The Word of God

For the word of God is living and active, 

sharper than any two-edged sword,

 piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, 

of joints and of marrow, 

and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

There is so much I love about the Word of God.  It speaks to the deepest part of me and is always relevant.  It opens the door of my heart to see and know God, to be known by Him.  It is sweet; it is hard; it is powerful; it is tender; it is helpful, comforting, challenging, convicting.  It is all of these but of the list of descriptors that mean so much to me, it is the fact that it is living that amazes me most.  It distinguishes itself from any other book, even deeply moving theologically profound books.  No other book is living, is organic and consistently, constantly dynamic.  What gives it life and exactly what does that mean?

In John, chapter one we learn that, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The term "word" is different in John and Hebrews.  The Word is "the Logos," is complex but refers to the person of Jesus.  The term "word" in Hebrews refers not to Christ, but to God's written, recorded and inspired word...the Bible.  The Bibles we hold in our hands are obviously not breathing, growing--not in the sense as defines life.  Yet it IS alive, and it IS active.  God's word is alive because it brings life...it perpetuates spiritual life was giving life by the breath of the Holy Spirit.  It brings real, supernatural transformation in the living soul of the human who accepts it as truth.  "Faith comes from hearing [or reading] the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ," (Romans 10:17).  It brings life and vitality, light and salvation.  It is not powerless, but has the power to save.  

As we come to the Word of God for the life it can give, we find it renders much to feed our spirit.  It is a sword; it is strength; it is a foundation for living our lives; it is absolute truth; it contains the only gospel of Christ; it points to Christ--our peace and our salvation.  I'm so very grateful that God prepared my heart as a twelve year old girl to receive the Word...and thereby trust its Author.  God's Word led me to Him...and He is my all in all.  

I'm grateful each and every day that I have the living and active Word of God at my disposal.  I cannot imagine not having a Bible.  That's why it's so important for those of us who do to read it and to hide it in our hearts, to share it with others.  I've known several people who have owned Bibles but never read them.  Others give cursory attention but depend mostly on someone else to preach or teach from it.  Some think they know scriptures from platitudes they hear literally on the street and take such triteness as truth.  The only way God's Word can bring your spirit alive is to take it in and let the Holy Spirit do His transforming work through it.  

God's Word is my sure foundation.  It is the one absolutely trustworthy thing on which I can stake my life...because it reveals my faithful, totally trustworthy Father. 

Design Details:

I just added a little more color to the page (100 Days of Bible Promises Devotion Book by Shanna Noel/Illustrated Faith with gelatos and a water-brush.  I drew a simple sketch of a Bible then added stamps to the central image and words over the pages.

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Sets Used:

 Doves of Peace

Mighty Fortress

Armor of God

I CHOOSE FAITH

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith is choosing to believe in something that we cannot see.  We can't see the world spinning on its axis, but we believe it to be true.  We can't even feel it happening around us, although the world is spinning at the breakneck speed of roughly 1000 mph!  We simply have faith in gravity that we won't be catapulted into outerspace.  

Likewise, we cannot see the person of God, but we have faith that He is real.  We may not feel His presence, but we can choose to believe that He is with us.  Often, we can base this faith on what we see God doing, or what He has done for us in the past.  However, there are times when we may struggle because we can't see any evidence of God at work.  That is when we have to CHOOSE TO HAVE FAITH!

I created this colorful, interactive page in my 100 Days of Bible Promises Devotional.  I wanted to graphically demonstrate the spinning world, so I made a stamped and colored world that spins on a paper-fastener-axis.  I used the Send Me stamp set for the world and the arrows.  I then wanted to create a texure-full background of outerspace, so I used all three Texture Tiles sets to randomly stamp the fabric and fiber of the cosmos, and colored them with Jane Davenport Watercolors.  I embossed the word "faith" from the Life in Jesus set, and fashioned a tiny tag with "I choose" stamped inside.  I finished on the page with a tag, washi tape, a date flag, and bow.  

You can see how the whole page came together in the process video on my YouTube channel or using the link below.  

Have faith, my friends!  And when you don't, then choose to have faith anyway!

SEND ME

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LIFE IN JESUS

TEXTURE TILES 2

TEXTURE TILES 1

THE FORGIVENESS CIRCLE | Faith Art Journaling with Julie

Colossians 3:13 "Remember, the Lord forgave you so you must forgive others."

I'm journaling in my 100 Days of Bible Promises Devotional, and the promise for day 69 is about God's forgiveness.  God promises that He has forgiven us already.  Notice that it is in the past tense.  He forgave us when Jesus took all of our past, present and future sins upon Himself and nailed them to the Cross.  It's been done!  Already! Complete!  However, He doesn't leave it there, does He?  There's more to the verse.

