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Worship IV, Day 5 Singing Israel’s Song

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Exodus 15:1-18
Psalms 105:26-45
Psalm 136:1-15
1 Peter 2:9-10 

Worship IV, Day 5

There’s a difference in reading something to get through it, 
and studying it to know and understand it. 

Last year I didn’t just read through the Psalms in the Bible.
I studied them.
All 150 of them. 

I don’t say this to toot horns here, I share it because, with intentional study,
I am now convicted of this: 

One cannot discuss Biblical worship 
without observing the Psalms and other songs in Scripture. 

Some may not know that the book of Psalms is made up of songs or poems written by multiple authors. One of them being Moses, author of Psalm 90. 

You know… 

“Baby in a basket” Moses.
“Raised Egyptian, but actually a Hebrew” Moses.
“Prince of Egypt” Moses.
“Murderer of an Egyptian” Moses.
“Runaway” Moses.
“Burning bush” Moses.
“Led God’s people out of Egypt” Moses.
“Crossed the Red Sea on dry ground” Moses. 

Whether a Sunday School teacher first introduced you to Moses, or Disney’s Prince of Egypt did, most are familiar with the story. But did you know that following the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, another song was sung by Moses and the Israelites in Exodus 15. It makes perfect sense that an outburst of rejoicing would follow an escape from the chase of an enemy. 

Wouldn’t you erupt into song after being literally chased by your adversaries only to witness, with your own eyes, that very enemy being swallowed up by the same sea you had just crossed on dry land?! 

I would. 

Many times in the Psalms, as in Exodus 15, we see a consistent intentionality to worship God for who He is and His mighty deeds. 

What I love about Psalm 105 and Psalm 136 is how each of these songs declare the history of God’s people and the LORD’s continual rescue of His people, Israel. In Scripture, worship is often purposefully birthed, not only to rightfully bring glory to God, but also to commemorate historical events, i.e. the Exodus of Israel out of slavery into freedom. 

Naturally, the Israelites, along with Moses, would offer a song of thanksgiving unto the Lord following their rescue. Because God had set them free, praise broke out! 

Bible scholar, Dr. Bob Utley, notes how Exodus 15 consists of two parts:
verses 1-5 focuses on the acts of the LORD (all caps, meaning YHWH, God’s personal name) and verses 6-17 focusing on YHWH’s character.

Biblical worship should, at its core, remind us what we have been rescued from, and most importantly, who our mighty Rescuer is. 

I will forever be convinced that worship is a powerful thing.
No matter the circumstances of our everyday life,
regardless of how dark or how desperate our moments,
we have reason to worship because
we have been rescued from Sin by an eternal Rescuer!

Countless generations before us have carefully preserved and recorded in Scripture
their acts of worship.
Their hymns, their music, their generosity, and the beautiful overflow of their lives as they reflected love back to their Redeemer. Their worship invites us to recall how God has moved mightily in our own lives, remember His faithfulness, and bring Him worship because of His deliverance and His good character! 

Psalm 100 says “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.” 

We are given the beautiful opportunity of coming before the presence of God
thanking Him for His salvation and praising Him for who He is. 

Israel sang to the LORD for rescuing them from the hands of their tyrant enemy (Pharaoh).
God was faithful to deliver His people from Egypt and physical bondage, and deserved their worship.
But one day, the same LORD, through the Lord Jesus Christ, would deliver all people from the overwhelming darkness of our tyrant enemies, Sin and Death.
This Jesus is our Eternal Rescuer; He deserves the worship of our everyday lives! 

Hallelujah! 

Does that reality not just want to make you echo Israel’s song? 

How could it not?!

When God gave everything to rescue us.
When He forgave us.
When He provided for our every need.
When He takes the time to be mindful of us.
When He gives us far more than we deserve.
When He, even still, hasn’t given up on us.
When He loves us more than anyone ever could.
When He never ever broken His promises. 

How could we not praise Him? 

How could we not open our mouths and sing the Israelites’ song?
Or reach for an instrument as Miriam did?
Or dance in the freedom and joy of the LORD, our great Deliverer!

Let’s be worshippers who open our mouths and declare His goodness!
Worshippers who fall to our knees in gratitude and reverence!
Worshippers who reserve our love, loyalty, and attention for the only One who is truly worthy!
Worshippers who exalt the One true God, YHWH, our Rescuer in the ebb and flow of our everyday! 

Let’s be worshippers who continue singing Israel’s song!

We were once lost, enslaved, and living in darkness.
As Peter writes, we were once not a people, but now we are God’s people.
We once did not receive mercy, but now we have received mercy
so that we might
“proclaim the praises of the one who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Hallelujah!
Let’s sing on! 

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Worship IV, Day 4 Holding Us Together: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
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The Questions

1) How are theses verses tied to the sections before and after it? 
 
2) Was Jesus both created and creator?  
 
3) On what specific facets of Christ does Paul focus his worship?

Colossians 1:15-20

He is the image of the invisible God, 
the firstborn over all creation. 
16 For everything was created by him, 
in heaven and on earth, 
the visible and the invisible, 
whether thrones or dominions 
or rulers or authorities— 
all things have been created through him and for him. 
17 He is before all things, 
and by him all things hold together. 
18 He is also the head of the body, the church; 
he is the beginning, 
the firstborn from the dead, 
so that he might come to have 
first place in everything. 
19 For God was pleased to have 
all his fullness dwell in him, 
20 and through him to reconcile 
everything to himself, 
whether things on earth or things in heaven, 
by making peace 
through his blood, shed on the cross. 

