Staying on the Ancient Path- God Reigns

This is the next installment of my Artsy-devotional video series on Staying on the Ancient Path. Here we focus on how God Reigns.  

"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."  Revelation 19:6

We talk about 3 people who had "bumps" on their path. - Apostle John, Isaiah and the Apostle Paul.  All three found out that God is still on the Throne, no matter what happens.  He is still on the throne today!  We can have faith that God is still reigning today and He is still with us today and has all under control!  That should give us a lot of hope, strength and encouragement!

 

Devotional was inspired by the book:

 The Bumps Are What You Climb On, Encouragement for Difficult Days, by Warren W. Wiersbe, 1980, 2002 , Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, page 16-19

Staying on the Ancient Path- Psalm 91

This is the next installment of  my Artsy-devotional video series on Staying on the Ancient Path. Here we explore the “bumps” that came on Abraham’s path as He followed God and how he overcame them.  Then we read and talk about the great inspirational Psalm of David, Psalm 91.

Staying on The Ancient Path- Psalm 27

This is the next installment of  my Artsy-devotional video series on Staying on the Ancient Path.  Here I share what has happened to me in the last 3 months and how it’s like a huge boulder that has dropped on my path. The boulder is called breast cancer! Your "boulder" might be called another name, but it's still a boulder! Although it's large, God puts opsticals like this in our path in order for us to climb them, grow and learn from Him. God said that the path will not always be easy, but He also said that He will always be with us, strengthen us and be a light for us through the troubled times.

The devotional is on Psalm 27 when King David was hunted by the Philistines and by King Saul. Although he had a lot of people wanting to kill him, he also had a lot of people who were with him and helped him. Most importantly, he had God on his side.  I used Psalm 27:1 as the inspiration and quote for the page.

     "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

As I started making the page, it was all impromptu. I really didn't know what to do. But, as I started, it all flowed out and I end up making a pocket and putting the verse on a bookmark type card to insert in the pocket to remind me that if I have God in my back pocket, I don't have to be afraid!

Staying on the Ancient Path -Love

Staying on the Ancient Path Devotional Art Journal - Using 2 Peter 1:5-8 to continue on the journey by adding the final ingredient to our faith - love. 

We are discussing the meaning of how much God loves us by personalizing John 3:16, ”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” and see that God loves us (each individual person) so much that He sent His only Son to take our place and make the payment for our sins so that we can have eternal life with Him through faith.

We also take a close look at 1 Corinthians 13 - the love chapter in the Bible where this Agape, self-sacrificing love is described to us so that we can understand how we can love others.

To make the journal page we collage a picture from a magazine and a vintage bird print with the verse 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth, faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (Love).”

We collage and embellish it on a piece of one of my botanical gel prints. 

     We wrap up this study in 2 Peter with verse 8, where it says that if we add and practice these 8 ingredients to our faith, we will be fruitful, joyful and effective in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Christian walk.

 2 Peter 1:5-8 - “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Additional verses used:

Galatians 5:22-23-”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

1 Corinthians 13:1-8- “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”

1 John 4:7-11-”Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

Staying on The Ancient Path- Brotherly Love

Staying on the Ancient Path Devotional Art Journal - Using 2 Peter 1:5-8 to continue on the journey with adding brotherly kindness to our faith. Discussing how we can show brotherly kindness to people we know and especially to other believers.

To make the journal page we collage some of my botanical gel prints and 4 people holding each other arm in arm and walking down a wooded path in the early morning with the verse,

Galatians 6:10b “... let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

I also add stringed lights in the trees, use oil pastels to color it all in and ink to bring out the details.

Staying on the Ancient Path-Godliness

Staying on the Ancient Path Devotional Art Journal - Using 2 Peter 1:5-8

 

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We continue on the journey with adding godliness to our faith.  Discussing how to live a godly life and getting to know God and His attributes. To make the journal page we draw/paint a beautiful tree by a stream/river of water, using Psalm 1:3 as our base.

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

 The fruit of the tree are all the different attributes and characteristics of God.  

