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Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Scripture Series: In the Way Everlasting Card---Another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge Happening at Word Art Wednesday!

A wonderful day, everyone!  A week ago, we started another bi-weekly Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  You still have another week 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 Psalm 139:23-24 that says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
 
Wow, these verses demonstrates to us a wonderful song of humility and surrender to the Lord who created us.  It also acknowledges that we are incapable of living holy lives without His presence.  But in the same chapter of Psalm 139 in verses 19-22,  King David expressed hatred and anger for the wicked who hated God and misused His name.  Are we supposed to hate our enemies?  After all, God regarded David as a man after His own heart!  How do we reconcile this?  As a New Testament believer (Born-again, John 3:3), Jesus clearly told us in Matthew 5:43-45, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
 
The truth is, both Old and New Testament believers were/are prone to adversity.  The enemy uses evil men, even the one closest to us to betray and/or harm us. Our advantage as New Testament saints is the fact that we have the written and personal revelation of God---the fullness of God's Word in Jesus Christ!  The closer we are to God (through study and obedience to His Word), the more we hate Sin.  We are angry because it separates people from God, influences others to follow the path of rebellion and destruction, causes suffering to many, and ultimately---eternal damnation for all that rejected Christ.  The Lord knows my deepest thoughts to them that mocked Jesus and it is pointless to keep anything from Him. I want justice more than ever but also praying that many of these evil men would repent and find God's mercy before it's too late. So be it personal, social or global concern, I'd rather bring all my cares to His attention and let Him take charge.  After all, God is totally in control and His divine plan could not be thwarted!  I would like to impart what My Life Application Bible shared about our highlighted verses in this post. It said, "David's hatred for his enemies came from his zeal for God.  David regarded his enemies as God's enemies, so his hatred was a desire for God's righteous justice and not for personal vengeance.  It is all right to be angry at people who hate God? Yes, but we must remember that it is God who will deal with them, not us.  If we truly love God, then we will be deeply hurt if someone hates Him. David asked God to search his heart and mind and point out any wrong motives that may have been behind his strong words.  But while we seek justice against evil, we must also pray that God's enemies will turn to Him before He judges them (See Matthew 5:44).  David asked God to search for sin and point it out, even to the level of testing his thoughts.  This is exploratory surgery for sin.  How are we to recognize sin unless God points it out? Then, when God shows us, we can repent and be forgiven.  Make our highlighted verse your prayer.  If you ask the Lord to search your heart and your thoughts and to reveal your sin, you will be continuing on God's "way everlasting."

For this Card, I used an image from Stampendous called "Head Shots" that I colored using my Ohuhu markers,  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square with rounded corners.  The DP's are from My Mind's Eye Bramble Rose Set, the layered flowers from Prima, a small brad from Recollections and the leaves were die-cut with Fiskars punch.  I also added glitters from Stickles (Crystal), a washi tape from Paper Studio and machine stitched all over this project.  I absolutely love it! 

 
IN THE WAY EVERLASTING CARD 


IN THE WAY EVERLASTING CARD LAYERS
 

IN THE WAY EVERLASTING CARD INSIDE
 

 
IN THE WAY EVERLASTING CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX
 
This Card is entered into the following Challenges:
 
Ellibelle's Corner---ATG
Try Stampin' on Tuesday---Technique, Layering or Both
Get Creative---Something New (Image is new)
PIP---ATG
Simon Says---Beautiful Blooms
Corrosive---ATG
Stamping Sensations---Add Some Sparkle
Crafty Calendar---Add a Sentiment
Dis Digis---Make It Sparkle
Taylormade---ATG/Valentine/Love
 
 
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---Avery Elle Designs ($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, let us continue to share the gift of salvation to them who are lost while allowing God to sanctify us fully in the image and likeness of our Savior.

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Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Scripture Series: Renewing of the Holy Ghost Card--Come and Join our First Challenge for 2023! It's Anything /Inspirational Goes at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, Crafty friends! Our Blog Hop ended nearly a week ago and I would like to thank those that participated and left me encouraging comments.  The list of winners are listed at our very first Challenge for 2023 at Word Art Wednesday (WAW). Congratulations! As always, we feature a Scripture Word Art that you can download for free at the WAW site. It comes from Titus 3:5 which says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."   
 
We just started 2023 and as always, many of us have come up with a New Year's resolution that would make us better people for ourselves and others.  Fresh from the holidays, we are so inspired to accomplish these goals that we are optimistic we will get to fulfill them this year better than the last year.  But so many of us will abandon what we've set to do even before the first month of January ends.  That's because when we rely on our own effort, we quickly realize how difficult it is to follow our own goals.  How much more for those resolutions that are spiritually and morally inclined?  
 
