Bible Illustrating and Journaling - Galatians 1:15

 

Annie’s Ink-Lings

Illustrated Scripture & Journaling

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Bible Illustrating and Journaling - Proverbs 3:5

 

Annie’s Ink-Lings

Today I'm sharing another scripture illustration page and the journaling that I made for my notebook.  It is always exciting and meaningful to me to be able to make and color a picture that illustrates a bible verse.  I hope it will be meaningful to you, also.

My journaling:

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

1) First of all, we must “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart.” This means there must be a total commitment to the Lord, trusting that He alone can lead and guide us through our lives. God is appealing to the believer to fully surrender their whole being to Him.  If God has our heart, He has all of us…body, soul, and spirit.

2) Secondly, we are told “lean not unto thine own understanding,” which means we must “DISTRUST ourselves.” Our hearts cannot be trusted to direct our steps, for they often deceive us.

3) And lastly, God tells us, “In all thy ways acknowledge Him.” Every decision we make, big or small, must be committed to Him. In doing so, we are acknowledging the Lordship of Christ and that He knows what’s best for us. We must abandon our own wills and humbly pray, “Thy will be done, O Lord.”

If these three conditions are met, GOD WILL DIRECT OUR PATHS! He may guide us by Scripture, or by the counsel of godly brethren, or by an inner peace of the Holy Spirit, or by clear and unmistakable circumstances. Or, He may choose to use a combination of these things. Whatever the case, He will make it clear to us which way we should go and we will be blessed as we follow His leading.

Blessings to you,

Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling - Philippians 4:13

 

Annie’s Ink-Lings

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ.             

Philippians 4:13 is part of Paul’s thank you note at the end of his letter to the Philippians, where he is thanking them for their care and support of him and his ministry. But he also told them that whether he had a lot or very little, good health or bad, whether he was free or whether he was in prison, he was content.  So, when Paul says, “I can do all things…,” he means, “I can handle bad circumstances and good circumstances through Christ who strengthens me.”  It's the ability to "make do" in all kinds of situations.  It is a mental and spiritual attitude.

What it is not is a guarantee that you will succeed in any physical thing you want to do.

I am assured that I can be content in all circumstances through the Lord Jesus.  What wonderful peace that is!

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I read 

and appreciate each one. Thanks for visiting 

Annie's Ink-Lings. 💗

Bible Illustrating and Journaling

 

Annie’s Ink-Lings

I love this verse in the book of Micah - a daily reminder of what pleases my Heavenly Father.

Micah 6:8

What does the Lord require of you, 

but to do justice, love kindness, and

walk humbly before your God.

In the previous verses of Micah 6, God tells us that sacrifices are not what He wants from us.  Micah 6:8 tells that there are three things that God does require of us.

1.  To do justly.

            This means to be impartial and treat everyone equally without prejudice; to obey the rules of the land and respect authority; to live truthfully and be transparent; and to live by the moral standards of God’s word.

 2.  To love mercy.

            We must live without retaliation, forgive for the umpteenth time, and to reach out to others without expecting anything in return.

3. To walk humbly with God.

            God created all people in His image and has all authority.  Everything we have has come from God.  So, no person is worth more than another person. I walk humbly with God by valuing each life and respecting all people, even when they don’t show the same respect to me.

             Humility holds the key to both acting justly and loving mercy.

 Ultimately, it is the Lord who gives us strength, courage, and the ability to exercise the virtues of Godly living.

Supplies used:  Prismacolor Pencils, Washi Tape, Dies

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I read and appreciate each one. Thanks for visiting Annie's Ink-Lings. 💗

Sweeter Than Honey

 

Annie’s Ink-Lings

Verse of the Week

Proverbs 16:24

The pleasant words spoken of here are those which the

heart of the wise teaches, words of seasonable advice, instruction, and comfort, words taken from God's word. Solomon learned from his father to account God’s word as sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.  They are like the honeycomb, sweet to the soul, which tastes in them that the Lord is gracious.  There is nothing more grateful and agreeable to the new man than the word of God.  They are wholesome. Many things are pleasant that are not good for us, but these pleasant words are health to the bones, to the inward man, as well as sweet to the soul. They make the bones, which sin has broken and put out of joint, to rejoice. The bones are the strength of the body; and the good word of God is a means of spiritual strength, curing the diseases (sin) that weaken our souls.

