Creating with discernment

[We had a fantastic first day of the arts camp. The joy and energy of pre-teens and teens is contagious, especially in a loving and well-organized atmosphere. Yesterday we talked about building our lives on the foundation of God’s word because we are God’s masterpieces. Today we’re talking about creating works of art – visual, musical, dramatic, etc. – that come from the Holy Spirit and the good within us. Here’s some of the notes from the devotions.]

Pay attention to me and I (wisdom) will pour out my spirit on you and make my words known to you.  (Proverbs 1:23)

Whoever listens to me will live securely and in confident trust and will be at ease without fear or dread of evil. (Proverbs 1:33)

Because we are created in God’s image, we, too are creators.  The art we create – no matter what form – should come from that foundation -being creators like God.  Our art can tell God’s story.  What you create flows from what is inside.  If you have junk in your heart, your art will reflect that.  If you have God’s love, joy, hope, and peace in your heart, your art will reflect that. 

Why? 

“A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (Luke 6:45 NLT) 

There’s plenty of art in the world that reflects the junk or even evil in its creators’ hearts.  

There’s also plenty of art in the world that reflects the good and Godly in its creators’ hearts. 

One of my most memorable artistic moments was watching a dance that dramatized the birth of Jesus.  That dance reflected the good and Godly in that creator’s heart. I’ve also seen things the world labels “art” but I would say are junk – even evil – and evidently reflect the ungodliness or even evil in the heart of the one that created it. 

What we put in our minds, hearts and spirits matters. Why?  We were created by the Creator of the Universe to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

What does that mean? When you believe that Jesus is your Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in you.  When you say yes to Jesus’s invitation to salvation, you open the door to the Holy Spirit living within you. 

Does that seem strange?  Think about it. God loves you and wants to give you what you need.   Do you ever need encouragement? Do you ever need guidance? Do you ever need love, joy, patience, or peace? The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Encourager, the Guide, and is full of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness and Self Control.  When we are IN CHRIST, the Holy Spirit will live within us and help us – if we listen. 

So how do you choose what to listen to? There’s lots of things our friends may say, we might read in books, or we might see on the TV or internet.  But not all of them are good.  If we want to create good art, godly art, we have to put good things into our hearts and our minds and our spirits. 

How do you choose what to put inside us?  Just like the right ingredients will make a great-tasting pan of brownies, what we put in our hearts and spirits matter.  God’s voice in the Bible was sometimes loud and obvious (think: Moses at burning bush) and sometimes quiet and gentle (think about the ways Jesus interacted with the lost, hurting, broken, and ill.)

We must be discerning about what we listen to. The enemy of our souls will twist, deceive, lie to you.  Do not listen. “If sinners entice you, do not consent.” (Proverbs 1:10 AMP)

We have to choose to listen to God’s Voice. Every one of us who are IN CHRIST have that still small voice of Holy Spirit inside us. When we get to know him we will recognize it.  How do we get to know it?  Our spiritual disciplines of reading the Word, Prayer, Worship, Fellowship in Community with spiritually mature believers, listening to Pastors, Parents, Youth leaders, and others all help lead to hearing God and drowning out other voices.

When we listen to God’s Voice within us, we can create good and godly art.

Creating God,

Thank you for creating us in your image and giving us the capacity to create. Thank you for placing Holy Spirit within us when we are in Christ. Help us to choose good, godly, and beautiful things to put into our minds, hearts, and spirits so that we can create out of that goodness. Develop our discernment so we shut out the voices of the world and can hear the sweet voice of our Savior as we create. Help us to tell your story and honor you with our creativity, we ask in Jesus’s name, AMEN.