Use Your Gifts

Now King Solomon sent and called Huram out of Tyre. He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre who worked in bronze, and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill to make all sorts of items in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work. 1 Kings 7:13-14

Friends-

I hope you had a blessed day yesterday celebrating our dear Savior's resurrection. Jesus is alive! He is worthy of our praise and devotion. Part of that devotion is using our talents for His purpose. After all, He gave us those talents. In 1 Kings 7 we are told of a man named Huram. He was from the tribe of Naphtali. He had lost his father at some point; but before his father's death, he had taught Huram what he knew in bronze work. God had gifted both these men in the working of bronze. And Huram used his gift for God's purpose by making many of the bronze furnishings for the temple.

God has gifted each one of us with talents. What if we used them to further His purpose? Think of the impact we could have in this world. It could be as simple as Bible journaling and sharing what you learn as you study and journal on social media. That's why I share on social media. It's not to get likes or to be told my art is pretty. God gave me some arting abilities. So, this is one way I can use them for His purpose. I pray that the pages and thoughts I share bring Him glory, that they draw others nearer to Him. And that's just one small way. Of course, our talents can be used for Him in every part of our lives- at home, at our jobs, with the people we come in contact with daily. Let's use our gifts for God!

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Walk Humbly, All in All, Typewriter Blocks Alpha, Teeny Alpha, Girl Power, and Home for the Holidays. I used the tiny flower from Girl Power to decorate the skirt. I used watercolor crayons as well.

 Have a blessed week! Andrea

Open Doors

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, 

who holds the key of David. 

What he opens no one can shut, 

and what he shuts no one can open.

 I know your deeds. 

See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. 

I know that you have little strength, 

yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Revelation 3:7-8

The letters to the seven churches of Revelation 1-3 are both historical and prophetic.  These churches actually existed and the descriptions of them are accurate.  The passages picture each church being held accountable for actions and lack of action.  One receives commendations from Christ, one encouragement for the persecution they are suffering, and the rest are judgments against the churches. I've always been fascinated with their application today because we can see so many churches reflecting one or more of the churches in Revelation.  The church at Philadelphia is the only church that received praises for their complete faithfulness to Christ. In these verses we receive instruction for our own faith walk. 

We hear many colloquialisms about God opening and closing doors, most of which are not actually biblical.  For example, "When God closes a door, He opens a window."  I'm not sure how this "work -around" mentality crept into church culture, but I've heard it a ton. To me it implies that if God chooses to close a door to something you want, He will still provide it, just in mode different from what you were seeking.  He'll work it do get you want you want.  He might close one door and open a different door altogether, sending you on a direction you didn't anticipate.  Regardless, we can take hold of what scripture says.  Christ holds the only key to heaven; He is the only way.  He opens and closes the door to heaven according to His perfect judgments.  There are no window through which people can climb in, escape or alter our eternal destination.  

I think the passage holds other implications as well.  God opens doors to us in this life too.  His primary goal is the gospel.  Ours should be too.  God will open doors for us to give testimony to both the gosple and our own salvation experience.  When He opens those doors, nothing can prevail against it to close it.  Likewise, if He closes the door, if His judgments are enacted, no one can find another way.  The lesson for us I believe is clear.  If God impresses us with an opportunity to share the gospel with someone, we better walk through the door.  He may close the opportunity to us if we don't.  The Spirit will prompt us; we need to take that seriously.  There is great joy is sharing what Christ has done.  Regardless of the person's response, we know we have acted faithfully when we take the opportunities granted by God. 

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Design Details:  I used Distress Oxide inks for the background. The door image is stamped as are the distressing details.  The door and stone were colored using Copic Markers.  Stamps used are listed below. 

God's House

Lord, I love the house where You live, the place where Your glory dwells. 

Psalm 26:8

Hello Sweet 'n Sassy Friends!
Where do you love to hang out? David loved to hang out with God. If I'm honest, I can't say that my most favorite place to be is with God. It should be! I want to say that! But, looking at my life, I let too many things take my attention- work, family, the TV, shopping, etc. Sometimes, unfortunately, God is an afterthought. I want to be more like David! I need to put God first and focus on His presence with me through all the things I do. I need to use some of my time better. I want to get to a point where I'm glorifying God and He is my priority in all I do and say and how I live.  We are fortunate in that God now indwells believers in a way that He didn't in David's time. His glory is with us always. We just need to focus on it!

For the page, I used one of the newly released sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps called Home for the Holidays. I absolutely LOVE this door stamp!! But, it has a lot of great images and it's a versatile set- not just for Christmas! I also used the following sets: Love Your Neighbor, Sing Loud, and The Good News. I used watercolor crayons too, and a white pen to highlight.



There's no other place we should want to be than hanging out with God! Praying we all spend some focused time with Him this week!
Andrea