How many people have expressed their desire to attend a Church (Body of Christ, Eklesia) after they cleaned up their act altogether every year?  Frankly, if that is their goal, it's like saying, "I would never come to the Lord ever." How holy did they think they would have to be before they would be good enough to attend a Church building? Are they talking about outward or inward change? For there is no lasting/meaningful change without the working of God in one's heart. They're oblivious to the fact that the Church (not the physical building but the people) is a community of believers that they can go to when they're in dire need of help from their physical and spiritual sickness so they can get well.  Everyone who placed their faith in Jesus is now a temple of the Holy Spirit that can be used by God to minister to the lost.  For only the Lord can cure man's spiritual darkness which also affects our physical well-being since the Fall of Adam. Before Christ, we carried the curse of Sin and Death (originally from Lucifer/Satan) in our mortal bodies and we are headed to eternal damnation.  It was grim and hopeless.  But when God sent Jesus Christ to this world to redeem mankind from such curse, everyone who gave their life to Christ and made Him their Lord  and Savior (Born-again, John 3:3) by way of the Cross are freed from the shackles of Satan and given a new life (in Christ).  The Amplified version of 2 Corinthians 5:17 clearly says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]."  As Jesus died on the Cross for us, we died with/in Him so that in His resurrection we come alive with/in Him, all by faith!  And God didn't leave us to walk this newness of life on our own that none of us can boast about our own efforts and good deeds.  He gave us the Holy Spirit to lead and enable us; renewing and sanctifying (to be set apart) us; till we are perfectly transformed to the image and likeness of our Savior---Jesus Christ!

As we meditate on the working of the Holy Spirit in us this year, let us extend God's mercy to others who are still lost.  Remembering how we acted in a similar fashion before the mercy of God touched our lives and drew us to Christ.  Let us not tire in sharing the Gospel (death, burial and resurrection of Jesus) and pray for their spiritual eyes to be opened even when they come to persecute us.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can make this our goal for the New Year which is guaranteed to please the heart of our Father in heaven.  I would like to share a portion of an article from Gotquestions.org that explains our highlighted verse in this post.  It says, "The “washing of regeneration” refers to being born again. The Greek word for “washing” in Titus 3:5 describes the act of cleansing something all over thoroughly. Regeneration means taking an already existing thing and making it new again or starting over. In literal terms, it means “birth again.” This renewal work of the Holy Spirit is described as “cleansing” and “purifying” in Ezekiel 36:25–27: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” The “washing of regeneration” is a metaphor for complete spiritual cleansing and removal of our sins. When we call on the name of the Lord, our sins are washed away (Acts 22:16; Psalm 51:1–2). When a sinner trusts in Jesus Christ, he or she is justified or declared righteous by God through the sacrificial death of His Son. Christ’s work is justification. Simultaneously, through the power of God’s indwelling Spirit, the washing of regeneration purifies us from all sin. At once, we are made righteous, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus Christ by God’s Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11). “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Salvation and the radical, transformative washing of regeneration are all God’s doing; therefore, believers have no room for spiritual pride. We must remain humble and compassionate toward unbelievers, remembering to demonstrate the same kindness and love God showed us."
 
For this Card, I used an image from DRS Stamps called "Leonard Pig's Bathtime Buddies" that I colored using my Ohuhu markers.  The base is a white A7 pre-cut card from Paper Studio, the DP's are from My Mind's Eye (Bramble Rose collection) and the lacy circle is die-cut from Nestabilities. I added another sentiment from Clear Dollar Stamps, some glitters from Stickles (Crystal) and some fancy stitching for dimension.  I decided to let the beauty of the paper show in this project and I'm very happy with the result.

 
RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST CARD

RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST CARD LAYERS

RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST CARD INSIDE

RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

 
This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Get Creative---Something New (New stamp image)
PIP---ATG
Use Your Stuff---Stitching (Real or Faux)
My Bestie---ATG
Stamping Sensations---Add Some Sparkle
Corrosive---ATG
Beyond the Blue---Something New (new stamp image)
Crafty Catz---ATG/Fave Hobbies or Pastimes
C.R.A.F.T.---New (New Stamp Image)
Craft Rocket---Not Square
Critter Crazy---ATG with Critters
Bastel-Traum---Glitter
Crafty Animals---ATG with Animals
Crafty Friends---New Beginnings (Card Focused on New Birth/Creation)
Creatalicious---ATG/Something New
DL Art---ATG
Let's Craft and Create---ATG/Black and White
Mix It Up---ATG/No Stamping
 
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.  Great prize package to be won from our wonderful sponsor---Seth Apter Designs ($25 GC).  Always remember that every believer is important to the Body of Christ and none of us are without talents and gifts to contribute to the Body.  God placed us at this time when many have succumb to darkness and the hope and light of the Gospel is the only cure. Time is running out!

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