Back to Basics

We are the church. Did you know that? The four walls that enclose us on Sunday mornings are just that—walls. When we leave the building we should be taking the church with us. After all, we are witnesses for God, His representatives here on earth. And through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can take God’s word where the Spirit leads us.

Before David decided he wanted to build a temple for God, He (God) was everywhere the people went; He was not boxed in, He was in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). Even after the temple was built, God could not be contained. When the Israelites went into exile in Babylon, God was with them; when we, modern day Christians became part of the Vine as Gentiles grafted in by God’s grace and mercy into Abraham’s family tree, He didn’t leave us, on the contrary, He molded us and made us part of His family, all without walls! So why do we limit ourselves to the four walls of the church? Why do we continue to do business as usual, holding on to tradition, locking our doors against those who look and speak different than we do, when the God we serve is a God of change, one who doesn’t look on us based on our gender, color or anything that hints at a difference in our make up; a God who looks to do ‘a new thing’ in the lives of His people?  Here’s why: we are afraid of change, so we remain locked in the four walls of the church afraid to wander in the wilderness not trusting in the Holy Spirit to guide us, and what is worse, we keep others out, thus isolating ourselves, which keeps us from being who God created us to be: His church.

We must go back to basics, back to allowing God to lead us by day and night, through His Spirit, to reach others for His kingdom.  To do so, we must tear down the walls that separate us from God’s children and welcome them with open arms.

Read: 2 Samuel 7:1-14

World Without Walls!

We tend to think in terms of either or; either you’re black or you’re white; male or female; you’re heterosexual or homosexual; partisan or bipartisan, and the list goes on. This is how we tend to categorize people. We set boundaries and limits upon ourselves.

Day 14: Strong

God doesn’t look on us that way. He doesn’t see our color, sexual orientation, gender; He sees us as one: his children. He doesn’t categorize us, which frees us from limitations—we are all from the same tribe—God’s, and members of one body. As such, we see each other as brothers and sisters with a common bond: our Heavenly Father. Galatians 3:28 says it best, “In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us, you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.”(MSG).

Free your mind from the demarcations imposed by man and live life in the knowledge that, “...since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.” Galatians 3:29 MSG.

Live Life As If It Were Your Last

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 NIV

Do you make plans for the future and the things you will do but leave God out of it? Welcome to living life thinking you have a future. Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with planning for the future. The problem lies in planning as though you are in control of your future.

Our lives have a purpose. Do you know what yours is? If you do, are you living in it? Are you committed to doing what God has marked you to do or are you living life thinking only about yourself and what you want to achieve?

In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus tells the parable of a rich man who thought he had sole control of his life and made his own decisions. Read what he says to himself, “‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’”Luke 12:17-19 NIV

You know what God called this man? A fool! Read it in the text, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”” Luke 12:17-21 NIV

This man lived life with a “me, myself, and I” mentality. Everything he said was about him, him, and him alone. At no point did he stop to give God thanks for providing the soil to grow his crops or the means to even build the barn to store them! It’s important that we live our lives according to God’s will for us and be thankful to God because we wouldn’t have anything if it weren’t for His provision. Living life selfishly, only thinking about ourselves is not what God has planned for us. In everything we do we must seek God’s direction and live according to the path He’s traced out for us.

There is nothing wrong with living and following your dreams, but make sure those dreams are in alignment with God’s plan for your life and will bring glory to Him through it. The Bible clearly states, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you” —Matthew 6:33.

Live your life knowing that if you meet your maker tomorrow you can give a full account for all you’ve done to glorify and honor Him. Live it so you can hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” —Matthew 25:23.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

What is happiness? It is defined as a “state of being”; a state of being happy, joyful, content, satisfied. Happiness is what we make for ourselves.

People believe that happiness is found in things such as money, food, clothing, and so forth. The reality is completely different. These things cannot make one happy, happiness can only be brought about by one’s ability to create it for oneself. Happiness is a choice! One must choose to be happy despite going through heartache, pain, sickness, and the list goes on. We have been given that power from Jesus Christ. It is, after all, a state of being! 

When we worry and fret over situations that happen in life, we give power to that situation, which robs us of the ability to be happy: it saps our energy and robs us of peace of mind, tranquility, and joy. We must learn to discern what it takes to make one happy and go about embracing that truth to such an extent that nothing will ever make us unhappy regardless of how painful it is. Proverbs 3:13 says it best, “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding;”

When we give our lives over to God and learn to leave our problems at His feet and spend our time in His will and being in His presence—living and being instead of doing—only then will we find happiness. See what it says in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.” Walking in God’s way and keeping His laws will help us learn to always “be happy”.

“Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. —Philippians4:11-13 MSG

World Watercolor Month 2018

July 1st marked the beginning of World Watercolor Month 2018 hosted by Doodlewash. I follow Sandy Allnock and she created prompts for those who do Bible Journaling and cardmaking to be able to interpret in many ways. I didn't set out to join this challenge, but because I Bible Journal and was seeing some of what other on her Facebook page where creating, I decided to try my hand at it. What I love best about this challenge is not so much following the prompt, but how God directs me to the scriptures to use and how I interpret them, plus the added bonus of practicing a medium that I am not familiar with.

Here are the prompts I have completed so far.

Day 1 - Star

Day 3 - Red

Day 5 - Circle

Day 6 - Young; the stamps is from Unity Stamps

Day 7: Pink

Day 8: Sweet

As you can see, I'm not following the daily prompts. I wait for God to speak to me and inspire me to interpret the prompts.

Here also are some cards I made over the past weeks. I hope to really try posting some of my work more often for you to enjoy.

Have a wonderful day!

D'Bee

This was a special request for a birthday guy. 

I love these stamps from Rubbernecker Stamps!

Here's another one!

and another!

God Is in Control

You think you have control of your life and make plans you assume will go according to those plans. You are not in control—God is.

Everything about you is known by God. He knows your weaknesses and where you will fail. You think you have the power to change, to act, to plan, but you don’t. Pride and self-sufficiency can lead you to failure. What you need to realize is that you are dependent on God. Scripture states, “For in him we live and move and have our being.’”—Acts 17:28. 

Every move you make, every step you take should be done at God’s direction. Surrender your will to His and allow Him to order your steps, He won’t lead you wrong.

Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”