Hope through art: Glenn's Easter message and how Jesus has inspired his artwork

An Easter message from Glenn:

I think Holy Week is the most important week of the year, both religiously speaking and as a human being. The problems that we face in America today, and quite honestly, in the entire Western world, are due to a lack of forgiveness, a lack of grace, and a lack of an understanding of the atonement.

Suicide rates are up. People think there's no need to live anymore, that nothing is real. They don't realize that they're not a human having a spiritual experience. They're a spirit having a human experience. They don't realize that you are here, at this time, for a reason. No matter what you've done, it doesn't matter. You are here for a reason, and the atonement is for you.

It took me a while to believe that. I used to believe in those lies, and it's what made me drink and become an alcoholic. I couldn't live in the world that I had created with so many things that I was ashamed of. Everything just piled on, and the mountain I created seemed insurmountable.

It wasn't until I stopped drinking and went to AA that I began to find hope again, but I still couldn't let go of the past—not until I was baptized. When I was baptized, I remember calling out to God in my head while I was in the water, saying, "You promise! You cease to be God if you don't live up to your promise, and that promise is to live the way you ask me to live and to do the things you ask me to do to the best of my ability, and you will take all the things from my past away from me."

I'm telling you, my life changed overnight. It's real.

A lot of people who even profess that it's real don't act like it is. It's something that you have to put into practice every single day and be grateful for. It is the greatest gift ever given. And that's what we're supposed to celebrate on Easter: the resurrection.

Our world is always on the razor's edge between the beautiful and the broken. As Glenn so powerfully said, people are struggling to find the will to live, to find ultimate purpose and hope in a world that repeatedly shouts that there are none. We are considered material beings who have pseudo-spiritual experiences rather than spiritual beings who are enfleshed in human bodies. If we are no more than flesh and bones, what ultimate hope do we have?

This is exactly where Glenn was before he found God. That's why he turned to things like alcohol—to blunt the pain of not having ultimate hope and purpose. Don't we all do the same? We all have our ways of alleviating the nearly unlivable burden of life without God or coping with the fear that this world is all there is, that we have no ultimate hope beyond our temporal successes and failures.

Thankfully, that wasn't the end of Glenn's story, and it doesn't have to be the end of yours either. On Easter, we celebrate the atonement of our sins given to us through the life and death of Jesus. His atonement means that our lives become his, and the shame and guilt of our past are washed clean.

Glenn has been inspired by the life and work of Jesus in his art. Here are six of Glenn's paintings inspired by Christ and the work He continues to do through His followers. If you consider purchasing any one of Glenn's prints or giclees, all proceeds go to the American Journey Experience.

Shroud of Turin

This is Glenn's rendition of the “Shroud of Turin,” the burial cloth that many believe to have been wrapped around Jesus in those sorrowful days in the tomb following the cross, miraculously imprinting our Savior’s face into the fabric. Glenn literally sanded down his painted rendition of Jesus' face to create the same effect that you would see on the shroud.

Glenn had Oxford Ph.D. and pastor Jeremiah Johnson on his show to discuss the historicity of the Shroud of Turin, and the evidence for it is nothing short but breathtaking. Johnson mentioned how C.S. Lewis had a painting of the Shroud in his home to always remind him that "my God has a face." Glenn's painting could be the same reminder of hope in your home.

View art HERE.

Jesus

A message from Glenn:

While painting the Shroud [of Turin], it made me wonder, “What did Jesus’ face look like at the very moment of His resurrection? What if we had a shroud capturing the very moment when Jesus arose from death to life?”

The painting of the Shroud captures the tired countenance of Jesus, having endured the suffering of the cross and peacefully awaiting His glorious resurrection. In contrast, the resurrected face of Jesus in this painting is happy now that the pain and suffering of the cross is over. His mouth is firm with determination to see His Father’s mission complete, yet His eyes compassionately gaze into those of the viewers, beckoning them to accept the joy and peace that He offers. His overall countenance is peaceful and relieved, that by His suffering, others can be saved and redeemed. That is what inspired this painting.

View art HERE.

Praise In All Things

This painting shows Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsie in the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. The Ten Booms, a devout Christian family from Amsterdam, were caught by the SS protecting Jews in their home, and they were all sentenced to concentration camps.

There was a lice infestation in their bunker, and Betsie asked her sister of what good God could possibly bring out of such a situation. Corrie encouraged her sister to have faith—and God worked. Due to the lice infestation, Corrie and Betsie's bunker was quarantined, and they were able to host nightly Bible studies with the inmates.