Psalms of David

Psalm 19:10  They are more desirable than gold,
    even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
    even honey dripping from the comb.

Psalm 119:103  How sweet your words taste to me;
    they are sweeter than honey.

Blessings,

Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling - Luke 1:35

Annie’s Ink-Lings

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High 

will overshadow you.  So the baby born to you will be holy, and 

He will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:35

I had one of those "aha" moments during my bible study the other day.  Do you remember the old hymn that says, "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." We know that when Jesus shed his blood on the cross, He paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. We know that He is God's one and only Son, and that all His life He was holy and pure, just the same as His heavenly Father. But . . . did you ever consider all the other details that made the blood of Jesus different? If you will bear with me, we're going to have a little biology lesson.

"Although a fetus gets its nutrients from, and grows in the placenta of its mother, it never takes a single drop of the mother's blood because at the moment of conception it begins the process of producing its own blood supply, which is genetically influenced by the blood of the father. Therefore, only One born of a virgin would have blood untainted by humanity. These is only One Man who has been born of a virgin: Jesus Christ." (Jon Courson's Study Bible.)

That is so amazing! I'm so thankful that God keeps bringing enlightenment to me as I study the bible.  

This is a tip-in that I made for my Inspire Bible.

I dearly love starting everyday with bible study.  There isn't a better way to start the day -- in my humble opinion. 💖

Blessings,
Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling - Matthew 10:28-31

Annie’s Ink-Lings

Do not be afraid.  

Matthew 10:28-31

In this time of uncertainty, there is hope.  Even with all the horrible things going on in this world that threaten, hurt or kill us, there is hope.  God alone should be our fear and dread.  For He is the One that can destroy our body and soul in hell.  The good news is God provided a way to avoid living in anxiety through Jesus, His Son.  Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and commit your life to Him and you will have no reason to fear the future.

28 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; 

they  cannot  touch your soul. Fear only God, who 

can destroy  both soul and body  in hell.  29 What is 

the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But 

not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without 

your Father knowing it.  30 And the very hairs on your 

head are all numbered.  31 So don’t be afraid; 

you are more valuable to God than 

a whole flock of sparrows. 

May you be filled with peace in the days ahead.

Blessings,

Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling - Joshua 1:1-5

Annie’s Ink-Lings

Joshua 1:9

 After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:  ‘Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.  Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.  From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.  No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.

Have you ever wondered why God gave the Hebrews the Promised Land?  Originally it was given to Abraham, but over the years was taken over by the Amorites, Jebusites, Hittites, Hivites, Canaanites, and Perizzites.  The Lord worked among those people for four hundred years but they rejected Him and never accepted Him as their God.  Instead, they worshiped the false god Moloch by offering their babies as sacrifices to him and practiced indescribably aberrant sexual lifestyles.  God waited four hundred years for them to repent and turn from their wicked ways.  Finally, God was done waiting on them.  God first called Moses to lead the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land.  Moses appointed Joshua to take over for him as he was dying.  When Joshua, leading the children of Israel, arrived at the Jordan River at the place to cross over to the Promised Land, this is the commission that God gave to him:

“After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:  ‘Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.  Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.  From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.  No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.’”  Joshua 1:1-5 NKJV

Isn’t that just the most wonderful story!  I love reading and studying biblical history.

Blessings,
Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling - Joshua 1:9

Annie’s Ink-Lings

Joshua 1:9

Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Hello friends,

I've been away from my blog for several months because of illness and one thing or another.  However, I feel led to share a word from the Lord.  

Now is not the time to be fearful and worried, even though we are bombarded daily with warnings, unimaginable statistics of infections and death, almost imprisoned in our homes.  

