Catching Up on Lent

I've been playing catch up in my Lenten Studies of the "Fruit of the Spirt" lessons.

I'll share the pictures without a lot of commentary beginning with the most current.

Lessons #10 - Gentleness
Phil. 4:5
Let your gentleness
be evident to all.
The Lord is near.

Lesson #9 - Faithfulness
For we live by faith,
not by sight.

Lesson #8 - Goodness

Romans 12:21

Do not be overcome by evil,

but overcome evil

with good.

(Lesson #7 was posted on 3/23/17 Bible Journaling for Lent)

Lesson #6 - Patience
Romans 12:12 (NIV)
Be joyful in hope,
patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.

 This picture is Lesson #6 after I put the tip-in in the Bible.

Gratitude
1. Time to catch up
2. Another rainy day
3. Laundry done

Ephesians 1:6
I have not stopped giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers.

Blessings,
Deborah

VM Revelation 2:1-7

Hello! Welcome.
Are you seeing Spring in your area?
Lots of things popping up and budding here.

Verse Mapping (VM)
Revelation 2:1-7 is the letter Jesus told John to write to the church in Ephesus.
Seems they were slacking a little on the love they had at first. He told them they needed to repent or He would remove their lampstand from its place and they would not be able to eat from the tree of life. In other words they would be judged and found lacking.
He did like the fact that they hated the practices of the Nicolaitans as he did.
According to Nelson's Bible Commentary the Nicolaitans were a heretical group that troubled the churches at Ephesus and Pergamos.
The commentary also says that Ephesus was the most important city in Asia Minor when Revelation was written. It was the center of worship of Artemis the goddess of fertility. Paul invested nearly three years in establishing the church there.

The second picture shows a tip-in of a map of Asia Minor. I will include this map each time I VM the 7 churches and circle where they are. It may be hard to see in the picture. Remember you can click on the pic for a larger view. It still may be hard see. I think I found the map on Wikipedia when doing a search for Ephesus.

Gratitude

1. Jesus' love

2. Trees and flowers budding

3. Gentle rain

Ephesians 1:16

I have not stopped giving thanks for you,

remembering you in my prayers.

Blessings,

Deborah

Bible Journaling For Lent

Happy 3rd Day of Spring Everyone!!

I'm a slacker.
No big news there, eh?
I am so far behind in my Lenten study it is not funny.
Not at all.
I did the first lesson and stopped. Not for any one reason, but many and not because I don't like the study. I do. Very much.
Instead of going in order I decided to just start with this week's lesson #7. If you remember the study is on the Fruit of the Spirit. Today's lesson is kindness and the lesson focuses on:

Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other just as in Christ
God forgave you.

It is so important to be kind to one another. We are all on the same journey and for some people the roads are bumpier than others. When I get a cranky person in the store I just love on them. I smile more, say a silent little prayer and try to be as helpful as I can. They usually leave smiling and treating me better than when they came in. My little trick and it seems to work.

When looking up "Fruit of the Spirit" art ideas, there is no consistency on which fruit stands for which attribute. Sometimes kindness is a pineapple, sometimes it is lemon and another it is a cherry. I chose to go with the lemon since I love them so much. I am snacking on lemon drop cookies as I type. How appropriate. (smiles)

This is my second entry in my new Bible journal. I decided not to do my own art this time and used magazine cut-outs instead. Works for me. Much less stressful. You've seen my art so you know what I'm talking about. (smiles)

Gratitude

1. Fruit

2. Cookies

3. Lemons

Ephesians 1:16

I have not stopped giving thanks for you,

remembering you in my prayers.

Blessings,

Deborah

VM Rev. 14-20

Welcome back!
Hope you are having a wonderful Spring day.

This post is about the verse mapping (VM) of Revelation 1:14-20.
I decided to do all these verses together, because they are describing Jesus.
He sounds just like I picture Him; full of light and glory.
I'm still enjoying the cross references and have shared a few here in my Faith Journal.

Daniel 7:9 describes His hair like white wool, just like in Revelation 1:14.

