I was interviewed in June 2026 about art/comics, culture, business, values and more on Exploring the Vintage NFT Space with ZeroG!
It's a pretty wide, career-spanning discussion with much depth, laughs, tips, and something for everyone.
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Star Chosen Soundtrack
12-Song Soundtrack Now Available on Spotify & Apple Music
The space-rock-opera has blasted off! Star Chosen, the musical soundtrack of sci-fi, spiritual epic-ness, is now available to stream for free!
The album has a dozen all-new rock, folk, pop, and retro songs that propel a space opera of intergalactic conflict. I wrote the lyrics over a 4-month period, and Paolix Guitar did the music production. This Star Chosen soundtrack serves as a companion piece to the full-length, illustrated sci-fi novel I wrote of the same title (which took 20 years to write). Join the Star Chosen and give these catchy tunes a listen!
Loyalty
| Loyalty is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta, available on Ethereum Network. |
Our church has been going through inspiring lessons on loyalty in the Bible and I have been one of the teachers who has preached an installment of this eye-opening series. To compliment such things, I thought it would be fitting to draw a visual representation of loyalty. Two friends, fighting side by side, where each one has the other's back, seemed to be a most lively way to portray the excitement and commitment wrapped up in the godly trait of loyalty.
You can also watch the lesson I preached called Loyalty + Self Denial = Disciple. It is at https://youtu.be/J9QLegIFjR4 and below are the notes from my sermon.
Loyalty + Self Denial = Disciple
See the connection between Loyalty and Self Denial. In Christ, you can't have one without the other. Both are requirements of Christianity.
Luke 9:20-24
[20] “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
[21] Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. [22] And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
[23] Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [24] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
Denying self is a must-have behavior of disciples.
Denying self is a salvation issue.
"Deny" self here could also be translated as "disown" self, "refuse" self, "reject" self.
One of the main requirements of following Jesus is not being selfish. Disown what you want; replace it with what Jesus wants.
Can't be loyal to self and Jesus at the same time.
If you are truly following Jesus then, like Jesus did, you are building a team of loyal disciples.
If you deny self for Jesus, then you are loyal to Jesus, then you are loyal to his church.
If you are selfish, then you are not loyal.
If not loyal, then not a disciple of Jesus.
1 Samuel 22:1-23
Intense period in the life of David.
Use as framework to test godly loyalty in our own lives.
In my easily deceived mind I can believe that many people are loyal to me and imagine me doing great things to lead them. Yet I’ve thought this during periods when I wasn’t really leading anyone; in fact when I examined things closely no one was loyal to me. I wasn’t loyal to anyone.
1 Samuel 22:1-23
[1] David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. [2] All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
[3] From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?” [4] So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.
[5] But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
[6] Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul, spear in hand, was seated under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing around him. [7] Saul said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? [8] Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.”
[9] But Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul's officials, said, “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. [10] Ahimelech inquired of the LORD for him; he also gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
[11] Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and his father's whole family, who were the priests at Nob, and they all came to the king. [12] Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.”
“Yes, my lord,” he answered.
[13] Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?”
[14] Ahimelech answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king's son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household? [15] Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father's family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.”
[16] But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and your father's whole family.”
[17] Then the king ordered the guards at his side: “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.”
But the king's officials were not willing to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.
[18] The king then ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. [19] He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.
[20] But Abiathar, a son of Ahimelech son of Ahitub, escaped and fled to join David. [21] He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. [22] Then David said to Abiathar: “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your father's whole family. [23] Stay with me; don't be afraid; the man who is seeking your life is seeking mine also. You will be safe with me.”
Verse 1-2: When David was heavily persecuted by Saul, why did hundreds of people still follow David?
David became a leader of hundreds of troubled people.
Person loyal to God will not abandon others because of their own hardship.
Reflect on the loyalty that David inspired.
Think about loyalty in your own life.
Who have you shown loyalty to in the past month?
Is God pleased with your level of loyalty?
1 Samuel 22:3
“...Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?”
David shows his loyalty to God by waiting for God to make things clear.
David was God's learner.
David learned loyalty by waiting for God and following God's way.
David did this even if that meant being separated from family.
1 Samuel 22:8
"Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today."
Saul's attitude is only loyal to self.
How many times does he mention "me" or "my"? Eight times!
If you are selfish, it is impossible to be loyal.
Contrast with loyalty between David and Saul’s son Jonathan.
Godly people make a solemn agreement (covenant) of righteousness regardless of physical family influence or persecution.
Reread 1 Samuel 22:14
"Ahimelech answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king's son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household?"
The Hebrew word in verse 14 translated as "loyal" can also be translated as "to sustain, to support with the arm, to carry a child, to nourish, to be faithful." As we examine loyalty in ourselves, ask "who am I supporting; who am I nourishing?"
