I Know

Hello again friends!

    

How are you?  Life still feels pretty weird, huh?  I want to share a song that has brought me so much encouragement lately.  It is "I Know" by Big Daddy Weave.

You don't answer all my questions
But You hear me when I speak
You don't keep my heart from breakin'
But when it does, You weep with me

You're so close that I can feel You
When I've lost the words to pray
And though my eyes have never seen You
I've seen enough to say

I know that You are good
I know that You are kind
I know that You are so much more
Than what I leave behind
I know that I am loved
I know that I am safe
'Cause even in the fire, to live is Christ, to die is gain
I know that You are good

I don't understand the sorrow
But You're calm within the storm
Sometimes this weight is overwhelming
But I don't carry it alone

You're still close when I can't feel You
I don't have to be afraid
And though my eyes have never seen You
I've seen enough to say

I know that You are good
I know that You are kind
I know that You are so much more
Than what I leave behind
I know that I am loved
I know that I am safe
'Cause even in the fire, to live is Christ, to die is gain
I know that You are good

You are good
I know

On my darkest day
From my deepest pain
Through it all, my heart, will choose to sing Your praise

On my darkest day
From my deepest pain
Through it all, my heart, will choose to sing Your praise

On my darkest day
In my deepest pain
Through it all, my heart, will choose to sing Your praise

I know that You are good
I know that You are kind
I know that You are so much more
Than what I leave behind
I know that I am loved
I know that I am safe
'Cause even in the fire, to live is Christ, to die is gain
I know that You are good

I know that You are good
I know

The lyric that really struck me as I was driving this past week, is "Sometimes this weight is overwhelming, but I don't carry it alone". The world seems super heavy lately!  2020 has been no picnic. But there is so much truth in this song!  We are not alone.  God is always with us, helping us carry the load.  We must stick to the truths we know about God and His love for us as we navigate this life.  

I sat down to create with absolutely zero idea about what I wanted to do.  I had some Dr. Ph. Martin's India Inks on my desk that I had yet to play with, so I just got messy with them.  I added a layer of gold Distress Paint and stamped some beautiful flowers from the Flower Garden stamp set.  I added some color to the flowers with some Faber-Castell Pitt markers. I stamped out some of the song lyrics with the new Marker Alpha and the Bold & Outline Caps Alpha. 

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9 NIV

Until next time, catch up with me on Instagram & Facebook @simplyjillsjourney.

Jill

Saved by Grace Alone

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a results of works, so that no one may boast" - Ephesians 2:8-9

Have you ever heard someone say, "Oh, so-and-so is such a good person, I just know they're going to heaven"? While I know that person likely means well, that type of statement saddens me a little because the Bible tells us exactly how to get to heaven: 

Salvation is only by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 

The topic of salvation by grace through faith is a point the Apostle Paul emphasized with repetition throughout the New Testament, and especially in Ephesians 2. You see, each of us are born with a sin nature (Ephesians 2:1-3) and our sin nature separates us from a perfect, holy God. God's requirement for heaven is perfection, and no one individual can ever be perfect enough to enter heaven. 

• Romans 3:10 - "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."
• Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

By God's grace, He sent His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life and die a perfect sacrifice for my sin and your sin and the sin of the whole world. I could never be good enough to earn my way into heaven - Jesus did that for me. That's why Ephesians 2:9 says "not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Paul makes it very clear that there is nothing you can do to earn your way into heaven, or else why would we need the cross? No, the only way to heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ. 

• 2 Corinthians 5:21 - "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him"
• Acts 4:12 - "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
• Romans 10:9-10 - "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
• Romans 10:13 - "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

So the next time you (or I) hear someone say they think they are going to heaven, let's take a minute to show them how they can really know they are going to heaven. It's not based on anything they can do, it's based on what's already been done for them. 💛

Saved by GRACE alone through FAITH alone.

Page Details

I used watercolors and several different stamp sets to create this page. Honestly, It was nice just to break out the watercolors and get a little messy with my painting. 😊 I have been in a creative funk these last few weeks and this time painting in God's Word did my heart good. The brand new Flower Garden and Grace Upon Grace stamp sets were the at the heart of this page. If you don't know what to do for a page background, flowers are a great go-to! I can't get enough of my flower and alpha stamp sets. I use them allllll the time! 😉 I also used the Walk by Faith and Typewriter Blocks Alpha stamp sets to finish out my page title. **If you noticed the GRACE and FAITH fonts are the same in both the Grace Upon Grace and Walk by Faith stamp sets, it's because both were designed by the fabulous Rebecca Rios (check her out on IG, you won't be disappointed!). 💜

Much love in Christ, 

Janelle

I would love to connect with you on Instagram! You can find me @journalingjoy 😘

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamp Sets Used