of our calling, we exhibit a testimony of the Gospel in our lives.
     As I thought about this painting and how the LORD wanted me to tell His story through it, I realized that it begins with each of us. When we repent of our sins, accepting Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior, we have started that journey of walking in a manner worthy of His calling. In this painting, there are different “symbols” I want to point out to each of you.
     The shape of the canvas, along with the bright colors in the background again represents a stain glass window of a church, reminding us of the importance of going to a good Bible believing church, faithfully. The father in the painting has his head bowed while praying reminding us of the humility we need to have as we come to the LORD in prayer. As a family, it is so important to have Christ the center. These parents exhibited this in the painting with their little girl.
     As I was painting the parents, I decided to have the father holding his little girl’s hand as he was praying and the mother sitting next to them with the little girl looking at her mother, to show the unity a family needs to have in Christ.      As you look at the parents’ laps, each have a Bible, with light coming out representing the power of God and the Holy Spirit filling the room with the white swirls behind them.  The circle above represents the GOSPEL with the cross, and PEACE with the dove and olive branch. The gold trim around the edge of the painting represents our Home in Heaven someday.
      How does this all tie in with a firm footing? Spending time in God’s Word and in prayer with Him daily, also faithfully attending church draws us to the One who gave His life for us.  It brings each person to the point of total surrender, dying to self, asking Jesus to forgive us of our sins and come into our hearts. Once we have done that, nothing or no one can take us out of His hands as John 10:28 says, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”. He is our “FIRM Foundation”, and He reminds us of that in His Word. When we are in spiritual battles, we can stand firm on the solid ground of what Christ did for us in His death and resurrection. How do you choose to fight?

     This painting also represents the shield of faith but this time it is for the family. With any piece I do, I always like to write Scripture on the canvas before I even paint on it. I feel like I am embedding God’s Word within the painting. With this piece, I wrote 39 verses all over the canvas before painting it. As I have been studying about the armor of God, I am learning that His Word is the central part of each piece of armor.
     Through this study, the LORD has been showing me that the enemy is roaming about seeking to destroy the family. That is why it is so important to be in God’s Word together. When Christ is the center of your home, He is your shield of defense for your family.
     What is FAITH? In Hebrews 11:1 it says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is when we have an unshakeable belief in God’s promises. When we have that unshakeable belief, it allows us to overcome Satan’s sinful traps and his attacks.
     How can we use the shield of faith in our daily lives to defend ourselves from Satan’s attacks? Roman soldiers would raise their shield as they were being attacked and the same goes for us in defending ourselves from the enemy’s attacks. This means that we need to always be prepared and patient. Peter explains in 1 Peter 5:6-10 saying, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”. In other words, we must humble ourselves and hold up the shield of faith against the enemy.
     All human beings have been born with a sin nature. It says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” and in Romans 6:23, it says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD.”  We are ALL sinners and the penalty for that is death. Jesus came to pay that penalty for us by His sacrifice on the cross and giving us an unearned gift of eternal life when we repent of our sins and turn our hearts to Him as He paid our tremendous debt that we owed.
     Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”. God’s grace provided a way through His Son to wash our sins away, justifies us through faith and then enables us to keep on fighting. We will lose that battle if we do not have that justification and our sins will remain unforgiven. That means we would still have that death penalty hanging over our heads with nothing being able to change that. Because of God’s grace, we are justified before Him and our faith in that becomes the shield of faith we need to have to protect us from Satan’s fiery darts. This shield not only allows us to defend ourselves but to actively overcome evil as it says in Romans 12:21, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
     As a body of Christ, we need to be joined together, raising our shields to defend each other as Ephesians 4:16 says, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”
     In the context of enduring with patience through our trials and difficulties, Jesus asked this question in Luke 18:7-8, “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” How many of us will He find faithful when He returns?
     This painting shows the parents leading their children through God’s Word. The Bible in the painting is acting as a shield around the whole family, protecting all of them from the “fiery darts”. The black background and fiery brushstrokes represent the enemy trying to cause division and chaos in the family, but being in God’s Word DAILY, puts that shield of faith up protecting each of them. I painted the Bible burgundy, to represent Christ’s blood redeeming each of us. I painted the wife's/mother's fingernails white to represent that she and the father have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.
      The LORD has given us a unique shield to protect us against these attacks. We are to resist the enemy and remain “Steadfast in the FAITH”. We need to stand strong in the LORD and be in His Word and to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
     For us to be truly faithful, we need to have that unshakeable belief in God’s promises with endurance. Does that mean that if we read the Bible occasionally or just at church, that will be enough? The answer to that question is NO! Throughout God’s Word we see His promises which gives us that unshakeable belief. As we saw earlier in the painting, His Word needs to be in the center. Not just sitting on a shelf or table for decoration, but to be reading His Word for us AND with our families. That is how we can defend our families with the shield of faith.
     I hope this painting is an encouragement to families all around the world that we need to be in God's Word daily, pray for our families and bring them to church with us so that they too can hear God's truth ... the GOSPEL.
     Will Christ find each of us faithful when He returns? Is your shield of FAITH raised up high so those fiery darts cannot penetrate you or your loved ones? How high is your shield? We need to be “Steadfast in the FAITH”!
 
