Scripture Series: Joy Out of the Wells of Salvation Card---Come and Join Us for Another Uplifting Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello, y'all!  I know, another week passed and it seems like only a day for me...LOL Today, it's been another gloomy day out here where I live.  Really feeling lightheaded and lazy today.  Earlier, I have encountered a question with regards to what I posted in one of the marriage sites at Facebook which supports a Biblical stand for Marriage. Being a Born-Again believer of Jesus Christ, I uphold the teachings of the Bible to be the written revelations of God and have voice out my agreement with the Biblical definition of marriage.  A young man in whose name I'd rather not mention decided to reply on what I posted.  Here's what he said and I quote:

"You seem like a good Bible follower. I have some questions: Would you like to buy my sister at a decent price? She's pretty smart, she can do your housework (Exodus 21:7). Also, I've been meaning to ask, can I murder my mother? She's been working on the Sabbath and as we all know that's not good (Exodus 35:2). Just one more: Is it okay if I burn my Grandmother alive at her next birthday gathering? She's a very christian woman but she forgets to cover her head when she prays (1 Corinthians 11:5). Let me know when you can answer. " (Of course, I replied and pointed the scriptures to him).

If you don't study the Bible, these questions/illustrations/twisting of the Word of God, may intimidate you.  It points to 3 different issues in the Bible---Slavery, Sabbath and the Covering of a women's head in worship (respectively).  First of all, I am a follower of Jesus Christ first thus, a follower of the Bible, which is the written revelation of God to mankind.  His questions, although it sounds intelligent does not have a bearing on the topic of marriage but is geared towards attacking God and blaming Him for what he portrays as injustices done by man to one another. Honestly,  what came to my mind right after reading it was  the very same words Jesus told the devil when he tempted Jesus after 40 days/nights of praying and fasting.  In Matthew 4:1-11 in which verse 7 says, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”  The Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart that the questions were not really asking nor care for a sound, biblical answer but merely tried to persuade me and those who may come to see his comment that the very same God who promotes life could be mean enough to sentence a person to death by not observing the Sabbath and therefore, He is not a caring God and  must be blamed for all the issues man encountered in the past and the present.  The Bible declares that no man is declared righteous by fulfilling the law (Romans 3:20).  The Law of Moses (Torah) was given to man NOT TO SAVE ANYONE but to show man how Holy God is and to help us realize that without a Savior, we are hopeless!  The Law teaches us that God’s ways are so high that no man can ever come to Him by obeying the Law.  At man's fallen state (without the New Birth –John 3:3), human effort is futile and will never ever set us free from the bondage of the sin nature (nature of the Devil).   For the sake of those who may really want to know Biblical Truths on what was asked, here’s what the Lord has to say:

ABOUT SLAVERY---Slavery was not a making of God as it came as a by-product of the Fall of Man, when Adam disobeyed and plunged humanity into sin and took the side of Satan.  God allowed man to experience the consequences of his sins but He had a plan (fulfilled in Jesus Christ).  When his people cried for help from injustice (meaning they knew there’s no way they can get out but by God’s hand), He freed them from the Egyptian bondage which shows the true heart of God, He responds by faith.  (Exodus 3:7-10).  The same way we are saved today...When we cry out to Him and tell Him there's absolutely nothing we can do to save ourselves and ask Jesus into our lives, He sets us free from bondage (of sin and the devil) and guides us to the path of righteousness in Christ. 

ABOUT HONORING THE SABBATH---This legalistic point of view of the Sabbath was counter-acted by Jesus Christ, the Son of God when he said in Mark 2:27, "Then Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath."  Jesus came to fulfill all the requirements of the Law (Torah) that whoever places their faith (trust) in what He accomplished in the Cross, has already fulfilled the Law because they identified with Jesus and all His victory by accepting His sacrifice for them.  It has nothing to do with any human effort, our good works or the lack thereof. 

ABOUT COVERING A WOMEN'S HEAD IN WORSHIP---1 Corinthians 11:3-16 addresses the issue of women and head coverings. The context of the entire passage is "submission" to the God-given order and "chain of command." A "covering" on a woman's head is used as an illustration of the order, headship, and the authority of God. The key verse of this passage is 1 Corinthians 11:3 which says, "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." The implications of this verse are found in the rest of the passage. The order is: God the Father, God the Son, the man or husband, and the woman or wife. The veil or covering on the head of a believing Corinthian wife showed that she was under the authority of her husband, and therefore under submission to God.  This verse should be taken in context as oppose to the external value of it. 