Now is the time to focus on God and His precious Words of comfort.  He promises to be with us in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.  I pray that this verse will be of encouragement to you.  Believe it!

May the Lord bless and care for you.

Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling: Matthew 2:1-2

Annie’s Ink-Lings

  This Week's Scripture Focus:  

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,  "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."  Matthew 2:1-2

My study included Matthew 2:1-12.

When the magi saw the Star, they knew that it signified the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews, the Messiah.  Their long journey was solely for the purpose of worshiping this new King.

In a commentary by John Piper, he asks the question, “ What is worship in this text?”  He goes on to say, “Worshiping Jesus means joyfully ascribing authority and dignity to Christ with sacrificial gifts.”  He believes that there are four pieces to that definition of worship, and all four are grounded in this text.

First, He sees the magi ascribing authority to Christ by calling him "King of the Jews" in verse 2: Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" "

Second, in verse 11, he sees the magi ascribing dignity to Jesus by falling down before him: "After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him."  Falling to the ground is what you do to say to someone else: you are high and I am low. You have great dignity and I am lowly by comparison.

 Third, he sees the joy in these ascriptions of authority and dignity in verse 10: "When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." I love how he explains this:  “Now this is a quadruple way of saying they rejoiced. It would have been much to say they rejoiced. More to say they rejoiced with joy. More to say they rejoiced with great joy. And even more to say they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And what was all this joy about? - they were on their way to the Messiah. They were almost there. I cannot avoid the impression then that true worship is not just ascribing authority and dignity to Christ; it is doing this joyfully. It is doing it because you have come to see something about Christ that is so desirable that being near him to ascribe authority and dignity to him personally is overwhelmingly compelling.”

Pastor John says that the fourth part of the definition of worship here is that we do our ascribing with sacrificial gifts. “Worshiping Jesus means joyfully ascribing authority and dignity to Christ with sacrificial gifts.”

God does not need anything from human hands, so the gifts of the magi are not given by way of assistance to God or to meet His needs.  The gifts are intensifiers, meaning to build up or strengthen our desire for Christ Himself.  When you give a gift to Christ like this, it's a way of saying; I have not come to you for your things, but for Yourself.  I am giving up things in the hope of enjoying you more, not things. By this I am saying, You are my treasure, not these things.  John Piper thinks that's what it means to worship God with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh and I can agree with that.

“I bring my gifts to say that you alone can satisfy my heart, not these."

Praise the Lord that wise men still seek Him!

Blessings,

Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling: Psalm 30:11

Annie’s Ink-Lings

  This Week's Scripture Focus:  Psalm 30:11

"You have changed my mourning into joyful dancing."

David sang Psalm 30 at the dedication of his palace.  He remembered a time when he was suffering from a mortal illness.  At that time, he felt that God was angry and was hiding His face from him; that in some way, his illness was related to God’s anger.  David pleads with God to save his life so that he can continue to praise and worship God as he had promised to do.  In his mourning, David asked God what profit he would be to God if he died.  God did answer David’s prayer and showed mercy by blessing him by saving his life.  Verse 11 is David’s expression to God of thankfulness, gladness, and praise for his deliverance, but also that he would be able to continue to praise the Lord all his days and keep his promise. 

David tells us that the primary reason for God’s transforming work in his life wasn’t primarily to give him palaces or peace, but was so that David could praise the Lord and not be silent.  It was for God’s glory.  This principle means that God has a special reason to bring His transforming work to lives that will give Him praise.

The lesson for me in this is that whatever are my circumstances, my purpose is to always praise God and to do so before others – not be silent.

Blessings,
Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling: Ecclesiastes 3:11

Annie’s Ink-Lings

  This Week's Scripture Focus:  Ecclesiastes 3:11

He has made everything 

beautiful in its time.

All things in creation are made by God for His pleasure and glory, and there is a beauty in them all.  He governs and orders all things according to His will.  Some things are done immediately by Him, as in creation.  Others are made by instruments, and some are only permitted by him.  Some He does Himself, some He wills to be done by others, and some He suffers to be done.  However, in all, there is a beauty and harmony.  Everything is done in the time in which God wills it shall be done, and it is done in the time most fit and suitable for it to be done.