Original Intent

1) How are theses verses tied to the sections before and after it?
A critical component to studying Scripture is learning and re-learning again, and being reminded again, that Scripture was designed to tell one, grand cohesive story and it was originally written without chapters, verses, and the paragraph breaks we find in our copies. It’s easy to think that where we see a bolded heading in our Bibles, it has always been like that, but it hasn’t. This letter was originally written by Paul to deeply encourage and firmly anchor the church at Colossae in the rich knowledge and understanding of Christ that went farther and deeper than an elementary understanding of “Jesus died on the cross to save us.” (Colossians 1:9) We need to see all of it as one letter. Just before Paul begins expanding on the richness of Christ in verses 15-20, he first starts off with deep gratefulness to God as he describes the glorious grace of being given salvation through Jesus. Then Paul pens a beautiful, doctrine rich hymn of Christ as Supreme Being, finishing it out as if with a glorious bookend, describing again the excellencies of reconciliation and peace with God through the precious blood of Christ.

2) Was Jesus both created and creator? 
The wording in verses 15-16 can definitely twist up an English speaking, western culture reader. Which, again, is why understanding the original language and culture is utterly important to correctly understand and apply Scripture in our modern day. The Greek phrasing referencing Christ “the firstborn of all creation” is, get ready for it: “prototokos pases ktiseos”. Don’t you feel cool now (or dope or or lit or whatever kids say these days…)?! This means begotten before all creation, not created before all creation. It denotes all the rights and privileges of being firstborn without actually being ‘born’ first. (Think of Jacob in Genesis who was the second-born twin of Esau, but was given all the rights and privileges just as if he were born first. This is prototokos pases ktiseos). If you were created before creation, the sentence itself is meaningless because you would be created and therefore a part of creation. Rather, this type of phrasing of “before all” is found throughout Scripture to mean “eternity”. Specifically here, eternity before creation. This understanding fits perfectly with the following phrases and descriptions of “all things being created through Him and for Him”. (verses 16-17) Again, “all” really does mean “all”. Angels, dominions, powers, authorities, all created things were created through and for the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit, all equaling the sum total Beings of God, were never created.

3) On what specific facets of Christ does Paul focus his worship?
While there may indeed be more, each of these aspects are profoundly rich, being deep enough to study for a lifetime without ever plumbing their full depths, here are 7 specific facets of Christ Paul addresses:
1> His deity as a member of the triune godhead. 
Pastor Timothy says this about the Lord God, “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17) Paul, Timothy’s mentor pastor, says Jesus Christ is the exact image or precise representation of this invisible God. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were “created in the image of God”, but this Jesus who walked and talked and lived among humanity simply is the image of God.  

2> Christ as creator. 
All things were created by Him and for Him. (verse 16) There is nothing made that was not intentionally designed and allowed and held together through Christ.
3> Christ as sustainer. 
In Him all things hold together. (verse 17) Yes, nothing was created without Christ, but one step further, nothing continues to exist without Him holding and sustaining all things. 
4> His supreme authority. 
By being supreme creator of all things, all rulers, all authorities, and all dominions, there simply is no higher authority than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, an authority he shares co-equally with God the Father and God the Spirit. (Philippians 2:9-11)
5> His headship over the church
Being the “head” of the church, doesn’t just mean He holds all authority and we as believers follow only Him. Paul expounds in Ephesians 1:23 that as head of His Bride, the Church, it also means that Christ, who is the fullness of God (verse 19), fills the Church with that very fullness!
6> His authority over resurrection from the dead. 
Just as Christ holds pre-eminence over all of creation, the same is true for the resurrection. Paul isn’t saying Jesus was the first one to rise from the dead, rather He is the only One to rise from the dead by His own power. Because of this powerful resurrection, with victory over death firmly in hand, we have hope for our own resurrection just as He promised. He is the evidence for all who will be resurrected by placing their faith fully in Him. He is the “firstfruit” of the resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:20)
7> Christ as reconciler and redeemer. 
Verse 20 holds the climaxing purpose of Christ’s coming, which is made possible because of all the reasons Paul has clearly laid out previously. Jesus Christ, Lord of all, Creator of all, authority over all, came to rescue us, a sinful and rebellious people, through the shedding of His precious blood on the cross. (Colossians 1:20)

Everyday Application

1) How are theses verses tied to the sections before and after it? 
Paul takes great delight in detailing out the wonder of our salvation, but one can nearly hear him singing at the top of his lungs with tears running down his face as he declares with incredible awe of the majestic, eternal authority of the Lord Jesus Christ! Our salvation is tied absolutely and inextricably with precisely this description of Jesus. If He is not eternal, if He is not Lord of all, if He is not co-equal with God, if He did not have intentional purpose in creating and sustaining all of life, then He is not able to carry the weight of all sin for all mankind for all eternity. The 2 “bookend” descriptions of salvation that Paul eloquently describes are utterly impossible if they do not hang the entirety of their weight upon the fullness of God the Son, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The fact that Paul began this section with thankfulness begs the question, “are we praising Him in the same way? For the same thing?” When was the last time you stood in absolute stunned awe at the glorious majesty of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? How worthy He is! How stunning and beautiful our triune God is! Sit with Him, revel in Him, worship Him! Take a pen and paper right now and dwell on His glories! 
 
