Scripture Series: Great are His Signs Card---Join Us for Monthly Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create!

Hello everyone...I'm here to feature my card for our 613 Avenue Create Anything Goes, April Challenge.  I went on my own with Anything Goes while the other DT's  tackled the optional twist which is "In the Garden." 

The Word of the Lord exalted in this card comes from Daniel 4:2-3 which says, "I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.  How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation." In this passage, King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the great things God showed him by way of God's prophet, Daniel, who interpreted his dream about the future of his kingdom and the others to come.   He also had in his mind  the miraculous protection of God upon the three Jewish men (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) when they were thrown in the fire yet not destroyed after he punished them for refusing to bow down to his golden image.  He realized God  reigns and rules over the earth for all eternity.  But do you think that him witnessing God's salvation of His people  taught him to be humble as a ruler of Babylon?  Certainly not.  

I would like to share what My Life Application Bible wrote about our highlighted passage today.  It says, "Although Nebuchadnezzar praised Daniel's God, he still did not believe in Him completely or submit to Him alone.  Many people attend Church and use spiritual language, but they don't really believe in God or obey Him.  Profession doesn't always mean possession. How do your beliefs match with your obedience?  One of the most difficult lessons to learn is that God is sovereign.  He is above all those that are above us He limits the power and authority of all government, business and religious leaders in the world.  Those who live in freedom and with a relatively high degree of autonomy find this difficult to understand.  While we may feel as though we are free to do what we please, God is sovereign over all of our plans and desires."

What I see in the story of Nebuchadnezzar is the fact that he has a short term memory when it comes to the things of God.  Many believers today have the same problem.  When facing trials, we call upon the Lord to save us.  But shortly after, we are back into exalting our own efforts and accomplishments. For Jesus to be Lord of our lives is to give Him permission to use us as part of His bigger plan.  It's not about us---IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT HIM! We should know that disobedience to God's Word denotes rejection of God and His sovereignty over our lives. Nebuchadnezzar declared that there is no other God than the the God of Israel yet still follows other gods .  His acknowledgment didn't mean He'd made God Lord of his life.  Like him, we may acknowledge the sovereignty and power of God but if we don't acknowledge His Lordship over us, we are depriving ourselves of the opportunity to be changed and utilized for God's purpose and honor.  I hope and pray that we treasure the wonderful revelations of God that he showed us in the past along with his great and mighty works each day.  The key to not forgetting God's goodness is to fully saturate  ourselves with God's Word  and to live in obedience to Him continually. 

For this Card, I used an image from DRS Designs called "Seaside Dock" that I colored using My Creative Expert/Prismacolor markers.  I also used Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Broken China) for the background clouds using my made-up cloud stencils. The base of this card is a white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The pictures may not show but I also added a touch of glitter (Stickles-Crystal) to the tiny bird.  I added some Imaginisce gems as well as fancy and regular stitching to this project.This is  similar to the Card I posted last month with minor changes to the color of the image and a different Bible verse.  I don't usually repeat an image or duplicate a design but a friend requested a birthday card and a specific verse.  And when I showed the other card, she loved it and just asked to accommodate the verse she wanted.  I truly love it!

 

GREAT ARE HIS SIGNS CARD

 

GREAT ARE HIS SIGNS CARD CLOSE-UP

 

GREAT ARE HIS SIGNS CARD INSIDE

 

GREAT ARE HIS SIGNS CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

 

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

A Bit More Time  to Craft---ATG

A Perfect Time---ATG

Classic DT---ATG

Clever Dexter---ATG

Crafts Galore Encore---ATG

Creatalicious---ATG/Flowers

Createful Heart---ATG

Let's Craft and Create---ATG/Add Flowers

Love to Craft---ATG

Love to Scrap---Spring Forward

Morgan's Artworld---ATG

QKR---ATG

Rabisco---ATG

Sognando---ATG

Crafting Challenge---ATG/Easter

Worldwide Open DT---ATG

YSBP---ATG

 

 This is it for now, guys.  Make sure to join us at our neighborhood---613 Avenue Create---for an Anything Goes Challenge.  If you want to be challenged, take on the Optional Twist.  But there's really no reason for you to miss it. Can't wait to see what you create. Remember that God is sovereign over His creation.  

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Scripture Series: The Waters Cover the Sea---Join Us for Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

 Hi there, Crafty Peeps!  We are having another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge happening at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  Our Scripture Word Art (you can download for free at the WAW site) comes from Habakkuk 2:14 which says, "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."  

