Christian Creativity: Cross Thank You Tags

Cute Christian thank you tags that I made as an incentive gift when I was selling physical handmades online. I die-cut circles, distressed the edges with a purple ink pad and stamped them in green.; with a thank you stamp.

I think I ordered the crosses from a paper crafting seller, because I can't recall that I have a cross punch. The unique thing that I did was pop up the crosses with dimensional tabs similar to Pop Dots. Then I punched holes in the top with my nifty rectangle hole punch. I added magenta-colored ties made with embroidery floss.

Making thank-you tags is a nice hostess gift, birthday gift or just because gift. 

Spiritual Weapons For A Spiritual Devil

Satan wants to destroy your happiness and your hope. Don't allow him to do it! He will use every little thing that he can find. The big attacks are obvious. The little attacks are not. Recognize how much he hates you because you love God and have acknowledged and accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. His commitment to devastate you never ends. He never rests in his malevolent goals.

It's not the people who are attacking you and making your life difficult. It's evil influence from the fallen Lucifer, who was once an angel in Our Father's kingdom. He is the father of lies who was cast out of Heaven with his fallen angels followers who kept not their first estate. You believe and want help from God's angels but you find it difficult to believe in a devil and demons? 

Our daily battles are not against flesh and blood, the people that we encounter. The battle is in the spiritual world. We are spiritual now, no longer choosing to live in the flesh, though we are still here in this world and in the flesh. Our Heavenly Father helps us in his spiritual ways. We are not alone. We are not without battle weapons but the weapons that we must use are not carnal through fleshly fighting. 

Our weapons are mighty to defeat the devil's plans, though it may seem like he wins at times. Our weapons of power are not of this physical world. They are Godly weapons that establish God's plans and purposes in our lives. It's not about stopping people and getting back at them. It's all about triumphing through God's good, expectable and perfect will.

Learn about the weapons of warfare that we can successfully use (Ephesians 6:10-18) against the very real principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. Every little evil thing matters to the very real devil. Every little holy and righteous thing should matter to us! Ask our Father to sharpen your spiritual eyes so that you can detect the wicked works of the devil against you. Ask him also to make the weapons of his warfare real and practical to you!

6 Powerful Spiritual Weapons Of Warfare

Our loins girded about with truth. 

Having on the breastplate of righteousness.

Having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. 

The shield of faith with which we can quench the enemy's fiery darts.

The helmet of salvation.

The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

Where Is That Church's Cross?

I enjoy contemporary churches and modern-day worship. What I don't like is that so many church building designs have removed the symbol of the Cross of Christ. It's just a religious icon to many and we are also told in the Word to not embrace anything as an idol. A cross on a church building is special to me though.

Whether at the top of a steeple or on the façade of the church structure, a cross is regal and dignified. It lends an air of holiness to the property. Approaching a church and looking up at a pristine cross always leads me to think of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and all that he did for me at Calvary. Whether white, silver or colored, a cross is a lovely symbol of the righteousness that I now have through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I have seen new-construction churches without a cross included in the outside design.

Many churches today are also housed in unusual structures like shopping centers and storefronts. Some church organizations acquire buildings that were not previously churches. Sometimes these churches erect a cross somewhere on the non-traditional structure or they include it in a renovation. They too value the comfort of the symbol of Christ's obedience to his Father. They want to see it whenever they enter their house of worship.

Some church designs have the cross included but in an inconspicuous way. You have to look closely to see it. What is the purpose of it if it is not obvious? The symbol of our Lord's sacrifice should not be hidden.

I can have a wonderful time of worship and be just as blessed in a church building without a cross on it but I would miss it. Think about the classic brick or wooden church building with the very tall, slender, white steeple piercing the blue sky. What is at the pinnacle of that steeple? A small, white, perfect cross, symbolizing the pure perfection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. So beautiful to behold! 

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All images in this post are from Google.

Why Is God Taking So Long?

God is working it out in a way that you can receive what you have asked for. God is not limited, but we are. He chooses to work around our challenges to bring us into the fullness of our faith and His glory. This is in addition to bringing about what we want according to his will.

God is not restricted by time but in our current earthly life, we are. He works with us and time to bless us, not only materially, but also in a way that encourages us to store up riches in Heaven. Don't forget that in his Word he also promises to redeem time for us. He does this in various ways, in relation to his plans and purposes.

Our Heavenly Father is processing it for us, always.

Scripture Book In The Works

I'm working on a fav scriptures book to publish at Amazon KDP. The title is I Am Prospering In Every Way: Scripture Declarations & Prayer Prompts. It's a book encouraging Christian growth and living by faith. I'm sharing the scriptures that I have memorized and quote every morning.

There are 32 scriptures and I've written up 9 of them so far. In each chapter I quote 1 scripture and write a paraphrase of it that makes it more practical to apply to our daily lives. I then add a simple prayer prompt.

For the cover design, I started with a photographs design using Affinity Photo. I then decided to create a vector design using Affinity Designer. I've shared both draft designs below. The spreads are showing the backs and fronts. I am sure I'll be going with the vector design (the 1st one). I like its crispness.

