Posted on May 7, 2021March 12, 2023 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

An Interview with Christians In the Visual Arts (CIVA)

Artist and Prophet? Tell me more.

April 20, 2021

Below is a recent conversation between CIVA and member Donna Gonzalez about prophetic art.

CIVA: What is prophetic art? How do you understand it?

DG: To some people the phrase “prophetic art” invokes notions of spiritual mysticism or foretelling events, in truth it’s comparable to the Old Testament prophet who spoke forth God’s word to the people. Under the New Covenant, prophesy is a prophetic gift the Holy Spirit grants believers to speak forth what God has already said in His word, being used in accordance to their faith for the edification of the Church. (Romans 12:6). To me, “prophetic art” is a very specific art genre which includes four indisputable essential components: a work created by a Christian led by the Holy Spirit, communicating a biblical truth, blessing others and resulting in God’s glory.

CIVA: Should Christian artists be considered prophetic artists?

DG: Yes.

CIVA: Why do you say that?

DG: It’s part of our identity, who we are as new creatures in Christ, created and called to do good works that were already prepared in advance for us to accomplish (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10). We are commanded by Christ to fulfill the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20), it’s just artists have the unique opportunity to accomplish this through their talent and creativity. St. Paul urges believers “…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31). I’m reminded of a situation that happened to Moses where the Spirit of the Lord came down, rested upon 70 elders who immediately began prophesying, which one would expect – but God also placed His Spirit upon 2 other men, and they prophesied too. A young man ran and told Moses requesting he restrain these two men from prophesying. I find it quite interesting what Moses said. He didn’t get upset or rebuke them rather he said, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!.” (Numbers 11:24-29). Those words echo what St. Paul said in I Corinthians 14:5 “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues… so that the church may be edified.” So yes, I believe that all Christian artists should be considered prophets declaring God’s word edifying the Church and declaring God’s truth to a lost and dying world!

CIVA: What is your journey? How did you come to consider yourself a prophetic artist?

DG: Years ago, I didn’t understand what prophetic art or a prophetic artist was. My journey simply began one night before retiring asking God what He wanted me to paint, I just wanted to use my art for His glory. Immediately a vision of a colorful mosaic came to mind. The next day I started painting a mosaic, but since it wasn’t much to look at, I decided to duplicate the painting multiple times in a photo editor, placing them into a pattern where hidden symbols and objects became visible. Having asked the Holy Spirit what this meant, He gave me scripture that corresponded perfectly with the hidden objects. It was so unreal! The iconography became God’s message; a mini bible study if you will. There was no way I could do this if it weren’t for God’s interaction. I was awed and humbled that God would grant me the opportunity to be a conduit of His message. That’s how it all began and my mosaic paintings became the “Mosaics with Meaning^TM” prophetic works, “Here Am I Send Me”, “Fishers of Men” and “Seek the Lord” are a few.

I also paint typical prophetic works, done by inspiration after prayer and meditating on scripture, or after listening to praise and worship music, or from a vision or dream. “My Body Broken for You” is based upon a vision I had during a conversation at church.

CIVA: Any last thoughts?

DG: Our work as Christian artists is significant, it’s redemptive, not because of ourselves but because it is a divine gift from the Great Master Artist Himself.

Donna Gonzalez lives in Wayne, MI, teaches art and is the founder of an art ministry, Resurgent Art LLC. She enjoys gardening, reading and is currently writing her first book.

Learn more about Donna at www.resurgentart.com or follow her on Instagram (@dgartist1982) to see her prophetic art and other artworks.

Posted on June 7, 2018May 29, 2023 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Living Stones Mosaic

“Living Stones Mirage Stained Glass” © Donna Gonzalez

Would it surprise you at all if I told you that what you are looking at is not a painting of a large stained glass window but instead you are looking at one painted mosaic duplicated multiple times? Fifty-four times to be exact. Each mosaic piece is not haphazardly placed but purposefully, resulting in a consistent pattern which is a unified whole.

If one of the mosaic pieces could speak about itself it would tell you it thinks it is of no consequence whether or not it were in the painting…because what is it among so many other identical mosaic pieces? Quite insignificant hardly serving any purpose at all.

On the contrary if that mosaic piece wasn’t there, it would have a great impact on the entire composition. My painting would be incomplete without it. Because the entire pattern relies on each mosaic piece fitting alongside the next mosaic piece in order to achieve any kind of symmetry, unity or harmony. Not one mosaic piece can be placed at random. Hmmm…

Christians, though not identical to each other are born of the same Spirit. We are one in Christ and in that sense each of us are like a mosaic piece or as the bible says a living stone being built up into a building for God’s purpose I Peter 2:4-5 . In Christ none of us are inconsequential in the Kingdom of God. All of us are His workmanship created to do a specific work Ephesians 2:10. A Christian cannot say because they don’t have exactly the same work or gifting of the Holy Spirit as another that they are less qualified, insignificant or serve no purpose in His Body. I Corinthians 12:15-19

Have you noticed not all of the mosaic pieces create an optical illusion of rings in the painting? Would those mosaics be considered less important than the others? Just the opposite! Those pieces are crucial as they unify the entire artwork and serve to frame and support those mosaic pieces which do create the optical illusion. The illusion wouldn’t appear otherwise!

