Philippians
2:5-11

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  (6)  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  (7)  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  (8)  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  (9)  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  (10)  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  (11)  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

For other scriptural teaching and lessons go to Settled In Heaven Ministries

Justified by Faith

Romans 5:1-2  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:  (2)  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Getting the Lord's Word Out...

Getting the Lord's Word out to the world, using my talent, is an important ministry that the Lord laid on my heart recently.  So, my newest ministy/art project is to create pictures of my art/photography with Scripture on it.

So here is a sample of my new ScripturePics.  I'm going to try to put out a new one at least 3 times a week, Lord willing.  I plan to post these on my Facebook and Pinterest.

I hope that you will enjoy them and feel free to share and re-post them.
Let's spread the Word together.



My FB and Pinterest links:

https://www.facebook.com/artist.eva.barkman

http://www.pinterest.com/evabarkman/scripturepics-by-evabarkmandesigns/

Being Thankful At All Times

Psalm 100:4-5 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.


Being thankful...this is something that the Bible specifies as being very important, in many verses, including Psalm 100. 

We need to always keep in mind all of the things that the Lord has done for us, including salvation by His work on the cross...for those of us who are saved and for those of us who will open their hearts to Him and accept Him as their Savior in the future. 

We all tend to take the good things in our life for granted at one time or another.  We can be caught up in the daily pressures and trials and forget to give thankgiving to the One who is to be praised for all that is good....and even the trials....for we know through trials, we become stronger.

My photo today is of my husband, who is my major reason to be thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ, aside from salvation.  Of course, salvation is the main reason for us all to be thankful to the Lord...think of the sorry state that we would be in without His sacrifice....eternal suffering in a horrible place.  Because of the sacrifice that Christ made for us, including the awful torture and horrible fleshly death on the cross, we can be saved and be well assured that we will spend eternity with Him in a blessed place where there is no darkness, only Light. 

I choose to be thankful to my God for all that He does for me and my family...to be thankful for my loved ones, my home, my talents, my salvation and thirst for the Word.  I hope to encourage you all to join me in thanksgiving of the One who deserves all of our thanks and praise.

"The Hawk Knows the Way"

Job 39:26  Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?


This photo was taken by me one winter day when our hawk friend showed up and decided to sit in this big, old maple tree in front of our yard.    
He is definitely a local resident, for we see him on occasions.  Then again, there are times that we know that he is around, because there is no birds around to be seen or heard.  Our little bird friends are weary of our hawk because he looks for little prey.  


As he sat there, this day, he appeared to be taking a break and I believe he almost knew that I was trying to get a good photo of him.  I've seen him swoop by before, but he is so fast, he catches me off guard without my camera.  


We are lovers of animals and birds....it brightens our day when we get a glimpse of our hawk.


We can be like our mighty hawk.........Job 39:26  Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?............    the hawk flies by the wisdom of our God and the mere stretching of her wings and the direction that she takes is only because of God's greatness.  We can choose to live our lives and take the right path that the Lord wants us to take.  We can spread our wings and fly by the Lord's will....or we can live by our flesh and take the path of unrighteousness, which leads to total despair.


Open your hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him and in what He has done on the cross to save us from eternal agony.  The choice is yours.


If you choose to trust in Christ and let Him be Lord of your life, you will be given the Holy Spirit to indwell in you and guide you.....to take that path which God has provided for you.


You can start by reading the Lord's Word...the Bible....Psalms and Proverbs are an easier place to start....open you heart and pray to the Lord and He will hear you.....ask Him to lead you to the right Church and the right teachers and believers to help you along your new path.


You can also get information from here:


http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com
http://www.youtube.com/settledinheaven
http://www.intouch.org

Do you have PEACE?

Psalms 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.


Peace, safety, calmness, salvation....these all go together.....

The above photo is of a beautiful sunset in front of our house....we live with many big, old trees around us, so there was a lot of tree limbs in the way of the sunset, but still the awesome colors shone through.

When I thought about all this, (the trees in the way of the sunset) it reminded me of all the problems and troubles that seem to get in the way of our everyday life....but, still, in spite of all of the troubles, God's peace and promises still shine though, like the colors of the sunset.  If you are saved, you can understand about the awesome peace that we have from the salvation that we received through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
If you are not saved, I invite you to receive this wonderful gift that God gives us.  All it takes is to trust in Jesus and the work that He has done on the cross....give your life to Him and you will begin to see how wonderful it is to be saved and to receive this peace that only salvation can provide.
For more information on salvation, there is a great blog that explains God's plan for our lives and how we can live our life with the peace we receive through His promises and His gift of salvation.  Click on this link http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/
You can also start by reading the Bible or attending a Bible believing church.  When you start reading the Bible, start with the gospels...the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John....these are great places to start.
Another great place to get information on salvation is here http://www.intouch.org/resources/content/topic/how_well_do_you_know_god   read this link, but also look around this website http://www.intouch.org/  ....Pastor Charles Stanley teaches on many subjects....it's a wonderful site.