I'm trying to write up 1 scripture per day so that I can publish as soon as possible. This will be my first Christian book and I'm anxious to get it done. Are you doing any Christian publishing or design work? Christian crafting?

God Has Never Failed Me

I remind myself that nothing will separate me from God's love.

I remind myself that God has my best interests at heart and that no matter how things have been, how they look today and what may come tomorrow, he will never fail me.

I remember that even though some things have not happened in the way in which I had hoped, God has never failed me.

I remember that I have seen God's glory. I've seen God's deliverance. I've seen God's blessings. I've seen God's protection in my life.

I remember that God has never failed me and he never will.

Nothing will separate me from God's love.

Remind yourself today.

Happy Friday: God's Sin-Covering Love

It is with God's love only that we can love our enemies because it is his love that covers a multitude of sins. When we try to love with our own, fleshly love, we can't, especially when we have been offended, disappointed or hurt. God's love, however, triumphs over all of that. It is through God's love in us flowing out towards the unlovable, that we are able to make Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the Cross valid. 

If we can't come to love those whom we insist that it is impossible to love, then Our Savior's sacrifice has no power in our lives. If we are working with God to love ourselves then we can, through the help of his Holy Spirit, come to truly love those who have offended us.

Ask God to fill your heart with love and expand it within you so that you can love the unlovable in the way that pleases him.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

A Way Out Or A Way Through?

The Lord promised in his Word, Psalm 23, that he would prepare a place before us in the presence of our enemies. This scripture was illuminated to me by the Holy Spirit and I discerned that it is not saying, necessarily, that God will remove the enemies from our lives. Maybe he will. Maybe he won't. Maybe he will at the time he has appointed. When we read this scripture however, we want immediate deliverance from our enemies' attacks.

We want so badly (especially those of us who have been suffering attacks for so long) for that passage to mean that God is going to wave his divine hand and say POOF! and the enemies and their attacks will be gone. Psalm 23 is revealing that the enemies are present to see our advancement, deliverance, success and favor in the midst of their evil. Thou shalt prepare a table in the presence of my enemies.

These people under the influence of rulers of the darkness of this world may or may not care. Seeing God's favor on us may make an immediate difference in their lives but it mostly likely will not. People who are bent on following the influence of principalities and powers are not quick to see their wrong.

We were there at one time, living reprobate lives, subject to any wicked thing against others, no matter how good we thought we were. We hurt people overtly and covertly, purposely and unconsciously. We know that it takes the timing of the Holy Spirit to bring us into His marvelous light of truth and set us on the path of transformation. It's up to God when and how our enemies are blocked from their access to us. 

We are quick to embrace a way out but is that best at this time? Is it God's good, acceptable and perfect will for us to have a way out on this stretch of our journey? When it is not the appointed time, a way out keeps us weak. A way through, alternatively, builds our faith and spiritual strength. 

After the way through comes the way out. I want increased faith to walk in the freedom of Christ and more power to destroy the works of the devil, don't you? That's the ultimate goal, the building up of our most holy faith and the reception of power from on high, no matter what our enemies are doing. 

Love Yourself With God's Love

 

God loves us unrelentingly.

Why not love ourselves?

Only then can we love others with his love.

His love is shed abroad in our hearts when we love ourselves enough to receive it.

His love then flows from us out to others and covers a multitude of sins.

What can you do for yourself to show that you love you with The Father's love?

Image Credit: PixTeller

Mistakes Now Serve A Purpose

Was listening to R. C. Blakes, Jr. recently at Youtube and he made a profound statement which blessed me. His message was about how difficult it often is for us to forgive ourselves. His message encourages us to allow the shackles of guilt and shame to be broken off of us. He ministers to help us to step into that place of the forgiveness of the Father towards us and the forgiveness of ourselves from within.

At a point about 3/4 of the way he said, We are not defined by our mistakes. We are refined by our mistakes. That statement caught more of my attention. As I pondered it, it seemed to be saying that the things for which I am sorry for in my recent and distant past are helping to mold and shape me into someone who is useable by God. My mistakes are not the end. They don't have the last say-so.

You can listen to his message here:

FORGIVE YOURSELF AND MOVE FORWARD WITH YOUR LIFE by RC BLAKES

His statement reminded me of another one from the website Homeword.com about grace.  

HomeWord shares this about their mission: 

HomeWord seeks to advance the work of God in the world by educating, equipping, and encouraging parents and churches to build God-honoring families from generation to generation. At HomeWord, we believe in STRONG MARRIAGES, CONFIDENT PARENTS, EMPOWERED KIDS and HEALTHY LEADERS. We exist to strengthen and equip parents, couples, families and leaders. 

God already loves us. He loved us from the beginning. He commended his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). When we did not know God and did not care about his only, precious Son, he sent him to suffer and die so that we can be whole and have our souls redeemed.  Since God did that for us when we could not have cared less, we know that he is always willing to take our blunders, errors and slip-ups and turn them into good. He works our sorrows out for good to bless us and glorify his name.

We should work to forgive ourselves. We should not worship God with shallow and ineffective babblings which make Jesus' precious blood to none affect in our lives (Galatians 2:21, 5:4, I Corinthians 17). Accept God's forgiveness and grace today. We are worthy, because of Jesus Christ.