The optical illusion of rings is highlighted in black below and run throughout this mosaic.

We do not come into this world unplanned by God nor are we place in His Body haphazardly. Just the opposite, the Lord Jesus knows us and puts us exactly where He determines us to be in His Body in a specific time in history and for a specific work to accomplish. When believers come together making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace something remarkable occurs Ephesians 4:3. Like the stained glass window made up of many pieces working together to create something beautiful, so do we and it’s pleasing in our eyes…and in His eyes.

Be blessed!

Donna

Posted on May 20, 2018May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Wait for The Lord

“Water Lilies Stained Glass” © by Donna Gonzalez

Note: This is a longer iconography but well worth the reading!

wait /wāt/verb

Stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens. Synonyms: hold on, hold back, bide one’s time, hang fire, mark time, stand by, sit tight, hold one’s horses.
Used to indicated that one is eagerly impatient to do something or for something to happen.

noun

A period of waiting.Synonyms: delay, holdup, interval, interlude, intermission, pause, break, stay, cessation, suspension, stoppage, halt, interruption, lull, respite, recess, moratorium, hiatus, gap, rest

pa·tience /’pāSHəns/noun

The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset .Synonyms: forbearance, tolerance, restraint, self-restraint, stoicism, calmness, composure, equanimity, imperturbability, phlegm, understanding, indulgence, perseverance, persistence, endurance, tenacity, assiduity, application, staying power, doggedness, determination, resolve, resolution, resoluteness.

I happen to love words and learning new ones too. In truth while writing this post I had always thought the word “wait” meant the same thing as patience and was a synonym for it as well…hmmm….was I wrong!

Perhaps you knew the difference. Take a look at the definitions above; two very different words and not having even the same synonyms! This past month while doing my errands I’ve noticed how very impatient some people are on the roads, perhaps you met them too on your travels.

Waiting is something most people are genetically opposed do even less show any patience. Because waiting and patience are two very different things. Staying where one is or to delay action until a particular time or until something else happens is one thing. One can pass their time by becoming busy changing the radio station in the car.

But who wants to learn a virtue at the cost of experiencing trouble and suffering – as in paying attention, using the breaks to slow down to the actual speed limit behind me before I quickly completed my right turn before said driver plowed into me? No, that is extremely difficult for some people to do.

Instead it’s far easier for driver to keep foot glued on accelerator gunning the engine past me on the left while mouthing something and shaking their fist in the mirror.

Hmm…. no wonder people warn others about praying for patience – but they should do it anyway. Patience really is a much higher noble virtue to attain! Which brings me to the artwork I created. “Water Lilies Stained Glass – Green” is an acrylic painting composed of 16 mosaics placed into a pattern. It comes in purple and pink too.

I happened to be conversing with a friend sharing favorite bible scriptures after a group bible study. Her favorite is Psalm 27:14. And when I got home I did something different again, usually the scripture comes after the pattern but this time I had to “find” which painting would best suit this scripture.

Iconography: I chose “Water Lilies Stained Glass – Green” as its bright colors resembled a stained glass window. There are pink and violet opened lilies surrounded by great big green leaves, highlighted in peachy orange. (See below)

The big green lily pads are highlighted in yellow and have a closed purple flower in between them. All of which is surrounded by the dark and light blue portions of the mosaic that representing water.

Easy-peasy.Now, did I know before hand that this mosaic painting placed into a pattern would create a flower, a lily pad and water? No.

Now here is where it all gets quite interesting…

I did some research on waterlilies to see if there was anything I could learn about them. I found that water lilies grow quickly and are invasive the lily pads can get really big (some up to 6′ across) covering almost the entire water surface of a lake or pond, preventing any other water plant from reaching the surface. Hmm.. so does this artwork have a good amount of lily pads too!

Now, the white lily flowers bloom in the evening, sending out a rich fragrance throughout the night. The flower must wait for a certain little beetle attracted by the fragrance to come pollinate it. Once it lands on the flower it enters in searching for nectar. The flower then closes up for a full day keeping the beetle safely inside, which it doesn’t mind at all, since it is happily drinking sweet nectar, but the flower has slowly started to change color – to pink.

