Welcome back to Word Art Wednesday. We are SO glad that you've stopped by today to fellowship with us, and to play along in our challenge. We have two AWESOME sponsors again this week, and we are very grateful to have you share your art with us. Our Design Team Member, Diane Noble of Daydream Designs, has prepared a special devotional to share with you all, and we hope it will be a blessing to you. This special story tells us how true Biblical Christianity is different from other "religions" because it simply, through scripture, breaks down God's desire for us to be TRULY FREE. And there are NO STRINGS ATTACHED; it's really just that simple. We hope this will be a great blessing to you!
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In Christ, we are free! When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we lay down the burden of sin that has shackled us and controlled our lives. Apart from Christ, we live entangled in the cords of corruption (1 Corinthians 15:42). We are literally in bondage, slaves to sin, the Bible tells us. But through Christ, our way to freedom is paved with His sacrifice. He paid the cost for our freedom. The moment we accept Christ, the debt of our sin is paid, and we are given the promise that we are free.
The early church had struggles like many churches today. In fact, some of the struggles faced then are exactly the same as those experienced in modern-day churches. Legalism (laws and principles created by man, wrapped in spiritualism, and imposed upon believers who are easily swayed) abounds in many churches today. That's why our scripture today admonishes the believer to stand fast (stand firm, hold on firmly) to the liberty we have in Christ. I remember my preacher-daddy having a lively conversation with someone who couldn't quite grasp the scope of God's freedom. He asked my daddy, "you surely don't mean that if I become a Christian, I can live any way I want to, do you?" And with a gleam in his eye, my daddy said, "that's exactly right! When you are a Christian, all your "want-tos" will change. You will want to live in obedience to Christ, you will want to live in a way that honors Him, you will want to serve Him, glorify Him and be utterly devoted to Him. That's what you will want to do now, because Christ will create a new heart within you. You are a new creation, re-born, and full of new life. The old is gone, and something very new and miraculous has filled you. Yes, indeed you can live any way you want to." Praise God, through the working of God's spirit to reveal truth to this man's heart and mind, he got it! He really understood. And you could literally witness the relaxing of his face, the light in his eyes, and the weight of the burden he had carried roll off his shoulders. He was free!
We are all free in Christ! But the caution of our scripture is to be on guard, and not be seduced by legalism to pick up obligations or burdens that God has not called us to bear. We are not to be entangled again, either by the chains of sin or the cords of legalism. We must follow Scripture carefully to know the differences between God's plan for our lives and the times and ways others would subject us to rigorous confinements that are merely of man and not of God. Jesus clearly does not want us burdened. He wants us to live free, live victoriously, and live with a brand new bunch of "want-tos" that are sparkly clean, that reflect our faith in Him, and that are amazingly freeing! And all of those brand new "want-tos" will lead us to holy living, which is the highest form of freedom of Christ! - Diane Noble
As always, you are welcome to save this week's free scripture/word art file to your computer, but are not required to use it in order to play along in our challenges. We welcome you share your art with us; remembering that Anything Goes as long as it's family-friendly, and uses an encouraging or uplifting sentiment. This includes any type of art (not just limited to cards). You may link up to 5 projects each week. The more you enter, the more you increase your odds of winning. It is our desire that God's Word will be a blessing and encouragement to you each week. If you have any questions about the rules, be sure to read the complete list of rules under our page tab for "Challenge Rules". Because our ultimate goal is to honor God, we have no other choice but to delete any entries that do not adhere to these guidelines (dark images, etc.). Let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for your understanding and participation!
--------
In Christ, we are free! When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we lay down the burden of sin that has shackled us and controlled our lives. Apart from Christ, we live entangled in the cords of corruption (1 Corinthians 15:42). We are literally in bondage, slaves to sin, the Bible tells us. But through Christ, our way to freedom is paved with His sacrifice. He paid the cost for our freedom. The moment we accept Christ, the debt of our sin is paid, and we are given the promise that we are free.
The early church had struggles like many churches today. In fact, some of the struggles faced then are exactly the same as those experienced in modern-day churches. Legalism (laws and principles created by man, wrapped in spiritualism, and imposed upon believers who are easily swayed) abounds in many churches today. That's why our scripture today admonishes the believer to stand fast (stand firm, hold on firmly) to the liberty we have in Christ. I remember my preacher-daddy having a lively conversation with someone who couldn't quite grasp the scope of God's freedom. He asked my daddy, "you surely don't mean that if I become a Christian, I can live any way I want to, do you?" And with a gleam in his eye, my daddy said, "that's exactly right! When you are a Christian, all your "want-tos" will change. You will want to live in obedience to Christ, you will want to live in a way that honors Him, you will want to serve Him, glorify Him and be utterly devoted to Him. That's what you will want to do now, because Christ will create a new heart within you. You are a new creation, re-born, and full of new life. The old is gone, and something very new and miraculous has filled you. Yes, indeed you can live any way you want to." Praise God, through the working of God's spirit to reveal truth to this man's heart and mind, he got it! He really understood. And you could literally witness the relaxing of his face, the light in his eyes, and the weight of the burden he had carried roll off his shoulders. He was free!