First of all, HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY, EVERYONE!  This Holy Week, I spent several hours watching videos of Christians all over the world and I came across a couple of old videos about China that details the history of Christianity in that country and the horrible persecutions many of the faithful have endured and died for the sake of their love for Christ.  Thousands of missionaries and their converts gave their lives to deliver the precious message of the Gospel (death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ) to a country stricken with darkness; where people are chained to the ungodly leadership/policies of their government even to this day.  They met up in caves, in farms, in house basements so as not to be arrested and sentenced to prison and labor camps.  They packed these small/limited places---standing for hours with no room for chairs to sit on while under extreme heat---with no air/fans to cool them down.  With hands lifted high and both smile and tears on their faces, they sing wonderful hymns and praises to the Lord and are eager to study/hear God's Word as  many days the preacher was willing to teach.  The sad thing for me is that THEY DON'T EVEN OWN A BIBLE!  We all know that Bibles are banned in China to this day.  One Pastor in the video said that he was gifted a Bible by his sister from Hongkong.  When he preached, that Bible was passed along for everyone to see and feel for themselves. Because they were so deprived from acquiring one,  many hugged and kissed it that at the end of the day, the red cover of that Bible faded away because of people's tears.  Often, the preachers/teachers would only have a Bible that was torn and with  several missing pages.  One elderly man said that they found a Bible from an abandoned home but it was damaged that it only contained Romans 8 to Revelation 16.  Nevertheless, they used it to teach in one of the house churches.  In order to share it to other churches, three or more of them would go back three times a week to make a handwritten copy of that Bible. How amazing is that?  Another person tried to trade a very expensive, state of the art motorcycle for  a worn-out Bible that his neighbor had but the owner  refused stating that God's Word is a treasure that no amount of money could buy.  This reminded me of Matthew 13:44-46 which says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."

Folks, as I continued watching, I began to cry miserably.  I felt so ashamed for all the little things we complain about daily.  The never ending excuses for not going to Church, for not studying and prioritizing God's Word and for not going out of our way to share what God has done in our lives.  We complain about our Church building, music, lights, sounds, facilities, amenities, ambiance, preachers and preaching, and the list goes on.  Each of us have several Bibles at home and we have access to the Bible (borrowed or online) but we simply take it for granted.  We profess to be Christians but many of us support and elect people that go against the Word of God and have championed Satanic agenda to lead and govern us.  Do we have to wait till everything is taken away from us before we wake up to the Truth that knowing Christ as our Savior and Lord and having a personal relationship with Him is the only "treasure" that matters both now and forever?  God forbid.  If there's anything I learned and took from the videos of the persecuted Church in China, it is to always be grateful, to count every blessing, to value God's Word and my relationship with God and to never tire in sharing the Gospel no matter what it takes.  God has been so gracious to America and none of us today have truly experienced what many Christians are going through especially in the Communists and Islamic countries.  According to the Word of God, judgment will fall on the wicked in the hands of the anti-Christ (Tribulation Period) for a period of seven years and will culminate at the Second Coming of Christ when the whole world will see Him.  But prior to that, those who surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have already been taken out of this world by God (Rapture of the Church) where they will live forever in His presence---where Sin, Death, Time and Distance no longer have power over them.  I know in my heart that these heavily persecuted believers, the martyrs for Christ in the past, present and future will have a great position of responsibility when we rule with Christ on earth for a thousand years (Millennial Reign of Christ)  happening after Christ's Second Coming and  before The Great White Throne Judgment meant for the wicked and the unbelieving.  This is when Satan and his followers (everyone that rejected Jesus Christ) are cast down into the Lake of Fire where they will be tormented day and night for all eternity. 

Friends, no matter what happens in this world, nobody can stop the move of God!  The Body of Christ (Ekklasia, called-out, assembly) is commissioned by God to go into all the world to preach the Finished Work of Jesus Christ on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins and to set the captives free.  Jesus our Messiah (Savior), the Son of the Living God is that solid ROCK---the very foundation the true Church is built upon that the gates of hell (power of the enemy) shall not prevail against (Matthew 16:15-18). History shows us that no matter how Satan tried to prevent Christ from accomplishing His purpose from the time of His birth, His death and resurrection, the persecution of the early Church in the Book of Acts, the Nazis killing the Jews. the persecution of believers all over the world today and the future plans to eliminate followers of Jesus Christ in the face of this earth, IT WILL NEVER SUCCEED!  Why?  Because IT IS WRITTEN.  What Jesus Christ accomplished at the Cross shall be proclaimed through all the earth as the waters cover the sea and everyone will know that He alone is God and apart from Him, there is no other Savior!

For this Card, I used an old Magnolia Tilda Stamps called "Tilda in the Sea" and "Bridge Deck" that I colored using my Prismacolor markers.  I added a grass stamp from "Seaside Chair" of Stampendous. The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card. The DP is from Pebbles and  I used an MS Punch for the top border, layered some Prima flowers and secured with a brad from Recollections.  I die-cut some leaves using EK Success Punch. added some white nail head gems from Imaginisce and stitch all all over this project.  I truly love the result.

 

THE WATERS COVER THE SEA CARD

 

THE WATERS COVER THE SEA CARD LAYERS

 

THE WATERS COVER THE SEA CARD INSIDE

 

 

THE WATERS COVER THE SEA CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

 This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

A Bit More Time  to Craft---ATG

A Perfect Time---ATG

Classic DT---ATG

Clever Dexter---ATG

Crafts Galore Encore---ATG

Craftyhazelnut's---ATG

Crafty Friends---Ladies and/or Girls

Creatalicious---ATG/Flowers

Createful Heart---ATG

Die-Cut Divas---Windows/Aperture Cards

Love to Craft---ATG

Love to Scrap---Spring Forward

Morgan's Artworld---ATG

QKR---ATG

Rabisco---ATG

Sognando---ATG

Crafting Challenge---ATG/Easter

Worldwide Open 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 each week.  You can win wonderful goodies from our awesome sponsor this week---Newton's Nook ($20 GC).  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up and let the joy of the Lord overtake you as you continue to serve the Lord, bearing good fruits. 

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