THE BLESSINGS OF CREATIVITY...

I thank the LORD JESUS for each day that is given me to create wonderful projects...As always, I give Him all the glory.


Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Scripture Series: That We Receive a Full Reward/Nuts 'n Bolts 'Bout You Note Cards---Join our Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi everybody!  So sorry for the delay in posting this project I made for our previous Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  The new Challenge is coming out today and you can surely join the fun and possibly win a prize in a couple of weeks.  I have to skip this new Challenge but I am bringing this very late posting of what could have been published two weeks ago highlighting the Scripture from 2 John 1:8 which says, “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”
 
The book of 2 John emphasizes on remaining in Christ's truth and love, obedience to God's Word/teachings and to warn us against false teachers.  From the time of Adam to this day, the serpent otherwise known as Satan had used a powerful technique to capture mankind by way of deception!  If there is any created being that knows the Word of God, it's no other than the devil himself. In order to deceive, he uses a measure of God's truth and cunningly pervert it with lies to achieve his evil purpose.  He takes advantage of man's weaknesses (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life) to stir up their emotions/curiosities to convince them that their selfish actions are justified.  Luke 4:1-13 showed us the audacity of the devil to come after  the Savior, Jesus Christ, thinking he could manipulate Him to turn against God's truth.  What did Jesus used to defeat Satan?  It's the authority that comes from the pure truth of God's Word.  

I believe that Jesus' encounter with the enemy in the wilderness at the start of his earthly ministry was written for all believers (Born-again, John 3:3) as an example on how we can keep our minds pure from the winds of deceitful doctrines that devours many people these days.  More than anything, we have to be certain WHO is the source of our faith, the subject of our attention, the treasure of our hearts.   Any other answer besides JESUS makes the person vulnerable. Deuteronomy 6 revealed the greatest commandment God gave humanity.  Verse 5 says, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."  The very similar message was recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Every believer is commissioned by God to represent Him and speak of His Truth to this fallen world.  For we were once a part of the darkness and are now translated to God's kingdom of light simply by placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at the Cross.  We have an important work to do and that is to declare in words and in deeds the truth of God's Word! We are to testify of God's love for the lost and the importance of obedience to stay wise as to avoid the enemy's deceptive trap.
 
The trouble with some so called ministers today is that they have exchanged the glory of the One True God with fame, status, riches, connections and many other temporal things.  They became people pleasers, self centered individuals who uses the Church (Ekklesia, Body of Christ) as their platform to gain popularity and increased their members.  But the sad thing is when they are asked tough questions in their stance with Homosexuality, Abortion, Hell, Salvation and many other Church thinning topics, they sounded uneducated, confused and undecipherable in the Word of God.  I was sad and frustrated to see a well-renowned minister (whom I respected for many years) struggled to answer in an interview recently.  I don't believe he doesn't know what God's Word says but he was refusing to offend many.  In an attempt to sound moderate and pleasing to people, questions answerable by a simple yes or no weren't clearly conveyed.  In fairness, the interviewer seemed to be in an attack mode but if we are true to the Word of God, we are going to tell the truth no matter what it takes. By all means, we are to speak truth in love but without compromise.  As a matter of fact, truth will always be offensive to the unrepentant.  Let's face it, everyone that hates the truth would hate God and everyone that follows God.  Matthew 16:24-26  tells us, "Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"  I love what Gotquestions.org shared regarding this passage and would loved to share it. It says, "When Jesus carried His cross up Golgotha to be crucified, no one was thinking of the cross as symbolic of a burden to carry. To a person in the first-century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by the most painful and humiliating means human beings could develop. Two thousand years later, Christians view the cross as a cherished symbol of atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love. But in Jesus’ day, the cross represented nothing but torturous death. Because the Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion, bearing a cross meant carrying their own execution device while facing ridicule along the way to death. Therefore, “Take up your cross and follow Me” means being willing to die in order to follow Jesus. This is called “dying to self.” It’s a call to absolute surrender. After each time Jesus commanded cross bearing, He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25). Although the call is tough, the reward is matchless."  
 