And in the meantime the flower’s pollen has mixed with the pollen on the beetle. At last the blossom opens up to let loose the now heavily nectar-logged pollen-encrusted beetle as it flies away in search of another white blossom to imbibe and pollinate unknowingly. Hmm… fly, drink, pollinate and repeat…what a life! Lovely story.

But just how is all of this making any sense with Psalm 27:14? Well, a lot actually. There is so much deep biblical application in this for all of us, that I will try my very best to keep it succinct.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14

This verse is part of King David’s prayer to God to deliver him from his enemies who conspire to bring him down. Being a king David could do anything at anytime against those who hated him, but instead he prays to God. David accepts that those who oppose him will most likely still give him trouble before God vindicates him, but instead of getting angry or upset he instructs his heart to be strong and wait for God’s timing to vindicate him. This is what it means to be patient before God.

Now the water lily blossoms at God’s perfect timing in the evening just as the beetle is out flying over the water in search for white water lilies. As the lily waits to bloom at God’s command so it is with us Christians. God’s word tells us to wait upon Him, not to go before Him but to sit tight, hold on, expectantly, He understands the whole matter better than we do.

So we wait with patient endurance, whether or not it includes struggles, trouble or suffering we persevere with calmness, because we know that in God’s timing it will all work out. As David did. We as believers are encouraged not to faint, or loose heart in the endurance of persevering, because when it is complete it leads us to maturity in Christ.

James 1:2-4 says: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance, Perseverance must finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

What would happen if the water lily didn’t wait at God’s command to bloom but chose it’s own time to bloom; or chose instead to close up it’s petals before the beetle arrived? It would have missed its one chance at being pollinated.

When we take matters into our own hands and do not wait upon God as He says, we miss out on blessings. This is what happened to Saul when he lacked patience, didn’t restrain himself nor have the capacity to accept delay in waiting for the prophet Samuel to show up. Saul became perturbed, disregarded the word of the Lord from Samuel to wait to do the sacrifice until he came and it ended up costing Saul not only his blessing from the Lord but his very kingdom! I Samuel 13:8-14

The flower does not lack anything when the wait is finally over. You see, pollination isn’t the end of it all. For after the pink blossom has been pollinated it will shrivel up and sink back under the depths of the water and die – but here is the wonder of it all…it will bear fruit – a seed!

And this seed will now grow up in maturity to become a beautiful new water lily for the glory of God!

⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. -John 15:8

Hmmm….Maturity in Christ by waiting on God showing self-control in patience – leads to blessings and fruit which glorifies God! Now, isn’t that were we all want to be?

Be blessed my friend!-Donna

Posted on April 11, 2018April 3, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – His Brokenness Our Healing

“My Body Broken for You” acrylic on canvas 16″x20″ © by Donna Gonzalez

I had been waiting on the Lord to give me inspiration in painting another prophetic artwork. Usually it comes after prayer, during praise and worship or like Sunday as a thought.

This past Sunday at church while discussing with another Christian about the uniqueness of similar events occurring like bookends in Jesus’ birth and death/resurrection a vivid image occurred in my mind; and I knew it as an answer to prayer.

“My Body Broken for You” is that idea.

Praise God! I’m so excited to share with you this painting!

A bit of background. During a Passover meal there is a plate of matzah on the table. It looks like this:

Curtesy PublicDomainPictures – Pesach Matza

Three matzah breads are wrapped together and placed on the table. There are various explanations for these three, some rabbis call these three a unity of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Among Christians and Messianic Jews the three represent the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, where the middle matzah represents Jesus.

In the matzah we can see a picture of Messiah, notice that it is striped…
“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

And that it is pierced…

¹⁰“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10

That vivid image was this…what jarring emotion and feeling Jesus must have had when taking that middle matzah, seeing the holes and stripes, knowing the true meaning of it and having it broken in His hands?

The Jews of the Old Testament for a thousand years earlier and His disciples knew the matzah pertained only to the story of the children of Israel who fled Egypt so quickly they had no time to wait for their dough to rise; instead they quickly made unleavened bread and allowed the hot desert sun to bake it flat. Scripture teaches that leaven symbolizes sin.

⁶“Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? ⁷Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” I Corinthians 5:6-7

That night Jesus explained to His disciples the unleavened matzah in the New Covenant now represents His sinless body. In a few short hours His body would be marked with scourging and pierced as the bread He held in His hands. Did they fully comprehend that?

What if Jesus after having given thanks to His Father … intending only to gently break the bread neatly into two identical halves, instead to His shock it shatters violently into many pieces!

What if with tears in His eyes picking up pieces of broken bread hands it to His disciples saying: “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Would He have been cut to the core by the striking confirmation from His Father of the savage brutality that would happen to His body to redeem mankind? Of course they both planned it in eternity past…but oh how jarring when that hour becomes reality!

What if the Father purposely allowed the bread to fragment with such ferocity as to demonstrate a powerful visualization to everyone around of what Jesus had just said? Did the disciples get that?