 
 

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" 
Ephesians 6:17-18 

     In 2022, I had the opportunity to enter a Christian art competition. The theme was taken from Ephesians 6:10-20 relating to spiritual warfare. We were to create a piece that illustrated that theme. Even though I felt like the competition was out of my comfort zone, I knew that the LORD wanted me to take that step of faith and trust the outcome to Him. Little did I realize the extent of needing to draw strength from Him, as I worked on this piece.
     I thought it would be easy to create, as I love to tell His story through art, and this gave me an opportunity to illustrate from Scripture itself! I found out quickly that it was not going to be easy and that the LORD had a lot to teach me as I worked on this piece.
     The whole world, at that time, was going through a lot of unknowns, especially with a worldwide health pandemic that happened a couple of years before that. Every time I went to work on this piece, I felt doubtful that I could even paint it. I started to listen to the enemy's lie instead of listening to the One who created me to do this painting. I soon learned that by me painting this, I was battling the enemy, and the LORD was having me use this to defeat the enemy. It was at this time I had a group of prayer warriors praying for me as I worked on the piece.
     This painting represents the SWORD of the Spirit and is used as an offensive weapon. The first five pieces of the armor are defensive, allowing the Christian to defend themselves from spiritual attack. Why would a child of God, need a weapon of this source?
     The sword that the Roman soldiers would use was short and in skilled hands, it was a weapon to be feared. It was sharpened on both sides, which made it lethal against any unarmored enemy. This sword was around two pounds and only measured 20-30 inches long. It was designed to be easily wielded with one hand while the other hand was able to hold onto the shield. The fact that it was small made it easy to be drawn in close quarters with enemies that were too close to the soldier. This was the main weapon in the soldier’s arsenal.
     Ephesians 6:17 says, “…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”. We see here that Paul is defining the sword of the Spirit as the “word of God”. God’s Word is even sharper than the Roman’s sword. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart.”. In fact, it is capable of piercing into the deepest parts of a person’s attitude and heart. In the hands of a skilled user, it is a tool of discernment. You might ask, how can this weapon be used offensively and against what enemy can it be used?
     God’s Word is valuable in defending against spiritual attack. How can we defend ourselves against these attacks with the sword of the Spirit? As we saw in the previous devotion, “Guard Your Heart”, Jesus demonstrated how important it is to be grounded in God’s Word. We see this in Matthew 4:1-11, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto Him, ‘If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.’ Jesus said unto him, ‘It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’  Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto Him, ‘All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.’ Then saith Jesus unto him, ‘Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ Then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.”
     Satan knew that Jesus was the Son of God but wanted to pull Him away from His dependence on the Father and to get Him away from doing the Father’s will. Did you notice that each time Jesus quoted from the Word, He pointed to where the focus needs to be and that is on the Father. Also, when Satan quoted scripture, he did it out of context and only quoted what he wanted to say to tempt Jesus. Jesus saw through that because He knew the Word. We must be careful of anyone who will take scripture out of its context. We can only wield the sword of the Spirit, when we carefully study God’s Word. In this way, we will be able to discern if a person is taking His Word out of context. Studying the Bible gives us more understanding of what the LORD is saying.
     Satan desires for each of us to turn our hearts from God, so Paul uses armor to show how we as Christians are to fight while in spiritual warfare. When we have those thoughts and attitudes that are not aligned with God’s Word, we need to use the sword of the Spirit to help bring everything into captivity. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”. This is how we use the sword of the Spirit as we fight the Christian battle.
     Just as the Roman soldier could not go into battle until he was extensively trained in using his sword (gladius), we as children of God also need to be trained in the use of the sword of the Spirit. We must have our spiritual senses sharpened to be able to use this weapon successfully and that comes by being very familiar and knowledgeable in God’s Word.
     In Psalm 119:101-104, it says, “ I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.” When we have the right attitude and approach to God’s Word, it enables us to be the skilled spiritual warriors, we need to be. In this passage we see that as a skilled swordsperson, we need to hate evil, to have a love for God’s Word and to continually desire to understand but also to obey His law, living His way of life. Remember, we cannot fight against Satan’s attacks unless we intimately know God’s Word. When we become more dedicated to studying and living God’s Word, we have a better handle in using the sword of the Spirit on the battlefield. It is through His Word that we are able to see the “Power of God’s Truth” when using the sword of the Spirit