David was known and praised for his loyalty to God, God's kingdom, and God's people--even in times of deadly hardship and injustice.
Can you see how David was respected because of his loyalty?
People respect loyalty.
1Samuel 22:18
[18] The king then ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod.
Doeg picked the wrong person and the wrong orders to be loyal to.
Perhaps you’re loyal, but you’re loyal to the wrong doctor and the wrong.
Misplaced loyalty damages God’s kingdom.
Ask yourself these questions and answer objectively:
- Are you known for your loyalty to God? Who knows this?
- Are you known for your loyalty to God's kingdom?
- Are you known for your loyalty to God's people?
- Are you known for loyalty to the team of people you are working with closely throughout the week to advance God's mission? We call this group a "Bible Talk."
1 Samuel 22:20-23
[20] But Abiathar, a son of Ahimelech son of Ahitub, escaped and fled to join David. [21] He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. [22] Then David said to Abiathar: “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your father's whole family. [23] Stay with me; don't be afraid; the man who is seeking your life is seeking mine also. You will be safe with me.”
Why does David take responsibility for Abiathar's safety?
Loyalty breeds loyalty.
Loyalty goes both ways.
When people truly have a shared mission, they will get united, take risks, deny self, and be loyal to God and his people.
Challenge:
1. Make a list of what and who you are taking responsibility for in the church.
2. Ask one of Jesus’ disciples today if loyalty to God and his kingdom are one of your strengths.
3. Pray to have a heart of godly loyalty and godly responsibility--just like David, a person "after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14).
When Paddy Fights
When Paddy Fights
Paddy finally said what he had been thinking in frustration for decades; "Lofticuff Clan, I don't like losing... and I especially don't like losing to you! In fact, I absolutely hate it. And now I am ready to do something about it."Some words come and go quicker than treats in a hungry dog's mouth. Yet these words--at least for Paddy--lingered. They had a sort of power. So he decided to spread them around. Paddy, his family, and friends drafted handwritten flyers with these exact words on them. There was something extra powerful about a growing group of unified people saying the same exact thing--and posting it for all to read throughout the town. In fact, it was the brevity of Paddy's words that unified them; their shared pain of failure made them a tribe of their own.
Meanwhile, Paddy's enemies, the ever-privileged clan known as the Lofticuffs, could care less. They liked that Paddy had always been the loser and subject to them in all too many things due to Paddy's poverty and low standing in society. With boastful and fairly aloof hearts, the Lofticuffs assumed this incident of Paddy's public outburst would be nothing more than a passing hiccup: a thing to giggle at and forget.
The irony of the whole situation never once occurred to any of the Lofticuffs. While they had oppressed Paddy and whole communities of people for the entirety of their selfish existence, it was all quite unnecessary. The Lofticuffs did not actually need anything from Paddy or his associates. Nevertheless, the Lofticuffs simply enjoyed the process of dominating others. It was their sick family sport, and they were the reigning champions at it thus far. Paddy suspected such things, and hated that too.
Therefore Paddy proceeded to further organize and gather all his weapons (which were not many), his currency (which was not much), his fellow underprivileged allies, and his few possessions... with one single focal point in mind. It was partly a mumbling question that transformed into half a prayer, and half a battle cry. "How can we use all our collective resources to defeat the Lofticuffs? We must defeat them--at least once. I believe it is surely possible, and I have believed this for a long time. Because if... no... when we do it one time, then we can do it again... and again. And then we can teach others to do the same."
This was the moment... that precious moment that changed history. Upon reflection, most others would say the pivotal point of Clan Lofticuff's defeat was in the final--and quite costly--battle surge with heavy casualties on either side. Paddy respected that: particularly the high cost of victory. Yet Paddy had an added perspective. He understood that the battle was actually won the moment he resolutely decided to have faith, take action, and never give up.
Carry Me Comics
Carry Me Comics by Joe Chiappetta is rare digital art on Ethereum Network.
This Silly Daddy Comic contains more than just a funny scenario brought to light by the child’s innocent query. There are a few possible answers to her question: "Who carries you when you are tired?"
- No one carries me.
- By faith, God carries me when I am tired.
- By grace, God carries me when I am tired.
- People who care are the ones who carry me when I am tired.
Joe Chiappetta
Victory of the Spiritual Mind
Victory of the Spiritual Mind is rare digital art available on MakersPlace
Many of these themes are easy to spot in the painting but some may be more subtle, because this particular artwork has paintings within paintings. Therefore I will list the victory-seeking areas I have painted about in this piece of animated art, and I will do so in the form of a prayer:
Dear God, please grant me, my friends, and family great and enduring victory in the realms of faith, servitude, kindness, business, finances, cryptoart, family-building, playfulness, insight, friendships, joy, and peace. Amen!
Joe Chiappetta
http://SillyDaddy.net
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