Scripture Series: God is Faithful Card---Join Us for Another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello there Crafty pals!  Here I am to highlight another creation featuring our Scripture Word Art for our brand new Challenge happening at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  You can download it for free by going to the WAW site.  It comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 which tells us, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

First, I would like to share the exhortation I read in my Life Application Bible regarding our  highlighted verse...It says, "Today's pressures make it easy to ignore or forget the lessons of the past.  But Paul cautions us to remember the lessons the Israelites learned about God so we can avoid repeating their errors.  The key to remembering is to study the Bible regularly so that these lessons remind us of how God wants us to live.  We need not repeat their mistakes.  In a culture filled with moral depravity and sin-inducing pressures, Paul gave strong encouragement to the Corinthians about temptation.  He said: (1) wrong desires and temptations happen to everyone, so don't feel you've been singled out; (2) others have resisted temptation, and so can you; (3) any temptation can be resisted because God will help you resist it.  God helps you resist temptation by helping you (1) recognize those people and situations that give you trouble, (2) run from anything you know is wrong, (3) choose to do only what is right, (4) pray for God's help, and (5) seek friends who love God and can offer help when you are tempted.  Running from a tempting situation is your first step on the way to victory.   2 Timothy 2:22 said, "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

Now, do you know our Scripture Word Art verse does not apply to all people in this world?  Many out there would like to handpick/use Scripture without really studying its context.  Context is defined as (1) the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning and (2) the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs :  environment, setting.   Simply put, it is the who, what, when, where, why and how  of everything we see or hear.  It is extremely important to examine all these things in order to rightly divide (interpret) God's Word.  Going back to our verse, Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Church in Corinth (and to the Body of Christ and all generations following) consisted of Jews and Gentile believers (Born-again, John 3:3) in order to encourage them to put their faith and trust in the Lord as they go through temptations and challenges of life.  His audience were believers who made a decision to turn away from their Sin and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.  They placed their entire trust in what Jesus accomplished (His death, burial and resurrection) at the Cross.  As believers, we aren't exempted from the struggles of life but we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside each and everyone of us that reminds us of the promises of Jesus' victory at the Cross.  That if we completely entrust our everyday/everything to Him, He will surely see us through. In Matthew 14:22-32, we learned of Peter walking on the water toward Jesus.  Amazing, isn't it?  When we focus our attention to the Lord, we are able to do the impossible.  For a moment, Peter didn't care about what he couldn't do but depended solely on the power of the Lord to empower him.  But like what happens to many of us, he lost his focus on Jesus, turned his attention to the wind and storms of life and began to sink. Yet in his doubt and fear, He called unto the Lord to save him and He readily reached out and caught him.  I think to myself, how frustrating could it be for the Creator to see His creation trying to do things on their own (abilities, knowledge, strength, etc.) when everything in our existence is dependent upon the grace and goodness of God?  How arrogant, proud and ungrateful!  Everyday, I have to make a conscious decision to rely and trust in God for everything (big or small decisions).  Remembering that my Source is Jesus Christ and His finished work at the Cross is the Means by which I can ask and do all things through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  And if and when I make mistakes, I humble myself and cry out, "God save/help me!"  I thank my Father in heaven that He's unlike us whose very impatient!  He's always there to love, forgive, lead, strengthen, comfort and even discipline me daily.  When temptations/trials come, He warns me on the inside (inner voice) and tells/shows me a way out.  Yet even when I have to go through them, He is there to assure me of His faithfulness, giving me the strength to bear it.  But what happens to the people who haven't placed their trust upon Jesus Christ and His Cross?  Those who keep living on their own strength and understanding?   They have rejected Christ and pursue their own desires.   They can never lay claim to any of the wonderful promises of God to His people.  Sadly, many of them are too proud to even ask God to help/save them at their lowest point.  Many have chosen to end their lives under their own terms.  If they only knew the unimaginable torment that awaits them in the eternal.  By then, it's too late!  There's nothing else they can do to change that reality,  So, if you are depending on anything but God in this lifetime, it's time to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and be among the people in whom the wonderful promises of the Lord (such as our Scripture Word Art) abide.  In closing, I will leave you with wonderful prayer we can meditate and declare to one another as believers in Christ.  It's found in Ephesians 3:14-21 and it says, "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

For this Card, I used an image from Bugaboo Stamps called "Desiree Girl" that I colored using my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers.  The base is a magenta CS, cut and scored to a 5 x 7 card.  The DP's are the fancy ones I bought in singles at JoAnn's.  I paper-pieced some parts of the image and added some glitters on her eyeglasses using Stickles (Crystal).  For the final touch, I incorporated some nail head gems from Imaginisce and machine stitched all over this creation.  We have a wonderful verse to highlight today and so it's important to me to use a simple lay-out to better show God's Word.  I love it!

 GOD IS FAITHFUL CARD

 GOD IS FAITHFUL CARD LAYERS

 GOD IS FAITHFUL CARD INSIDE

GOD IS FAITHFUL CARD WITH ENVELOPE

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

2 Sisters---ATG
A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Create with TLC---ATG
Bugaboo Crafty Challenge---ATG with Bugaboo Image
Classic DT---ATG
Crafty Awesomeness---ATG
Crafty Girlz---ATG
Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper
Creatalicious---ATG
Digistamps4Joy---ATG/Summer
DL Art---ATG
Eclectic Ellapu---ATG
Fabrika Fantasy---ATG
Love to Craft---ATG
Mix It Up---ATG/Paper-piecing
Not Just Cards---ATG
Petal Lu---ATG/Orange Flowers
Worldwide DT---ATG
Your Scrapbook Place---ATG
OLLCB---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 Frantic Stamper (Stained Glass Window Die), Craftin' Desert Divas (2 Digis) and Wild Orchid Crafts (15 pound GC).  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...