Scripture Series: Faith Hope Charity Card---Join Us for Another Family Friendly/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello there, friends!  Back again for another Anything Goes/Family friendly Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  Today's featured Scripture Word Art comes from 1 Corinthians 13:13 and it says, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." I looked for the meaning of "Charity " and what I got was mostly connected to generous giving.  One that comes closest for me described it as a Christian love which is God's love (Agape---selfless). The perfect embodiment of God's holy and pure love is His Son---Jesus Christ, our Savior.

The Bible tells us in John 1:18, "No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known."  If we want to talk about true love and be able to put it into action, we can only look at the life lived by Jesus Christ on earth. He came with one purpose.  Jesus told us in John 4:34, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work." John 6:39-40 revealed "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Wow, what a purpose! Jesus left the grandeur of heaven, wrapped Himself in flesh to live among men, demonstrated the love and ways of the Father,  and gave His life to redeem us from the bondage of Sin (Sin Nature from the very heart of Satan) and Death (Spiritual, Physical and Eternal Deaths).  How many of us would willingly face death when we know the exact time, place and manner by which we'll die?  A soldier marches into the battlefield knowing that death could come at anytime yet could hope that he would have another day to live.  But Jesus, in His omniscience, knew everything that's going to happen before His death sentence.  He knelt down and prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22:42-44 saying, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."  Jesus willingly gave His life to redeem mankind from their slavery to Satan and bring us back to the Father.  Romans 5:7-8 revealed, "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  

My friends, this is the kind of love (charity) our Father in heaven wants us to extend to the world.  I must point out though that while God is a God of love, He is also a Holy God and a Just God.  He does not tolerate Sin of any shape or form.  In this day and time, when people think that the Scripture is obsolete and has no bearings in the modern world, many will die and spend eternity outside of the presence of God because they rejected the grace and the hope that is freely given to them through Jesus Christ as it is written in the Scripture!   JESUS should be the Center of our faith and Source of all our blessings.  If there's anything (and I mean ANYTHING!) we are trusting outside of the finished work (death, burial and resurrection) of Jesus Christ, we should repent and turn our lives over unto His Lordship.  No religion and ideology, power, fame, riches nor good works can ever purchase for us the gift of eternal life through our Lord, Jesus Christ!  He is the only means by which we can be saved (Born-again, John 3:3).  Knowing this, we are to be loving, yet firm in delivering the message of hope to the stubborn people of this age.  We are to make known to them the ways of the Kingdom even in the expense of name-calling and hatred.  True love does not mean giving them what they want to hear or agreeing with them while compromising God's Word.  It means having a pure motive to bring them to God through our actions.  The stakes are so high!  Tough love is often needed in  this rebellious and ungodly world.  John the Baptist didn't sugar coat God's Truth nor hugged everybody to tell people to repent from their sins for God's kingdom is at hand.  Jesus corrected and rebuked many and He didn't give people what they were eager to hear but what they needed to hear.  True love does not always translate to happy feelings and goose bumps.  Pure love, on the other hand,  always seeks and leads us to the Truth ("reality" in God's perspective). So, how should we live the example of Jesus Christ in our time?  We are to depend each waking moment to the power of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in the ways God and as to how He would have us communicate His love to others.  We have no power on our own less we be led by Him.

For this Card, I used a rubber stamp from Stampendous called "Peacock Feathers", embossed it with clear embossing powder and fussy cut.  I did my own background design by using Tim Holtz Burlap Stencil and inked it with Distress Inks namely Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint.  I stamped some curly cues border from Fiskars and layered some Prisma flowers with a brad from Recollections at its center.  I ran it through my sewing machine for the final touch.  Quite different from my usual projects but loving it. 

 FAITH HOPE CHARITY CARD

  FAITH HOPE CHARITY CARD LAYERS

  FAITH HOPE CHARITY CARD  INSIDE

 FAITH HOPE CHARITY CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Create with TLC---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Crafts Galore Encore---ATG
Creatalicious---ATG
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Ecclectic Ellapu---ATG
Not Just Cards---New Beginnings (New Stamp used)
Paper Creator---Love is in the Air
Petal Lu---ATG
Worldwide Open DT---ATG
Your Scrapbook Place---ATG
Inspiration Destination---ATG
Crafty Addicts---ATG
Little Miss Muffet---ATG
Simon Says---The Color of Love
Simply Papercraft---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG
Lemon Shortbread---ATG
Creative Ladybirds---ATG
Crafty Girls Creations---ATG
Create and Inspire---ATG


 Hope you join the fun at our WAW Challenge.  Wonderful prizes awaits our winners from Winnie and Walter ($25 GC), Crafty Individuals (15 euros GC) and the Cutting Cafe  (digis).  You can choose to incorporate the free Word Art (sentiment) you see in my card for projects you wish to make and link with us though it's not mandatory.  You can submit up to 5 projects (Anything Goes) as long as it's family friendly, inspirational or uplifting.  Can't wait to see what you come up with.  Have a blessed week and find opportunities to share the hope you have in Christ by being sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading.  Hugs!