Glenn purposefully depicted each of the inmates' faces to convey a particular emotion we may feel on our journey toward God. Some inmates express anger and resentment. Others express disillusionment and hollowness. Others show signs of curiosity yet trepidation. Some are down right tired and weary. Chances are, you've experienced some or even many of these emotions throughout your journey to God. But God is present, even in the deepest of affliction, and it is there that His atonement is offered to us.

View art HERE.

Chinese Jesus 

This painting was inspired when Glenn heard about the atrocities in Maoist China, especially one is particular. The Chinese Communist Party would make individuals stand up in the public square and denounce every affiliation except their loyalty to the state. If they refused, they would be beaten, tortured, or even worse. Glenn's painting depicts Jesus standing in the public square, accused, beaten, tortured, but he refuses to denounce who He is and who His father is. The sign written in Mandarin hanging around Jesus' neck says, "Son of a King."

View art HERE.

Holocaust Jesus

A message from Glenn:

This painting is very personal for me. I painted this one because the Lord scolded me one day. I was complaining to Him about my job. I was complaining, “Please Lord, I can’t look at this stuff anymore. There’s so much suffering and evil in the world. Give me an answer on how to turn it around. Anything.”

The Lord has made it very clear to me over the years, “You’re supposed to warn. That is your job.” But in that moment, I was so weary, and I asked Him, “What else can I look at? What else can I report on? Is there anything else?”

This is how the Lord answered me: “You can look in a lot of places. But I am always in the center of every place you do not want to look. I am always in the center of the darkest places, because I am always comforting those in those places. I am with them. You can turn your face away from suffering, but you won’t find me there. You will find me in the suffering.”

I tried to bring what the Lord told me to life on the canvas. This painting pictures Christ if he had lived in Nazi Germany. He would likely have been in a concentration camp—as He would have wanted to. He delights in comforting those in the deepest suffering.

His prison uniform features the letters, “TCXC,” which are the Greek letters for “Jesus Christ.”
I’m not good enough to paint the face of Christ, but I wanted to remember the scolding that He gave me, reminding me that leading and encouraging people through suffering and darkness is where the heart of Christ dwells.

View art HERE.

Redeemed

This is a portrait of Johnny Cash’s mug shot when he was arrested on charges of cocaine possession. Many say this was Johnny Cash’s lowest point, but in reality, it was the beginning of the rest of his life, his new life in Christ.

By God’s grace, Cash found Christ and continued to follow Him faithfully the rest of his life. He even took his band to Israel to have them walk the grounds that Jesus walked. Cash’s faith demonstrates that God can redeem even our lowest moments in life, transforming what we thought was utter failure into the beginning of our great story of faith.

View art HERE.

Remembering Charlie Kirk: A tribute through song

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On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE


Has free speech been twisted into a defense of violence?

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Celebrating murder is not speech. It is a revelation of the heart. America must distinguish between debate and the glorification of evil.

Over the weekend, the world mourned the murder of Charlie Kirk. In London, crowds filled the streets, chanting “Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!” and holding up pictures of the fallen conservative giant. Protests in his honor spread as far away as South Korea. This wasn’t just admiration for one man; it was a global acknowledgment that courage and conviction — the kind embodied by Kirk during his lifetime — still matter. But it was also a warning. This is a test for our society, our morality, and our willingness to defend truth.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently delivered a speech that struck at the heart of this crisis. She praised Kirk as a man who welcomed debate, who smiled while defending his ideas, and who faced opposition with respect. That courage is frightening to those who have no arguments. When reason fails, the weapons left are insults, criminalization, and sometimes violence. We see it again today, in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Charlie Kirk’s life was a challenge. His death is a call.

Some professors and public intellectuals have written things that should chill every American soul. They argue that shooting a right-wing figure is somehow less serious than murdering others. They suggest it could be mitigated because of political disagreement. These aren’t careless words — they are a rationalization for murder.

Some will argue that holding such figures accountable is “cancel culture.” They will say that we are silencing debate. They are wrong. Accountability is not cancel culture. A critical difference lies between debating ideas and celebrating death. Debate challenges minds. Celebrating murder abandons humanity. Charlie Kirk’s death draws that line sharply.