I had the privilege of painting this sweet, godly lady from my church to represent one of the pieces of God's armor...the belt of truth. As I studied about this piece of armor, I learned several things.
Roman soldiers would wear a sash or belt that was made usually of leather and wrapped around their waist to hold their pieces of armor in place; like their breastplate, the sheath to hold their sword and other valuable items they would need. When they went into combat, this belt was tightened. Soldiers nowadays wear a harness wrapped around them to help hold and carry the items needed as they go into combat.
As believers, we too wear a harness or belt as we go into spiritual combat. It is called TRUTH! In Ephesians 6:13-14a it says, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth." Paul is telling us, here,  that we need to gird/wrap ourselves in God's truth to be able to withstand the evil one; in our daily lives.
The enemy likes to distort the truth and constantly an accuses the brethren. He wants to hinder and harm the work that God is doing in our lives. He seeks to steal, kill and destroy. He's been a liar from the beginning. As Christians, we are to be children of truth. In John 8:31-32, we are reminded, "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, 'If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' "
How do we put on the belt of truth? We can gain God's truth, through His Word: the Bible, praying, and attending church. It is through each of these things that we are able to wrap His truth around us.
Let's look at God's Word first.  Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." When we are in His word daily, He gives us the ammunition to not only fight against the enemy, but also to give us the nourishment we need to grow in our Christian walk, and share that with others. We also read in John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.' "  He is our TRUTH and He is the only way to the Father. God's word not only gives us ammunition for defense, nourishment for growth and sharing but directions to the One who is TRUTH! He sets us apart as stated in John 17:17,  "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."
The next one we want to look at is Prayer. How can I relate prayer with the "belt of truth"? We just read how God's Word, the Bible, is TRUTH. It is God speaking to us. God does not want just Him talking to us, He wants to hear from us. When I was a lot younger in my faith, I thought prayer was just asking God for things, like health, family, help in trials, etc.. . Since then, I have learned that prayer is so much more. It helps tie in the fact that as a child of God, I do not have a religion but a relationship with the One who created me. Communication is important to build a relationship with someone, it goes both ways..
Jesus gave the perfect model for prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."  I see so much truth, wrapped around us here.
When we pray, we are acknowledging who God truly is. We also are reminded that when we pray, we should want God's will, not our own. Do we ask for God to provide for our needs? YES! Here we see in this prayer that we are to ask for our daily needs. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." We are not to worry about our needs, just bring them to Him with a thankful heart.
We also see that we are to be confessing our sins as it says in 1 John 1:9, " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  As we grow in our relationship with Him, His truth gives us the strength we need to protect us from the enemy.
Finally, we look at the church. How is that wrapping God's truth around us? By going to church, we not only hear God's Word, His truth, taught to us, we also are encouraged to lift the body of Christ up. When we are not going, we are not being encouraged in His truth and in the love of fellow believers. We are reminded that we are to encourage one another in love and good works. as stated in Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."   It's nice knowing that someone is praying for you, but how much more meaningful is it, when they take the time and physically pray with you in person or on the phone.
In this painting, we see each of the different ways we put on the belt of truth. This sweet lady has her Bible opened to represent reading God's Word, her hands folded in prayer and sitting at church prepared to learn more of God's truth. The background represents the painted glass windows of a church with a little picture in the circle. That circle also represents the belt of truth with the opened Bible and the praying hands. If you look at the open Bible, you will see a ribbon, with a buckle I added to represent the belt of truth. The gold wrapped around the canvas represents our real destination someday as His children…Heaven, where we will be surrounded by His truth for all eternity.
Are you walking in a manner that is worthy of your calling? Are you "Wrapped in God's TRUTH"...daily?

 As we continue to look at the different pieces of armor not only used by a soldier but also for us who wear God's armor, we come to the helmet of Salvation. Soldiers wear a helmet during conflict to protect their heads from harm. As Christians, we need to protect our minds from the attack of the enemy, the devil. He likes to fill our minds with LIES to keep our minds off Christ and onto ourselves.
When we get saved, we are to put on the mind of Christ. He equips us with His thinking, plans, concepts, truths and revelations. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 it says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."  We are to bring every thought captive before Christ and His Word.
We are also reminded in Scripture of how we are to think. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are TRUE, whatsoever things are HONEST, whatsoever things are JUST, whatsoever things are PURE, whatsoever things are LOVELY, whatsoever things are of GOOD REPORT; if there be any VIRTUE, and if there be any PRAISE, think of these things."  Whenever the enemy tells his lies, if we have put on the helmet of Salvation, daily, we will think on those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of a good report, virtuous and praise worthy. This doesn't mean that we get saved every time we put on the helmet of Salvation, but what it does mean is that as a child of God, when we put that helmet on, we are choosing to put on the mind of Christ, which is those qualities mentioned in Philippians 4:8.
As I started to work on this painting, the couple the LORD had laid on my heart to paint and incorporate this theme, were great examples of what the LORD was showing me. I wanted to paint them "real", not in fancy clothes going to church but who they truly are. They both are new believers and each have a servant's heart for the LORD.
The woman works in the medical field so I painted her in her red scrubs with the red representing salvation through Christ's blood, and the man in a green shirt representing each of us growing in Christ. How do we grow in Christ? Well, by reading God's Word daily, praying, going to church and telling others about Him. To represent going to church, I painted the background as if it  was a stain glass window with the seal above their heads signifying salvation with the cross and the crown signifying the final "helmet" we as His children will receive one day, when we are with Him for eternity.
In the crown are different colored jewels. Each color represents something important in the Christian walk. Red represents Christ's blood that was shed for our sins, yellow represents Heaven, white represents the fact that we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, blue represents the baptism of the Holy Spirit when we are saved and green represents growing daily in Him.
Just as the light shining down on this couple, represents Christ being the LIGHT; we are to continue to let His light shine through us. Each day, when we put on that helmet of salvation, we are actually putting on our "Helmet of HOPE", because it is through Christ that we have HOPE!