2) Was Jesus both created and creator?  
The idea of “eternally existing” is incredibly difficult for our minds to comprehend. But when we dig in a little deeper into the meaning and implications of the fullness of Jesus being absolutely eternal, we find solidity and safety, a safe harbor to anchor our souls. Our eternity after death is securely held in the everlasting arms of the Lord & Savior when we surrender to His free gift of grace. Our everyday existence is also seen and intimately known by the One who sees and knows all things. He Himself holds us up with His righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10), sustaining us for His own glory and delight. This is what it is to be cherished! This is what it is to be eternally loved by an endlessly everlasting God Almighty! As Moses said, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)  
 
3) On what specific facets of Christ does Paul focus his worship? 
1> His deity as a member of the triune godhead. 
Through Jesus, we see, touch, feel, sense, and relate to the God of the Universe exactly because He is the image of the Invisible God. Unfathomable! Yet, each day, in every moment, that opportunity exists for you and me through the Holy Spirit! (Hebrews 4:16)  
Our God is always available.  
2> Christ as creator. 
For me, this truth lets me hold fast to peace and lets fear drop effortlessly away. When Christ sees all, knows all, made all, there is nothing left to fear. (Romans 8:31) 
3> Christ as sustainer.  
This truth really puts my own self-proclaimed “authority” to shame. I can’t keep anything together! But Christ. Christ is the eternal sustainer of all things. Knowing He is a good and gracious God, sets my heart to rest in His character and reminds me to turn to Him for big things and the ridiculously small.  
4> His supreme authority.  
It can be easy for us to look around at the visible powers of our nation and our world that we forget Who the true and final Supreme Being is who holds all authority. Don’t let your hearts be troubled, He has overcome this world! (John 14:1) 
5> His headship over the church 
This filling headship translates to our everyday lives as the only source we need for life and godliness as we pursue Christ in the mighty and the mundane. (2 Peter 1:3) He is our fuel, He is our center, He is our divine strength.  
6> His authority over resurrection from the dead.  
With Christ as our Victor over death, we have eternal, incorruptible hope through our death and the deaths of those we love who have trusted Jesus for their own eternities. With Christ as Savior, we are eternally held secure. Not even death shall separate us from His love! (Romans 8:38-39) 
7> Christ as reconciler and redeemer. 
Yes, Christ came as Reconciler and Redeemer to “buy us back” from the grip of Sin and Death, but this gift is not ours simply because we read about it, have heard about it, or grew up in a good family. At birth, we inherit Death and Sin, but Christ offers to buy us back from these fatalities. His offer is extended to you, are you absolutely certain you’ve surrendered everything to Him and His authority? (Romans 6:22-23) 

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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Incorruptible Day 8 Redeemed From Emptiness

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Peter 1:17-21
1 Peter 5:8-14
Ruth 2-3
Joshua 2

Incorruptible, Day 8

“For you know that you were redeemed (bought back) 
from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers, 
not with imperishable things like silver or gold, 
but with the precious blood of Christ.”
1 Peter 1:18-19

Rahab. 
Ruth. 
Saul. 

And so many others throughout Scripture have been bought back
by the precious blood of Christ.  

Joshua 2 tells the story of Rahab.
A prostitute.
Giving away her body for money, she was used and abused.
Hers was an empty life.
Rahab had heard of the mighty deeds of the Hebrew God called Yahweh, enough to know He was worthy of awe and respectful fear. (Joshua 2:8-11)
Enough to know that if He would provide her protection, she would turn her back on her people.
True to His Word, as the walls of Jericho collapsed around her, Rahab’s house was left untouched and her family was saved.   

Rahab married a Hebrew man, was rescued from prostitution, was welcomed into the blessings of Yahweh, and grafted into the lineage of Christ.
One moment of choosing to be in exile from her people 
brought about new life for Rahab. 

As we come face to face with the reality of who God is, 
we are free to walk confidently into the redeeming grace He offers. 

Ruth was a Moabite widow who followed her mother-in-law Naomi, against cultural custom, back to Israel. She was a foreigner without food and protection of a husband.
An outcast among Jews.
If anyone felt empty, it was Ruth.  

Like Rahab, she chose to be in exile, displaced from her own land to follow Naomi and her God.  

Through events only God could ordain, Ruth became the protected wife of Boaz and mother to Obed, another generation in the lineage of Jesus.
Redeemed from emptiness and vulnerability, 
Ruth found fullness, life, and purpose. 

As we lay ourselves humbly at His feet, the Lord faithfully redeems our empty places. 

In Acts 9, we meet Saul. 
Well-known as murderer and persecutor of Christians, Saul made it his life mission to kill all who claimed the name of Jesus.
Death always leads to emptiness. 

But Jesus interrupted Saul’s crusades in a blinding moment of awe-filled truth where Saul surrendered to radical grace.  

Having been redeemed from his old way of thinking and living life, Saul-turned-Paul spent the remainder of his days proclaiming Christ, forever exiled from the life he’d once so passionately known. 

Emptiness was all he had known, 
but grace captured his heart, exchanging life for death.

As we accept the redemptive grace of God, we become new people.  

Each of these people were exiles in one form or another.
Each heard and understood the character of God through His people.
Each found hope in the midst of their exile because of God’s faithful, trustworthy character.  

Peter reminds us that we are exiles too.
Separated here on earth from the One in Heaven who crafted our hearts to beat in rhythm with His. Aliens here with broken relationships, heartache, loss, destruction, and sufferings coming in all shapes and sizes.
Exile is not forever, Sisters.
We can trust that truth because of our God’s character! 

“And after you have suffered a little while, 
the God of all grace, 
who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, 
will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
1 Peter 5:10
Jesus says He will restore us, confirm us, strengthen us, and establish us!  

Restore – to repair or renovate so as to return it to its original condition.
Confirm – to establish the truth or correctness of something believed. 
Strengthen – to make or become stronger.
Establish – to achieve permanent acceptance or recognition for. 

As we look at those definitions we see redemption so clearly!  

Through the lives of Rahab, Ruth, Paul, and so many more, we see how God
restored the broken places,
confirmed what they believed about Him to be true,
strengthened their faith,
and established them firmly in the incorruptible inheritance that was to come.   

