Week 9
John 8
Jesus says He is the Light of the World. His Light shines in the darkness, and guess what? He’s still alive, so His light still shines.
*** I did not prep the page. First I used my galaxy white pen for the light. After it dried I used Inktense pencils to add the color and painted with water. The color resisted over the white which gives the feeling of light in the darkness. I did use a little colored pencil to define some detail.
March is here! And so is the new theme.”The Light of the World”
Now there are tons of scripture about light, but my personal focus is how it works within me. Please feel free to study light in the Word in all its various meanings and focuses.
This is the Week 9 scripture:
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 NIV
Love you all! May the light of His Word illuminate your life!
Week 8 February Theme: Abide
Verse of the week:
2co 12:9. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may REST (abide or dwell) on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I have read these verses many times and have never known that the word ‘REST’ actually should be translated ‘abide’ or ‘dwell.’ I noticed it in my Amplified Bible the other day. I decided to check out the original Greek and sure enough ‘episkēnóō’ means: to fix a tent, tabernacle or dwelling on.
It is only used in this verse. Why is it translated rest? I understand rest can mean to spend time with, but it sure has more punch when I think of Christ’s Power dwelling inside me.
I mean, it’s one thing to think of His Power resting on me like a bird on my shoulder but it’s another thing to realize that His Power dwells or remains inside of me.
The key to this dwelling power is that I need to make room for it. Acknowledging my weakness, mentally, emotionally or physically, gives God room to move in, so He can be the Strength and Power that I need. If I can do something all by myself, God doesn’t have to, but I happen to know that He can do ‘whatever’ better.
So I glory in my weakness so that I can receive what my Father has promised and be clothed with power from on high. Then, as I receive power as the Holy Spirit dwells in me, I will be His witness in Salem, in all the county and state, and to the ends of the earth. (Lk 24:49, Acts 1:8)
Ezekiel 37:26-28 NIV
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my SANCTUARY among them forever. My DWELLING place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
We dwell in Him And He dwells in us. He planned it long ago, and executed His plan through the blood of Christ, Emmanuel: God with us. And now Christ dwells richly in us, the hope of Glory in us. We are a Dwelling Place for a God who desires to dwell in us. That’s pretty powerful stuff to think about.
Other references to study: MT 1:23, IS 7:14, 2CO 6:16
Ez 37:26-28
About the artwork: Wow! I love holy accidents. I had this stencil mask that I loved because it has the feeling of an umbrella. I wanted to leave the girl ’empty’ except for His Words, but wanted a bright glow around her. So I placed her down on the page and decided to sponge out my bright colors to show the Glory of the Lord as He inhabits His temple, me 🙂 but when I carried my Bible into a dark room I realized it wasn’t just bright paint, it glowed! If He dwells in me I will bring light into dark places even when I am not aware of it! Awesome!
*** I cut the stencil out of card stock with my Silhouette Portrait cutting machine, placed stencil adhesive on it and let it dry. I then placed it on another piece of paper to make sure it wasn’t too sticky to rip my Bible page, but sticky enough to to hold it in place and keep paint from bleeding under. I used FolkArt fluorescent bright yellow, orange and pink to sponge and drag out over and around the stencil. Then after drying I traced the image with a micron and gently peeled the image up. I penciled in the words so they would be vaguely centered and traced over with a pen. Painted a sparkly Wink of Stella onto the dress and the Bible verse.
Week 6
1 Jn 4:13-16
After reading this passage all week I had a bunch of ideas to illustrate what I learned. But one morning I woke up with a crossword stuck in my head. As I wrote it out in my journal, I realized I should keep my Bible journal simple.
So the CROSS WORDs all hinge on my belief that Jesus is the Son of God.
If I acknowledge that then God dwells in Me AND I dwell in Him!
If I obey His command to Love then God dwells in Me AND I dwell in Him!
It’s almost too simple, but that’s how it’s done!
*** I just used my Infinity colored pens for the words, proving you don’t have to have complex artistic skills to create a piece that will visually help you remember what you’ve learned.
February’s theme is Abide. 
The week 6 verse is :
1 John 4:13-16
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
The word ‘live’ is also translated ‘abide’ and ‘dwell’ depending on which version you read.
We dwell in God, and He dwells in us. Find out more and share your lovely creative moments here this week!
John 15:1-11 NIV
I have an NIV journaling Bible and the word ‘abide’ is not used in this translation. In the Greek ‘abide’ is ‘meno’ and means: abide, dwell, remain in, continue in.
In studying, I learned so much that I decided on a simple illustration as I know that I will want to put more on that page later.
The whole passage boils down to abiding in the Lord, His Word, and His Love. I decided that was the crux of all of it: abide. And not only should I dwell in Him, but He will dwell in me. We are one when I follow His commands, with His love, and allow myself to be cleansed through the pruning of His Word.
The thing about a vine is that the branches don’t try to grow, they just do because the nutrients come from the vine. Sometime branches die, and they need to be cut off and thrown out; they’ve outgrown their purpose. A dead branch takes up nutrients it doesn’t need. It’s time to make room for a healthy one to grow.
When a branch does bear fruit it needs to be pruned afterward so that new fruit can grow in the next season.