In conclusion, following the Law (Torah/of Moses) does not make you righteous.  The Law points you to the Only Source of salvation, Who is JESUS CHRIST and that by faith in Him, we become the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD (Romans 3:22).  He lives inside the hearts of every believer in whose hearts, He has written His Law.  We are able to obey the Truth of God's Word not by our own efforts but by the leading of the Holy Spirit living inside of us.  So, I encourage everyone to study God's Word so as not to be misled by any wind of doctrine that tries to insert doubts in your hearts.  We stand on a Solid Rock, a Firm Foundation, a Cornerstone!  Know the basic foundation of your faith and progress from there.  I thank the Lord for every revelation He has imparted in my life.  The more I get to know Him, the deeper I fall in love with Him.  I barely scratched the surface of God's awesomeness and I know I will live to see His magnificence when I see Him face to face---pretty soon! 

Anyway,  I am also here to share with you the card I made for our Anything Goes  Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  I highlighted our free scripture Word Art (you can download free at the WAW Blog) which comes from Isaiah 12:3 which says, "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."  This is one of the prophetic verses which talks about the reign of Christ on earth and how joy fills the heart of every believer who have been saved by simply trusting in Him. All our tears and persecutions and injustices done to us by the wicked one and his followers shall be remembered no more and we will forever be with the Lord throughout eternity."  This is why we share the Good News of Salvation to everyone that they may join us in that faithful day.  Do you have families/friends that are unsaved?  Continue praying for them and never give up.  While they are still alive, there's always a chance for salvation for those who will harden not their hearts.  I used an image from Sassy Cheryl's Digi Stamps and colored it with my ProMarker/Prismacolor/Spectum Noir markers.  The card measures about 6 x 6 inches square using white CS, and that's including the butterfly border which I die cut using Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Die.  The DP's are scraps from Recollections and DCWV while all the different colored CS used for panels/matting are also from my scraps.  The die-cut shapes are cut using Nestabilities, flowers from Prima, brads from Recollections and gems from Imaginisce.  I added some glitters to the flowers using Stickles (Diamond), White Gelly Role Pen for the cheeks of the image and finally, stitched all over this card.  Love the result.

 JOY OUT OF THE WELLS OF SALVATION CARD:

 JOY OUT OF THE WELLS OF SALVATION CARD LAYERS:

 JOY OUT OF THE WELLS OF SALVATION CARD INSIDE:

JOY OUT OF THE WELLS OF SALVATION CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

 2 Sisters---Make It Sparkle
Addicted to Stamps---Lots of Layers
Anything Goes---ATG
Card Mania---Pearls and/or Gems
Alota Rubber Stamps---Butterflies
Crafting For All Seasons---Bingo (Flowers/Digi/Pearls)
Die Cut Divas---Flowers/Die Cut Element
Country View Crafts---Summer Sizzlers
Craftin Desert Divas---Summer
Paper Makeup Stamps---Tic Tac Toe (Gems/Flowers/2 or more DP's)
D.L. ART---ATG
Eclectic Ellapu---Flowers
Faeries Challenges---Flowers/Summer
HIMCR---Super Scraps Saturday (almost all my DP's CS here are scraps)
Inspire Me Fridays---ATG
LEJ Designs---ATG
OSAAT---Use a Digi
My Craft Creations---ATG
Robyn's Fetish---Things with Wings
One Stop Craft---Summer Colors
Sister Act Card---ATG
Mark's Finest Papers---Favorite Technique (Layering/Stitching)
Sweet Stamps Blog---ATG
TTCRD---ATG
Totally PaperCrafts---All of a Flutter
Tuesday Throwdown---ATG
Whoopsi Daisy---Use Your Markers
Totally Gorjuss---Sweet
Make it Monday---ATG
Sassy Cheryl's---Outdoor Fun and Games (With Sassy Cheryl Image)

Hope you come and join us at WAW for this week's Challenge.  Freckled Fawn is our awesome sponsor for this week and the winner will get a $15 Gift cert to spend at the sponsor's store.  You can use our free Word Art in your project to link with us although not a requirement.  As long as it's family-friendly, inspiring , or uplifting, you link up to 5 projects this week.  Have an awesome week and I encourage every believer of Jesus Christ to pray for our country and the world that they may see the light of Christ.  If you are given an opportunity to make a difference in your community and to stand up for the Gospel of Truth---be bold, be strong, for the Lord is with you.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.