So, I will end this post by saying that do not get your "truth" from just anyone else.  Nothing wrong with listening to ministers of the Word but nobody should just take their word for it.  Everyone should subject their teachings to the magnifying glass of the Word of God to make sure we are not being deceived.  My Life Application Bible wrote a nice comment related to our highlighted verse in this post.  It says, "The term translated "deceivers' can also be translated as "impostors"; it carries the idea of leading another astray. The great danger of deceitful leaders is that they seem so sincere and believable.  They are not easy to spot in the crowd.  Usually they are winsome and attractive; otherwise, how they would gather people to themselves?  We do not want to become paranoid and suspicious about everyone we meet, but we do need to be wise in evaluating the character and conduct of those who would seek to influence people.  The way your teachers live shows a lot about what they believe about Christ.  So to be "rewarded fully" in 2 John 1:8 refers not to salvation but to the rewards of loyal service. All who value the truth and persistently hold to it will win their full reward.  Those who live for themselves and justify their self-centeredness by teaching false doctrines will lose that reward (Matthew 7:21-23).

For this note cards, I used an image from Stampendous Mini Clear Stamp Sets and colored the image with my Prismacolor markers.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 4-inch square card.  I fuzzy-cut the images, added some Washi Tapes from Tape Works and Recollections, printed the Scripture Word Art sentiment on one of the cards. The other sentiment I used on the other card is from the stamp set where the robot came from.  I made some envelopes and stamped a sentiment from one of the images in another set.  I think they came out so cute.
 
 
RECEIVE A FULL REWARD/NUTS 'N BOLTS  'BOUT YOU CARDS
 

RECEIVE A FULL REWARD NOTE CARD
 

 NUTS 'N BOLTS 'BOUT YOU NOTE CARD


RECEIVE A FULL REWARD/NUTS 'N BOLTS 'BOUT YOU CARDS
WITH ENVELOPES

 
This Card is entered into the following Challenges: 
 
TTCRD---ATG
A Place to Start---ATG/Balloons/Flowers
Cutie Pie---Little Cuties
PIP---ATG
Corrosive---ATG
We Love Stamping---Anything Stamped/Hot Sunny Colors
Taylormade Cards---ATG/Holidays in July
Fairy and the Unicorn---Anything Fantasy
Critter Crazy---ATG with Featured Critter
2 Sisters---ATG
Crafty Animals---Anything with Animals
Creatalicious---ATG/Christmas in July
Let's Craft and Create---ATG/Fun in the Sun
MIUCB---ATG/CAS
QKR---ATG
Rabisco---ATG/Tag
Sognando---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 enter up to 5 times this week.  A great prize will be awarded to one winner by our awesome sponsor---My Favorite Things.  So excited to see what you come up with. For the meantime, serve the Lord with gladness knowing that our labor in Him is not in vain.

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Saturday, July 2, 2022

Scripture Series: Ye Shall Be Free Indeed Card---It's Anything/Inspirational Goes at Word Art Wednesday!

 A wonderful day, everyone!  More than a week ago, we started another bi-weekly Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW)You still have a few days to join the fun and possibly win a great prize.  As always  I featured a card below with our Scripture Word Art that comes from John 8:36 that says, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
 
Since the Fall of Man through disobedience in the Garden of Eden, every man born into this world inherited the Sin Nature which originated from the very heart of Satan.  This alliance with the enemy brought forth Death (spiritual, physical and eternal deaths) as mankind's spiritual connection with God was severed as we became slaves to the Sin nature that defaulted  us to rebel against the Holy God that created us.  We were hopeless on our own, our bodies would soon decay  and we're set to spend eternity in the state of damnation.  It was a curse that no mortal man would be able to escape from.  But God (in His omniscience) knew this would happen before time even existed.   Because of His great love for humanity,  He knew He would be sending His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem man from Satan's hands.  He who had no Sin took all the sins of the world and nailed it to the Cross---once and for all, so that anyone who placed their faith in His death, burial and resurrection (The Gospel/Good News) will live in freedom from the bondage of Sin.  Apostle Paul told us in Galatians 2:20, "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."  Wow, "Christ lives in me!"  That's how every Born-again believers would overcome this world ruled by Satan.  Jesus, the Son of the living God, defeated Sin and Death at the Cross and His victory is our victory. He is with us in navigating this earthly life and His promise of eternal life awaits every believer.  Sadly, the unrepentant, proud and rebellious at heart will suffer everlasting torment.  From the very beginning, the devil used lies in order to tempt man to disobey God and he hadn't change his strategy.   Jesus told us in John 10:9-11, "I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."   He also proclaimed in John 14:6, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  God provided the ONLY WAY for us to get back into His presence---that is trusting in Jesus Christ alone. 
 