If you have any questions on this posting or salvation, I would be glad to try and answer.

The One Material Thing That Brings Us Closer With God

Whether you call it the "Bible" or the "Word," it is the one material thing that brings us closer to God.  It is the one material thing that teaches us how to become a Christian through faith in Jesus Christ and what our "new life" and "salvation" mean.  It teaches us how to live our new life in trying to be more "Christ-like."  We learn about our roots in the history of God's Creation and the Jewish faith.  We also learn of the first coming of Christ in the writings of the prophets.  In the Gospels, we learn about Christ's birth, life on earth, His apostles and followers, His crucfiction on the cross, His resurrection, and His acsension into Heaven.  In Revelation, we, His saved people, learn to look for the signs of Christ's second coming and events to happen after then. 

Did you know that the Bible is the one best selling book of all time with over one billion copies sold, translated into many, many languages?  In my belief, the Bible is the one book most debated about and died for throughout history.

If you are saved, you should know the value of the Bible.  It's not the monetary value that I speak of, it's the spiritual value that no one can put a price on.  If you are not saved, now is the time for you to start reading....the time left is getting shorter day by day.  Start reading the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.  The New Testament is a bit easier to start reading.  If you know a Christian, who can help you or a good Bible teaching church, you can get help learning and guidance on how to learn from God's Word.  You can also get help for learning how to become a Christian. 

Once you start, as you continue to read the Bible, you will begin to let God into your life, you will begin to see the purpose for you life, you will let Christ into your heart, and you will begin to enjoy reading.

My husband Rob, has a wonderful Bible teaching blog called Settled In Heaven Blog.  He also has his vlog on youtube called  Settled In Heaven Vlog.  You can go to his blog and read, or go to his vlog and listen...whichever works better for you.


Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.


Psalms 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Acts 12:24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.


John 3:14-18 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.




To God be the Glory for All!

Angels Are Among Us

Luke 1:26-35 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, (27) To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. (28) And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. (29) And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. (30) And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. (31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: (33) And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (34) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? (35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.


The photo above is one of my favorites of my fine art photography.  When I see a likeness, such as a statue, of an angel, I think of peace and the sense of being protected.  There are angels among us who guide us and help us.  There have been many good and bad angels through history, as you can read about in the Bible, but one angel, who had one of the most important jobs to do was Gabriel, and the message that he had to deliver to Mary the mother of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer.  The above verses tell the story.  A very important message, told by an angel, about the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Praise our great God for this important message and the very important birth that will save us from eternal death in Hell, if we only believe in Jesus and accept Him as our Savior.  

Wisdom is Found in the Bible

2 Timothy 3:14-17 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; (15) And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

This is a picture of my watercolor painting of the Great Horned Owl.  When you think of owls, you think of the wise old owl....an icon for wisdom.  What is wisdom and how can we obtain it?  According to Wikipedia, "Wisdom is a deep understanding and realizing of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to choose or act to consistently produce the optimum results with a minimum of time and energy. Wisdom is the ability to optimally (effectively and efficiently) apply perceptions and knowledge and so produce the desired results. Wisdom is comprehension of what is true or right coupled with optimum judgment as to action."  ....as God's children we need to obtain wisdom from God's Word, the Bible.  In 2Timothy3:15, we are to know the holy scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  The Bible is where we learn that we must have faith in Jesus as Savior and Redeemer.  Faith in Jesus is what gives us salvation.  Keeping in the Word is what gives us Godly instruction of how we are to live our lives.  With the application of what God teaches us in the Bible, we can obtain a righteous life lived in wisdom of that which we learn in the scripture.  In James 3:17,18 we learn about the kind of wisdom that we must have.

James 3:17-18 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. (18) And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

His Word Shall Stand Forever

Isaiah 40:5-8 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (6) The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: (7) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. (8) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.


A beautiful thing to remember....the Word of our God shall stand forever.  His promises will never fade as the flower does.  He is always there for us and we can eternally rely on Him.