Kisses-Oh So Sweet Center Step Card---It's Anything Goes at 613 Avenue Create!...Join Us...

It's late Sunday here and had a wonderful day glorifying the Lord Jesus with fellow believers at the Church early today.   I always delight in hearing and seeing people worship the King of kings in different forms---through their lips, song, dance, prayer, kneeling, bowing down, laughter and even tears.  Being a part of the Worship Leading Ministry, I see people that have been touched by God's Word and the revelation of Who and What Jesus did for them, come to the altar and surrender their lives to the Lord.  And although I have been a Christian for more than 23 years, I still marvel at the works of the Lord in a human heart.  I rejoice with every person that comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Why wouldn't I?  The Bible declares in Luke 15:7, "I 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."  Simply put, as a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am a citizen of God's kingdom (a lawful alien of the earth) and I delight to see people coming to the throne of the Only One, True King!  It's sad but many people come to the Church and thinks that by imitating what they see believers do, that would make them a Christian. But they need to know and understand the truth...That acceptance and surrender of one's life to the Lord is not a membership but a heart to heart relationship with the One and Only Savior of Man.  Jesus Christ!  He died on the Cross to redeem us from the horrible fate of those who wouldn't acknowledge His Lordship and salvation before physical death. The sinful nature which originated from Lucifer, inflicted every human being that lived on earth and brought us to rebel against God.  The very nature of the devil---the iniquity found in his heart which stems out of pride makes us believe that we can be our own gods, deciding on our future, saying declaring in our hearts, "God, I don't need you!" This sinful nature and all it's forms are the ones we are surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus Christ after God's Word is preached and we are convicted of the weight of our sin and pride.  That is why the "new birth" is necessary.  Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, "Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born-again."  We literally have to die from our old nature (one we inherited from Adam) and take on the "new nature" which is only through Christ. When a man is born-again, His spirit man, which was darkened by the Fall of Man and dead in the sight of God, comes back to life and has now a brand new fellowship with the Father.  No amount of human effort in any shape or form makes this possible---it's only accessible through FAITH in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  So, every time I witness a person coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, I cry with gladness (together with the heavenly hosts) because I know how it feels to find comfort and peace after a long journey of emptiness and hopelessness, in the arms of my Savior.  And as I continue to discover the wonderful promises of His Word in my life and the depth of His love for me, I keep falling more and more (deeply) in love with Him.  Jesus is "my constant" in this life and beyond...

I want to share these Bible verses that tells us what being in Christ (Born-again experience) truly meant to those that accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23)

"If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him." (1 John 2:29)

"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." (1 John 3:9)

Anyway, I would love to share with you the inspiration card I made for our Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create.  We are highlighting "Celebrations/Occasions" as an optional twist for the Challenge so, I created this Center Step Card featuring our newest sponsor, The Paper Shelter. I chose this very cute image called "Kisses" and colored it with my ProMarker/Prismacolor/Spectrum Noir/Sharpie markers.  I used a white base card and the DP's are from Recollections, Me and My Big Ideas and Heidi Grace.  I computer generated the sentiment which I took from the book called, "Ultimate Guide to a Perfect Card (2nd Edition). The fence border punch an MS Punch,  the Lacey Circle is die-cut with Nestabilities and the flowers and hearts were cut-out from a couple of DP's.  Lastly, I stitched all over this card.  I really love it, so much so, that I would like to keep it for myself for display.  I think this card is great for Engagement, First Date or even Anniversary.  What do you think?

 KISSES-OH SO SWEET CENTER STEP CARD:

 KISSES-OH SO SWEET CENTER STEP CARD LAYERS:

 KISSES-OH SO SWEET CENTER STEP CARD SIDE VIEW:

 KISSES-OH SO SWEET CENTER STEP CARD INSIDE:

KISSES-OH SO SWEET CENTER STEP CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:

Have an awesome week, everyone.  Please join us at our neighborhood---613 Avenue Create for a wonderful Anything Goes Challenge.  Great prize to be won and you can link practically any creation if you don't want to follow the twist.  I can't wait to see what you come up with.  The next couple of days, I will get busy creating a card for my other wonderful group---Word Art Wednesday and so, watch out for another inspirational post this coming Wednesday.  There's someone who truly loves you, His Name is JESUS!