Speak faithfully...

Hi friends,

It is an enormous privilege to have access to the Word of God. There are so many people around the world that either can't afford a bible, aren't allowed a bible, or don't have a the bible translated into their own language. The access we in first world nations have to Scripture is astonishing.

With that access comes several responsibilities though. Firstly, we need to not take this access for granted and should seek to study God's Word diligently and carefully, following the leading of the Holy Spirit as he directs us as to how we need to apply his words to our lives.

The  other responsibility we have is to share God's Word faithfully with others. There are so many ways we can do this, whether in conversations with friends, in sharing the good news of the Gospel, or in preaching and teaching. One way of sharing that has increased hugely in the last few years is through social media, and for us in particular, through Bible Journaling.

One of the things that I have been thinking about in my own art and sharing of the Word is how I do that faithfully. For me, faithfulness to Scripture means studying diligently, learning from others, speaking and listening with humility, and embracing the whole counsel of God. That means engaging with the harder-to-understand or difficult-to-hear texts and not just sticking with the ones that make us or others feel nice. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that ALL scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness. So as we engage with, journal, illustrate and speak God's Word, we need to explore both the Old and New Testaments, gospel and history, Psalms and prophets, encouragement and rebuke. And in all of this, we need to look for and to Jesus, who said that the Scriptures testify to him (Luke 24:27; John 5:39).

I tried the 'no-line watercolour' technique on this page using the beautiful new Delightful Daisies set. To achieve this look, you stamp the outline images using a light ink (I used Versamagic Sage) then using watercolour, add colour and shading to the flower centres and each petal. It does take a while, but it's a great way to practice colouring skills! The verse is a combination of alpha stickers along with His Name and Bitty Minnie Alpha (my favourite alphabet set!).

Let's be grateful for the access we have to the Word of God and take seriously our responsibility to share it faithfully...

x Amy x