God's Word is Life

"Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua, the son of Nun. And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, 'Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess." - Deuteronomy 32:44-47

Deuteronomy 32 is a beautiful and eloquent passage commonly referred to as the Song of Moses. There are seven themes in Moses' song, which take us on a journey from the great goodness of God to the horrible sin of humanity to the grace and kindness of the Lord. It's Moses's exhortation to the children of Israel (and modern day Christians) to acknowledge God's greatness and mercy, and embrace it as their very life. 

David Guzik's commentary has this to say about verses 44-47:

One of Satan's great lies to us is that it is a futile thing to serve God and obey His word. It often seems that those who are against God prosper more than those who are for Him. Yet, we need to see and understand - from an eternal perspective - that it is not a futile thing to love and obey God. 

Chuck Smith follows it up with this comment: 

This word is not an empty thing; it's you're life. This is a matter of life and death, not something to pass off lightly.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." 

In Paul's letter to his dear friend Timothy, he says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Loving God and His Word is more than just a good Christian thing to do - it is life itself. God's Word gives us everything we need to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God, and He wants us to embed His Word in every aspect of our heart, mind, and life every single day. As a person, you can't live without food and water - as a Christian, you can't live without God's Word. 

The beautiful thing about this thing we call Bible Journaling is simply this: it brings God's Word into our lives in a visual and vibrant way, which brings us closer to Him. And that's just what He wants for us. ♡

I used three of my all-time favorite stamp sets to create this page: Scribble Flowers, Sweet & Simple Alpha, and Teeny Alpha clear stamp sets. The Sweet & Simple set is new this month and is quickly becoming my go-to alpha stamp set! The Scribble Flowers and Teeny Alpha sets are so versatile and add great elements to just about any page. I use them all the time! 😏 I taped off the text I wanted to illustrate, then blended distress oxides, splattered with water and watered down ink, stamped, and finished the page with some gel pen highlighting, washi tape, and stickers. Super fun, easy, and MESSY - which I love!! 😍

  

May you enjoy the life provided through God's Word this week and every week.

Much love in Christ, 

Janelle ❤

Come, Lord!

Hey guys, it's Deeds! 
I'm glad that you're here, and I hope when you come to the Creative Worship Blog, you leave blessed and encouraged!!

This month's series of stamps released were absolutely AMAZING!  For this entry, I did a simple card swipe technique with acrylic paints.  I'm a sucker for a sweet background, and I'm a firm believer in the Texture Tile sets, of which there are 3!!  It's incredible what they can do to enhance the page! 

I'm using Tile set#3 for this entry, but I've used Texture Tiles since they first came out, and because I'm not great with making my own textures and variations, this fits the bill.  I hope you've been able to get some for yourself!

The July Release includes a sweet little alpha set called "Sunshine Girl," which contains the caps and lower case - IT'S SO FUN and INCREDIBLY VERSATILE!

Also featured is the stamp set called "Love Your Neighbor."  This came out a few months back, but I found it to be a perfect addition to the journaling. :D

In my usual studies through the She Reads Truth Bible, I'm sent to different scripture that align in their theme, truths, attributes of God, etc.  I was sent to Job the other day, as part of the assigned reading, and was hit in my soul…hard.

"For I know that my Redeemer lives and at the last He will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.  My heart faints within me."  Job 19:25-27

Packed.  Loaded.  Fraught with dumbfounding truths. 
"I know... I know my Redeemer lives."  Who?  My Redeemer.  Jesus Christ.  But wait, was Job alive in the time of Christ?  Of course not!  But He knows that God is who He says He is, that He is who He claims to be, and throughout God's Word lies the ever-stumping revelation of a Savior that is to come.  Job has incurred much loss; loss of homestead, loss of family, loss of health, loss of quality of life as he understood only days prior to saying this! Yet he testifies of the presence of the All-powerful and Faithful God; his Redeemer.

The following statements are provided as tidbits of insight into the core of Job's beliefs.
His understanding of the afterlife amazes me, and he speaks of his flesh withering away, and yet it is his FLESH that will see God in the end.  WHAT?!  God is so nice.  He's so neat.  He's so precise as He explains through Job's testimonial that one day, THE DAY, he will see God face-to-face and be in full bodily dwelling.  Same as me!  Same as you if you're a believer!  

This is the struggle of Christians today.  We live lives of trials, tests, troubles and toils with the hopes of a life yet to come.  A life of perfection, beauty, completion and glory!

While the battle between reality and anticipation rages on, I'm pretty sure this is something that goes through our heads, much like it did Job's: "My heart faints within me!" 
 

But this understanding between now and the future is a healthy understanding to have as a believer in navigation of life.  WE'RE NOT MEANT FOR HERE, SO WE DESIRE THE HEREAFTER!

Job knew it, and we feel it now.  God has placed eternity into our hearts, Ecclesiastes says, and we have a yearning that will not stop until we have reached the "other side." 
Believer, we live to bring Jesus into the communities that surround us, and the spheres of influence in which the Lord has placed us.  We live to "hasten the day," which means bringing the gospel to light in areas where darkness dominates and evil persists.  We live to struggle with evil all around us and within us, hoping for the day that Jesus comes and TAKES US HOME!

To this, I say, "Amen," and to this, I say, "Come Lord Jesus, Come!" 
He wants to come take us to heaven - that place where resurrected bodies will behold God's glory!  And we WILL see Jesus as our King and timely Redeemer!  But for now, we must wait.  And wait we will.  Striving to bring lost and hopeless souls to a similar understanding of what Life truly is.  Life in Jesus, is life indeed.  Our hearts faint within us, but soon and very soon, we will go and see the king!
Come, Lord & Take Me Home!!

Much love,

Deeds