Daniel 10:6 says "His eyes like flaming torches" compares to Rev. 1:14 "His eyes were like blazing fire."

I love the rich metaphors in all these verses. Very poetic.

Gratitude (prompts from aholyexperience.com)
A gift salty, sweet, just right
1. Chips
2. Chocolate
3. White wine

Ephesians 1:16
I have not stopped giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers.

Blessings,
Deborah

Would the Apostle John Have Been a Blogger?

I read a post by Arabah Joy today that tickled me and got me thinking.
Go here to read her entire post. It is not long, but really got me thinking.

http://arabahjoy.com/5-surprising-tips-for-being-a-successful-christian-blogger/

In 1John he talks about how much he writes. He mentioned the word "write" 13 times according to Arabah in this small book of the Bible.

That made me wonder...if John lived today would he be blogger?

I'm pretty sure he would be. Don't you?

He would have some powerful things to say, eh?
Some wonderful stories to share.
The thought just made me smile.
I never thought of him as a blogger before.
I kind of like that thought.

1John 2:12-13
I am writing to you, dear children,
  because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name.
I am writing to you, fathers,
 because you know Him who is from the beginning.

Gratitude

1. Bloggers

2. Writers

3. Rainy winter day

Ephesians 1:16

I have not stopped giving thanks for you,

remembering you in my prayers.

Blessings,

Deborah

VM Revelation 1:12-13

I'm sorry it took me so long to update and continue my study of Revelation.
Life sometimes gets in the way of what you really want to be doing.

Revelation 1:12-13 (NIV)
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands and among the lampstands was someone like a Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest.

I focused on the lampstand for my study and learned a few new things about its meaning.

1. A lampstand is a menorah.

This may be quite clear to others, but in my many readings of Exodus 25:31-40 that describes the making of the lampstand ordered by God, it never occurred to me that it was a menorah.
DUH, Deborah.

2. The lampstand with seven lights also stands for the holy truths. (Zech 4:2,3)

3. The lamp denotes the Divine and the light, faith. (Rev. 22:5)

4. The seven golden lampstands represent the seven churches named in v. 11.

5. The signification of the lampstand is the Divine spiritual in heaven and in the church from the Lord.

Verse Mapping (VM) in my Faith Journal:

Nelson's Bible Commentary
1:13 One like the Son of Man is a reference to Daniel 7:13. Comparison of these two passages, along with Jesus' common use of the name Son of Man (Matt 20:28) for Himself, indicate that Christ is the subject of vv. 12-18. The robe and sash indicate the glorified Christ is dressed like a high priest. Christ was fully human and fully God.

Please share anything you can add to this study in the comments. I always like to learn as much as I can.

Gratitude
1. Learning new things
2. Verse mapping
3. Enlightenment

Ephesians 1:16
I have not stopped giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers.

May I pray for you specifically today? Leave me a comment and I will do so.

Blessings,
Deborah

Ash Wednesday, We Begin

"Lent is a time of reflection as we prepare ourselves for the Good News of Easter Sunday.
We must always remember the glimmer of hope as we remember what is to come: love and redemption."
Sarah Laughed

I am beginning a Lenten Study by Sarah Laughed, same lady I followed for Advent.
If you would like to join us, here is the link. It begins today.

http://seasonsillustrated.com/announcing-lent-illustrated-2017/

I hope you'll take this walk with me.

Today's reading is Genesis 3:19 (NIV)
...for dust you are and to dust you will return.

My first entry as a Bible Journalist. Like I've said before, I am not an artist. My plate of ashes looks more like a hat. lol

But time spent in His Word is precious. Don't be afraid to try this form of spending time with God. If you don't want to try the art, then just do the lettering and take some notes. BE with the Lord daily.

In this Lenten study, there are two verses per week until Holy Week, then there is a lesson everyday. Time well spent. Be blessed.

Gratitude

1. Lenten Studies

2. Clear, sunny skies

3. Bible Journaling Groups

Ephesians 1:16

I have not stopped giving thanks for you,

remembering you in my prayers.

Blessings,

Deborah