The rest of the verse says, "...so you must forgive others." Just as God has forgiven us, we are to forgive others when they wrong us.  Bitterness and anger are toxic to our souls, and when we harbor them in our hearts, they fester into relationship-barriers.  Unforgiveness can prevent us from having a right relationship not only with other people, but with God also.  Said the opposite way, forgiveness can foster a right relationship with others and with God.  That's because when we forgive others, freely and fully, we can more easily accept God's forgiveness.  But when we hold bitterness in our hearts and refuse to choose to forgive someone who has wronged us, then it translates into us not being able to experience the full grace of God's love towards us.

What about if they don't admit to being wrong?  What if they don't say they're sorry? What if they don't even know they've hurt me?  Guess what?! Forgive!  God forgave us before we even asked for forgiveness.  "Remember...to forgive others," He says, because it is something we need to be reminded of.  And more often than not, it's a matter of choosing to forgive.  Our emotions will probably not FEEL like forgiving.  Did Jesus feel like He wanted to die on the Cross?  NO!  We can see that in the Garden of Gethsemane; but He chose to do it anyway.  Choose to forgive, and the feelings will eventually follow. 

I created this page with the "Send Me" and "Let's Do This" stamp sets.  I wanted to emphasize the cyclical process of forgiveness--we experience God's forgiveness, which helps us to forgive others, which then helps us to appreciate and experience God's forgiveness, etc.  I began by coloring concentric circles on my page with my watercolor crayons, starting at the center, and alternating the colors.  Then I blended those colors with an aquabrush, adding my color where I felt I needed it.  I chose my palette to match the colors on the devotional page, a golden ochre and burnt sienna.

Then I stamped my words using Versafine Onyx Black Ink.  These words are a mix and match of the two sets.  I handlettered the "s" to the first "forgive" to make the subject and verb agree (I'm an English teacher).  Don't be afraid to make your stamps fit your needs!  Then, to highlight the circular pattern I added the arrows, and colored them, again, with the watercolor crayons.   I finished with a texture stamp from Texture Tiles 3, washi tape, a tab and bow. 

There was still too much blank space between the arrows and the words, so I added the stamped heart.  I dipped the burnt sienna crayon into water, dabbed it off slightly onto a paper towel, and then stamped directly onto the page.  I outlined it with the same journaling pen that I used to write down my prayer-thoughts. 

Thanks for stopping by. You can visit me anytime at  Jules' Jewels YouTube Channel and my blog Jules' Jewels, and see other projects on Instagram at @julesk.jewels.

Let's Do This

SEND ME

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Go God's Way

Happy Tuesday Readers! Can you believe it's already July?!?! How did that happen? But with the beginning of each new month we have fun new things to look forward to, a couple of which are new Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and a devotional! Have you seen Diane Noble's new devotional for this month titled Go God's Way? Ugh so good and so fun! Too often we get so caught up in our plans and where we want to go that our vision gets clouded.

Proverbs 8:32-33  NCV

Now, my children, listen to me, 

because those who follow my ways are happy. 

Listen to my teaching, and you will be wise; 

do not ignore it. 

As you can see, God commands us to listen to him and follow his ways. A lot of those "ways" are found all throughout the Bible. Bits and pieces of his guidance and knowledge for us to use to live our lives in his ways to the best of our abilities. And other times, God will instruct us through very obvious acts or subtle whispers in our lives. I know there have been moments in my own life where I thought "Wow! Ok God, I totally get it. I couldn't possibly miss that sign!"Moments like that are so clear and easy to follow. 

But then there are the God whispers. They are really easy to miss when life is so fast and busy that you don't make the time for Him and you can't hear them. It's easy to miss those little soft whispers and instructions he sends us on occasion if we aren't in his word and following his ways. Sometimes, we hear the whispers but aren't sure how to follow him, or maybe we're scared, not sure of where it will lead us! In those moments we need to seek him and pray. Pray that he will give us the strength we need to follow him and his plan for us. And he will! He will give us the strength we ask for! We just need to seek him, pray, and be obedient in the answers we receive! My life has taken me several places I never originally planned to go, and some of them were scary and not what I personally wanted to do. But now, looking back, it made my life that much better! Following through on what I believe to be his plan for me, my life, and now my families, has shown me so many blessings that I am incredibly grateful for. I continue to pray that I will remain obedient to the things he asks of me.

Have a blessed week!

xoxo,

Stephanie Gammon

Go God's Way Printable Bundle

Why Should I Confess?