Redemption is such a beautiful thing, 
but it’s only ours to claim if we accept the gift of salvation.  

Salvation is a free gift from God that buys back (redeems) us from the chains of Sin and Death, adopting us as His very own daughters.  

Jesus Christ, the only mediator (1 Timothy 2:5) between humanity and God, wrapped Himself in human flesh (1 Peter 1:20-21), became one of us, was sinless like none of us, and willingly laid His life down on the cross that each of us might know Him, trust His character, and be redeemed from emptiness!  

“For you know that you were redeemed (bought back) 
from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers, 
not with imperishable things like silver or gold, 
but with the precious blood of Christ.”
1 Peter 1:18-19

What’s your emptiness?
Has it been redeemed?!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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Incorruptible Day 5 Eternally Trustworthy

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Incorruptible, Day 5

1 Peter 1:10-12
1 Peter 2:6-10
2 Peter 1:16-21

Eve
Genesis 3
I’ve never felt so alone, so ashamed.
So guilty.
It’s like I can feel a sickness spreading through me, through everything around me
It’s ugly.
I shudder.
It’s dark, and terrifying, like nothing I’ve ever experienced; immeasurably different than all I’ve known before this moment.
This moment when I broke the heart of God and became separate from Him.
I feel the vacancy of His holiness and cold seeps in along with shame, fear, and regret.
I was lied to and anger kindled, another new emotion. The husband I’d only adored before, I suddenly want to push against and prove to him how wrong he is.
The world is breaking, even the colors around me are fading fast, as if creation itself is groaning for the loss of flawless holiness.
The Lord God is coming, I hear Him walking towards me and I know the His righteous justice must curse my sin. I deserve banishment.
But hope?
The Lord is giving hope?
The serpent’s offspring and mine, there will be this ongoing dissension between us, but from my offspring, one day, Hope will rise and the head of this serpent will be crushed.
His lies will be defeated forever.
Grace!
For this hope I will wait!

David
Psalm 118
I’ve waited so long, Yahweh!
I was just a youth when You first made it known I would be your anointed king.
All those incredibly dark years as I ran for my life from Saul, so unsure of where You were leading…. I hang my head, admitting I even wondered if You were still leading me at all.
I felt so abandoned.

So many years, God.
None of the circumstances fit what You had told me when Samuel anointed me as King.
I lost my best friend, the nation seemed lost, Your promises appeared to have failed.
My feet sank, my heart sank, those were dark days.

And now, oh Lord God, the works You have done, the mighty intention of Your hand!
I stand here at the pinnacle of Your promise as the fullness of Israel comes under my hand! Abba, my heart trembles at Your goodness and my eyes flood.
You are so good!
Your faithful loves endures forever!

These words I sing, they are born of Your good Spirit, God. I praise You!
I praise You for who You are, for all You have done, for all You will do.
“I will give thanks to You, for You have answered me and become my Salvation!”

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone!
I was rejected, Mighty God. Rejected by Saul, rejected by my own nation, but You alone are the Lord who takes the rejected and builds something new, something foundational!

Yet, I know my life is fleeting.
I can only rule so long before my hands become feeble and still.
This nation, this people.
Your people, Yahweh, we need an eternal Rescue.
Save us, Yahweh!
It is in You, I put my hope!

Micah
Micah 1, 5
It’s no secret people of great power hate me; I’m not the bearer of good news.
No one likes the prophet who prophesies doom, gloom, and destruction, especially when everything appears up and to the right.

I see the wealth of Judah, the way they rely on the work of their hands, and the way those same hands carve images for their knees to bow to.

The twisting agony of my heart in seeing my nation spurn and reject, as if spitting upon the Holy One, is matched only by my plea to Yahweh for their deliverance.

I literally wail at their putrid idolatry as they’ve turned away from You, the One God who has loved, protected, and shepherded them. Our wound is surely incurable, for You Lord are bringing Your right justice upon us. We will be desolated as a nation, defeated, and exiled.
And rightly so, our sin is vast beyond counting.

Oh, but Lord, have mercy on these, my people!

Hope.
I’ve heard Your voice, Yahweh, You declare that Hope will come.
A deliverer from Bethlehem.
One who will restore us from captivity.
One who break the bonds of slavery.
One who will once again shepherd us in safety and strength by the Name of the Lord.
For this Hope I wait!

Peter
Concerning this salvation, the prophets,
who prophesied about the grace that would come to you,
searched and carefully investigated. (1 Peter 1:10)

For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths
when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;
instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Peter 1:16)

I have lived with Hope.
I have walked beside Him.
Hope is not an arbitrary, distant, abstract, cosmic, wishful thinking concept.
Hope is alive for eternity.
Hope is Jesus Christ, dead, resurrected, and sitting at the right hand of the throne of God!

Since God first spoke creation into existence, He designed for Hope to rescue us, to deliver us, to bring us back to Himself. This plan of redemption is woven into every strand of history, waiting for just the right time to be revealed.

It is time!
Revelation is here!
The mystery has been made known!

Christ
is the offspring of Eve who would crush Satan’s head, killing Death and Lies.
Christ
is the cornerstone, rejected by men, but now the foundation of Hope for eternity.
Christ
is the prophesied coming Messiah, the great Deliverer and mighty Rescuer.
Christ
was born in Bethlehem, born to die, born to rise, born to make us who had been “not a people”, His own people; to draw near those who “had not received mercy” that we as His people might “receive mercy.”

