Scripture Series: Have Faith in God Mini Note Card Set---Join our Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello everyone!  I'm a day late in posting this project but have been very busy with many things the past few weeks.  However, I would love to highlight our Scripture Word Art (download for free at WAW site)  for the bi-weekly Challenge happening at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  It comes from Mark 11:22 which says, "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God." There's so much to this verse and I ask that you read Mark 11:12-26 to find the context on the connection between the cursing of the fig tree, His cleansing of the temple and the importance of faith in God.

To better understand our Scripture Word Art, I would like to quote a couple of verses following Jesus' statement in our scripture above.  Mark 11:23-26 says, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  I want to share with you  what I read in my Life Application Bible regarding these verses as it truly blessed me.  It says, "The kind of prayer that moves mountains is prayer for the fruitfulness of God's kingdom.  It would seem impossible  to move a mountain into the sea, so Jesus used that picture to say that God can do anything.  God will answer your prayers, but not as a result of your positive mental attitude.  Other conditions must be met: (1) you must be a believer; (2) you must not hold a grudge against another person; (3) you must not pray with selfish motives; (4) your request must be for the good of God's kingdom.  To pray effectively, you need faith in God, not faith in the object of your request.  if you focus only on your request, you will be left with nothing if your request is refused.  Jesus, our example in prayer,  prayed, "Everything is possible for You...Yet not what I will, but what You will (Mark 14:36).  Our prayers are often motivated by our own interest and desires.  We like to hear that we can have anything.  But Jesus prayed with God's interest in mind.  When we pray, we should express our desires, but want His will above ours.   Check yourself to see if your prayers focus on your interest or God's.  Forgiving others is tough work---so much so that many people would rather do something totally distasteful than offer forgiveness to someone who has wronged them.  For a person to pray while bearing grudge, however, is like a tree sprouting leaves and bearing no fruit (Mark 11:13).  True faith changes the heart.  Real prayer dismantles pride and vengeance, filling the holes with love.  Real faith seeks peace.  For our churches to have prayer power, there must be harmony and forgiveness evident int he body of believers.  Let go of hurts, abandon grudges and forgive others."

This is what God wants us to understand....True faith that can move mountains comes from a heart ruled by God---unselfish,   peaceful and overflowing with love.  We must know that faith is our only connection to God.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."  Hebrews 11:6 also declared, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." The finished work of Jesus Christ became our reality because we (Born-again, John 3:3) responded to God's Word, surrendered our lives to Him and allowed the Holy Spirit to work in us by believing (trusting) everything that Jesus accomplished in our behalf.  While many people were given the same chance, not all responded the way believers of Jesus Christ did.  Even the grace to believe is from God!  I can't tell you how many times I praise and thank God for all the reasons He called me to Himself.  Without His revelations in my life, I could be one of them that mocks God, rebellious and deceived.  If God hadn't changed my heart and my mind, I couldn't imagine where would I be today---spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.   If everyone is doing things according to their heart's desires and no Godly principles and order are guiding our thoughts and actions, humanity would literally self-destruct.  As a believer,  one of our biggest challenge daily is to live unselfishly.  We are to place God's will above our own!  Matthew 16:23-24 showed us an example on how Peter, a disciple of Jesus Christ, was inspired by the enemy  in what others may think was a show of concern for Jesus.  The passage revealed, "But he (Jesus) turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."  Everyday, our priority is to take care of us and our own.  It's hard to think of blessing others when we are too busy of our own advancement.  Many times, we find ourselves stepping/using other people just to get ahead.  This is very dangerous and we can create many enemies along the way.  This is rampant/common in the world but it happens in the church as well. The problem is, there's many who would like to be leaders and only a few would like to be followers.  It's sad but many are unaware that a true leader in God's kingdom is really a servant to all.  If we are blessed to be leaders, we are to use the position God gave us to disciple others and give them opportunities to advance and become leaders too.  That way, they too can serve and influence others for the glory of God.  I've heard of many believers who left their churches because of unfair treatment, favoritism and neglect from leadership.  As the Body of Christ, we are to address these concerns.  As members, we have different levels of faith, which is  why we need to be patient with one another and be willing to humble ourselves, be transparent, ready to forgive and discuss things so that true peace and harmony may prevail in the house of God.  I know, this is easier said than done, but I firmly believe that if we allow the will of the Lord to come first rather than our own, we can do the impossible. "

For this project, I used images from C.C. Designs Rubber Stamps from the set called "Wingy Things" and I watercolored them using my Stabilo 68 markers.  I got in on sale at their shop and glad I did as they are super cute.  I thought it would be nice to use them for mini cards and so, I came up with a the card holder to hold these wonderful mini cards together.  I didn't have a clear design for a holder until the last minute when all the note cards were done.  And yes, I believe God engineered everything about this project.  From white CS, I cut and scored the holder (5 x 3.75 x 1 inches).  I used a Cuttlebug folder for the embossed design, a gem from my stash and some Washi tapes from Recollections.  I also used a Fiskars Punch, several sentiment stamps from Will N' Way and Printworks and a bit of stitching.  I love how the design turned outwonderfully especially the closure.  Very happy!

 HAVE FAITH IN GOD MINI NOTE CARD HOLDER

 HAVE FAITH IN GOD NOTE CARD SET INSIDE

HAVE FAITH IN GOD MINI NOTE CARDS

 HAVE FAITH IN GOD MINI NOTE CARD 1

 HAVE FAITH IN GOD MINI NOTE CARD 2

 HAVE FAITH IN GOD MINI NOTE CARD 3

HAVE FAITH IN GOD MINI NOTE CARD SET

This Project is entered into the following Challenges:

Artistic Inspirations---ATG
Crafting with an Attitude---ATG
Creative Moments---ATG
TTCRD---ATG
Crafting with Dragonflies---ATG
Crafting with Friends---ATG
Craft Your Passion---ATG
Crafty Boots---Use Your Stamp
Incy Wincy---ATG
Paper Nest Dolls---ATG
Crafty Sentiments---ATG
A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
Animal Friends---Summer
Artistic Stamper---ATG
Card and Scrap---ATG
Classic Design Team---ATG
Crafts Galore---Use Stamp or Digi
Crafty Awesomeness---ATG with Colored Image
Creatalicious---ATG
CCC---ATG
Cute as a Button---ATG
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Lunagirl---ATG
Paper Creator---Keep it Simple
Paradise of Stamps---ATG
Petal Lu---ATG
SLS Lines---3 or More Layers
Sisters of Craft---ATG


I hope you'd take the time to join us at our WAW Challenge.  It's Anything Goes as long as it's family friendly with uplifting and inspirational messages, you can link up to 5 projects.  Our sponsors this week are  Really Reasonable Ribbon ($10 GC to their shop) and The Cutting Cafe (Digi Files).  I can't wait to see your projects  and leave you some encouragement on your Blogs.  Though the world seem darkened nowadays, let your faith in God shine like a beacon on a hill.  Pray without ceasing and believe that God can do the impossible! My trust in only in Him...