Rest on His Promises

The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their ancestors...

Not one of all the Lord's good promises to Israel failed;

every one was fulfilled. Joshua 21:44-45

Hi Friends!

Today we are in Joshua 21 which ends with 2 verses about God's rest and His fulfilled promises. Let's take the promises first. God had promised land to Abraham and his descendants. That land was a very long time in coming. And, the Israelites had to fight for it. It took patience and work, but God kept His promises. Every. Single. One. Our great God is a Promise Keeper. What He says He will do, He does. Not just sometimes, but every time. The Israelites could count on that; and we can too. Now, let's talk about the rest. The following comes from the SheReadsTruth devotion: The foundation for any true rest is built on the fulfilled promises of God. God promised and delivered rest to His people. Although man threw away perfect rest and peace in the garden, God faithfully and continually rescued His people from slavery and unrest of their own folly, and brought them to a land of rest that He had prepared for them. The promise is for us also. One day, the chasing and straining of this world will cease, and we will find perfect rest and peace in Him forever.

Trust our Promise Keeper, my friends. And rest in Him.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Count Your Rainbows, Prayer Time, Way Maker, Faith Phrases, Sweet & Simple Alpha, All in All, In His Image, and Faith Wordfetti. Whew! That's a lot of sets! But I love combining sets on my pages, bringing words and images from different sets together. No special techniques on this page, I just did basic stamping. I outlines the heart in the rainbow with a Micron pen. I stamped the pencil on sticker paper and only partially adhered it to the page so I can lift it to read the Scripture underneath. I used Prismacolor pencils to color the pencil.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Stand Firm

 Hi friends,

Toward the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul exhorts the church to 'stand firm' and to 'let nothing move you.' (1 Cor. 15:58). This short instruction and exhortation caught my attention and so I decided to journal it my Bible. It is all to easy to get swayed by pressures around us and inside of us to move away from the truth, to compromise in order to get along, and to waver in the face of fear. All of this was familiar to Paul, but he stood firm in Christ and encouraged others to do the same.

When I was journaling this verse, I started thinking about how easy it is in Bible journaling to isolate a small little instruction like this, journal it in a page, and perhaps apply it in wrong ways because we haven't paid careful attention to the context of what we are journaling. There are so many examples of verses taken out of context and used in almost slogan-like fashion within Christianity, that it is easy for these words of wisdom to become twisted to mean something they are not meant to. I have to remind myself of this as a Bible journaler because the nature of what we do is to focus in on one verse. It is important to me that when I share about the page I've created, that I share the context and its location in the wider teaching of Scripture.

Returning to this page and the exhortation "stand firm, let nothing move you" I thought about how important this is to understand in context. After all, we are not to stand firm in sin, or in ignorance, or in immaturity, or in opinions. We are to be moved by the love and compassion of God, we are to move toward Christ and to those around us he calls us to minister to. We are to be moved away from toxic thinking and toward godly attitudes. It is not just in anything and everything that we are to stand firm and to let nothing move us. To see the context of this verse we have to read around it, and in this case the previous verse tells us something important: God has given us the victory (over death and sin) through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is this victory that we are to stand firm in, and to let nothing move us from. 

I played around with some gouache on this page, using the sweet images from Be a Flamingo and colouring with an aquabrush and the mixed colours. The text was stamped with a combination of alpha sets: Lollipop Alpha, Sunshine Girl Alpha, and Playful Alpha. 

Let's stand firm in the victory of Christ and not be moved from it.

Be blessed...

x Amy x

High and Holy

 

"For thus says the High and Lofty One

Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

'I dwell in the high and holy place,

With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,

To revive the spirit of the humble,

And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'" 

(Isaiah 57:15)

The Israelites had the terrible habit of disrespecting God.  They forgot who led them out of slavery, and saved them from their enemies.  They forgot who daily fed them manna for 40 years.  They forgot who the One True God was, and mixed their worship with other false gods.  Therefore, here is Isaiah, God is reminding the people of His holiness and highness.  He is reminding them of WHO HE IS.  

We can cast blame on the Israelites, and ask why they would continue to act that way.  But the truth is, we act the same way.  Despite all the blessings, provisions, and watch-care that God grants us daily, we also disrespect Him by doing our own thing and worshiping our own gods (be they social media, our self-image, Netflix, our jobs, etc.).  We do not fully ascribe to God the respect and honor due Him.  