 “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!”  Psalm 141:3

This painting represents the SWORD of the Spirit, the weapon that is part of God's  armor. When we think of the different parts of a soldier's armor, their weapon is used to not only attack the enemy, but to defend, protect and guard themselves and those with them from any harm of the enemy. How does this represent the weapon a Christian needs to have as part of their armor of God?
As Christians, the devil , our enemy, loves to destroy our lives, our marriages, and our homes. We have a special weapon to not only protect and guard us and those precious to us, BUT is also used to attack our enemy, the devil. While Jesus was in the wilderness fasting and praying, He used this special weapon to defeat the devil. The enemy tried tempting Christ, but instead of being tempted, Jesus used Scripture to defeat him. That is what we are to do also.
Christ is to be the center of our lives...in fact of our hearts. The enemy would love to take our mind off of  Christ and to think about all the things that we are going through...like our health, finances, relationships, worries and even frustrations. It is through God's Word that we find the ammunition needed to attack the lies of the enemy.
The devil likes to tell us that God does not care about us but yet in His Word it says, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.",  1 Peter 5:7. He does care. Not only does He care about us BUT He loves us. In Romans 5:8 it says, "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He even reminds us in John 3:16, "For God so LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Just these few verses, show that they are a weapon fashioned against the enemy and his lies.
The greatest weapon we have is God's Word, the Bible. Not only is it a love letter to us of God's sacrificial love for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, but it gives us the truth to fight the enemy's lies. With it, you will be able to "Guard Your HEART".

What is the first thing that comes to your mind, when you hear the word shield? The dictionary defines it in several ways, but one definition was a broad piece of armor used to protect the body. We think of a shield in this way, many times, especially when we are talking about God's armor. The other definition given for shield was used in the form of a verb, saying that it "served as a protection". This particular form of the word is what I am conveying here in this painting.
1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" If you are a child of God, the enemy knows he can not have you, so he will do whatever he can to keep you from sharing the gospel with others. We are told to be sober (serious) and vigilant (alert) because the enemy is always roaming about. As I think about this painting, the LORD taught me several things. No matter what I face, the enemy is going to be right there trying to pull me away. When I do not stand alert to his presence, he can easily pull me under. There have been times in my life when I was not standing alert and the enemy easily pulled me under, like the death of my child, broken relationships, finances, housing and health issues. The enemy does not just go after those traumatic things in our lives; he even goes after our thoughts, emotions, and yes, sins we struggle with. He will constantly remind us of our failures. Those hands just keep grabbing at us.
The wonderful thing is, that is not the end of the story. Another thing, the LORD showed me is that even though I feel like I am being pulled under with the sins or  trials in my life, Jesus is right there reaching for me to grab HIS hand. His LIGHT, radiates from Him and all I need to do is grab it, which causes the enemy to withdraw their grasp.
I had drawn this picture a while back as a reminder that when I doubt what God can do through me, like art, I am allowing the enemy to pull me down with that FEAR, DOUBT and INSECURITY. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind." Whenever, I allow fear to take over, it keeps me from creating what the LORD has desired for me to do. That fear grows, producing insecurity and doubts. This is exactly what the enemy wants to do; keeping us from pointing others to our Savior and keep the focus on ourselves. Ephesians 6:16 says, "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." What better shield than the ONE who conquered the enemy with His death and resurrection.
This is not my normal type of painting. I felt the LORD wanted me to be very personal in this painting, telling not just His story but mine! This painting. which the LORD did through me, is definitely from my heart. He is my source of protection and all I have to do is grab His hand, and "Hold Onto Faith", which is HIM! What about you, what are you holding onto OR what is pulling you away? His shield of FAITH is right there for you to grab!