Hope.
Living Hope.
He is here and His message of hope is eternally trustworthy!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Incorruptible Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Screenshot Day 8 Go Get The Sheep

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 18:10-14
Jeremiah 29:11-14
John 3:16-21

Screenshot, Day 8

Imagine this: you are babysitting three children. While they all play contentedly, you go to the kitchen to prepare dinner. After you finish cooking, you set the food on the table, and call them to eat. As you round the corner into the living room, your stomach drops and panic ensues.
There are only two of the three children present.
The other is nowhere to be found.
You now begin frantically searching the house while your mind begins thinking of all possible worst case scenarios. Finally, you see a little pair of feet sticking out from under the bed. Phew!
Your heart is immediately filled with relief and joy knowing the child is safe and can now join the others who are happily eating.

A similar picture is painted in the parable of the lost sheep.
A shepherd has one hundred sheep and one is lost, which prompts the shepherd to leave the ninety-nine in search of the one.
On finding his lost sheep, he rejoices and calls his community to celebrate with him as he brings his lost one home.

As I read through this parable, Chris Tomlin’s beautiful song, Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone), comes to mind.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

This song so perfectly shows our Lord’s heart for us.
Like a parent searching for their lost child, or a shepherd searching for a lost sheep,
He will not stop searching for us.

He will continuously pursue the soul separated from His grace
that He might rescue them from sin and death,
lavishing us with His celebratory love of redemption and welcome!

We, each one of us.
You, me,
the girl across the street,
the man on the corner,
the pastor at church,
and the saintly ones we look up to…..
we are wretches before the Just and Righteous God.

We’ve each turned away from His grace, “become His enemies”, and “like sheep, have all gone astray.” (Romans 5:10, Isaiah 53:6)
What separates us?
Our sin.
Black, ugly, all-consuming.
Just one sin is enough to sentence us to an eternity separated from a God who is blameless, perfect, and flawlessly holy. If He were to abide with sin, He would no longer be the Holy and Righteous God.

But, oh sisters, you and I both know we have more than 1 solitary sin against us!
This is the sin that drives us away from the fold of sheep.
This is the sin that keeps us lost.

But God.
Shows His love for us in this.
While we were still sinners.
Christ died for us.

He died to bring us back.
To exchange our status from lost to found.
From shame and hiding to adored and celebrated!
He brings us back into the fold because He longs to give us hope and a future, found only in His righteousness, which He graciously gives as an exchange for our sin, made possible through the sacrificial blood offering of Jesus who took Death in our place. (Jeremiah 29:11-14, Romans 5:6-11, John 3:16-21)

Jesus left heaven, put on flesh, became one of us in order to win us back from the grip of Sin and Death.
The invitation is bold, freeing, and life-giving.
If you haven’t trusted Jesus, for your eternity, what’s holding you back?
What ties you to the identity of being lost rather than found? Is it worth it?

As believers, let this parable from the heart of God challenge us!
God has been showing me in my own life that if I am to be like Christ the Shepherd, then I must begin by throwing off all I claim as self-importance,
that Name of the Lord can reach one more person as I surrender to His ways.

We as believers get comfortable sometimes.
Too Comfortable.

We build church buildings.
And stay inside.

We open the doors.
Expecting people to come in.

But are we going out? 

Here in the Bahamas, we do baptisms differently. Instead of baptizing new believers in the church, we take baptisms to the beaches as we celebrate the sheep that is now found.
We take church outside of the walls in order to reach just one.
It is a beautiful thing.
We have been blessed with the opportunity to be open and bold about our faith unlike many of our brothers and sisters across the globe who suffer silently for their faith.
What are we doing with those freedoms?

Are we going out and getting the lost sheep?
Or are we just staying with the ninety- nine?

Staying with the ninety-nine is comfortable and easy.
Going to get the one is hard and painful.

Getting the “one” looks like fostering children from broken homes,
engaging in a ministry to regain territory from Satan,
evangelizing people that are hard to love,
baptizing on the beach,
or embracing people who are broken and hurting.
It looks like going beyond our borders.

All of these are hard to do.
They require sacrifice.
They require prayer.
They require being visible and possibly ridiculed.
They require being uncomfortable.
They require obedience to this glorious gospel by which Christ has set us free!

God’s mission is to go out and get the sheep, will you join Him?!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Screenshot Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
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The GT Weekend! Prayer Week 3

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The GT Weekend!

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) When we’re faced with temptation, looking to Jesus’ model of interacting with the devil is a great reminder. He said, “Get away from me Satan.” Jesus spoke with authority and precision to receive deliverance from His temptation. As believers in Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit living in us and can also speak with that same authority and precision when faced with temptation. How have you commanded the devil away from you and seen immediate deliverance? Share below to encourage the Body!

2) Bottling up our questions and fears is normal. We unpacked one question this week in All of Everything. What other questions about Scripture do you have? We like to use www.studylight.org to cross-reference or research Scripture. We’d love to hear your questions about the true, perfect Word of God. Our God is powerful enough to handle any of your questions, lay them out and let Him prove Himself! Email us at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com ~

3) Praying in expectation and recognizing that God may not answer in the manner of our request is another tension of Scripture. We can hold these two truths in tandem and allow faith to fill in the mysterious gap between the two. How have you wrestled with these truths? How have you experienced the power of prayer in your life first-hand?

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Romans 15:9b-13 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

9b As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and I will sing praise to your name.
10 Again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people! 11 And again,
Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples praise him!
12 And again, Isaiah says,
The root of Jesse will appear,
the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
the Gentiles will hope in him.
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
(emphasis added)

Prayer Journal
Father, I want Your joy and peace so I can overflow with hope. That sounds perfectly peaceful. My life feels like it’s been up-ended and is in this constant state of flux; pour out more of Your joy and peace in my life Lord. I choose to trust you, bless You for Your faithfulness Mighty God of All.