We are all free in Christ! But the caution of our scripture is to be on guard, and not be seduced by legalism to pick up obligations or burdens that God has not called us to bear. We are not to be entangled again, either by the chains of sin or the cords of legalism. We must follow Scripture carefully to know the differences between God's plan for our lives and the times and ways others would subject us to rigorous confinements that are merely of man and not of God. Jesus clearly does not want us burdened. He wants us to live free, live victoriously, and live with a brand new bunch of "want-tos" that are sparkly clean, that reflect our faith in Him, and that are amazingly freeing! And all of those brand new "want-tos" will lead us to holy living, which is the highest form of freedom of Christ! - Diane Noble
As always, you are welcome to save this week's free scripture/word art file to your computer, but are not required to use it in order to play along in our challenges. We welcome you share your art with us; remembering that Anything Goes as long as it's family-friendly, and uses an encouraging or uplifting sentiment. This includes any type of art (not just limited to cards). You may link up to 5 projects each week. The more you enter, the more you increase your odds of winning. It is our desire that God's Word will be a blessing and encouragement to you each week. If you have any questions about the rules, be sure to read the complete list of rules under our page tab for "Challenge Rules". Because our ultimate goal is to honor God, we have no other choice but to delete any entries that do not adhere to these guidelines (dark images, etc.). Let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for your understanding and participation!
Here's this week's beautiful scripture/word art file.
We hope that it will be a blessing to you!
Here are this week's AWESOME sponsors:
The Flying Unicorn is an AMAZING store
filled with all your favorite brand-name
crafting supplies. One lucky entry will
receive a $50 gift certificate to their
lovely store. Click here to browse and
shop at The Flying Unicorn
The amazing Cherry Lynn Designs is giving
their gorgeous
Christmas Tree Decoration With Angel Wing
die-cut to Lucky Entry #153 - JoAnn B.
AND
Deedee's Digis, our wonderful digital sponsor
this week, is rewarding Entry #94 - Oksana with
three (3) of their darling digital stamp sets!
Enjoy your sweet new crafting tools, Oksana!
WINNERS: Please email Karen THIS WEEK
to claim your prize! Thanks.
filled with all your favorite brand-name
crafting supplies. One lucky entry will
receive a $50 gift certificate to their
lovely store. Click here to browse and
shop at The Flying Unicorn
you will LOVE this amazing shop!
AND
Our digital sponsor this week is the SUPER FUN
Bugaboo Stamps. They have the most adorable
images for every occasion. One winner will get
to choose three (3) lovely Bugaboo images. Click
here to brown and shop Bugaboo Stamps.
AND NOW......Here are this week's lucky winners!
their gorgeous
Christmas Tree Decoration With Angel Wing
die-cut to Lucky Entry #153 - JoAnn B.
AND
this week, is rewarding Entry #94 - Oksana with
three (3) of their darling digital stamp sets!
Enjoy your sweet new crafting tools, Oksana!
to claim your prize! Thanks.
May God bless all our amazing sponsors.
We appreciate them all SO very much!
We appreciate them all SO very much!
Here's some inspiration from our Design Team
Our June Guest Designer, Jennifer Dunn
Lori Ulrich
Carole Robb Bisson
Our June Guest Designer, Jennifer Dunn
11 comments:
ah Karen another great post and digi how rich we are in Christ Jesus .. for when Chris sets us free we are free indeed.. oh that all would see this great joy we can have so freely every blessing on your post and all of those that read it.. wonderfully precious digi too.. used one on today's post :D
.. and great work by your very latent ed DT thanks! Shaz in Oz.x
All the DT members cards this week are simply beautiful. Blessings!
I am so happy to have found your site. I will certainly participate, and would be honored to do so. Lovely blog with Christian inspiration.
I am so happy to have found your site. I will certainly participate, and would be honored to do so. Lovely blog with Christian inspiration.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful art and beautiful hearts with us each week.
Congrats to the winners. Enjoy your goodies.
Crafty hugs,
D~
DesignsByDragonfly.blogspot
The DT and the posters have done such beautiful work for this scripture. I will try to get around to many of the posts. Sorry that my "title" did funny. Not sure why. Probably something to do with autofill.
Thank you for sharing the gorgeous inspirations with us and thank you for a fabulous challenge too Karen x
Beautiful DT work. It's always inspirational to play here. Thanks, y'all.
Your DT is always so talented!! Lovely cards and wonderful sentiments1
The DT projects are just beautiful and so inspiring. Nice work everyone :)
Thank you Karen... for the fabulous ribbon that you sent!! I love so much.. Thank you!!! Congrats to this weeks winners!!! I love all of the amazing DT Creations! Love Stephanie's card! The layout is fantastic!! Love all the papers. Love that amazing star!! Gorgeous!! Absolutely gorgeous!! Thanks for another fun challenge!
- Susan
{Scrap A Thousand Words}
Open-Minded Crafting Fun Challenges
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