A wonderful day, everyone! The Challenge where I featured the Card in this post just ended and we have a new WAW Challenge that's posted yesterday featuring a new Scripture Word Art that you can download for free. However, I wanted to create a proper post for the project I made from the previous Challenge. Life had been extraordinarily busy that blogging had to take a back seat. Many times, I thought of taking a (very long?) break from DT position to rid of deadlines and just post at my own time. But I persevere because I know the Lord wanted me to continue spreading God's Word through our WAW group. So, I am choosing to obey God! Okay, the Scripture Word Art from our previous Challenge was found in Romans 12:12 which says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." You can find the past Challenge HERE if you want to download for free the previous Scripture Word Art.
As Jesus offered Himself to die on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins (Born-again, John 3:3) through faith in His finished work at the Cross, we also need to pour ourselves wholeheartedly and sacrificially to spreading the Good News of the Gospel (death, burial and resurrection) to the lost sheep of this world. I am delighted to hear of the great move of God spreading like wild fire here in our country and around the world--- especially among our younger generation these days. I've seen several videos of young and old confessing how their thirst and hunger were satisfied by God which was something they have never before experienced. While rejoicing, I also pray for many to break away from the chains and destructive influence of social media, entertainment and woke culture/education. For them to be thoroughly exposed to the infinite Word of God and to find a sound Church that will help them grow in their faith so as not to be deceived again by the wiles of the enemy. However, there are also some who have chosen not only to rebel from God but have dedicated their lives to inventing evil. They're not even hiding their despicable deeds. Romans 1:28-31 says, "Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the
knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they
do what ought not to be done. They
have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and
depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.
They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although
they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve
death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve
of those who practice them."
Nowadays, what saddens and concerns me the most is when I hear many "so called" famous Christians fall/fell into the trap of the enemy. God has given us His Word filled with examples on how Satan and those people that followed his bid had fallen. God did not hide the sins of the past so that we can learn and avoid the same fate today. From the beginning, the enemy uses the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life to test the core of our faith in the Lord and how the love for one's self always gets in the way of truly serving God. Many people have dedicated themselves for their own advancement so that they can buy whatever their hearts desire. And depending upon how rich, famous and powerful they want to be will determine how much of themselves they are willing to compromise. Don't believe me? Just look at the history of many big artists today. You can see a big difference in their attitude and image before and after fame! I used to be so happy for people winning some talent contest, especially when they come from humble beginnings but sadly, majority of them changed their image, minds and conduct when they reach stardom. So many of them grew up in the Church and used their talents to give glory to God. What went wrong? You see, "SELF" started to take over and they became like everyone in the world that denied and mocked God. A few weeks ago, I watched a very famous "Christian music artist" expressing how sad he was that Gospel Music don't have the same moments like the Hip hop music at the Grammy's 2023 and how the Hip hop genre were highlighted as well in other award giving bodies. And that Gospel music is limited to fewer and fewer moments. That there's a lot of great Christian artists but you may not know them because there's fewer doors to highlight them and that creates tension within his community." Wow, that statement frustrates me! I'm not sad because I agree with his sentiment but I seriously question his desire to be acknowledged and awarded by a secular, satanic inclined award giving bodies! Since when did God told us in his Word that we are supposed to entertain the world? 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 says, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can
righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have
with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?" No matter how great your talent is, you shouldn't step into the Church stage like you are auditioning for American Idol. Period! There's nothing wrong if you are great at what you do---just make sure that your motive is to bring glory to Jesus and not to yourself. A true servant of God would offer their talent solely for the glory of God who had given them the talent in the first place. It does not seek or demand accolades and approval from the world. If we are complimented for our service to the Lord, we make sure to give the Lord all the glory. Remember to desire the reward that comes from heaven. The moment we turn our focus from God to our "self" among other things, that is the start of one's downfall. In other words, don't use Gospel music/platform to gain stardom! Don't use what's holy for unholy things! 1 John 2:15-17 clearly warns us. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For
all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the
eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever."
My fellow believers, don't idolize anybody for anything---even servants of God! We can draw inspiration from people who exemplifies God on a case to case basis but be careful that you don't place them on a pedestal. This is how many have fallen! In my entire life, I have never been a crazy fan of anyone. I don't go out of my way to follow famous people for autographs nor cried in excitement upon seeing famous people I admired. Even before I became a believer, I always knew in my heart that we are all created equal in the eyes of the Lord no matter what our status, influence, looks, color and more. All of us need to repent and come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ to worship and serve only Him.
For this Card, I decided to use a Stamp Simply sentiment (our sponsor last Challenge) from "A Cup of Java (Coffee)" Set to compliment my project. I used an image from Art Impressions called "Cathy Caffeine" that I watercolored using Distress Inks. The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card that I rounded on two opposite ends using my Corner Chomper. The DP's are from The Paper Studio, the flowers I layered from Prima with the brad and washi tape from Recollections. I added some glitters on the flowers from Stickles (Crystal) and finished it all up with some fancy/regular stitching.
HOT JAVA CARD
HOT JAVA CARD LAYERS
HOT JAVA CARD INSIDE
HOT JAVA CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX
This Card is entered into the following Challenges:
2 Sister on the Blog---Spring/Easter Card
A Perfect Time---ATG
Ally's Angels---ATG
Beautiful Blossoms---ATG/Florals Mood Board
Ching-Chou Kuik---ATG
Classic Design---ATG
Crafts Galore Encore---ATG
Creatalicious---ATG
DL Art---ATG
HLS Watercolor---ATG
Lost Coast---Spring has Sprung
Love to Craft---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG
Mix it Up---ATG/Distressing
Morgan's Artworld---ATG
Besties International---ATG
Pearly Sparkles---Include a Sentiment/Verse
QKR Stampede---ATG
Creative Crafters---ATG
Four Seasons---Anything Spring Goes
Worldwide Crafters---ATG with Image
YSP---ATG
Krafty Chicks---Stamp Act
Ellibelle's---ATG
Paper Shelter---Dots and/or Circles
Paper Funday---ATG/You're Brewtiful
Make sure you join our new 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---Pretty Pink Posh
($30 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 talents to serve God with a pure heart void of selfish motives.
Ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Find out how on the sidebar...