Lord, this study You have been teaching me to “choose joy” as I’ve studied more about prayer. Thank You for revealing Yourself and Your face as we’ve journeyed together these last three weeks. As I ask for big things in confidence of your ability and power to answer them, I trust your sovereignty to reign in Your answer, regardless what answer You choose.

Worship Through Community

Can we pray for you? Reach Out! We’d love to pray for and with you!
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Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Prayer Day 15 Here Is My Amen!

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Chronicles 29:10-15
2 Kings 19:14-19
Matthew 7:9-11

Prayer, Day 15

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen. Amen.

I still remember the sound of my mother’s strong voice carrying each note of this ancient doxology and the way everyone stood in solemnity as the final strains from the organ hung in the air on Sundays.

“World without end…Amen, Amen.” (want to listen to the song in my head?! Here’s a link!)

The doxology itself is a plea to the Lord, beseeching Him to act for the sake of His Name. It’s an insistence on being heard  regarding the aforementioned petitions based on His character.

King Hezekiah, of the Old Testament, knew how to apply this better than anyone. When he found an entire army of blood-thirsty Assyrians headed straight for his small, ill-equipped nation, he could have tried to find a way out in his own power…but his response was neither to flee nor ask a neighboring nation for aid. Instead, he stood boldly before the God of the Universe, and pleaded with the Sovereign to save them because of His power, dominion, and authority over all. (2 Kings 19:14-19)

Job’s prayer was equally as bold:
I would lay my case before Him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would know what He would answer me
and understand what He would say to me.
Would He contend (or fight) against me in the greatness of His power?
No; He would pay attention to me.
There (at His throne) an upright man could argue with Him,
and I would be acquitted forever by my Judge. (Job 23:4-7)

Job wasn’t saying he would come against God with literal negative “arguments”, rather, like King Hezekiah, that he would lay before the Almighty his brokenness, his wounds, his petitions, and he would be confident that because of God’s character, Job would be heard and welcomed into God’s presence.

Neither man’s confidence was hinged on their own power.
Neither man’s confidence was even dependent on God delivering them,
but instead on the fact that they knew their God would listen to them.

They knew they would be heard because, while the Kingdom is His, the power is His, and the glory is His, their personal experience told them that His heart is love.

That His Abba heart was theirs.

Because God is the Father who loves, and who knows how to give good gifts.
Because He holds all power and authority.
Because all glory belongs to Him.
And knowing He hears and listens to us, is enough for us, too.

We don’t have to know He will answer like we want Him to.
We don’t need to have all the answers of how prayer works.
We simply need to know that the God of Love who holds all power, not only hears us, but listens to us, and invites us to call Him ‘Daddy’.

It’s His eternal, un-ending love that gives us the safety and confidence to lay our needs before Him, knowing He is good.
It’s the doxology at the end of our prayers that reminds us of both His character, and the absolutely certain hope we hold fast to: a coming world that will never end.
It’s what allows us to echo all the saints before us by adding our hearty “Amen.”

“So Be It” is the literal meaning of the word Amen, but it’s so much more than those three little words.
It’s not a magical end mark to our prayers which guarantees a response in our favor.
It doesn’t bind God to do our bidding.
It’s our whole heart, whole mind, whole soul nodding in a somehow both solemn, yet enthusiastic YES, Abba.
Your will be done, Abba.
We are Yours, Abba.
And You are ours.

May Your will be done…so be it.
May Your kingdom come in us and through us…so be it.
Fulfill our needs for today, physical and spiritual, as You see fit….so be it.
Forgive us, and teach us to forgive….so be it.
Sanctify us, teach us to flee sin and become like You….so be it.
Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever….So. Be. It.

As I was considering all of these aspects, the image of my own children asking for something came to mind. When they beg and beg and insist and insist and whine and whine…. (I know you mamas know exactly what I mean!), I’m pressed to my limits of “good and generous”. Rather, it’s more the “annoyed and exasperated” that comes out. But, when my kids ask for something genuinely, with full confidence that if I say yes, it’s good, and if I say no, it’s still good; that is gold!!

One of my daughters absolutely loves to write me notes. She would rather handwrite her communication than verbalize it every time. Recently, her note read, “Could we get ice cream tonight? I would please you to say yes, but if you don’t, it’s okay because you give me so many good gifts. But I would really like ice cream.”

For. Real.

That’s the heart behind doxologies!

You, Oh God, are good and no matter what, that will not change, but based on your goodness and what I know of your character, I know you listen to me because I know our relationship matters to You; and that is enough. I choose to trust You with the rest!

“So Be It”, Lord, because You are good.

Here is my whole heart, whole mind, whole soul nodding in agreement with You, Amen.

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Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper!     And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey!    Comment Here!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Prayer Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
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Prayer Day 14 All Of Everything: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out All Of Everything!

The Questions

1) Why don’t all versions of the Bible have the bracketed section? Is my Bible really reliable?

2) Why do end a prayer with a “doxology”? Where else do we see this modeled in Scripture? 

3) How does the “doxology” tie back to the Lord’s Prayer?

Matthew 6:13 (HCSB)

And do not bring us into temptation, 
but deliver us from the evil one. 
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.]