I created this page with the Puffy Clouds stencil.  I used two colors of ink (Tumbled Glass and Kitsch Flamingo) and shifted the stencil slightly on the second color in order to get the multi-toned effect for the clouds.  

I stamped my title with three different alphabet sets:  School Days Alpha, Typewriter Blocks Alpha, and Lollipop Alpha.  Then I colored in the words "high" and "holy" with some Wilted Violet ink using an aquabrush.  Next, I added some splatters with black watercolor paint and some smooshing and splattering of the three ink colors.  

Next, I added some white detailing to the letters with a white gel pen.  For my tab cluster at the top of the page, I stamped and fussy cut three little clouds from the Count Your Rainbow stamp set (although I could have used the coordinating die).  I added the sentiment "Praise the Lord" from the Prayer Time stamp set (the "Heavenly Father" and "Amen" over by the verse also came from the Prayer Time set).  Then I added some Sparkle Glitter glue to the title and cloud tab cluster.  

I encourage you today to worship, respect, and honor God for the God that He is.  One living in a high and holy place, but One who also lives inside of each of us.  

Thanks for hanging out with me today.  God bless!

--Julie @julesk.jewels

Here's a process video so you can see how it came together:

Product Links:  (Click the picture for the link)

My Redeemer Has Come

 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the Lord. Isaiah 59:20

Hi Friends!

On the Creative Worship Facebook page, we had a virtual retreat this past Friday and Saturday. Hopefully, some of you were able to participate! Anyway, after the retreat, I found myself looking back at past pages I have journaled. And I found this one. I journaled it at the first of last year. It's a simple page, but I really like how it turned out. This verse spoke to me again. Of course, Isaiah is speaking to the Jews. But that Redeemer he speaks of is my Redeemer too! And oh how I long for Jesus to come back. Do you feel that longing too? To be face to face with our sweet Savior is hard to wait for! Of course, it's all in His timing, isn't it? And His timing is perfect. I look forward to that day, whenever it may be.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You will come again. Thank You for sending Your Spirit to dwell within us while we are here on earth. Thank You for Your perfect plan and Your perfect timing. As I wait for Your return, I rest in You. I hope in You. I trust in You. Amen and amen.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: His Name, Typewriter Blocks Alpha, and All Your Heart. I drew the hills and sun with Micron pens and used watercolor crayons to color in the page. I also used a Micron pen to shadow the word "come."

Have a blessed week! Andrea

He Keeps His Promises

"This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, 'Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.' For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God..."

2 Peter 3:1-12a

I find it mildly amusing that the early Christians were convinced they were in the "last days" and looking for Christ's return - after He had just left! (Fast forward 2,000 years and it sure seems like we are living in the last days now, doesn't it?!) In fact, those early Christians were somewhat discouraged that the Lord had not yet returned, and the Apostle Paul had to remind them in 2 Peter 3 that the Lord always keeps His promises. He's not slow to keep His promises - He keeps them at the exact time He intended to keep them. He is not on our timetable, He is God! Just as God kept the time He had appointed for delivering Israel out of Egypt, so He will keep the time appointed in coming to judge the world. 

Matthew Henry really says it perfectly:

"That what mean count slackness is truly long-suffering, and that to us-ward; it is giving more time to his own people, whom he has chosen before the foundation of the world, many of whom are not as yet converted; and those who are in a state of grace and favour with God are to advance in knowledge and holiness, and in the exercise of faith and patience, to abound in good works, doing and suffering what they are called to, that they may bring glory to God and improve in a meetness for heaven; for God is not willing that any of these should perish, but that all of them should come to repentance."

God has not yet returned for this simple fact - He is giving as much time as He can for people to turn to Him. He is giving ample time to repent. So, what should we as Christians be doing now? As it says in verse 12, we should live lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for the return of our Lord. We should share the good news of the gospel with everyone we meet so that they too can know our Savior, and in so doing, hasten the Lord's return. 

Page Details

I used gelatos, stamps, and some glitter texture paste to create this page. I first used my finger to blend the blue gelato all over the page. I had some bleed-through from the page on the other side and wanted to cover it up before doing my stamping on this page. :) I then did my stamping, and used the Puffy Clouds stencil to add glittery clouds. I colored the rainbow and sun with my Tombow dual brush markers. 