History offers us lessons. In France, mobs cheered executions as the guillotine claimed the heads of their enemies — and their own heads soon rolled. Cicero begged his countrymen to reason, yet the mob chose blood over law, and liberty was lost. Charlie Kirk’s assassination reminds us that violence ensues when virtue is abandoned.

We must also distinguish between debates over policy and attacks on life itself. A teacher who argues that children should not undergo gender-transition procedures before adulthood participates in a policy debate. A person who says Charlie Kirk’s death is a victory rejoices in violence. That person has no place shaping minds or guiding children.

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For liberty and virtue

Liberty without virtue is national suicide. The Constitution protects speech — even dangerous ideas — but it cannot shield those who glorify murder. Society has the right to demand virtue from its leaders, educators, and public figures. Charlie Kirk’s life was a challenge. His death is a call. It is a call to defend our children, our communities, and the principles that make America free.

Cancel culture silences debate. But accountability preserves it. A society that distinguishes between debating ideas and celebrating death still has a moral compass. It still has hope. It still has us.

Warning: 97% fear Gen Z’s beliefs could ignite political chaos

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In a republic forged on the anvil of liberty and self-reliance, where generations have fought to preserve free markets against the siren song of tyranny, Gen Z's alarming embrace of socialism amid housing crises and economic despair has sparked urgent alarm. But in a recent poll, Glenn asked the tough questions: Where do Gen Z's socialist sympathies come from—and what does it mean for America's future? Glenn asked, and you answered—hundreds weighed in on this volatile mix of youthful frustration and ideological peril.

The results paint a stark picture of distrust in the system. A whopping 79% of you affirm that Gen Z's socialist sympathies stem from real economic gripes, like sky-high housing costs and a rigged game tilted toward the elite and corporations—defying the argument that it's just youthful naivety. Even more telling, 97% believe this trend arises from a glaring educational void on socialism's bloody historical track record, where failed regimes have crushed freedoms under the boot of big government. And 97% see these poll findings as a harbinger of deepening generational rifts, potentially fueling political chaos and authoritarian overreach if left unchecked.

Your verdict underscores a moral imperative: America's soul hangs on reclaiming timeless values like self-reliance and liberty. This feedback amplifies your concerns, sending a clear message to the powers that be.

Want to make your voice heard? Check out more polls HERE.

Civics isn’t optional—America's survival depends on it

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Every vote, jury duty, and act of engagement is civics in action, not theory. The republic survives only when citizens embrace responsibility.

I slept through high school civics class. I memorized the three branches of government, promptly forgot them, and never thought of that word again. Civics seemed abstract, disconnected from real life. And yet, it is critical to maintaining our republic.

Civics is not a class. It is a responsibility. A set of habits, disciplines, and values that make a country possible. Without it, no country survives.

We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Civics happens every time you speak freely, worship openly, question your government, serve on a jury, or cast a ballot. It’s not a theory or just another entry in a textbook. It’s action — the acts we perform every day to be a positive force in society.

Many of us recoil at “civic responsibility.” “I pay my taxes. I follow the law. I do my civic duty.” That’s not civics. That’s a scam, in my opinion.

Taking up the torch

The founders knew a republic could never run on autopilot. And yet, that’s exactly what we do now. We assume it will work, then complain when it doesn’t. Meanwhile, the people steering the country are driving it straight into a mountain — and they know it.

Our founders gave us tools: separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, elections. But they also warned us: It won’t work unless we are educated, engaged, and moral.

Are we educated, engaged, and moral? Most Americans cannot even define a republic, never mind “keep one,” as Benjamin Franklin urged us to do after the Constitutional Convention.

We fought and died for the republic. Gaining it was the easy part. Keeping it is hard. And keeping it is done through civics.

Start small and local

In our homes, civics means teaching our children the Constitution, our history, and that liberty is not license — it is the space to do what is right. In our communities, civics means volunteering, showing up, knowing your sheriff, attending school board meetings, and understanding the laws you live under. When necessary, it means challenging them.

How involved are you in your local community? Most people would admit: not really.

Civics is learned in practice. And it starts small. Be honest in your business dealings. Speak respectfully in disagreement. Vote in every election, not just the presidential ones. Model citizenship for your children. Liberty is passed down by teaching and example.

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We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Start with yourself. Study the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and state laws. Study, act, serve, question, and teach. Only then can we hope to save the republic. The next election will not fix us. The nation will rise or fall based on how each of us lives civics every day.

Civics isn’t a class. It’s the way we protect freedom, empower our communities, and pass down liberty to the next generation.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.