Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:13
This verse hit me like a brick between the eyes. For months I have come back to it over and over. Each time seeking something different and each time walking away with Hope.
So when Sav asked me this morning which verse I wanted to mark first in a fresh new, beautiful Bible as I start this adventure of Bible journaling, I knew exactly which one.
{Insert side note: I have long been jealous of those beautiful Bible journal images I see all over IG and Pinterest. Always thinking I could never make anything look that beautiful. Words, well I can arrange those, but actually using paint, and watercolor, and writing pretty in a Bible, I couldn’t do that! Y’all, this Bible Journal gig is stinking awesome! Go start, I promise you won’t regret it. A great start is Illustrated Faith.}
I love reading. I love learning. The student in me never wanted to leave school, so I became a teacher. This pursuit of knowledge is great, but I can never allow myself to lose sight of the truth that I will never learn anything in a book more important than what I will learn in the presences of Jesus.
Bible journaling forces me to sit still longer with a verse or passage. To see the words, to hear the meaning and to interact in the realm of beauty as I sit with the Creator. My pages aren’t perfect, and I already messed up some ink…but those little people stamped on the edges remind me to look past the obvious. See beyond the credentials and judge whether a person has been with Jesus.
I must ask myself, am I opening my mind to learn about Jesus when I open my Bible, or am I opening up my heart to learn from Jesus?
