Wonderful Grace of Jesus

Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching to all the lost;

By it I have been pardoned, saved to the uttermost.

Chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty;

O wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

-Wonderful Grace of Jesus, Haldor Lillenas

Dear Friends,
Are you familiar with the hymn, Wonderful Grace of Jesus? Probably, many of us are; but if you aren't, I encourage you to listen to it. This is a hymn I enjoy singing. But more importantly, it praises God for His grace. Without His grace, where would we be? I'll tell you...we would be lost and without hope, forever separated from Him.

Sometimes, we get grace and mercy confused. In the New Testament, "grace" is the Greek word "charis" which means "favor, blessing, or kindness." Grace is God choosing to bless us rather than punish us as our sin deserves. So, grace is giving us what we don't deserve. Mercy, on the other hand, is not giving us what we do deserve (punishment).

Through God's grace we get so many things. Here are a few:

• Salvation: For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. Eph 2:8
• Sufficiency: But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Cor 12:9
• Righteousness: And all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Rom 3:24
• Freedom: For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

God's grace takes away our burden of sin and frees our captive souls. Grace extends to all. People may choose to reject it, but God gives everyone the opportunity to receive it. I pray that we live in His grace and remember the blessings we receive through it.

Page details: I journaled in an old hymnal rather than my Bible for this one. I bought this used hymnal on Amazon. Sometimes hymnals can be found in thrift shops as well. This particular hymnal was once in a public high school library as it is stamped. I thought that was cool. I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Freedom in Christ, Life in Jesus, and Free Indeed. Freedom in Christ is a newly released set. I also used watercolor crayons and Micron pens.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

I am Free Indeed!

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."John 8:36

This passage in the book of John is one of the most notable and powerful promises found in the Bible.  We are free indeed!  As we near Independence Day, and we celebrate the freedom we have in our great country--freedoms that many other countries do not have or enjoy--we remember the price that was paid for this freedom.  Many lives were given for us to be able to experience the freedom we have in the United States.  (For any readers in other countries, the same probably goes for you and the freedoms you have--nothing ever comes without a cost.)

But Jesus was not talking about political, social, or economic freedom.  He was talking about spiritual freedom.  Freedom from the bondage and slavery of sin.  When Adam and Eve chose their own way over God's way in the Garden of Eden, and thereby rejecting His intimacy, they allowed Sin to take this world captive.  And all humanity since has been  slave to sin, because "everyone who sins is a slave to sin..." (v. 34). However, Jesus took on humanity, lived a perfect, sinless life, and then died a perfect death, so we don't have to continue to be slaves to sin.  He gave His life for our freedom.

The gift of life is free.  It is a free choice.  We are free from sin and slavery IN and THROUGH Jesus.  We have but to accept it by faith, and allow Him to remove the sin from our daily lives.  He removed the burden of sin from our back.  However, we too often take it back again, and again, and again.  Jesus says we are free from the slavery and bondage of lust, of discontentment, of appetite, of worrying, of anger, and the list goes on.  But sometimes we are too comfortable being a slave.  The Israelites often grumbled after escaping from their slavery in Egypt, and longed to go back to their state of bondage!  That makes no sense to us, but we really are no different!  We might want to be free from our sins, but we don't really want to give them up.  

I'm not saying it's an easy thing to do, to give sin up, to be free.  But it is simple.  Jesus has promised, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!" (emphasis mine).  He adds the "indeed" to emphasize how sure of a freedom it is.  He has already made us free--but the reality of the freedom in our lives depends on our daily submission and surrender to Him.  Our freedom actually comes in surrender.  Its a paradox, but it's a powerful paradox. 

I used the newly-released Free Indeed stamp set for this page because it has both patriotic and Biblical words and images that suit journaling this passage.  I first stamped and embossed the  various firework images in white.  Next, I blended some Distress Oxide Inks over those images, which resulted in a resist-effect.  I then stamped the words to spell out "Christ [has] set me free [so] I am free indeed."  I didn't get a super clear stamping on the word "free", so I ended up doing some white detailing with a gel pen to cover it.  That lead to me doing the same detailing on all the bolder-type words, since I liked the effect.  I stamped a few more of the smaller images in the various red, light blue and darker blue inks, made a tab out of navy washi tape, and topped it with a navy and white bow.  

Friends, don't go back into your bondage to sin.  Accept your freedom, and be free--INDEED!

Land of the Free

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

Independence day is right around the corner and has me contemplating what it means to have freedom and to be free. Freedom in the dictionary is described as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without restraint, or the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. As a Christian I feel so blessed to have the gift of freedom from sin. I don't have to listen to the taunting and whispered lies in my ears. Christ willingly gave himself as a sacrifice so I can experience freedom.