The bible never tells us if Jesus’ broke the bread neatly in two perfect halves. Tradition and artists have always portrayed it as so as it’s only aesthetically pleasing to the viewer…. and to do so otherwise is …well not kosher! [forgive the pun!]

I’m reminded of how before He ever felt the cold rusted iron spikes pounded into His hands and feet, before ever a cat’o nine tails sliced and tore His back into ribbons, His heart had been crushed by the sins of His people.

“Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations.” Ezekiel 6:9

Then His heart, now His body.

I captured a moment in time, a visual aid for 21st century disciples of Christ, depicting the deafening crack representing the intensity of Jesus being crushed for our wickedness. The wine that was poured into His cup has spilled upon the tablecloth, the wrinkle in the tablecloth reminds us of His greatest accomplishment.

Jesus was willing to be broken for us, so that we may be completely whole, healed…..what a wonderful Savior!

May this post encourage you in your walk with Jesus Christ!

-Donna

Posted on February 11, 2018May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Love Mosaic

“Love Mosaic” © by Donna Gonzalez

February is here, for us Michiganders it usually means another 6 to 8 weeks more of wintery snow..ugh! But it’s also a time for cherishing your loved one(s) with love, affection, long stem roses, chocolates and candy in celebration of Valentine’s Day!

Some historians claim this holiday was the Church’s “Christianization” of the pagan Roman fertility and health festival Lupercalia, observed February 13-15th. It had its roots at least as far back as 44 BC. However; did you know there really was a man by the name of Valentine?

Though there are several versions of his life, and it’s not historically clear which hagiography is most accurate, the story goes that Valentine (Latin Valentius) was a Christian priest and former bishop of several towns in Umbria Italy during the 3rd century of Rome under emperor Claudius II. Claudius had banned his soldiers from marrying as he thought single men made better soldiers due to not being hindered on the battlefield because of strong affections.

Despite the Emperor’s edit, Valentine continued to perform marriages of young soldiers who were in love in secret. The Emperor found out about this and had him arrested and imprisoned. Some accounts accredit Valentine in the healing of the jailer’s blind daughter others that he fell in love with her and wrote a card to her signing it, “Love, your Valentine.”

Other versions accredit Valentine in proselytizing many to the Christian faith, defied the Emperor by helping Christians escape the torture and persecution by the Romans, and unsuccessfully convince the Emperor to embrace Christianity. Claudius II refused commanding Valentine to either renounce his faith in Christ or to be beaten with clubs and beheaded. Valentine stayed true to his faith in Christ and was martyred on February 14, 269 AD.

Which brings me to why I’m so excited to share with you about this beautiful artwork above entitled “Love Mosaic”. What you are looking at is an abstract mosaic artwork representing God’s love. It is made up of 16 individual mosaics put into this unique pattern and based upon I Corinthians 13:4-8:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.⁸Love never fails…”

Iconography and hidden symbols:

A large cross in the center of the mosaic.

Pairs of hearts each with its own reflected heart.

There are large “X”s and “O”s …

and four smaller pairs of “Xs” and “Os”…

There are 2 pairs of smaller crosses originating from the horizontal crossbeam of the central cross and hearts, there’s many hearts in this mosaic!

Four small butterflies at the edges of the mosaic.

So…how does all of these hidden images within this mosaic relate to Valentine’s Day and I Corinthians 13:4-5? Much actually! There is so much richness in this mosaic!

We know that love originates from God our Father, the cross is where He demonstrated His great love.

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” I John 4:8

“We love because he first loved us.” I John 4:19

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

The heart of course is the universal symbol of love, in this mosaic there are two pairs of large hearts connected to the horizontal crossbeam of the main cross. Each mirrored pair extending downward symbolizes God’s immense love towards us, and the upward pairs represents our hearts raised towards Heaven in gratitude for all He’s done for us.

The large “X’s” and “O’s” represent God’s lovingkindness and compassion. The smaller ones represent our love towards each other.

²²“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
²³They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Jesus speaking… ²⁷“He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

The two smaller crosses represents the believer’s position in Christ. The hearts within the crosses symbolizes obedience to Jesus’ new command.

²⁰“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34

Just as a butterfly is an entirely new creature beyond the lowly caterpillar, likewise when a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation for the forgiveness of sins, they are translated from death to life, from darkness into His glorious light. Those who’ve been transformed by God’s love are like the butterfly flying outwards beyond the painting, compelling others to be reconciled back to God.

Jesus is speaking…. ²⁴“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

¹⁷“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” II Corinthians 5:17

²⁰“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” II Corinthians 5:20

Jesus paid an enormous price to secure our salvation. Like saint Valentine we too ought to love Christ beyond measure, beyond what anything this world has to offer, despite any suffering, hardships, or persecution and to remain faithful to Christ even unto death.

