Tuesday, July 27, 2021

June Bible Journaling Pages: Zechariah to Matthew

Once a month I like to share my Bible Journaling Pages and what God has been teaching me.  In the month of June I finished the Old Testament and began the New Testament.    Sometimes I just color in the preprinted images of the "Inspire Bible" (available on Amazon) and I also create my own pages.
 
Unless otherwise stated, all the images are colored in with either gel pens or colored pencils.  I tend to color larger areas with pencils then get the more intricate spots with pens.  I high light my Bible with gel highlighters, and I usually use gelatos or  craft paint for my backgrounds.

Well, after almost two and a half years, I finally made it to the New Testament.  Can I get a "Hip, Hip, Hooray!"?  I am so excited to start reading and studying the gospels.  But first, we have to finish up the little bit of the Old Testament Bible Journaling pages before we move on to the book of Matthew.

The first day of June, I read the last chapter of Zechariah.  The Inspire Bible ended with this beautiful floral image that I colored in with pencils.  Then I added a Bible verse from the chapter that spoke to me. I love this verse.  It gives me such joy and hope to know that the Lord is returning soon and all who have died before His coming or are raptured, will return with Him.


This is the title page of the book of Malachi that I colored in with a mix of pencils and gel pens.  I just love this image!

This verse is such a great promise to believers.  


For this page I colored the background with a lime green gelato then I did all the details with gel pens.  

God's great name is known not just amongst the Israelites, but all over the world.


This next page highlights every pastor's favorite Bible verse...😆. Just kidding!  Every pastor I have ever known has interpreted this verse to mean that our tithe (10 % of our income) should go to our home church and if you want to give  to some other Christian ministry, you need to give them whatever is above and beyond your tithe.  I've never seen that interpretation in this verse myself.  I think your tithe is acceptable to God for whatever Christian ministry or "storehouse" you feel inclined to give to.  The important thing is to tithe, period.


The end of the book of Malachi included a beautiful floral frame with a verse in the center.   I colored the whole page with pencils.

In this verse "His preaching" is John the Baptist.  The promise speaks of a reconciliation of families, but also of a reconciliation to the Father through Jesus.


The New Testament in the Inspire Bible has a beautiful floral page to separate it from the Old Testament.  I colored it with water based markers.


The cover page of the book of Matthew.  I have finally arrived in the New Testament!  Yes!

I love this promise and I have felt in my own life to be completely true.  If I put God first in my life,  and live righteously, everything else falls into place. 


When Jesus was born, it was God in the flesh, to live among us.


I must have read the book of Matthew a thousand times, yet like most of the Bible, when I read it 1001 time more, I see something I never noticed before.  This time reading it, I noticed that the first words of both John the Baptist and Jesus were "Repent of your Sins".   It seems I hear just the opposite from most pulpits today.  It confirmed to me that to be a true follower of Jesus we first must repent of our sins. 

This is a page I created myself using a coloring book image of John the Baptist.  I found it free on the Internet, printed it onto sticker paper, colored and cut it out.  I did a blue sky background using a water based marker then I just hand wrote the verse in along with some of my thoughts.  


Have you ever watched the tv series "The Chosen"?   It is a controversial Christian show about the people who followed Jesus.  I really loved season one, but season two I wasn't so crazy about.  Anyway, in season one my favorite episode ever was when Peter was on the boat, and he couldn't catch any fish.  Then Jesus shows up and tells Peter to cast his net on the other side and he caught so many fish his boat almost tipped over.  Oh, that scene made me cry, it was so beautiful!  I really enjoyed coloring this page because it reminded of that scene in the show and how touching it was.


In Jesus' day, salt was a precious and valuable commodity.  Salt was precious,  it has a preserving influence, and it adds flavor.  Christians are like salt.  We too are precious,  we influence our culture, and we make the earth a more palatable place.  But, like salt, if we lost our saltiness, we are good for nothing.


I really enjoyed coloring in an entire page instead of just a margin in the Inspire Bible.  I did this page mostly in pencils, but I also used gel pens in spots.  