This page was a little of a challenge as I originally used StazOn ink on the back side of the page that bled through. I used a little white acrylic paint thinly scraped across the page with a paint card to easily cover and create a blank canvas for me to create on. Instead of using colored inks I used my big brush Pitt pens to color and stamp the images onto the page. Combining the star and stripes stamps I was able to create a abstract flag at the top of the page. I filled in my titled with hand lettering and tiny alpha stickers. The seamless bunting was created by inking all but the knot on one end of the banner then re inking the stamp and realigning to create the swoop. After the ink on the bunting was dry I went back with the same red and blue Pitt pens and filled in the triangles to match the page.

This fantastic set 'Free Indeed' can be purchased HERE along with many other beautiful versatile sets. Keep your eyes open for next months new stamps....you will not be disappointed!

Hugs and Prayers,

Jenn @creativegurl85

Free Indeed

So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

Good morning, friends!

We live in a country that is free. We are free to do what we want within the laws of our country. And I'm so thankful to have been born here. More importantly though, I am free because of Christ. Because of His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, I am free from sin. I am free to show others His love. I am free to serve others for Him. I am free to do His will and purpose in my life. And if you have accepted Him as your Savior, then you are free too!

This specific passage refers to our freedom from sin. Does that mean we won't sin anymore? Of course not. But what it does mean is that we don't have to remain defeated in sin. We're going to sin. But, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can rise up against it and conquer it! ''

For the page, I used the Sweet n Sassy Stamps set Free Indeed. What a fun set! I've used it to make patriotic pages like this and ones that don't look patriotic. So it's very versatile!

Live free, my friends! Andrea

Set Free

Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. Psalm 142:7 (NIV)

Hi Friends!

Good news! Jesus can set us free! When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we know He cleanses us from our sins. We are clothed in His righteousness. We have eternal life. We are saved! But sometimes, we don't live as set free, saved people- at least I don't. Sometimes I find myself feeling like I am still locked in the prison of sin, the prison of defeat, the prison of regret. Do you ever find yourself feeling like something has you chained in? There's hope, dear friends, and His name is Jesus. When we feel like we're chained in, we need to remember we are ALREADY set free in Jesus. We are set free as soon as we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. We just need to live that way. Call out to Him. Remember who He says we are in Him.

• I am loved. 1 John 3:3
• I am accepted. Ephesians 1:6
• I am a child of God. John 1:12
• I am a joint heir with Jesus, sharing His inheritance with Him. Romans 8:17
• I am a temple of God. His Spirit and his life lives in me. 1 Corinthians 6:19
• I am redeemed and forgiven. Colossians 1:14
• I am complete in Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:10
• I am free from condemnation. Romans 8:1
• I am a new creation because I am in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17
• I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. Colossians 3:12
• I am established, anointed, and sealed by God. 2 Corinthians 1:21
• I do not have a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
• I have direct access to God. Ephesians. 2:18

Simply choose to believe what God says about you. And live that way! And then praise Him. Thank Him. Bring glory to His name. Because that's what we do for our Savior who freed us! 

For the page, I used 3 brand new Sweet n Sassy Stamps sets and a couple of other favorites. The brand new sets are: Free Indeed, Brotherly Love, and Script Alpha. I also used Girl Power (which pairs beautifully with Brotherly Love), Let's Do It, and Teeny Alpha (which has upper and lowercase and numbers!!). I used watercolor crayons for the background and a white Sharpie pen to highlight.

I found the list of who we are in Christ at https://www.christianlifecoaching.co.uk/who-you-are-in-Christ.html. You can find the complete list there.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Freedom in Jesus

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13

Hi Friends!
Yesterday, we celebrated Memorial Day, remembering all those who have given their lives so that we can live freely in this country. John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." I am grateful for all those who have given their lives, as well as for all those who have served and who are serving in the military.

Someone else also gave His life so that we could be free: Jesus. John 8:36 tells us, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Thank You, Jesus!! So how should we use that freedom? Galatians 5:13 tells us the answer: to lovingly serve others. We can serve others in lots of ways- big and small! Volunteer. Send a kind note to encourage someone. Mow the lawn for a neighbor. Send a care package to soldiers, college students or someone who is struggling. Drive an elderly friend to the store or for an outing. It doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to be other focused.

Let's use our freedom to glorify God!

For the page, I used a brand new June release Sweet n Sassy Stamps set called Free Indeed. And guess what? It's up on the website now! I also used another favorite set called Love Your Neighbor. I used the "free" stamp and added "dom" in my own writing. And I made a flag from the stars and stripes from the set. Have fun using this new set!

Have a good week! Andrea