Staying on the Ancient Path- Patience

Staying on the Ancient Path Devotional Art Journal - Using 2 Peter 1:5-8 to continue on the journey with adding patience to our faith.  Discussing how to have patience with joy in our hearts during hard times.  We look at the life of David in 1 Samuel when King Saul was pursuing and hunting David because he was jealous of him. During this time, which lasted years, David remained faithful to God and had much patience for God to work it all out.

To make the journal page we use some of my botanical gel prints in the background, draw some beautiful pink roses and write out the verse, 

Psalm 27:14, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord

.” 

Staying on the Ancient Path- Temperance

2 Peter 1:5-8

 "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control [a]perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither [b]barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

We continue on the journey with adding temperance to our faith.  We discuss how knowledge will lead to action - sel-control.  Using some of my botanical gel prints to make the journal page.  

We use Psalm 119:11

”Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

As the basis for the art journal page.

                

Staying on the Ancient Path- adding Knowledge

Staying on the Ancient Path Devotional Art Journal - Using Jeremiah 18:15:

“Because My people have forgotten Me, They have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, From the ancient paths, 

To walk in pathways and not on a highway,"

and for this installment, adding knowledge to our faith. 2 Peter 1:5-8

 ^"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control ^[a]perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither ^[b]barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

We continue on the journey, discussing how we can get knowledge and the story in Nehemiah 8:1-18, how the people were listening to God’s Word and understanding it.   Using some of my botanical gel prints to make the journal page.  

Other verses used:

Proverbs 2:3-5- “Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;  If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

Proverbs 8:10-”Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.”

 

Colossians 2:3-(In Christ) “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

2 Peter 3:18- “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”

Psalm 119:130- “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

2 Corinthians 4:6- “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Psalm 119:105- “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Staying on the Ancient Path -Virtue- The 10 commandments

2 Peter 1:5-7 gives us some things to add to our faith so that the Lord can bless us in our lives and family.  

"...Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity."

In this video, I am focusing on the first one, virtue (a good moral character, to have excellence in all things). The best place to start is at the beginning- the 10 Commandments, given in Exodus 20.  We discuss a little on each one.  This gives us a good start and it also teaches us a little about God and what He likes and dislikes.  I pray that this will encourage you to continue to do the things that God likes and stay on that ancient path of good.

Staying on the Ancient Path - Taking the first Step - Gospel

"Heaven is a gift" tract is read and gives the gospel message.

Also, the story of Abraham and Isaac when God told Abraham to offer his only son

as a burnt offering on the altar and how God provided the Ram as a substitute.

This story gives a clear picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross.

Staying on the Ancient path journal- start

In Jeremiah 18:15 God is really warning His people to come back to Him and stop worshipping the false Idols.  They had strayed away from God so much that they never read His word or worshipped Him. It eventually led them down a very dark path and being overrun and taken captive by the armies of Babylon.

"These can be counted on. But not my people! For they have deserted me and turned to foolish idols. They have turned away from the ancient highways of good and walk the muddy paths of sin. (TLB)

The Ancient highway was a good highway in which God was the center of it.  Any other path was a muddy path and only led to sin, darkness and death.  When we follow the Lord and do what He says, we will be walking in His light and it will only be good.

This is the beginning of an "ancient document" art journal with this theme of staying on God's ancient path and walking in His ways.  I hope you will join me on this little journey and discover God's good path for us.

Freedom 2024 word of the year- impromtu journal page

I've decided to have a word for the year for 2024.  It's the word - Freedom!  It's been popping up a few times recently and it would be a good word to use to focus my mind on.  There are 3 verses that talk about freedom that I want to think about:

Galatians 5:1-
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

It's talking about how Jesus made us free from our sins with his death on the cross and resurrection. We don't need to try to pay for our sins by doing all kinds of work and religious things.  He gave it to us as a free gift.  We can now worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

2 Thessalonians 3:1
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:

The Apostle Paul wanted to be able to preach the Word of God freely and that it will spread throughout without any hinderance and be effective.  I pray that same prayer for me.

Revelation 22:17
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

A beautiful verse at the end of the Bible, showing that God wants everyone to come to Him, freely.  He wants to be involved in your life and help you and give you eternal life, if only you will freely come to Him.

Watch as I create an art journal page, with these thoughts in mind...