¹¹“They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Revelation 12:11

We are commanded to love others the way He does, meaning with patience, kindness, without envy, without being boastful or prideful. We show our love by putting others needs first, and without getting easily angered. And like Jesus’ great loving-kindness in forgiving us and not counting our wrongs against us, likewise; we too are to show forgiveness to one another without keeping a record of how they have wronged us.

As we celebrate Valentine’s Day may our hearts and minds be renewed in Christ, to love others as He loves us. May this post encourage and bless you in your walk with Christ!

-Donna

Below is a Slideshow of the hidden symbols in this mosaic artwork.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted on January 11, 2018May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — 2 Comments

Chi-Rho Newsletter – The Narrow Path Mosaic

“

“The Narrow Path Mosaic” © by Donna Gonzalez

Yey! It’s a New Year!! Happy New Year to all of you and wishing all of you a blessed safe New Year filled with thanksgiving and joy!

The above painting is comprised of 35 identical mosaic paintings which when placed into a pattern creates this particular composition, it is just one of several possible pattern combinations. And I am always humbled how God’s fingerprints are there, this one is relatively easy to see the symbolism and the scripture that came to mind was Matthew 7:13-14.

Jesus is speaking:

¹³“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Iconography:

This mosaic painting has alternating horizontal rows of wide and narrow bands, each band is representative of a pathway. Highlighted in yellow below is one of several narrow pathways.

And one of several wide paths…

As I write this post right now I just had an epiphany about this mosaic I hadn’t noticed before…….Wow! Praise God! I’ll explain what it is in a minute…but for now hang tight…it gets deep!

Notice that the narrow path below is made up of alternating brown and green elongated oddly shaped rectangles and concave squares. It is bordered by two sets of red parallel rows of tiles with wavy edges or wavy lines (highlighted in yellow) resulting in hemming the pathway at intervals making it even more narrower.

Whereas the second pathway is opposite, it is wider made up of alternating blue and purple perfectly shaped squares and rectangles. Though it too is bordered by the same set of red parallel tiles, it is the straight edges or lines (highlighted in yellow) which border the wide path making it a perfectly straight unencumbered pathway….

This is where it gets really interesting…

When this piece was completed I wasn’t thrilled with the results, and in hindsight admonished myself for not choosing a different color pallet. The alternating bands of blues and red remind me of bricks, there is no hierarchy, and it annoyed me. Though the wide and narrow paths reminded me of Matthew 7:13-14, I didn’t think there was much to say about this piece.

Until today… when I needed one that was completed and felt led by God to write about this mosaic of all pieces! Trusting God I started to write knowing His ways are always better than mine – and thought this was going to be a very short post, until I got that epiphany…..and now everything has changed!

The epiphany are the straight v. wavy lines, the colors and the Christian disciplined walk in holiness in light of Matthew 7:13-14. I didn’t paint this mosaic with all of that in mind this is God’s fingerprints! Glory to Jesus!

The straight edges/lines of the sets of red tiles represents how wide and welcoming is the world’s philosophy of doing things. It’s gateway is wide, alluring, deceptively encouraging one to forego such foolish hardship of the other narrow path. Many chose the world’s path to because it deceptively fools them into believing lies, that life should be unencumbered.

The purple squares represents extravagance, luxury, power, wealth, and independence, trust and pride. The blue squares represents trust, wisdom and intelligence.

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; ²⁰and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” I Corinthians 3:19-20

The broad path is paved with the world’s wisdom, enticing promises that striving after extravagance, luxury, power, wealth, independence from all moral constraints and accountability is considered successful. But the end of it all is eternal death.

^{13 “}Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” James 3:13-18

In contrast the wavy edges/lines of the sets of red tiles represents trials in life that hem believers in from all sides, is actually enabling them to draw closer to Christ.

The green colored shapes represents youthfulness, growth, renewal, safety, fertility and life. The brown colored shapes represents reliability, security and steadfastness. All of which pertain to the journey of a true follower of Christ.

In the Kingdom of God believers let go of pride trusting fully in Jesus as a young child puts it’s trust in a loving parent’s decision. They are exhorted by Jesus to reject the wide path and chose His difficult narrow way.

Difficult because it involves giving up the word’s ways of doing things, trusting and obeying Jesus so they may grow in maturity in Him. When a Christian chooses to remain steadfast in Him, Jesus renews their strength despite the unrelentingly ups and downs of life. Jesus alone is consistently faithful, reliable as our safety and only security in this troubled world. Jesus’ way leads to producing fruit that glorifies God and always leads to eternal life.

^{3 “}If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” II Timothy 2:13

^{8 “}This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:8

May Christians be encouraged to remain steadfast on the narrow path!

