Exodus 3:14-15 - Names of God

I go to a ladies Bible study group every fortnight and we've been following a series on the names of God. In one session we looked at the meanings of all God's names and how they can apply to different aspects of His personality, and what that means for us. Although we weren't studying this passage at the time, it made me think of the story of Moses and the burning bush in Exodus.

God said to Moses, ‘I AM who I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I am has sent me to you.”’
God also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.”
‘This is my name for ever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.'

 - Exodus 3:14-15

The art wasn't particularly much this week. I started to doodle the names down the side of the page during the Bible study, as I do use this Bible for everyday use as well as for my art. When I got home I knew wanted to do something to represent the bush so I found a drawing of flames on Pinterest to use as the template then adapted it to fit my Bible page.

The names I chose to use were ones we'd been discussing in the study - I AM/YHWH/Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah), Jehovah (The Lord), Elohim (God), Adonai/Lord, and Shaddai (Almighty). There are many other names which are used, particularly in the psalms, and it makes an interesting study to look at which name is actually being used in which instance to see how the author is relating to God in each instance. I found a good basic study on the names at Blue Letter Bible if you want to find out more.

I used Prismacolor pencils and my Pentel 0.8 pen for the lettering. I haven't stuck it into my Bible, but I also keep the study sheet with the meanings of all the names in that page as well, to remind me.

Mark 8:11-21 - Half full or half empty?

The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

- Mark 8:11-21

Our new pastor Tony preached on this passage a few weeks ago and it really stuck with me, so I wanted to journal something. He started by asking 'is the glass half full or half empty?' (Personally I've always thought it depends on whether you're in the process of filling it or emptying it.) He went on to talk about how the disciples were so fixated on what they didn't have - bread - that they assumed everything must be to do with that. Jesus was actually talking about something completely different.

He goes on to remind them about how the bread was multiplied when He fed the thousands of people. Why should the disciples worry about not having bread when they were with a man who could do that?!

Tony finished by reminding us not to worry about the things we don't have, especially if they're things we don't need, as that can distract us and take over our thoughts; but to concentrate on what we do have.

For the journalling it was a very simple entry but I wanted to do something to remind myself of the sermon. I sketched a half full glass of water in coloured pencils and then added the text. I coloured the page with a blue pencil, leaving the passage above white. I'll probably add some notes to myself underneath at some point, but that was all I needed to do.