So, all this cutting is not a bad thing. Healthy fruit will grow after the branch has been pruned. Dead or fruitful, either way, branches will be cut. And cutting is unpleasant, but necessary. When the new fruit grows you forget the pain and, instead, rejoice.
How do we, the branches get trimmed? In verse 2 the word ‘pruned’ or ‘purged’ is kathairo and really means ‘cleaned out’. In verse 3 Jesus tells us that we are already clean by His words. The Greek word for ‘clean’ is kathoros. His spoken words to me have already pruned me. And, according to verse 7, if the Words I actually heard stay inside me, I can ask anything of the Lord and it will be done for me.
I can go on and on. But I’ll let you hear from Him yourself. That is why I didn’t want to fill the page yet. I’m getting so much out of this I could fill an art journal.
*** I got a new toy I wanted to use, a Silhouette Portrait ‘die’ cutter. I had it cut out the word so I could use my Red Folk Art metallic acrylic paint for the lettering. I applied stencil adhesive to the back of my die cut and placed it on the page so it wouldn’t move and paint wouldn’t bleed beneath the letters. Well, it ended up tearing a bit of the page and still leaking under a couple of letters. At first I was disappointed, but then I remembered that this process isn’t about perfection, but learning to express His heart even in my imperfect way.
I used a small angled brush with metallic copper acrylic and slowly dragged it across the page for the branch. I twisted the brush a bit to give it a branch-like quality. Added leaves and a small bunch of grapes later. I felt it needed something else, so I wet and put Gelatos onto a piece of Mylar and smeared it over the page.
Jn 5:1-11
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
February’s theme: Abiding
If you’ve been following these challenges you know that we spent January ‘Seeking’ and, I pray, ‘Finding’ the Lord. In my own seeking I found a bread crumb trail and started going after it.
And, proof that seeking leads to finding, I came to this:
Seeking lays a support for Sanctuary.
God does not reside in a structural sanctuary, but a relational one.
February’s theme is about Abiding, or Dwelling in the Lord and He in you. I want to study more about how to live this out daily. I hope you will join me to search out this theme in the Word and share your understanding on this page. I highly recommended reading anything the apostle John wrote. If you like digging into original languages you might be surprised where you find the Greek words ‘meno’ and ‘mone’. Seek out the word abide, dwell, remain, and continue.
I hope you enjoy your Abiding adventure through the Word this month and share any art form or thoughts you’ve learned along the way so we can all journey into His presence.
The verses for week 5 are John 15:1-11. Illustrate whatever jumps out at you. My prayer is that we understand our role as dwelling places for a dwelling God.
For my Christian friends: I cannot keep silent concerning the republican candidates and the past few series of endorsements. Please forgive me and be nice.
I sense that these endorsements and poll numbers represent a “revenge” vote. Anger over the past few years has created hate and fear that demands punishment. I pray that believers will realize that is NOT the heart of God and vote, not against political correctness, but for spiritual correctness, which is not mere words but always walks in Love. I pray that everyone else will realize that revenge always has unintended consequences (ask Robespierre.)
The vote should be about who is most qualified to lead this country, make decisions over the lives of individuals in the military (they are people not the borg), find a way to move forward honestly and peacefully in the midst of a chaotic world. We do not need a Barnum or Bailey.
Once again, for believers, blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. Not a political party, or a system, or horses and chariots, or even the president, but the Lord, YHWH. So the responsibility for a nation’s blessings comes down to a people who believe that when they seek, they will find; when they pray, they will be heard; when they repent, they will be cleansed; when they Love they will indeed spread God’s Light. And His Love and Light are needed right now more than ever.
Week 4
1 Chronicles 22:19
Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God… for the Name of the Lord.
Acts 17:24-28
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands… From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth…God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Originally, I had read the verse in Acts; later on, I read 1 Chronicles and was intrigued by certain repeated words: seek, therefore, build, sanctuary. So I started seeking Him on a bread crumb trail.
In 1 Chronicles, I am told to set all my heart on seeking the Lord, now. In the original Hebrew, the phrase, ‘begin to build’ is more like ‘therefore’, or in other words: the sanctuary(Holy Place)-building process begins because I am currently seeking Him. After all, the Holy Place is where He dwells.
According to Acts 17 (and many other verses) God does not live in man-made temples. The word translated ‘temple’ actually means sanctuary or Holy Place.
God does not live in a structural sanctuary,
but a relational one.
ALL people (created in His Image from the one blood) are invited to seek after him AND, therefore, find Him, with all our senses. And, despite what the world and enemy would have us believe, He is NOT far from us.
Through our heart-felt seeking we have been built into a place for Him to dwell; and in Him, we now live, and move and have our being.
I am His Dwelling Place.
Seek Him Here.
*** I placed the artwork with the Old Testament verse to remind me that He is building a sanctuary in me for the glory of His Name. I drew and cut out of piece of stencil Mylar. I used FolkArt stencil adhesive to hold the stencil in place on the page. I placed the metallic Gelato colors on the stencil and used my finger to smear out onto the page. Then I peeled up the stencil and used a 005 green Micron for lettering.
Delta Stencil Magic Adhesive Liquid 1 oz
Plaid Stencil Cutter
Blank Stencil Making Sheets 8.5″ x 11″ Frosted -Pack of 10 Sheets
Faber-Castell Mix and Match Gelatos Gift Set 28 per Package (770161)
Nothing But A Mist 