We have the world so much in our hearts, are so taken up with thoughts and cares of worldly things, that we have neither time nor spirit to see God's hand in them.

Blessings,

Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling - Psalm 138:1

Annie’s Ink-Lings

  This Week's Scripture Focus:  Psalm 138:1

"I will praise You with my whole heart."

David boldly declared that he would hold nothing back in his praise to God.  His praising God would be done with all his being, with his whole heart, with the whole force of his life.  David intended his praise to be done with joy and enthusiastic eagerness. 

To praise God with the whole heart leaves no room for any other motives to divide our devotion to the Lord.

I need a broken heart to mourn my own sins, but a whole heart to praise the Lord.  If ever my heart is whole and wholly occupied with one thing, it should be when I am praising the Lord.

Blessings,
Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling - Galatians 6:9

Annie’s Ink-Lings

  This Week's Scripture Focus:  Galatians 6:9

And let us not grow weary of doing good, 

for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Doing good involves yielding to the Spirit and exhibiting the fruit He produces—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When these things are dominant in our lives, doing good is the inevitable result.

We need this encouragement to not grow weary in doing good because of our own natural weakness and the opposition of evil spirits and evil men.  The best intentions for doing good can be easily derailed. We often feel there is so much work to be done that we cannot possibly do it all. There are so many needs, so many calls on our time, energy, and finances, that we can easily become exhausted and disheartened.  Doing what’s right is not easy in a fallen world, especially when it seems no one notices and there is little recompense for all our troubles.

Growing weary in doing good is an ever-present danger in the Christian life.  Overcommitting ourselves is a primary cause of weariness among Christians. We want so much to contribute and to respond to God’s love by pouring ourselves into ministry for His sake that we risk burnout. Discernment is essential. We need to choose wisely and always allow time for rest.  God will provide for each need He wants to fulfill. He will provide the means to accomplish His ends.

Paul reminds us to look past our labors to the prize at the end:  those who persevere in doing good are promised to reap rewards. When we become disheartened, the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit brings relief and gratitude to our hearts and glory to God.  Just like the sower of seed must wait for the harvest, the Christian must wait patiently for the rewards that will inevitably come to us from God. We will not give up, because our Lord is faithful. “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

(Based on Galatians, McArthur New Testament Commentary.)

Blessings,
Annie

Bible Illustrating and Journaling: Ephesians 1:4-5

Annie’s Ink-Lings

This Week's Scripture Focus:  Ephesians 1:4-5

 

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

Please note that in this journaling I am addressing only the meaning of the words "chosen" and "predestined."  This is not an argument either for or against Arminianism or Calvinism.

I encourage you to do your own research if you have been touched by this journaling.  This is one of the mysteries of the bible that we may never truly and completely understand while we are present on this earth.  But one thing is certain:  if we are a believer, we have been chosen by the grace of God, and not by works.

* * *

 God chose we who are in Christ to be His children in His wisdom, power, and love, so our proper response as His children is to live in obedience to Him. We are to be "holy," a word meaning "set apart." We are also to live in a way which is without blame.

Before the world was created, God made the decision that all those who believed in Christ Jesus would become children of God.  By that decision, He chose who would be allowed to be his children.  The word chose comes from the Greek word eklegomai, (ek-le'-go-mī )which means “to pick out, choose out a person or thing.” 

By making the decision that only those who would become believers would become His children, God predestined us.  Predestined comes from the Greek word proorizo (proh-oh-REE-zoh) and it means “to make a decision beforehand.”  This means that God determined ahead of time whom He would adopt as His children – the believers.

God has chosen us and yet we are responsible to believe.  He gives us the gift of faith and all who have faith are granted the ability to come to Jesus and will come – no exceptions.

In the beginning before anything was created, God chose and predestinated us to be adopted as children of God by our faith in Christ Jesus.

Blessings,

Annie