Scripture Series: I Am Called By Thy Name Card---Join Us for an Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello there, Crafty Peeps!  This is my Thanksgiving Card but got delayed in posting.  Life happens but so grateful to God for always being there through all my circumstances.  In Him, there's always hope.  Anyway, we started another bi-weekly Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW) a week ago and as always, we feature a Scripture Word Art that is free for you to download from the WAW site.  It comes from Jeremiah 15:16 which says, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts." 

 

Like all the other prophets called by God in the past, Jeremiah was  to intercede between God and His chosen people.  When Adam fell into Sin, we became separated from God and could no longer freely interact with our Creator the way Adam and Eve used to in the Garden of Eden.  The first time God spoke about death (origin) to warn Adam was in Genesis 2:17 saying, “And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”  Many may think that God was not serious with what He said because human kind continued to live for hundreds of years and their descendants filled the earth.  But God spoke the truth for death became a reality in the lives of every human born in this world right after Adam sinned. The first death we experienced from Adam's disobedience was spiritual death which meant losing the most valuable part of our existence---our spiritual connection with God.  The holy connection between God and Man was severed by the presence of the Sin Nature (from Lucifer).  No longer  could Adam walk with God in the cool of the day for they were vanished from the holy presence of God. Two other deaths would soon follow---physical death and eternal death.  That was our fate as sinners.  But way before time, God's redemptive plan was already in place which would be revealed in His perfect time---the birth of our Savior!   For the meantime, God in His great mercy called and sent prophets who would represent Him and communicate His message.  God also gave them spiritual insights to future events so as to prepare or warn God's people.

 

Oh yes, the position/title may sound prestigious but being a prophet of God is hard.  Warning people who are bent on rebelling against God meant danger for they are totally hostile to His message.  So the prophets of old end up fleeing for their lives like Elijah (I Kings 19:2-5), experienced being tortured like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:6) or were murdered like Isaiah (he was believed to be among the prophets sawed in half according to some extra biblical sources). The Bible talked about what others had to suffer in Hebrews 11:36-38 which says, "Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chain and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground."  So, if God's prophets were hated so much in their time, how can we be sure that we are not going to face similar persecutions in our time?  We thank God for His protection daily in spite of the chaos and growing religious persecution here in America  but we know that many of our brethren from other countries are literally dying for their faith in Christ. While the world thinks that the message of the Gospel (death, burial and resurrections) of Jesus Christ is so outdated and no longer apply to our days, we proclaim God's truth in Numbers 23:19 which says, "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." With the rise of demonic agenda and sexual immorality in the world, every child of God who boldly declares His Word would have already experienced some form of persecution.  If you identify as a Christian but is embraced by the world and loves the things of this world, you have to seriously assess the validity of your claim. 

Nowadays, though not all of us can operate under the Office of the Prophets (Ephesians 4:11-13, Five Fold Ministry) or manifest the spiritual gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:7-11, Gifts of the Holy Spirit), everyone who wholeheartedly placed their faith in Jesus Christ (Born-again, John 3:3) are part of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).  We are to share to anyone willing to listen what was graciously imparted to us---It is Jesus Christ, the heart of the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 clearly tells us, "Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."  We carry with us the message of hope that was spoken in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament.  Like Jeremiah was delighted to inwardly digest God's Word and was willing to risk his life to convey God's message, we are to boldly share the message of truth found in God's Word. We cannot add or water it down just to please people.  Remember that no matter how pure your motives are, the rebellious spirit will always find it offensive.  Be firm, hold your ground and continue on with the mission no matter what.  I like to share with you what I read from the site called knowing-jesus.com regarding our highlighted verse in Jeremiah 15:6 for it truly blessed me.  It says, "The word of the Lord is pure and righteous altogether. The Word of the Lord stands fast for ever and ever and we are exhorted to hear and preach the Word - to obey and meditate on the Word of God and to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest its many truths...if we are to show ourselves approved unto God. We are called to be doers of the word and not hearers only - and we are to trust in its precepts and promises and not to despise or hold lightly the living word of truth."

For this Card, I used an image from Sassy Cheryl called "What's Up Turkey" that I colored using Primacolor markers and paper-pieced with pattered papers from my stash.  The base is white card as well as all the DP's used in the panels are from Paper Studio.  I die-cut the lacey circles using Nestabilities, added some glitters from Stickles (Crystal). I also used my Crop-a-dile to round two of the corners. 

 I AM CALLED BY THY NAME CARD

I AM CALLED BY THY NAME CARD LAYERS

 

I AM CALLED BY THY NAME CARD INSIDE

 

I AM CALLED BY THY NAME 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 

Classic Design---ATG

Crafts Galore Encore---ATG 

Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper 

Creatalicious---ATG/Christmas

Createful Heart---ATG

Dream Factory---ATG 

LeAnn's World---ATG

Love to Craft---ATG

Mirtillamente---ATG

MIUCB---ATG/White, Black and another color 

Morgan's Artworld---ATG

Besties International---ATG

QKR Stampede---ATG

Scribbles Designs---Warm Winter Clothing

Sognando---ATG 

Worldwide Open DT---ATG

YSP---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 submit up to 5 entries per week. There's still a few more days to join.  Our wonderful sponsor for this week is  The Project Bin giving away a $15 GC. So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up and let the Spirit of the Lord inspire and lead you today to places that needed to hear His message. Be bold, be strong and do not fear. God is with us!

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