A Pattern of Grace and Mercy

"I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." - 1 Timothy 1: 12-17

If you were to ask me which books of the Bible are my favorite, I would definitely say 1 and 2 Timothy. The Apostle Paul's letters to Timothy, a young minister, are packed full of so much wisdom and encouragement. If you consider that they are Paul's last written letters to the church, it makes them even more powerful. 💙

Paul was one of the biggest persecutors of the early Christian church until his miraculous conversion on the Damascus road. He holds none of his history back when he calls himself the foremost, or chief, of sinners. In fact, he uses his testimony to establish the saving and changing power of the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. 

I particularly love what he says in this verse:

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:16 NLT)

Another translation says this:

However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. (1 Timothy 1:16 NKJV)

Paul doesn't hide from his past. He wants his past to show an example, a pattern, of the grace and mercy shown to all sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ. But Paul doesn't just stop there! He lives the rest of his life in the service of Christ so that his entire life may show a pattern of the grace and mercy of Jesus. 

If you have a history that isn't so pretty, read this passage in 1 Timothy and know that there nothing you've done that is not redeemable under the blood of Jesus. Accept his grace and mercy and then continue to live in His grace and mercy that your life may show as a pattern and an example for others. 

Page Details

I used watered-down acrylic paint for the background of this page, then stamped the edges with Versamagic chalk ink to create a pattern of plaid and flowers along the edges. Then I splattered the page with some white paint and set aside to dry. I stamped the cross and flowers on vellum and colored with colored pencils, then used double sided tape to adhere to the page. I then stamped my title and colored in with Uniball white signo gel pen (my favorite brand of white gel pen!). 

  

  

I pray we all live in the grace and mercy offered to us by the love of Jesus this week. 

In Christ, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy

The Purpose of Christmas

She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

Hello friends!

Many of us send and receive Christmas cards each year with sweet images of our Baby Savior and His earthly parents, and/or the shepherds and wise men seeking Him. They come with encouraging Bible verses and sentiments and make as feel all warm inside. But what if you received a Christmas card that spoke of the real purpose of Christmas? What if you opened the envelope and pulled out a card that said, "Born to Die." How would you feel then? That would kinda zap my Christmas spirit!

Most likely, we're not going to be seeing any Christmas cards with those sentiments on them any time soon, but the fact is Christ's purpose in being born was the cross. Why was Jesus born? Because every one of us are sinners.

I came across an online article by C.J. Mahaney entitled, "Disturbing Christmas: The Manger and the Cross." Mr. Mahaney quoted an article by William H. Smith from 1992, part of which I want to share:

"That Baby was born so that 'He who had no sin' would become 'sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.' The Baby's destiny from the moment of His conception was hell- hell in the place of sinners. When I look into the manger, I come away shaken as I realize again that He was born to pay the unbearable penalty for my sins. That's the message of Christmas: God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ, man's sin has alienated him from God, and man's reconciliation with God is possible only through faith in Christ...Christmas is disturbing."

Does that mean we shouldn't celebrate Christmas and be joyful about it? Of course not! Christmas is about God's great love for us. And we should certainly celebrate that love. But it should include reflection and acknowledgement of what Christ did for us, and an acknowledgement of His role as Judge to those who don't accept Him as Savior. 

He left Heaven. He left His rightful glory. He became His creation. He endured physical and emotional abuse of the most horrid kind. He suffered an awful death. He was separated from the Father for our sakes. And He did it all willingly. Think about that.

As Smith said in the conclusion of his article, "Only those who have been profoundly disturbed to the point of deep repentance are able to receive the tidings of comfort, peace, and joy that Christmas proclaims."

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Endless Love, Curly Girl Alpha, and Adore Him. I stamped the baby and cross images, using watercolor crayons to then color them. After painting, I stamped the words and flowers.

Have a blessed week, my friends! Andrea

And he read it...

I find the stories of the Old Testament positively fascinating! Intrigue, political espionage, affairs, murder - the history of the early Israelites is not for the faint of heart. Rather than following God's ways, the people often did their own thing and paid a high price. 

The books of the Kings tells the stories of the kings of Israel (northern kingdom headquartered in Samaria) and Judah (southern kingdom headquartered in Judah). Nineteen kings led the nation of Israel, but not one of them followed after the Lord God. Twenty kings led the nation of Judah, and only eight followed the Lord. Eight kings out of 39!

