God of Grace & Mercy

Hey guys!
It's March!!! Can you believe?  I mean, can you? 
In some ways, I feel like I'm stuck in January and unable to move forward; at the same time, how did we already make it to the month where the sun makes promises of warmth? 
It's mind-blowing!  And here we are.

Today, I'm in Nehemiah.  I LOVE this book.  You guys, if you have a chance to read Nehemiah, and if you should have your note-takers journals and pens handy, I would strongly recommend!  It's the other thing right now that I cannot believe I'm a part of.
Nehemiah.
Do you remember the process video I did back in February in this book?  If you haven't seen it already, the link is right here.  Through this video, I explain a bit more of where the people of Israel have been, what they've done, and how far they've come.  In this context, we meet Nehemiah now in chapter 9.

baby wipe with acrylic paint technique

Nehemiah chapter 9 and following (somewhat like the rest of Israelite history) is a bittersweet combination of a rebellious-turned-right-turned-rebellious people and a God that contains His wrath and justice to bring about His grace and mercy.
"Now therefore, our God, the great God, mighty and awesome, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes."  (Neh. 9:32a)
This is a request of Nehemiah that follows tightly on the heals of something that he'd just expressed from his heart of ache and plight.
"But in Your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and merciful God."  (v.31)
The God of the Bible - the same God of today - has far-reaching hands as He works (with delight, may I add?) to restore a people to Himself.  This same God does not tolerate idolatry of this people and carefully, with the most amazing and appropriate mixture of holiness and grace, guides them again into His fold.  He will not leave them.  He will not abandon them.  He will instruct them, which to some may come as an extreme move on His part, but for the fickle and the flighty,  He does what it absolutely necessary.
I don't think I'm alone when I think about how ridiculous it was for God to have given Israel so many chances; so many opportunities to come through and remain faithful.  SO MANY!  It's embarrassing to the same degree that the Lord chases me down and uses this same Fatherly chastising to bring a daughter (wayward and wandering), to the acknowledgment of who He is once again.  Many, many times.  Too many times.

Did you by chance catch the verse above?  The one about the "gracious and merciful God?" 

Let me try to dumb this down for us a bit: WITHOUT THE GRACE AND MERCY OF GOD THERE WOULD BE NO US.  Humanity at its best would still be a pile of rubble; rubbish ground down to bitter ashes of shame and nothingness.
God is holy, you guys, and His name is above all other names.  He gives His glory to no other; shares none of His weighted magnificence with anyone.  God is God, and only God is God.  So, having scriptures recount His glory in the highlights of His grace and mercy is huge for us.  It's huge!

Nehemiah understands this and that is why he vocalizes it in the community there in Jerusalem.  We all need to hear - repeated and distinctly - who God is, and the very breath by which we live under His Sovereignty.
This should really spark some general questions for us:
Why then do we continue to elevate and worship other "gods?"  The gods of finances, health, comfort, possessions, popularity, strength, religiosity?
I love the Jesus Bible and I quote from it often.  Here's a little snippet of something I read that clears up the mess in my brain over all of this.
"Remembering the past gave them (Israel) a focus for the future.  Having heard their own story, God's people faced a decision.  They could renew their covenant and continue on with God, or choose a different future, dedicated to other 'gods.'
"This covenant was not defined by a code of behavior or a list of intellectual truths.  The covenant was framed by the narrative of God's gracious acts toward a rebellious people."
DON'T MISS THIS.

                     

God brings a mess of people - a ruin of broken hearts - under His care and by HIS GRACE AND MERCY ALONE causes the covenant to exist; again.
GOD is faithful.
GOD is wonderful.
GOD is gracious.
GOD is merciful.
To GOD be the glory for all the great things He has done.

I've been convicted by this book as a whole.  I'm reminded of God's pleasure which is not to destroy me - someone who daily flips with a given emotion or situation - but to renew me, to bring me back, and to restore me to rightful worship of the One True King.  My Daddy.  The God of Grace and Mercy.

May He get all the glory.  May I daily surrender to His lead.  May He remain the all-powerful God and Sovereign of my fickle, feeble heart.  May I ever fall on His grace and mercy in remembrance of what He has done.
Much love,
Deeds

                       

Start Somewhere

stamps used: Outline Alpha, Texture Tile 2, and Typewriter Block Alpha from this month's release!

Hey guys, it's Deeds!