 

Remember this: God is long-suffering and is giving more time to His people, whom He has chosen before the foundation of the world, to turn to Him. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. He will keep His promise to come again, but He is first giving ample time for all to repent!

Much love in Christ, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy

In spirit and truth

 Hi friends,

I've been slowly reading through John's Gospel this year, making a lot of notes and trying to immerse myself more in the detail of the text. As I've been reading, there are certain stories and phrases that are very familiar to me (having grown up in the church and studied the Bible for some years now) which I've been struck by afresh. One of those is the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4. Jesus says to her that "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." He had just said prior to these words that the Father is seeking such people to worship him. Despite having heard these words many times, prayed them before a Sunday service, and probably heard or even taught about this, I began to wonder what this really means.

What does it mean to worship the Father in spirit and in truth? Does the spirit refer to the Holy Spirit, so that we worship being led by him, relying on him? Or is this talking about our human spirit, encouraging us to engage every part of ourselves in worship, especially our spirit (the very essence of who we are)? Could it be both? What about truth? Is this talking about worship that is in line with the truth that God has revealed in Scripture? Or does this mean that we should worship without pretence, with complete honesty and openness toward God? Again, maybe it is both. 

I know for me that I need God to help me understand what this truly means, so I thought I would journal this page in my prayer Bible, turning these verses into a prayer for God's help and guidance. At the end of the day, the only way I can worship God in the way he desires is to be taught and led by him, so that's what I'm asking for. 

I used the new Garden Whimsy set on this page, stamping the butterfly and dragonfly on vellum and embossing with white, before cutting the images out. I added some colour to the back of the vellum using alcohol markers, then glued them to the page that I had painted with acrylic paints. I stamped some leaves from Texture Tiles 11 over the background to add a bit of detail, and stamped the text using a combination of Prayer Time, Lollipop Alpha and Sweet & Simple Alpha. Finally, I added a couple of pieces of wordfetti that I created using the Prayer Time set. Here are the sets I used:

Let's remember to ask for God's help when we need a greater understanding of his Word. Only he can teach us how to worship in spirit and in truth.

Be blessed...

x Amy x

Work Boots | Bible Journaling with Julie

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord."  (Colossians 3:23-34).  

Growing up, my daddy worked on construction sites. He always wore his work books (and his helmet) on these sites. Those work boots sat waiting for him behind the door every morning.  They reminded me of firefighter boots sitting next to the fire truck, at the ready for the next emergency call.  

We put on work boots when we are ready to go all in:  to the dirtiest, or most hazardous of construction sites, to the muckiest of barns, to the deadliest of fire emergencies--or to the largest of laundry piles.  

Ok, not many of us don work boots to do our laundry (although with my three boys, I've had some pretty toxic laundry piles!). However, according to Colossians 3:23-24, we should put on a positive, can-do attitude. Work heartily at WHATEVER you do, as for the Lord.  If we're doing laundry, do it with all your heart.  If it's the dishes, work heartily.  If it's the weeding the garden, work heartily.  If it's completing paperwork, work heartily.  If it's writing that report, work heartily.  No matter how mundane a task may seem, when we work heartily, we are working for the Lord, and His character of love, joy, and excellence shines through. 

 

I created the background of this page in my Interleaved Bible with Distress Oxides in various shades of brown and beige.  I stamped the pair of boots using The Lord's Battle stamp set, and colored the boots with some watercolor pencils. I used several alphabet sets for the title (although the words "for Jesus" also were from The Lord's Battle):  School Days, Typewriter Block, and Lollipop Alphabet sets.  I added some washi from my stash, the verse that I had typed on my typewriter and blocked, and some grunge elements with Texture Tiles 3.  I added a border around the page with my precision journaling pen, and wrote my journaling on the opposite page next to the verse.  I finished with a date stamp, a tab, and a fabric bow.  

I've linked the various sets below.  Right now, through the end of the March, Sweet'n Sassy Stamps is holding a Moving Sale with 15% off.  It's a great time to stock up on those sets or products that have been sitting on your wishlist for a while!  

Thanks for visiting today.  You can click the images below to go shopping with my affiliate link (I appreciate your support!).  

God bless--Julie 

@julesk.jewels (IG)

Jules Jewels YouTube

The Lord's Battle

School Days Alpha

Typewriter Blocks Alpha

Lollipop Alpha