It's Grace

 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

Hi Friends!

Today we're in Romans 8, the very first verse. And we may take it as granted, but it's pretty amazing what Jesus did for us. For those of us in Christ, there is no condemnation- no punishment. If when we die, we have taken Jesus as our Savior, it won't matter if we murdered someone, if we stole, if we hurt others, no matter how we sinned, we won't be punished. Is that fair? No, it unquestionably is not. It's grace. And I'm thankful in this instance that God is not being fair. Aren't you?

When my girls were growing up, I heard that phrase- it's not fair!- a few times. They had a hard time understanding why certain things happened or why one got something the other didn't. We can have a hard time understanding God's ways too. His ways are not our ways. And we should be thankful for that! While I've never murdered anyone, and I may think my sin is less offensive than someone else's sin, God's grace covers it all. So, it may not be fair. And we should thank God it's not. Because without His grace, we'd all be condemned.

Page Details: I used the following sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps: Down on the Farm, Grace Upon Grace, and Mini Bold Print Alpha. I used watercolor crayons to color the images and background.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

God is Enough

This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand, I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. Exodus 7:17

Hi Friends!

I'm in Exodus today, and the plagues are about to begin. The Israelites had been in Egypt for 430 years. The Egyptians had made them slaves; and they suffered through that. Now, it was time for them to go. God was going to free them. But Pharaoh thought he could stop them. And so, because of Pharaoh's actions, the plagues began. These plagues caused much suffering too.

The world is full of suffering, isn't it? We all suffer- believers and unbelievers alike. Why? Because we live in a fallen world. Jesus told us we would suffer. And, honestly, if the God Man had to suffer as He did, why would we expect not to suffer?

But, there's good news, friend. God is enough for any suffering we may experience. In fact, He is more than enough. Our God is good, and He's working His purpose in every circumstance. In those hard times, draw near to Him. Know Him. He will sustain us through it just as He sustained the Israelites through the plagues. We are not enough. We're not even close. But He is. Lean into Him.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Your Story, In His Image, Grace Upon Grace, and the Starry Night Stencil. I used distress oxides and the stencil for the background. I stamped the notebook paper on sticker paper and the partially adhered it to the page so that I can still lift it up to read the scripture underneath.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Grace Changes Everything

All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" Acts 9:21

Hi Friends,

Have you read Acts 9? Talk about a transformation. Talk about grace changing everything. The chapter begins with Saul (Paul) threatening the early Christians. He wanted to imprison them for their belief in Jesus. He took this persecution seriously, not because he was a bad man, but because he thought he was right. Let me say that again. He persecuted the Christians because he thought he was right. He thought he was fighting for God. Makes you think, doesn't it? But, that's a whole other subject. Let's get back to his conversion. :)

Saul headed to Damascus for the purpose of imprisoning Christians. And Jesus stopped him on the way. Jesus asked him why he was persecuting Him. Jesus told him to go to Damascus and wait to be told what to do. And Saul did just that. Ananias, prompted by God, went to Saul and his discipleship to Jesus began. In meeting Jesus, Saul was completely changed. The grace he was given changed his purpose, his thoughts, his actions. Instead of fighting against Christians, he began fighting for them and spread the gospel in amazing ways.

Jesus does the same thing for us. We may not meet Him in the spectacular way Saul/Paul did, but when we come to Him and accept Him as our Savior, we receive the same grace Saul/Paul did. And it changes us in the same way it changed him. In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul said, "But by the grace of God I am what I am..." He knew that he was changed by God's grace. And it was that grace that helped him through the difficulties of life. I pray the same for you.

Page details:
I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Grace Upon Grace and True Beauty. Both these sets were part of the July release. They are both so versatile! I applied distress oxide for the background color, then stamped the roses and the words. I finished the page by detailing the letters with white accents using a white paint pen.

Let God's grace change you, my friends! Have a blessed week. Andrea

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

 

 

Grace Upon Grace

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth... And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." - John 1:14-16

This Advent season, I read "The Dawning of Indestructible Joy" devotional book by John Piper. Boy, was it good! The reading for December 25th, Christmas Day, was titled Grace: The Dominant Note of Christmas and it went along so perfectly with the brand new Grace So Amazing January stamp set, I just knew I needed to journal it. Isn't God good like that?! 

Grace is the dominant theme of Christmas. The barn, the manger, the angels, the shepherds, the wise men -- it all comes down to one thing: grace. While the gospel of John does not contain the traditional Christmas story found in the other gospels, the story and purpose of Christmas is weaved throughout the book. After quoting John 1:14-16, John Piper has this to say:

"So the eternal Word of God took on human flesh, and in that way the divine Son of God - who never had an origin, and never came into being, and was God, but was also with God - became man. and in doing this, he made the glory of God visible in a wholly new way. And this divine glory, uniquely manifest in the Son of God, was full of grace and truth. And from that fullness we receive grace upon grace.

That is the meaning of Christmas in John's Gospel. God the Son, who is God, and who is with God, came to reveal God in a way he had never been revealed before. And in that revelation, the dominant note struck is race: from the fullness of that revelation of divine glory, we receive grace upon grace."

Christmas is the human embodiment of grace to a fallen world. Christmas is for salvation. Salvation for you and for me. The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus provides an inexhaustible supply of grace and truth to the whole world. It never runs out. It's grace upon grace upon grace upon grace - forever. 

  

I used the Grace So Amazing, With Love Alpha, and Folk Art Snowflakes stamp sets to create this page and coordinating journaling card. Just stamps and ink, that's it! Easy peasy, but full of great content and reminders to embrace the grace that has been given to me by the Joy of Christmas. 💙 

  

I pray you cling to the grace that has been provided to you every day this week. 

With love in Christ, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy