Scripture Series: Peace, Good Will To Men Card---It's Another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday, Crafty friends!  It's another cold day (without snow) out here in Texas...If it isn't that cold for weeks now, I would be going out more often and possibly go shopping when I really don't have to.  So, I think it's great because I stay home more and  saving a bit of money for really important things.  You see, God told us to rejoice whatever season/circumstances we have.  It helps a lot when we look at the bright side of life especially when the dark clouds surround you.  Just a ray of light penetrates the deepest darkness. Focus on that light and it will lead us to the way out.  Understand this, a person who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ are only living by what's in their past and what's in front of them.  They cannot see any further because they are limited.  Our natural eyes can only see what is in the physical realm, can hear, feel, taste and smell what is in this world.  The physical will never be able to perceive anything that is higher than itself, in that case---it cannot understand anything SPIRITUAL AND ETERNAL.  The Bible tells us in John 4:23-24, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  When God created Adam and Eve, God used the dust of the ground to form them to His image and likeness.  They were still lifeless and not until God breathed unto them that they became a living soul (See Genesis 2:7).  God has given us a part of Himself which He has not given any of His other creations---His life, power and Spirit (Read more of this HERE).  There's something special about mankind that God is willing to do everything possible to take them back to His arms after they chose to rebel against Him---The One who gave them life.  I love this verse in Psalms 8:3-5 as I stand in awe of the great love of God for us which tells us, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!"  If I use my finite mind to understand the depth of the love of God, it would not make sense to me at all. Why?  Because we (humans) only give "conditional love."  When people are nice and supportive of us, no matter what we do, we love them back.  Yet when someone tells us   the truth and end up going against our will, we condemn then and even plot harm to destroy them.  We would not understand why Jesus would say in Luke 6:29, "If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. " How about 1 Peter 3:9 that declares to us, "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."  The answer to this could be summed up by God's declaration in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  Not one of us will be able to conceive the depth, height, length and width of the love of God for us as well as His thoughts,  until we come to a personal relationship with Him.  The Fall of Man darkened our spirits and the connection that we had with God in the very beginning had been severed.  There's no way for man to go back to the glory he had in the presence of God in his own terms. The ONLY SOLUTION that can change man's status from guilty to not guilty (of high-treason) is through the God/Man, JESUS CHRIST!  He didn't possess the sin of Adam since He didn't come from the line of Adam.  The Bible declares that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20), the Seed of a woman (Read Genesis 3:15---we all know that woman don't have seed, the male carries the seed) and was God clothed in flesh, to become the perfect Mediator between God and Man.  This is why we (as believers, washed by the blood of Jesus Christ) can boldly declare to anyone, without apology, what the Lord Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6, "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Have you been persecuted for standing on the Word of God?  I have many experiences and I remember when long time friends left me right after I received Christ as my Lord and Savior (Born-Again Experience---John 3:3) two decades ago.  Time and time again, I've had people email/ wrote me hurtful words, baseless insults and cursing just because I share the Word of God in a forum or my Blog.  You see, if people back in the days of Jesus had problems with the Gospel, I am pretty convince, people in our days still have the same problem with Jesus.  Is it not obvious why they have so much hate for Jesus?  They don't really go after other people's religion/gods?  Why would they?  The truth is,  the devil does not really care whatever religion people observe/follow as long as it's not directed to the One and Only Savior---Jesus Christ!  Only through the Son of God will people find release from the bondage humanity could not escape from since the Fall of Man.  People's life change and the broken find healing and restoration.  They find far more than what their finite minds can understand and are given by God a new life which understands the spiritual and eternal life He has prepared for them.  Without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, it is impossible to understand the Kingdom of God.  It's no wonder Jesus told Nicodemus (a Pharisee) in John 3:3,  "“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  We should not be surprise at all when unbelievers come to us and ridicule, twist and insult the Word of God.  We are to pray for this people,  for the Holy Spirit to come upon them and break the yoke of the enemy in their lives---because they are blind to the things of the Spirit.  I know it's easier said than done but when confronted by those situations, I pray for the Lord to clothe me with His compassion that I may be able to act not by my emotions but by the love that God has for that person.  Ephesians 6:11-13 tells us, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