This beautiful verse is not only a compliment, but also a great responsibility.   People are watching us, judging us, and what we do reflects how they see Jesus.


Ah, "Don't Worry about Tomorrow".  Easier said than done, especially with everything going on in the world today.  I must have said this verse to myself everyday for the past 18+ months.  I keep telling myself,  "Just take one day at a time.  You can't worry about what will happen tomorrow".  God wants us to remember the past, plan for the future, but live in the present.  


An entire page of the Inspire Bible was dedicated to the Lord's Prayer.  I colored it in with water based markers.


We had a Christian music festival in our area last weekend.  I really wanted to go, but when I found out the tickets were $60 a piece, I just thought that was too much money to spend.  It's not that I couldn't afford it, I just didn't think I should spend $120 on music festival tickets.  So I started to search for discount tickets and came across a profile on Instagram that was giving away free tickets to one lucky person if they "liked" the post and commented that they would like free tickets.  No one had "liked" or commented on the post, and I was so perplexed why.  I thought "Is this a hoax?"  But then I decided it wouldn't hurt to do it, it's not like they were asking for personal information.  So,  I "Liked" the post and commented, and won!  I was so excited!  It was such a blessing and gift from God, as the concert really ministered to me.  And I was reminded through the experience that "If I ask, I will receive" and how we "have not, because we don't ask".  That doesn't mean you will always get whatever you ask for, but I think a lot of us "wish" but never really "ask" because we don't think we're deserving of it or "God has more important things to do" or "God has more people with real problems to help" than me.  


We are wise to follow Jesus, to listen and obey His word, then when the storms of life come, we will have a solid foundation to stand on and get us through.  This has never been truer to me than right now.  Seeing everything going on in the world right now, I am grateful that I have a Biblical World View as a guide to navigate my way through life.


This next beautiful page is another reminder to me.  "Don't Be Afraid":   such a simple commandment, yet so hard.  God does not want us to live in fear, but to trust in Him that nothing will happen that is outside of His will.


What a beautiful comment from Jesus to us.  If we are "weary and carry heavy burdens', and we come to Him...not religion, doctrine, ordinance, ministry, but to Him alone, He will give us rest.


This last page I created using some leftover stickers I had from a on-line Bible Study I did last year.  I simply illustrated the parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed.


 I hope you enjoyed and were uplifted and encouraged reading my Bible Journaling Pages this month.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

18 comments:

  1. I love the inspiration. I’ve been wanting to try this for awhile now.

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    1. Thank you. Bible Journaling has changed my spiritual life. I always had a hard time delving into God's Word before. Now I love it, and I look forward to it everyday.

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  2. I love it, Amy! I know I mentioned that I do enjoy my adult coloring books with watercolor markers. While mine are not religious in nature, I am feeling inspired to take photos and share them in a blog post! Thank you for that!

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    1. I would love to see them Shelbee! Thanks so much.

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  3. I love how you chose bright and sunny colors for your opening to Malachi.

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    1. Thank you! I just saw the sun in the picture so I chose colors to go with that.

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  4. you do beautiful work thanks for sharing.

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  5. Your Bible journaling - handlettering and coloring - is so inspiring, Amy. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. And that's fun that you won the tickets to the concert. :)
    ~Lisa, Visiting from Grammy's Grid WR#10

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  6. Yay, finally to the New Testament!! Going to have to get me a journaling Bible, it looks so inspiring!! I have those very same highlighters in the 16 piece set, they're great! Thanks so much for sharing your post at the Exploring World Religions Linkup 10 so that we can better understand each other through our religion, faith, and beliefs. Pinned!

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    1. Yes, I finally made it! I didn't know they had an 18 piece set. I will have to check that out. Thanks so much.

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    2. Your journaling is so colorful - like your gardens.

      Michelle
      https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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  7. Your journaling pages are as pretty as your gardens.

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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  8. CONGRATS! Your post is FEATURED at the Exploring World Religions Linkup 11!

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    1. Thanks so much! That's wonderful news. I was on vacation all week so I just saw this now. I'll be over soon.

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