In Him,

-Donna

Posted on August 31, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Rivers In The Desert

“Rivers in the Desert” © by Donna Gonzalez

I love how this mosaic came out it’s one of my favorites! It is comprised of multiple mosaic panels offset on an angle to create this mesmerizing abstract painting. The use of repeated mosaics creates the effect of movement. The blues and greens capture the rippling movement of fresh water glistening in the sunlight contrasted against the desert browns, yellows, and oranges representing sand and rock.

It reminds me of several scriptures relating to water. However; Isaiah 43:19 seems to say it best as the Lord says:

“Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.”

Those words are part of a longer discourse from the Lord to both Israel and Jacob. In this chapter God repeatedly acknowledges Himself as “The Holy One of Israel” then lists His credentials: your Savior, your Redeemer, your King, your Creator. Then says everyone called by His name He created for His glory. Wow! Incredible words describing our God and our purpose!

The last line of this chapter reads: “…Because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen, This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.”

We try all kind of things to drown out or fix our problems, when really only one thing is needful.

To the outcast, downtrodden: “Jesus answered, ’Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” – John 4:13-14

To those who believe: ³⁷On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” – John 7:37-39

Many people are lost, walking in a dry wilderness, searching in vain for anything to satisfy a gnawing thirst in their souls which can never be quenched by anything of the world. Those who are born-again and are filled with the Holy Spirit have that living water. The ministry of the Holy Spirit flows out of a heart that has been redeemed by God and it blesses other believers. Through the believer it brings a word of life to a lost and dying world.

And that is why I really love this mosaic, because it not only speaks of the believer’s calling and purpose but it is a constant reminder for the believer to continuously draw strength from Christ. No matter the circumstances or how bleak the situation we may experience or what dry patch of wilderness a believer may go through we look to Jesus. Only He can make a path where one doesn’t exist, bring life out from a barren wasteland, and bring beauty from ashes. Jesus exhorts us to come to Him for wisdom times of refreshment, healing and rejuvenation.

From eternity past to present and for all eternity, Jesus will continue to reign supreme as the Holy One of Israel, our Savior, Redeemer, King, and Creator. In agreement with Peter let us who are redeemed be strengthened in these words: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” – I Peter 2:9

Be encouraged!

Donna

Posted on April 23, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Jesus Christ Chief Cornerstone

“Jesus Christ Chief Cornerstone” © by Donna Gonzalez

Yes, this month’s newsletter comes at the last day in April and what better way to wrap up this busy month than to begin again remembering Jesus as our Chief Cornerstone our sure foundation!

The painting above is of 16 mosaics put together to create a unique pattern, I did add a filter overlay which rendered the brushstrokes to look like neon light. The finished composition reminded me of I Peter 2:6.

As Christians celebrated Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday this month we were united with other believers around the world in memory of the glorious morning our Lord Jesus Christ triumphed over sin, death and the grave! Praise God! The disciples’ faith in Jesus was tried like never before when they witnessed the crucifixion and death of their beloved friend. And three days later it would be renewed stronger – rock solid – having seen first hand the Son of the Living God risen. What a glorious moment!

This painting is special to me because it reminds me that I not only can I depend on Jesus as He is faithful in all things but I can also have my art ministry founded on Him as well. A cornerstone is “an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based upon.” Exactly what Resurgent Art’s mission is dependent upon God and the importance of who Christ is while pointing others to Him, showing beauty all for His glory. 😀

There is an optical illusion of X’s that are visible at a distance. It happens often in my paintings, I don’t know why this happens; but my daughter pointed out to me there’s either O’s or X’s in many of my works. Hmmm….maybe it’s a reminder how much Jesus loves all of us dearly? Just a thought! May your week be blessed my friend!

-Donna

Posted on April 7, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – New Creation

It always amazes me when I paint a mosaic painting how often there are hidden symbols! It’s just another of His fingerprints! Praise God! Now, not every single mosaic I paint does this; but a lot do. This acrylic painting is one of them. It is composed of 16 identical mosaics which are placed together creating a unique pattern. I have no idea after painting the original mosaic what the end pattern will result in, nor can I see any hidden images, it’s only when they are all put together that the hidden images emerge.

Iconography: There are three rows of crosses starting at the very top going from left to right. The second cross in the first row is highlighted in blue below. There are two more rows; and each row overlaps a bit the previous one. In between each crossbeam is a darker area that depending on your viewpoint becomes the spread wings of a butterfly flying vertically or horizontally. They are highlighted in yellow below.

If you don’t see the crosses in this artwork come closer, you’re too far away. They will appear to “fade” and will disappear altogether the further you stand back. It’s an optical illusion.