Original Intent

1) Why don’t all versions of the Bible have the bracketed section? Is my Bible really reliable?
This is a great question, and one that Merry did an excellent job of covering in her Journey Study yesterday. We can both acknowledge the squirmy, uncomfortable way it makes us feel to wonder, ‘what if the Bible isn’t reliable?!’, while also knowing with extreme confidence that the Scripture you and I hold in our hands is 100% trustworthy. The fact that Scripture even reveals its variances for our inspection is proof that the Lord is not afraid of our investigation. The God of the Universe is big enough to handle our doubts and misunderstandings. Editors didn’t need to edit out variations between eyewitness accounts or different authors, because only one Author’s voice counted, The Holy Spirit. Were those words in the brackets actually spoken by Jesus at the conclusion of His model prayer? Maybe. Maybe not. But the truth they hold is not only biblical, and found other places in Scripture, it anchors us and our prayers in a world of unknown. The kingdom is His. The power is His. The glory is His. He is Sovereign, my friends, and there’s no better “last word” than that one!

2) Why end a prayer with a “doxology”? Where else do we see this modeled in Scripture?
A “doxology” is defined as an oral or written praise to God and is often found at the end of prayers throughout Scripture, going back to the Old Testament all the way to the New. In fact, one of David’s most famous doxologies is extremely similar to the one found here in Matthew 6. Seriously, go look it up; you’ll be amazed! (1 Chronicles 29:11-13) It’s so similar in fact, that scholars believe it was held as a model and it became common for God’s people to verbally end their prayers with not simply an “Amen”, but with a doxology that recognized the sovereign power and authority of the God to whom they prayed. Interested in studying more doxologies in Scripture? Check out David in Psalm 41:13 or Psalm 72:18-19 along with many other Psalms. See a few of Paul’s in Romans 11:33-36, Galatians 1:5, Philippians 4:20, or Ephesians 3:20-21. The author of Hebrews includes a beautiful one in Hebrews 13:20-21. Peter records his in 2 Peter 3:18 and John’s doxology shouts of God’s glorious, eternal victory in Revelation 5:9-14.

3) How does the “doxology” tie back to the Lord’s Prayer?
The words of the doxology are beautiful enough as they are and precious in the truth they hold, but when we examine how they tie back into the model prayer, the depth and creative intricacy is truly incredible!
“Our Father” and “Your Name be honored as holy” are found at the beginning of the prayer, and at the end, these are summed up in a single word: Yours. One name, one Lord, one God of all; there is none other.
“Your kingdom come” reminds us of the un-crossable chasm that exists between God and man without Jesus’ sacrifice to bridge that gap. The prayer ends with the affirmation: Yours is the kingdom. The kingdom is God’s alone, it’s His creation, His plan for eternity, and though He has designed us to join us in His work, the work is His.
“Your will be done…” leads us into the next section that encompasses our everyday physical needs as well as our spiritual ones and is brought full circle with the phrase: Yours is the power. We pray because He holds all power and we are utterly incapable without Him. We pray because we cast ourselves entirely upon His ability and none of our own. It’s His power that supplies, His power that equips and fuels us. His alone; not ours.
Finally, we are brought to a breathless close with: Yours is the glory. Our hearts know, and gladly rejoice, in the praise that is rightfully God’s alone. His is the kingdom. His is the power. His is the glory.

Everyday Application

1) Why don’t all versions of the Bible have the bracketed section? Is my Bible really reliable?
Have you allowed yourself permission to ask the tough questions about Christianity? Whether you’re a Christ-follower or not, I encourage you to keep a list of gut-honest questions. God is big enough to defend Himself. And honestly, if He’s not, then He isn’t mighty enough to save. As I recently asked a friend of mine, “wouldn’t you rather know? For sure?”. Wouldn’t you? If we are staking our eternity on the reliability of what Scripture teaches, we have the right to question its trustworthiness. What are your questions? What makes your stomach turn with un-announced queries when you read the Bible? Sister, there are answers! Good Answers! Ask your questions, take the Lord up on His invitation to know Him better. Trust me, no, trust HIM, the reward will be sweetly worth it!

2) Why end a prayer with a “doxology”? Where else do we see this modeled in Scripture?
The Lord’s prayer begins with the intimate title of “Father” and concludes with all glory and praise being given to the Most High God of All. He is both the safe haven to cling to and the Mighty Warrior who reigns in awe and victory. Closing our prayer time with a doxology is an invitation for us to be reminded that He is God of all, we are not, and we praise Him for that! We take great comfort in knowing that the Sovereign King of Heaven loves us as a Father, cares for every broken heart, knows every hair on our head, and holds final authority over all creation. A doxology is an expression of our faith like nothing else. We are praising Him not because He needs to hear it, but because our hearts are re-focused and peace floods within us when we simply praise and adore the King of Kings. Have you ever considered how you close your prayers? Consider writing a few doxologies yourself. Study some in Scripture and take a few days to craft your own. Practice the art of praising the Lord and watch your faith grow, your peace deepen, and your relationship with the Father become richer!

3) How does the “doxology” tie back to the Lord’s Prayer?
As we slow down to examine the details of these few words in the doxology and how they tie to the Lord’s Prayer, consider how each of these phrases apply straight to your everyday life right now.
Yours – Where are you relying on something other than that One Name to satisfy and fulfill? Where are you glorifying an object or a relationship or a person above the Lord?
Yours is the kingdom – Whose kingdom do you spend your days building, the Lord’s or your own? What do your schedules and text messages and interactions with people and where you spend your money say about whose Kingdom you’re most invested in?
Yours is the power – Fearful? Worried? Overwhelmed? Tense? These are each signal flares that you’re walking away from the truth that the power is the Lord’s, not ours. When our trust is focused on our ability to perform or control, we have forgotten that the power is His, and we’ve forfeited His peace in the process.
Yours is the glory – Much will quickly be righted in our world when we consciously choose to slow down enough for praise and adoration. Consider the type of words that first form on your lips in any given situation and you’ll quickly get a gauge for the status of your heart attitude. Critical, angry, tense, annoyed, frustrated….these types of words come from a heart that insists on the glory being our own. When we begin training our hearts and tongues to first praise Jesus, giving Him the glory due Him, our hearts are made new right in the middle of our everyday lives! Try it!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

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Our Current Study Theme!