On June 24, 2022, I greatly rejoiced in the Supreme court ruling that ended Roe v. Wade (Abortion Rights) on a federal level here in America. For fifty years, people were deceived to believing that the US Constitution has a place for this kind of barbaric acts which resulted in killing of over 63 million babies.  Even before I came to know Christ, I knew deep down my core (conscience) that regardless of the stage of development , a baby is a baby from the time of conception.  Just like I knew when our dogs were pregnant, we had new puppies after a few days/weeks.  I never thought anybody would be so stupid to think they can dehumanize a baby at any stage.  But for the sake of convenience, not willing to accept the consequences for their actions, they'd rather be called fools!  On the other hand, I give glory to God for He answered the cry of His people who'd been fighting for year against the shedding of innocent blood in this nation.  However, the end of Roe v. Wade doesn't mean that our fight for life is over.  The decision for Abortion is just passed on to the voters of each state.  Some of these states had been strongholds of Satan and his party that radically supports killing babies to minutes after they're born. Savages!  Truthfully, there was never a constitutional right to Abortion/Murder to warrant a federal protection---not then, not ever!  Satan have used many of the rich, powerful and influential leaders throughout history to destroy humanity.  In Matthew 2:16-18, just after Jesus was born, King Herod ordered the killing of male children two years old and under in Bethlehem and all that region to prevent the prophesied Messiah from coming.  In the Old Testament before Christ came, babies are burned as a sacrifice to Baal/Molech by their parents for economic reasons (for rain to water their crops and fertile agriculture). Today,  babies are sacrificed by their parents through barbaric abortions in the "altar of convenience" (career, future, status etc.) while Abortion facilities are lining up their pockets by selling aborted baby parts.  Now and then, they have one thing  in common---they're all murderers! That includes everyone who supports them.  For what kind of people would devise a plan to kill their own child whether it be in or out of the womb? And what kind of monsters are those that condones and aides these murders?  These savages are now acting like possessed demons raging with violence because they didn't get their way.  They can't deny who they truly worship, none other than the ancient serpent, their father Satan! Their violence is shown in their hatred for babies and they demonstrate that same violence to their opposition when they don't get their way.  They belong to the party of Death!  There's two very helpful articles about this topic here and here).  
 
Now more than ever, true believers must pray for our nation!  There is power in prayer and nothing is impossible with God!  The deceived will continue to be deceived and our fight will intensify as the days go by.  But we have the power of God living inside of us.  Through faith in Christ, we were set free to be Salt and Light at such a time as this.  Put on the whole armor of God and let's fight and stand for truth! I would like to share what My Life Application Bible shared about our highlighted Scripture in this post.  It says, "Sin has a way of enslaving us, controlling us, dominating us,  and dictating our actions.  Jesus can free you from this slavery that keeps you from becoming the person God created you to be.  If sin is restraining, mastering, or enslaving you, Jesus can break its power over your life. Jesus himself is the truth that sets us free.  He is the source of truth, the perfect standard of what is right.  He frees us from continued slavery to sin, from self deception, and from deception from Satan.  He shows us clearly the way to eternal life with God.  Thus Jesus does not give us freedom to do what  we want, but freedom to follow God.  As we seek to serve God, Jesus' perfect truth frees us to be all that God meant us to be."

For this Card, I used a rubber stamp from Inkadinkado that I partially colored using The Creative Expert markers. The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  I added some white nail head gems from Imaginisce. a bit of glitters from Stickles (Crystal) at the center of the flowers and incorporated the Scripture Word Art below the image. Lastly,  I did some fancy and regular stitching for added dimension.  It's simple but I love it!
 
 
YE SHALL BE FREE INDEED CARD 


YE SHALL BE FREE INDEED CARD CLOSE-UP
 

YE SHALL BE FREE INDEED CARD INSIDE
 

YE SHALL BE FREE INDEED CARD WITH ENVELOPE

 
This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Ching-Chou Kuik---Just Colour It
Creatalicious---ATG/Lots of Layer
DL Art---ATG
Mix It Up---ATG/CAS
QKR---ATG
Rabisco---ATG
Crafting Challenge---Taste of Summer
YSP---ATG
Taylormade Cards4u---ATG/Holiday in July

 
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.  Our Challenge winner will be awarded a wonderful prize from our awesome sponsor---Altenew Shop ($15 GC).  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, as believers of Jesus Christ, freed from the bondage of Sin through faith in Jesus Christ, let us use our God given rights to protect the life of those who cannot fight for themselves.


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