The scripture that comes to mind regarding this painting is II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” In this chapter St. Paul is encouraging the believers in the Corinth church. Before we are born-again we are like the earth bound caterpillar busy about in sin and consumed with worldly things, and being consumed by them as well. Yet the moment we believe on Jesus for salvation the Holy Spirit works a miracle in us, like the caterpillar that must “die” to emerge from its chrysalis into a new creature. Likewise we “die” and are made a new creation in Christ Jesus represented by the butterfly. Romans 6:11 says: “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Likewise all those whom God foreknew; which by the way, is everyone ever conceived or will be conceived on this earth, He predestined to be conformed into His Son. Romans 8:28-30 says:

^“28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

As Christians we must stay on our guard being ever vigilant to abide in Christ, like the butterfly in flight is always connected to the cross. When the focus of our life is no longer on Jesus and what He did for us on the cross, but instead becomes so focused on trials, worldly desires or someone or something else takes precedence over Jesus, we compromise our affection that further distances us from Him. One can easily lose sight of why they are here, forgetting who they are in Christ and what He has accomplished for them in His death and resurrection.

In doubt, one can become so discouraged thinking that Jesus has completely left them, analogous to looking at this artwork from afar and not seeing the cross anymore, in fact, stand far enough away and even the butterflies themselves will fade into the artwork while other areas of the pattern that were once not so noticeable now become prominent – over the cross! Feelings are very powerful and if not checked can make even the mature Christian begin to doubt His loving God and forget who they are in Christ Jesus. However; we like the Corinthian believers are told by St. Paul: ⁷For we live by faith, not by sight.” II Corinthians 5:7

Yet, by returning the focus back onto the cross and drawing near to God, He draws near to us cleansing us from all sin. 1 John 1:7. The scarlet color of the artwork represents the shed blood of Christ powerful enough to wipe away all guilt and shame. Praise God for His great loving kindness towards us!

As we reflect on why our Lord Jesus came to die for us during this Lenten season, let us so be encouraged that no matter how your life may have been up to now, no matter the mistakes, the guilt, the shame the sin, whoever you are, whatever you’ve done, because of His work on the cross we have the wonderful opportunity to be made new in Jesus.

May this artwork and this post bless and encourage you that you are greatly loved by God! Be blessed!

-Donna

Note: The following is for those of you reading who don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior and want Him to forgive you of your sins and grant you eternal life which God offers. His desire is that you become born-again, become a new creation in Jesus. Read the scriptures below and pray to Jesus asking Him to save you and to forgive you of your sins. Jesus already knows everything about you, He already knows your heart just be honest with Him. There is no works, no good deeds, no sacrifice you can ever do on your part to save yourself. You must come to Jesus the Son of the Living God on His terms believing what He has said in the following scriptures.

²⁸“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:8-9

“ ⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

“Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

⁴“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?¹¹Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,¹⁵that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:1-21

^“9If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:7

If you called out to Jesus for salvation go to a bible believing church in your area and let them know you are a new believer in Jesus so that you may be baptized. Prayer is simply you talking to God. Start reading the Gospel of John in the bible so that you understand more about Jesus and how He wants you to live. If you don’t have a bible click on any of the scripture hyperlinks they will take you the Biblegateway.com website, an online bible database. God speaks to you through prayer and mostly through the bible. Email me to let me know you’ve became a new believer in Jesus so that I may rejoice with you!

Be blessed!

-Donna

Posted on February 24, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC

Are you really trusting Him?

As born again Christians we are commanded by God to:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Sounds easy enough right? It’s a favorite verse for many. Until we get into the car and head for work. Sure enough someone cuts us off from our exit, causing us to slam on the breaks nearly missing an oncoming car. Top it all off that crazy driver sneered, laughing at us while flipping the bird on the expressway. And that old nature immediately kicks in; we lean on our own understanding by following the world’s wisdom. Ignoring the checking of the Holy Spirit to slow it down and stop entertaining evil thoughts towards another person, instead we chose to ignore His words. We curse that driver as we begin tailgating him hoping to cut him off at the next opportunity. Later we start arguing with the Spirit of God as He admonishes us that we didn’t obey Him:

¹⁷“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:17-18

Pride won’t budge, and to make matters worse we have a mental tribunal in our minds justifying our actions as we misquote scripture to excuse our behavior of “doing unto others as they did to us”. Besides someone had to teach that driver a lesson! Clearly he was in the wrong!

But indirectly whether we realize it or not we are telling God “I don’t trust You know the best way of dealing with people, You are wrong too.”

Hmmm…

We sinned and in that ungodly behavior we grieved the Holy Spirit, negatively affected our witness to the other drivers around us, who unbeknownst to us, were probably some of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to be ambassadors for Christ and instead that little stunt put Jesus’ reputation at stake just to prove a point.

Worse it just proved that we are not really trusting in the words of Christ. Don’t excuse it under the rug that it’s a moot point. To the world it is moot, but to God it’s a matter of whether or not we choose to fully accept that Jesus knows exactly what He’s talking about when He tells us how interact with others that insult us. Like turning the other cheek and leaving room for God’s wrath.

