Think on this ...

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4: 4-9

I've been thinking a lot about our last challenge and obeying God's word. I was discussing this passage with my Mom about how we are to think ... and have been endeavouring to walk and talk and think just like this passage tells me too. Look at the rewards for doing so! And so this week I challenge you to join us in making some art about this passage and also to think about what you are thinking about. Does it line up with whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy? I know my thoughts don't always. But, as I fill my heart with God's word, and look to Jesus my thoughts are turning more and more to this. Thanks, Kimberly

Kimberly Hazel Esther
Ruth

Obedience

Psalm 119:60, “I made haste and did not delay to keep Your commandments.”

Greetings! We continue to be blessed by your participation in our challenges and all of the lovely comments we receive on the SALT blog. We pray that, like us, you will be inspired to create a piece based on our challenges and encouraged to further study the topics discussed.

This week I (being Kim) chose the topic of OBEDIENCE.

We use a phrase with our children, adopted from some close friends; obey right away. Delayed obedience is really disobedience. Thinking that you can obey God’s commands later, maybe when life’s circumstances are different, is dangerous thinking. For this attitude would prove that we have no serious intention of obeying at all. As the saying goes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

In our text we see that the psalmist “did not delay” to keep God’s commandments. His prompt response shows his love for God, faith in His Word, and wisdom in the application of Scripture to real life. He was not relying on his own feelings, conscience, or advice of family and friends to decide if he was living a life that was pleasing to God.

How was the psalmist able to keep God’s commandments? Is it possible for anyone to perfectly keep God’s law? Not a chance! But this is the good news of the gospel! The more we see how sinful we are, the more we will know our need for God’s grace in Christ, who is the only One who kept the whole law of God.

May we “make haste” to obey God’s commandments, putting away all excuses, repenting of our disobedience, and committing ourselves to a right relationship, gained only through trust in Christ, with our Creator!

If you'd like to participate in this week's challenge, please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery. We'd be delighted to share in your creative process!

Kim
Esther

Hazel

Kimberly
Ruth


Lythan
Casey

And God saw that it was good

Hiya everyone,

We started the Salt faith challenge blog on 2 August last year, so this is our first birthday!!

A big thank you to all our blog visitors throughout the year and those who have taken part in our challenges, including the last one on Patience.

I feel so blessed to be part of such a wonderful group of ladies who are united in their love for our Lord and their creativity used to express their faith.

This time I (Hazel) have chosen the theme of

'And God saw that it was good'

This is a reflection on Genesis 1, which gives an account of God's marvellous work of Creation and His reflection on it was that He 'saw that it was good'.

As we celebrate our first birthday, it seems fitting to reflect upon the beauty of God's Creation.

I marvel at the wonders of God's beautiful world - so much for us to enjoy, whether it's a sunset, the petals of a flower, the intricate design of a seashell ... I could go on to name so many examples, including, of course, the wonderful gift of life itself to us as humans.

This is such a wide topic - you may wish to reflect on one particular aspect of God's Creation or the general scope of it.

We would love you to join in and create something for this topic. Please leave us a comment and a link so that we and others can visit your blog.

Hazel





Ruth



Kim

Casey

Esther


Lythan

Patience

Hello friends and fellow members in Christ!

It is Esther's turn this week to set the challenge.

PATIENCE

A continuous life lesson, that I am struggling to learn!

There is so much to learn; PATIENCE as a fruit of the Holy Spirit,

waiting PATIENTLY in the Lord

How the Lord is PATIENT with us!

How we should be PATIENT with others

My inspiration came from a daily devotional page that my friend gave to me, it was very reassuring and talked of resting in God and waiting patiently in him Psalm 37:7, I will quote some of what it says "there are things you cant have today that you'll be able to have in the future. So it doesnt make sense to drive yourself crazy and put your life on hold struggling to accomplish something now that'll be easy when the time is right...." "God allows certain things to take place in our lives to teach us important principles...." "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans12:12 when you spend time in God's waiting room, He's developing qualities in you that simply can't be deceloped any other way.

When He's finished you will come out stronger and wiser..."

Thank you to our loyal supporters and contibutors we love to see how the topics are interpreted by you. A very warm welcome to you if you are a new comer please do tell you other friends about us, we cant be a witness for God unless we shine our lights!

Esther
Kimberly
Kim
Hazel

Ruth
Casey
Lythan

Freedom

Hi All!

Thanks so much for joining the girls last time in our REJOICE challenge.

I'm pleased to be back on deck and I (Casey) have a challenge for you myself :-)

Freedom in Christ is something we often hear about. But, I wonder how many of us really know what that means?

Just recently I attended a conference where an international Christian speaker presented the message to us. One of the things he spent time on was the identity messages we get from the world and our actual true identity. He said we often try and change our behaviour to match someone elses. But, it is essentially our identity message that we hear in our heads that will determine our behaviour. So, we need to gradually align our identity with the identity Christ has given us which says we are accepted, significant and secure. Then our behaviour will be changed and be more Christ-like . Knowing and believing the truth of these messages which Christ has died and risen for, will indeed set us free from all our striving and comparing.

The layout I have done uses the verse from John 8:32. I have used a different translation to the one you would normally hear which is "..You will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

What does freedom in Christ mean for you?

We'd love for you to share in this challenge with us and leave us a message with a link to your blog. Our prayer is that this week you may be able to experience the freedom that

Christ has given us!

Casey

Kim Lythan
Esther
Ruth
Hazel

Kimberly

REJOICE

Hi everyone, Ruth here to set the next challenge.

Remember to leave us a message so we can come and visit your blog and see your creations.

REJOICE!
The Bible says to Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS.

This is a verse that I keep meditating on as its one of those that pops into your head, but is very hard for your heart to grasp sometimes.

When we go through trials, or we can see others suffering, getting to the truth of this verse is vital.

It doesn't say Rejoice for the sake of it, it says Rejoice in the LORD, the one who has saved us from the punishment we deserve, the ALMIGHTY one, who LOVES us so much.

Esther

Kimberly
Hazel



Ruth


Lythan

Kim

Celebrating Psalms

I do hope that you are as inspired by this challenge as you have been by the others. It is wonderful to see faith expressed in such creative ways. It is Lythan's turn to challenge you this time (hello!) I have chosen a fairly broad theme - with 150 variations -

the Psalms.

From frustration and anger to joy and support. there is so much in the book of Psalms. I'd like you to reflect on a favourite verse - or whole psalm and interpret it as you feel led.

I hope you enjoy the wonderful work the team has made this week. You may click on each team member's name to visit their individual blogs and read more about their art pieces.

Due to family commitments Gillian is taking a break from the team. Gillian we miss your creative spark already and hope you are back with us soon!

If you are inspired by this week's challenge and would like to share something that you've made, please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or online gallery. We'd love to see your creations!

Lythan
Casey

Kimberly

Kim
Ruth
Esther

Hazel