Freedom at a Cost

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. Colossians 3:21-22

Hi Friends,

Today, in America, we remember those who fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy. People, some we may know, some we don't, who were all willing to fight for the U.S. And, they gave their lives for this country- for us. Americans, let's take time this weekend to remember and honor those who served our nation and are no longer with us.

There was Another who was willing to give His life for our freedom, our Lord Jesus Christ. And He, not only freed us from sin, but from having to live according to legalism. Jesus fulfilled the Law, and because of that, in Him we can claim His righteousness. Wow! There is nothing we can or have to do. Jesus completed the work. All we have to do is believe in Him, our sweet Savior.

Our freedom, whether the freedom we enjoy in America, or the freedom we enjoy as believers, came at a cost, a very high cost. Honor those fallen. Honor our Lord and Savior above all.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Like a Sunflower, Grunge Stripe Background, Freedom in Christ, Way Maker, & Grunge Elements 3. Grunge Stripe Background is FREE with a $60 purchase in June! I used distress oxides for the background. The sunflower bloom was stamped on a hymnal page, cut out, and glued to the Bible page. I used a colored pencil to color in the stem.

Have a blessed week, friends. Andrea

Growth and Glory...

Hi friends,

Have you ever wondered how we are to grow in faith? Scripture is clear that we only need faith as small as a mustard seed to see extraordinary things happen (Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6). But there are also places in Scripture that hope for growth in faith (2 Corinthians 10:15), celebrate growth in faith (2 Thessalonians 1:3) and command that faith increases (2 Peter 1:5-8). Have you every felt like the man that said to Jesus, "I believe! Help me in my unbelief!"? (Mark 9:24)

Well we are shown in Scripture how we can grow in our faith by looking at some of the examples of people who walked by faith. Hebrews 11 gives many examples of these people, and in Romans 4 Paul points to one of these examples (Abraham) in describing his response to God's promise. Paul says that Abraham grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God (Romans 4:20). Even in the face of impossible circumstances (imagine being in your 90s and being told you were going to have a baby!) he grew in faith by giving glory to God. As he acknowledged the power and goodness of God, his faith grew.

I believe we are given these examples of faith so that we can learn from them. If Abraham, who is called the father of faith, grew in faith by giving glory to God, then so can we. Giving glory to God means praising him for who he is and what he has done. It means thanking him for his promises, even when we haven't seen the fulfilment of them yet. It means taking our eyes off the impossibility of our circumstances and placing them on the God who is so much bigger than anything we are facing. It means magnifying the Lord rather than ourselves. As we do these things, our faith grows - and no matter how small our measure of faith may be at the moment, there is always room for growth.

I created the background of this page using distress oxide inks, sponging them onto the page using oval makeup brushes (I had prepped the page with three layers of gesso first). The sunflower from Like a Sunflower was stamped on the page using Stazon then coloured with distress oxide inks and an aquabrush. The verse was stamped with a combination of sets: Marker Alpha, All in All and Choose Faith (the word 'faith' was stamped on a piece of card that I had painted with gold acrylic paint - I cut out each letter and glued them on the page). Here are the sets I used:

May we all grow more in faith as we give glory to God!

Be blessed...
Amy