Thanks for coming to the blog for Creative Worship Bible Journaling!  Our hearts are daily poured out into this place, and I hope you're encouraged by what you read today.

I've been going through the Bible this year - for the very first time in my life as a Christian - and I've been able to learn so much about God's character from the very beginning words, "In the beginning." 

I finally made it into Nehemiah.  

I like it!  

I like it a lot, and the biggest thing I've learned about Nehemiah is the restorative process through which God reconciles His people to Himself.  It's interesting to me, the picture here in this book that relates to God in His greatness and compassion.

Historical context is summed up in this:

Jerusalem is in ruins; Israel has been scattered, exiled, enslaved by Babylon.  Why?
God's people had adulterated themselves with other gods; the gods of surrounding nations, which also led to intermarrying with the women of these areas and defying God's holy law.  This was the first and foremost commandment broken as they'd mixed and muddled their prayers and worship of the One True God with idols.
It was a sad time.  Super bad.  Super evil. 
Babylon was defeated by King Cyrus of Persia, thereby losing their hold on Israel.
Later on, Cyrus would allow a the captives to return to Jerusalem, at which point they'd begin to reconstruct their city; their home; their lives. 
Opposition comes.
New king comes to power.
Frustration.
Fear sets in.
Enter Nehemiah.

Nehemiah is a cup-bearer for the enemy king, Artaxerxes.  Nehemiah has received news that there is trouble in his homeland.  He is grieved and broken.
The king - by God's gracious handling - notices Nehemiah, and asks him what can be done.  Nehemiah prayerfully considers his response and then asks Artaxerxes for permission to go home and help with the continuation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. 
It's CRAZY the response he gets; Artaxerxes allows it! 
Not ONLY does he allow it; he blesses the mission that would be the return of Nehemiah, Asaph, and a number of other men, for the rebuilding of the walls.

As I ventured to chapter 2, I learned something neat; something powerfully relatable.  The people had more or less discontinued the work, and had become lethargic; unmotivated.  When Nehemiah comes to town, he lets loose with a humbling, stirring message of God; their God.  Their God of grace and mercy.
"Then I said to them, 'You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire.  Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.'  I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me." (Neh. 2:17-18a)

Pretty moving, huh?

It really was, and here's what the lethargic-turned-energized people say:
"'Let us start rebuilding.' So they began this good work." (v 18b)

A couple of things to note.

The first and foremost is that God is good.  All the time.
Nehemiah's ability to boost morale came from the heart of God.  The heart that God has for His people.  The heart of God that desires what is good, right, best and healthy for His children.  Remembering all that God had done for them, and all that God had brought them through to this point, would be to remember His true character. 
The second thing would come via remembering which is, acting.  Taking action.  Making that move.  Beginning.  Beginning again.  Starting…somewhere. 
This people had faced huge opposition. The foe was daunting, the threats were looming. 
This could very well have caused anyone - everyone - to turn and run, and yet by remembering that God is good, and that God is good all the time, and that "He is the Rewarder of those who seek Him" (Heb. 11:6), one can take step of faith.  One can set that next brick. 

Nehemiah's call to the people was one of strengthening by way of God's strength; empowering by way of God's power.  They (we) are effective in God's work for God's kingdom because of God.  The grace of God. 
Friend, do not feel powerless against the enemy.  He WILL indeed rise up against you and me everyday, but when we remember that it is NOT you, it is NOT me, but it IS God that will prevail in battle, we can trust.  In trusting, we can obey.  In obeying, we will be blessed.  To the glory of God forever and ever!  

Praise God for His reliability and trustworthiness! Amen?

Much love,
Deeds

Find the full February release here!

Script Outline Alpha here

Texture Tile 2 here

Creator of the Universe

Hello everyone! Today I want to share another page I made with you. This time I used the stamp set 'My Creator'. You might have noticed that I'm in love with the beautiful illustrations from Krista Hamrick ;).

I made this in Nehemiah 9 where the people confess their sins and lift God in praise. There's a large part that explains everything God has done for His people and I thought this image was perfectly fitting with that part.

Stand up and bless the Lord your God. Forever and ever! “Blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.

I made a couple of mistakes on this page that I had to cover up, which ended with a wrinkly page ;). I stamped the sentence 'creator of the universe' right onto the page but I smudged it so I had to stamp it again on paper and adhere it in my Bible. The only downside from that was that I closed my Bible too early and that made the part around the paper very wrinkly. But well... I hope it straightens out in time.

- Lucinde