Anyway, I would like to share some inspiration for our Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  We have a wonderful and free Word Art for you to download at our WAW site, created by our lovely artist, Karen Murray.  It features the wonderful verse in Luke 2:14 which says, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."  If we can only get it in our hearts the very reason why Jesus had to come and eventually die for our sake, we will be able to appreciate this wonderful verse.  Because He triumphed over death and hell, resurrected and seated at the right hand of the Father to judge the living and the dead; we have great assurance, a sure promise of a life in Him eternally. All who placed their faith in Him should live a life of peace, hope and rejoicing to the One who holds our future securely in the palm of His hands.  No matter how dark this physical world become, we know that God's light is in us and until the Lord takes us away from this world, we are to share that very light to those who are still lost in darkness.  For this Card, I used an image from Sassy Cheryl's Digi Stamps called "The Perfect Christmas Gift" which I colored with my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers.  I used a white CS as base card cut and scored to make a 5.5-inches square card, a glittery white CS, red and grey CS for matting.  I used a scrap of paper (from K& Company) to paper-piece my image's clothes and added some metallic gems from Imaginisce.  I inked all over the image using Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Pumice Stone).  Lastly, I stitched all over this project.  I know this is simple compared to my other projects but I would like to give emphasis to the image as it connects to the message. Jesus is the reason for the season and the greatest gift for mankind.  I hope you like it.

 PEACE, GOOD WILL TO MEN CARD:

 PEACE, GOOD WILL TO MEN CARD LAYERS:

 PEACE, GOOD WILL TO MEN CARD INSIDE:

PEACE, GOOD WILL TO MEN CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:


*** WANT THIS CARD?  AVAILABLE AT MY ETSY---HERE! ***  

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Make It Monday---ATG
Crafty Sentiments---Christmas
Flourishes---Words to Inspire
Inky Chicks---Christmas
Loves Rubber Stamps---ATG Christmas
Papertake Weekly---Christmas Creatures
Songbird---Merry Christmas Everybody
Sweet Stamps---Simple Christmas
TTCRD---ATG
Tuesday Throwdown---What Christmas Means to You?
Twist of Faith---Traditional Christmas
Creative Moments---ATG/Winter Wonderland
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Divas by Design---ATG
Handmade Harbour---Merry Christmas
Penny's Paper Crafty---Feminine with Sentiment
Rhedd and Rosie---Use Old Stash ( The image, the sparkly CS and the metal gems were forgotten)
Ruby's Rainbow---It's Christmas
Scrapper's Delights---Christmas Time
Sisterhood of Crafters---Christmas Sparkle
Stamp n Doodle---For the Holiday Spirit
Stamping Chef---ATG
Scribble and Scrap---ATG
Create with TLC---Show it Off Sunday
Papercrafting Journey---It's Christmas Time
Card Makin Mamas---Christmas and New Year
Craftyhands---Season's Greetings or Winter Theme
Digi Haven---Christmas Cards
Scrapping 4 Fun---ATG
Gem of a Challenge---ATG
Come and Get It---Christmas
Craft Place---Christmas
Corrosive Challenge---ATG
Craftin Desert Diva's---Christmas
Crafting from the Heart---ATG
Parade Your Crafts---Christmas Projects
Crafty Boots---Christmas
Created with Love---ATG
Get Inky!---Christmas
Melonheadz---Christmas
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG with optional Christmas
Creatalicious---It's Christmas Time
Challenges 4 Everybody---ATG
Clear It Out---ATG (The image, CS and metallic gems are more than a year old)
Pile It On---P is For (Perfect Gift)

This is it for now.   Please don't forget to join us at this week's WAW Challenge by linking your "Anything Goes" projects.  You can use the free Word Art I featured here in your entry but it's not mandatory.  As long as your creation is family-friendly, inspirational and uplifting, you can enter up to 5 projects to have more chances of winning.  Our sponsors for this week are Nice Crane Designs (choice of digi images)  and  Verve Stamps ($25 GC).  You don't want to miss out on these wonderful prizes so, make sure to join our Challenge.  This Christmas, it is easy to focus on the traditions and the commercialization of the season but I know why I celebrate Christmas, that even if the date does not pertain to the true birth of Christ---I know that there's that one faithful day that the Messiah was born for the purpose of saving me and all of humanity.  That for me stands alone as the One and Only True Meaning of Christmas.  It's Christmas with a capital C...