Scripture Series: He Delighteth in Mercy Card---Join our Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello there, Crafty Peeps!   It's time for another Word Art Wednesday (WAW) Challenge and a free Scripture Word Art that you can download for free from the WAW site.  You may use it in your projects you link to our Challenge (not mandatory) or as a wonderful inspirational message for your projects.  I have featured it in my card today and it comes from Micah 7:18 which says,"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy."

We heard of countless people saying that our God is a God of love.  I wouldn't argue with that---it's completely true!  1 John 4:8 tells us, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."  He embodies the purest kind of love (unselfish, sacrificial).  If people like us are able to give or demonstrate some kind of love, it's because He taught us how to love first.  We were created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), His love imparted to us.  Yet it does not stop there.  We must also know that our God is a Holy God.  In Him there is no imperfection.  His holiness knows no mistakes, His love so pure and everything He does is perfect and they give Him pleasure.  Everyone who place their trust in Him brings Him pleasure.  Psalm 147:11 says, "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy." But the disobedience/rebellion of Man separated us from the very presence of our holy and loving God.  The enemy taught us to rebel and to act like we are our own gods, deceiving us that we can survive without our Maker.  Man bought the biggest lie of the enemy!  Satan placed all of humanity under bondage to him and his Sin Nature and there was literally no possible way of escape.

So. why is a holy and loving God hate Sin so much?  Here's what I got from gotquestions.org pertaining to this subject matter.  It says, "God hates sin because it is the very antithesis of His nature. The psalmist describes God’s hatred of sin this way: “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You” (Psalm 5:4). God hates sin because He is holy; holiness is the most exalted of all His attributes (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 6:8). His holiness totally saturates His being. His holiness epitomizes His moral perfection and His absolute freedom from blemish of any kind (Psalm 89:35; 92:15; Romans 9:14). The Bible presents God’s attitude toward sin with strong feelings of hostility, disgust, and utter dislike. For example, sin is described as putrefying sores (Isaiah 1:6, NKJV), a heavy burden (Psalm 38:4), defiling filth (Titus 1:15; 2 Corinthians 7:1), a binding debt (Matthew 6:12-15), darkness (1 John 1:6) and a scarlet stain (Isaiah 1:18). God hates sin for the simple reason that sin separates us from Him: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2; see also Isaiah 13:11; Jeremiah 5:25). It was sin that caused Adam and Eve to run away from God and hide “among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8). Sin always brings separation, and the fact that God hates sin means that He hates being separated from us. His love demands restoration, which in turn demands holiness." This was just a portion of what was written on why God hate Sin?  I strongly recommend that you read the rest of the article to see the complete picture.  You can find it HERE.

Our Sin (Sin Nature and all of its by-products), left unwashed by the blood of Jesus Christ at the Cross (Born-again, John 3:3), will certainly meet the wrath of God.  Through His finished work at the Cross, He showed us tremendous love and mercy while at the same time making a strong statement pertaining to the harsh punishment that Sin deserved.  1 Peter 2:24 says, "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."  Simply put, God is a Holy and Just (Righteous) God Who hates Sin for it separated us (His Masterpiece) from Him.  The only way to restore us is for His One and Only Son (pure and holy) to come as a Man and take our place.  In essence, He suffered His own wrath (penalty) to free us from the bondage of Death, Satan and the Sin Nature.  I pray for the Holy Spirit to work in your heart so you may capture the depth of God's love for all of us in what I just told you.  I reflect upon the Cross all the time and still  can't find the exact word/s to express how grateful I am to my God and Savior having shown me His Grace and Truth.  This is the perfect picture of TRUE and PURE LOVE.  John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."  No other expression of love could even come close to what our Father in Heaven has shown us through Jesus Christ.  

So,  don't be caught up in worldly/false teachers telling you that because of God's love, you can do whatever you want and that He's not going to punish your rebellion  (Sin) and that Hell is not a real place.  No matter who and how popular they are, how many books they sold or the size of their congregation, they are minions of Satan who have turned away from the Truth of God's Word.  They deliver a watered down Gospel and have deceived themselves to gain the world---leading them and their followers to their doom.  Surely, God delights in mercy and I believe that with all my heart for if not, why are we still on earth?  We have done every abominable thing in the sight of God!  But in love, mercy and long-suffering, He waits for those who will humble themselves, repent of their sins and come into the Lordship of Jesus Christ while they are still on earth.  For the Day of His judgment will surely arrive when everyone least expect it.  If you're smart, you will live each day, ready for the coming of the King!  Everyday is an opportunity.  Don't delay!  You have two destination to choose from:  To be eternally separated from God and suffer Satan's fate in the Lake of Fire or to be in the presence of Almighty God enjoying everything that His eternal Kingdom would offer?  I pray with all my heart that you CHOOSE GOD. 

For this Card, I used an image from Art Impressions Set called "Love Birds" that I paper-pieced and then colored with my Prismacolor markers.  The base is a white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The sides were shaped using MS Punch.  I layered some flowers from Prima, adhered the white nail head gems from Imaginisce and added a brad and washi tapes from Recollections.  Lastly, I stitched all over this Card.    Love, love, love the result.

 HE DELIGHTETH IN MERCY CARD

 HE DELIGHTETH IN MERCY CARD LAYERS

 HE DELIGHTETH IN MERCY CARD SIDE VIEW

 HE DELIGHTETH IN MERCY CARD INSIDE

HE DELIGHTETH IN MERCY 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
Artistic Stamper---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Country View---Blues and Greens
Crafts Galore---ATG
Crafty Awesomeness---ATG
Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper
Creatalicious---ATG/Glitter or Bling
Create and Inspire---ATG/Summer Days
Createful Heart---ATG
Daisy Chain---ATG
Digistamps4Joy---ATG/Summer
DL Art---ATG
Eclectic Ellapu---ATG
Fabrika Fantasy---ATG
MHK---Inspiration Photo
Mix it Up---ATG/Paper Piecing
Noor---ATG
One Crazy Stamper---My Favorite Things
Petal Lu---ATG/Orange Flower
Scrap N Challenge---ATG
Scribbles Designs----The Power of Words
Worldwide DT---ATG
YSBP---ATG


Make sure you join us at WAW Challenge.  You can use the free Word Art in your creation and link it to our Challenge but is not a requirement.  As long as it's family-friendly, uplifting and inspirational, you can enter up to 5 times this week.  A wonderful prize awaits our winner from our lovely sponsor for this Challenge---Simon Says Stamp ($25 GC).  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, meditate on the goodness of the Lord and rely on His promises.  Expect only wonderful things from Him each day.  Be thankful always!