If we confess our sins, he is faithful 

and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us 

from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 

 

You've heard the old adage, "Confession is good for the soul."  Why is that?  Why should we confess, and to whom is confession necessary?  I know we have a lot of Catholic followers, but I'm not speaking of that type of confession.  Nor am I talking about the necessity of confession when we have wronged another person.  When we wrong another person, going to them to confess your offense and to attempt reconciliation is crucial to healthy relationships.  We cannot forget the importance of confessing before the Lord.  

 

In this situation our confessions come from our heart as we acknowledge sin in our life. Words of repentance then flow to our lips and we pour out our grief and sorrow over our sin to the Lord.  Painful?  So very, very painful.  Sin is ugly to God and it should be to us too.  But confession is a way to stop wallowing in the pain and pity and renew our relationship to God.  As Shanna Noel writes in her 100 Days of Bible Promises, Day 11, "...the purpose of confession is not to tear down or condemn; it's to free you from the weight sin brings."  Confession is releasing the burden of our sin from our shoulders and laying at the throne of our merciful Father who will cast it as far as the east is from the west.  

 

 

Confession is an invitation to God to cleanse us, free us, restore us.  Christ loved us enough to die that He might forgive us our sins.  Would He not continue to love us that we may taste his grace and goodness again and again?  Our debt to God is cancelled in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  But because we are not yet perfect, we will still fail to obey God in complete perfection.  Therefore when we sin, our momentary disobedience removes us from the fellowship of God, but no longer separates us for an eternity from his presence.  The later breach was closed when Jesus paid our debt and we believed in faith. I was saved once for all time, and was given the promise that while I continued to live in this fallen world with my imperfections God will continually refresh me and give me rest in his amazing, endless, merciful forgiveness.  Sin no longer reigns in my heart, and God will cleanse any blemish of sin that creeps in....I have this promise; I have this freedom; I have this joy.  

Design Details: 

I love the extra room I have in my 100 Days of Bible Promises book by Shanna Noel/Illustrated Faith.  It has fabulous prompts for journaling thoughts and prayers and just enough room for full-coverage artwork.  Here I used the June printable from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, "Beach Blessings."  The 2 starfish and tape on the left page and the girl are printed on cardstock and cut out.  The palm trees, sandpiper, the large words and the starfish trio are printed on clear, matte sticker paper.  

 

Beach Blessings Printable Bundle

Needing More and More of Jesus

Delight yourself in the Lord

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 (ESV)

What is the highest desire of your heart?  Sometimes our best desires get covered over with our busy, hectic lives and we neglect our greatest need.  As women, we spend so much time nurturing others that we often forget that we need nurturing too.  We've all longed for a day at the spa...where we are totally pampered.  I remember years ago, spending way too much money (I thought) on a massage...and the relaxation lasted until I drove in the traffic again on my way home.  So much of what we do to delight ourselves simply doesn't last.  Life hits full force and we are drained all too soon. 

There is a delight that lasts.  Our delight in the Lord never ceases because who he is never changes, never wanes, never disappears.  As we come into his presence for the refreshment he renews our minds, bodies and spirits and that energy lasts.  Even we life drains us, we find within us a reserve that is supernatural.  He comes from the resurrection power that resides inside our spirit.  

I have a great need of Jesus.  My life, my joy depend on him.  I love that God even puts that desire for him within us. "For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose." (Philippians 2:13)  Isn't that incredible.  I have to confess that I have remarked to my husband at times, "I love you forever, but I'm not liking you very much right now."  Am I the only one?  Feelings are fickle.  But the desire that we have for God come from him...so it will always be in our hearts.  Circumstances may fuel our desire to be in the Lord's presence but that desire will always be there because God has deposited it...and what God does in and through us cannot be altered.  

What's even more amazing is that God delights over us!  I loved the thought in the 100 Days of Bible Promises journal by Illustrated Faith underlined on this page. "As you give Him your heart, He sings back to yours."  Oh, believer....let that beautiful picture soak into your spirit.  The God of the universe delights to sing over you.   I think that is why I need him so much.  I need his unconditional love, his strength...I need his forgiveness, mercy, grace and compassion.  He is everything I need, he is all I need to live.  

All I need is Jesus...because he is the only one who can truly satisfy this heart of mine.  He crafted my heart and he knows exactly what I need, what delights me.  I'm so very grateful that he designed me to want more and more of him!

Design Details:

This was an incredibly simple page to create.  I used the Girl Power printable as a sticker for the girl image.  The rest is stamped...flowers and words.  All the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets are listed below.  I used acrylic paint and dipped the end of a pencil eraser in the paint to make the painted confetti.  

Bitty Blossoms

Bitty Minnie Alpha

 Skinny Minnie Alpha

 Cold Coffee Alpha