This is Prayer Week Three!
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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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Prayer Day 12 Delivery, Please: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Delivery, Please!

The Questions

1) Is it really okay to approach God with boldness?
Isn’t that disrespectful or assuming?

2) What does it mean to “draw near with a true heart”?

3) How does “holding fast” draw us deeper into worship?

Hebrews 10:19-25

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus— 20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)— 21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

Original Intent

1) Is it really okay to approach God with boldness? Isn’t that disrespectful or assuming?
The book of Hebrews begins by stacking up the evidence of who Christ is; He is the ONLY one who could ever completely fulfill the atoning work required as due payment for our sin. The author emphasizes how Christ is now SITTING at the right hand of the Father. In a sermon by the late Reverend R.C. Sproul, he explained how the priests of the Old Covenant were constantly standing and working to provide the necessary sacrifices, ceaselessly, year after year. But when Christ spilled his own unblemished blood, as the ultimate High Priest, He was able to sit down for the work was completed.
In 10:19, the direction curves with a “Therefore” to the practical application of this truth. First, we are told, “have boldness to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.” This emphasizes the solidity of what has occurred; nothing can shake or undermine the eternal work of Christ’s death on our behalf. There is no dependency on a person’s strength to enter God’s presence. Christ has assuredly torn the blockade to God’s presence, and we are welcomed into His presence through forgiveness. Christ has given His people privilege to speak to God directly and safely allowing us to worship, repent from sin, and seek refuge in Him.

2) What does it mean to “draw near with a true heart”?
After the encouragement of drawing near with a true heart, there is description of the heart being sprinkled clean and the body being washed. So, do we need to bathe before praying? The Matthew Henry Commentary notes the author is providing a tangible picture and parallel of the physical to the spiritual. The physical, outward confession of salvation in Christ is baptism. With baptism, the sense of a physical washing clean and removal of stains is to help us understand how Christ washes our souls clean from sin stains we cannot scrub out with good deeds and intentions. We are to draw near to God with pure intentions and a full surrender to Christ, relying on Him and not ourselves!

3) How does “holding fast” draw us deeper into worship?
This passage of Hebrews 10:19-23 begins with the means by which one is able to draw near to God (through the blood of Christ as our high priest). Accepting Christ’s sacrifice as your own, opens the door for true worship. In verse 22, we are directed to the “how” of drawing near to God, “with a true heart in full assurance of faith”. Finally, in verse 23, the author implores us to “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering”. Verses 24-25 then elaborate on living out this life of worship as a community of believers loving each other in everyday life.  It is this “holding fast” aspect that creates the natural overflow of a life of worship as we love those around us for the glory of God!

Everyday Application

1) Is it really okay to approach God with boldness? Isn’t that disrespectful or assuming?
The term “boldness” can get muddied in the real or fictional heroes of culture. Boldness is often tied up with rebellion, fighting for something, or taking charge. Dictonary.com gives definitions for “boldness” as “not hesitating in the face of actual or possible danger…necessitating courage” amongst other definitions. The English Standard Version of the Bible translates “boldness” in verse 10:19 to “confidence.”
In the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis’ analogues God’s holiness being like that of an “untamed Lion”. God is not “tamed” by human logic or persuasion. His holiness demands a justice for sin that ought to have each of us quivering.  Because Christ’s sacrifice offers reconciliation, we are extended the offer of fellowship with God, talking with Him in the manner originally intended back in the Garden of Eden. Though we ought to never lose our humility and reverence when praying, we can know that we are speaking to God as clearly as if He were sitting next to us. He hears us, is listening, and is responding. We can draw close to Him without intimidation, converse with Him our heart’s struggles, and know we are in His presence.

2) What does it mean to “draw near with a true heart”?
When Christ died, taking the punishment for sin we rightly deserved, the veil in the Tabernacle was torn from top to bottom, allowing direct access to the presence of God for all people. (verse 20) The Matthew Henry Commentary notes that for Christ to have graciously torn that veil and opened access directly to God, it would be a dishonoring and “un-grateful” response on our part to then refuse to draw near to HIS presence. Fellowship with us is not only what HE enjoys, but is also what He knows will bring us deep satisfaction. A relationship with God is not “what’s in it for me” or a last-minute panic button when we receive consequences for our decisions. Rather, drawing near with a true heart means we have surrendered everything to Christ alone. We are to draw near with humble gratitude for His merciful invitation to fellowship with God, with adoration of who HE is. It is through this lens and in this position of gratitude, we are invited to lay our petitions before Him.

3) How does “holding fast” draw us deeper into worship?
Usually when one is need of “holding fast,” it is because a storm is blowing strong and the muscles are weary. Living in tornado alley, a storm is inevitable, but the timing or strength of it cannot be predicted. Schools practice drills of moving deeper into the building, ducking down, and covering heads. To be safe, people practice the basics over and over in hopes that when the storm hits, even children can get themselves to refuge without delay.
We are called to be in the habit of drawing near. At times, it may feel mundane or “I already know this”, but this rehearsing the truth of the gospel, is slowly preparing us for when life feels out of control. With practice, rather than panic when the storm hits, we can run deeper into God’s faithfulness. We “hold fast to the confession of our hope” by looking to Christ as our source for real life and deep satisfaction, trusting the gospel over our feelings, and consistently digging deeper into His Word. Only when we do this can we really have front row seats to watching God work. God uses this holding fast to pull our hearts into adoration of HIM and humility of ourselves, thus the overflow of worship cannot be stopped!

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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