We find the story of Judah's King Josiah in 2 Kings 22-23. Josiah was only eight years old when he ascended to the throne, but even from that young age he knew he wanted to do things differently than his father and grandfather (Amon and Manasseh). He had a godly scribe and high priest who helped him follow the ways of Jehovah, and he immediately began to purge the land of idols and idol worship. When he was 18 years old, he sent Shaphan, his faithful scribe, and some other leaders to the temple to instruct Hilkiah, the high priest, to begin repairing the temple. The monies collected at the temple were to be used to pay the workers and sustain the priests. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 34:12 that "the men did the work faithfully."

While in the midst of repairing the temple, Hilkiah the priest (who just so happened to be the father of the great prophet Jeremiah) had an amazing find - the Book of the Law. 

"Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, 'I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.' And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, says, Your servants have gatehered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.' Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saysing, 'Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.' And Shaphan read it before the king."

Some scholars believe this could have been the original book of of the law written by Moses! Can you imagine?! Until this point, the King only had the word that had been passed down through generations - a set of guidelines to follow, if you will. Now he had the actual written Word of God in his hands!

The Bible says in 2 Kings 22:11 when King Josiah "heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes." The hearing of God's word did a spiritual work in King Josiah. In the strongest way possible (tearing of clothes) he showed his grief and conviction of sin. After hearing the Word, King Josiah immediately sought counsel from a prophetess, read the Book of the Law to the people, and enacted sweeping reform throughout the whole land of Judah.

"Now the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem - the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord."

Shaphan read the book before the king and the Word of God spread. it has been forgotten and regarded as nothing more than a dusty old book. Now it was found, read, and spread. Throughout the history of Gods' people, when the Word of God is recovered and spread, spiritual revival follows. (Guzik)

God's Word has the power to convict me of my sin, just as it did for Josiah and the people of Judah.

It's amazing to me that the Word of God was so neglected in those days that it was even worth mentioning that the scribe read it, but how often do we neglect our own Word of God? How often do we go days or weeks without opening the Word? Are we like the Israelites? Maybe it's time for a heart check: Do you regularly read the Word and, if so, does it speak to your heart the way it did Josiah's?

Page Details

I used acrylic paint and stamps to create this page. I watered down the acrylic paint a bit, and then blended it as a background. I used distress oxides to stamp the flower background and added white accents and white paint splatter. I then stamped, fussy cut, and colored the typewriter with my (cheap) alcohol markers 😉

 

 

Friends, may you enjoy your time in the Word of God this week! 🙌

Much love in Christ, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy

                            

Live in the Bible

Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long. Psalm 119:97

Hi Friends!

My husband, 2 daughters, and I are all avid readers. We love reading all sorts of books. And so, when I saw this quote by Charles Spurgeon, I knew I had to put it in my Bible! How wise this quote is. We can "visit" good books, enjoying and being entertained by them. But there is one book that stands above all others, and in that one, we must LIVE- reading and meditating on it each and every day, basing how we live on it. 

Psalm 119 is one of my favorite psalms because of how it speaks of God's Word and what our relationship to it should be. It's a long Psalm, and says much, but a few of the verses I marked for my page are:

• Verse 81: My soul faints with longing for Your salvation, but I have put my hope in Your word.
• Verse 86a: All Your commands are trustworthy.
• Verse 89: Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
• Verses 92-93: If Your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have preserved my life.
• Verse 97: Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long.
• Verse 103: How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
• Verse 105: Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
• Verse 112: My heart is set on keeping Your decrees to the very end.

Oh friends, this world is topsy-turvy. The world preaches that truth is relative, and what may be true for me isn't necessarily true for you; and that "truth" can change from day to day. But that is a lie. God is truth; and truth is absolute. God doesn't change. Truth doesn't change. And God's truth, real truth, is true whether we believe it or not. We can find God's truth in the Bible. I treasure His Word. I have many Bibles in my home, some study Bibles, some journaling Bibles, some digital Bibles on my devices. And I'm thankful to live in America where I have easy access to the Bible. But if there ever comes a time in this country where we don't have easy access to Bibles, I will share mine with anyone who needs one because His Word is LIFE.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: God of Comfort, Curly Girl Alpha, Texture Tiles 6, Joyful Alpha, and Typewriter Blocks Alpha. God of Comfort, Curly Girl, and Texture Tiles 6 are all part of the July release. When I saw God of Comfort, I knew I had to use this image with the Spurgeon quote. I colored the image and letters with Prismacolor pencils. I colored the background with watercolor crayons, and stamped the grunge dots on top.

Visit many good books, friends, but live in the Bible. Have a blessed week! Andrea