^{23 “}Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” Luke 9:23-25

Jesus’ His words ring clear but does that mean I’m to carry my cross by denying myself that little pleasure of getting back at someone who flipped me off?

Yep! Trusting in God means to lay aside our old way of thinking for His ways, of laying aside our agenda and our understanding of how to do things for His perfect better way of doing things, whether they make sense to us or not.

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12”

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

It’s the narrow way. Entering into the narrow gate means one has to crouch low, humble oneself just to squeeze through that narrow gate. The narrow path will lead to eternal life but until then we will endure hardships, trials and even persecution in our lives. We live in a broken world but God uses those trials for our good.

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything to make us mature in Christ. James 1:2-4

Faith is complete conviction and confidence in and who Jesus is. There is no room for doubt. It is knowing that trails come as a testing of our faith to produce perseverance, that it must finish it’s work. We must not hinder His work in us otherwise we will be lacking and not reach maturity in Him.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” II Corinthians 5:7

We must walk as Jesus walked, persistent in faith in His Father. To live fully convinced that His words are Spirit and they are Life. Those that obey will be rewarded by God.

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” Proverbs 16:20

Let us therefore not be like those of long ago who amazed Jesus.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” ⁵He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶He was amazed at their lack of faith. Mark 6:4-6

One would think that trusting Jesus and in His word is given for a Christian yet what is interesting is what Jesus would say at the end of His parable of the persistent widow.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8

Christians who are steadfast in faith no matter their circumstance or outcome are placing all their trust in the Father who has their back, who will answer in due time. Apparently Jesus felt faith in Him and explicit trust in His words was so important that He needed to call into question whether or not people will have any unwavering faith and trust in God as this widow had portrayed when He returns the second time. Trust in Jesus …it’s really that important.

-Donna

Posted on January 25, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Fishers of Men or God’s Fingerprints…

I was having a conversation the other day with a friend of mine about how I create my works of art and that I pray during the whole process that God will use it to communicate His message. He encouraged me to consider sharing this with others how God communicates a biblical truth which is not at first seen in my artwork but later revealed.

The above artwork is entitled “Fishers of Men” and undoubtedly you may be thinking right now “huh?” Well so did I until it was completed and shown to me!

This artwork, like many that I paint, is based upon an original acrylic painting of a mosaic on canvas. Afterwords I duplicate and rotate the individual mosaics and in the process a pattern will appear. Not just one but several different patterns will emerge from this one mosaic painting. I don’t know how many patterns there are let alone what they will look like and sometimes adding an effect may change the entire look of the pattern.

Iconography: Starting at the top row in the middle of the artwork there appears what looks like a blue fishtail entering into the water. (See blue highlight on image below) The fishtail is centered between two pairs of outward slanted dark pink box-shaped houses complete with triangular burgundy roofs, (highlighted in yellow) and a small door upon a small hill. Below that is another row of 5 pink-lavender slanted houses – with the third one being shorter (highlighted in pink). There are 6 alternate rows one with a row of houses with a fishtail and one row with 5 houses.

When finished with this artwork I asked the Lord to show me just what He wanted to convey, because it just looked like a haphazard pattern of geometric shapes and hues of purples, dark blues and greens. In prayer I was reminded of Matthew 4:19, looked it up and thought “huh?”. Then it became clearer to me what I was actually seeing and it all made sense! Now for the record, not once did that scripture ever occur to me nor was I thinking of houses or fishtails when making this composition.

And that is the awesome wonder of it all, God communicating His truth in patterns from this artwork! Letting Him put His fingerprints all over it however He wants. Praise God!

Now some may think I’m just trying to force what I want to think I see because I’m a Christian and I’m already predisposed to thinking that way. True I do ponder on the Lord, but in all honesty, I don’t go into a painting with a premeditated scripture and message already in my head, figuring that all out on canvas is a lot of work! I simply paint, manipulate it and the patterns just emerge.

Nor is it coincidence, luck or superstition because that would mean something else is in control, more powerful than God. And the funny thing is…He won’t even reveal to me what the pattern will be until it’s all finished! 😀 Jesus already knows what all the patterns and symbolisms will be, He knows the end from the beginning and I think He likes doing that. Proverbs 25:2 is appropriate: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” Indeed it is a blessing and a joy!

Jesus is speaking:

¹⁹Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19

This artwork is a subtle reminder for all of us believers in Christ as we follow Him walking in different places, nations, cities, neighborhoods (rows of houses on hills) that He has called us to go forth with the Gospel to become fishers of men (fishtail), even within our families (center short houses under fishtail) and to go make disciples for Jesus! Glory to Jesus!

Be blessed!

-Donna