dwell

Anchored Day 3 Together

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Colossians 1:3-14
Genesis 1:1-2
Matthew 28:16-20
2 Corinthians 3:12-18
Ephesians 1:7-10

Anchored, Day 3

“Alllll by myseeeeelllllllff
Don’t wanna be
Allllll by myseeelllff
Anymore”

Celine’s soulful lyrics have become stock in trade for rom com break-up scenes and may leave us rolling our eyes (or reaching for the tissues; no judging here . . .). But perhaps they are so ingrained in our culture because of her plaintive statement of a truth that resonates deeply within us.

Centuries earlier, John Donne penned a similar sentiment:
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man
Is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”.

We were made for together.
At the inception of humankind, our Creator spoke this foundational idea:
“It is not good that man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

Sisters, we were made in God’s image, and central to His identity is community and fellowship, together.  He is the triune God: God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us before anything else was, God was, eternally existing in fellowship with Himself. Born from this shared love, His creative heart crafted humanity, breathing His own life into us, fashioning our desire for community to mirror His own that we too might experience shared love of fellowship together with Him and others.

Why this emphasis on life together?
In part, He knew how dangerous alone can be.

 When we’re alone (physically or spiritually), our problems become larger than life.
We begin ignoring the provision of God Himself as we elevate our problems above His goodness. As we fixate on our struggles, we can’t begin to conceive of sharing another’s burden. Our gaze turns increasingly inward, into a deepening spiral of self-absorption, hopelessness, and paralysis.

When we’re alone, the whispered lies of the enemy become the loudest sound we hear.
God’s words of truth become faint, fading into the distance of our memories. “Sure, God calls you His beloved,” the enemy sneers, pressing play on our personalized failure reels, “but could He really love someone who does this . . . and this . . . and this?”

Heads hung in shame, we find ourselves agreeing. All too soon, we’re no longer defined by the love of our Father, but by everything ugly within us.

When we’re alone, we abandon our discipline.
We find ourselves exhausted by the weight of carrying on in our feebleness, and after all, who will know if I don’t (insert discipline here) just this once?
Here, our last tenuous tethers to life-giving habits are severed.

His solution: together.

Together, we lean into loving accountability.
Our communities both seek the best for us and deserve the best from us. When we choose discipline, not only are we transformed by consistent change, but we build trust within our tribes.

Together, we can put physical voice to the Word of God, drowning out the enemy’s condemnation as we remind each other of truth. When we risk vulnerability within biblical community, we encounter the awesome power of shared experience. We are reminded how life is a journey for all, and failure doesn’t disqualify us from His plan.

Together, we gain perspective on our problems.
We can draw on one another’s experiences, finding wisdom and guidance as we seek the Lord together. We feel the rebirth of hope, reconnect with empathy, and are energized to act on our faith in the world around us.

The church at Colossae excelled at together.
Paul opens his letter to them with praise for the love they have for one another in the Spirit (Colossians 1:4, 8). He’d heard of their deep understanding of the hope and grace of salvation, and how it’s moved them to join their hearts together on their journey.

However, they stopped short of putting feet to their faith.
This body firmly believes in the hope of life in God;
they see the suffering around and within them, and their hearts swell with empathy . . .
but they don’t seem to be quite sure what to do next.

Contained within Paul’s prayer for the church are two practical ways for these believers to act, together.

First, Paul prays the Colossians would grow in knowledge of God’s will, tempered with wisdom and understanding (Colossians 1:9). God is know-able; His word stands ready to teach us His heart!

Then, Paul urges the Colossians to let this Word of God dwell with them deeply (Colossians 3:16) as His Spirit guides their actions. Partnership with the Father, because of the Son, through the Holy Spirit, teaches them walk in a manner worthy of their calling, fully pleasing to God, and bearing much fruit. (Colossians 1:10)

Sisters, this is God’s calling for us!
We can follow Paul’s instructions by asking ourselves these questions as we read Scripture:

What is God showing me about Himself?
The Colossians were encouraged to grow rich in knowledge and understanding of the Lord. How does what we read inform our perspective of the Almighty?

What is God showing me about myself and others?
What is God’s heart for my community? What lens should I see myself and others through?

What am I going to do about it?
How do I put feet to my faith? What are tangible, practical ways I can act on the Word and will of God, for me, for the body of Christ, and for the lost?

As we live out the vibrant, active Word of God,
lives are changed,
discipline becomes consistent,
and transformation results.

As we are sanctified, the Bride of Christ more closely resembles her Lover and the world around us begins to touch the true heart of the Father.

Together, we seek Him.
Together, we grow.
Together, we bear fruit.

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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 Anchored Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Anchored!

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!
Check out Holding Us Together!

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) 

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Holding Us Together!

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

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Worship IV Week One!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

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 :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

The GT Weekend! – Dwell 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) A deep prayer life is something all believers would love to have, even if we have a hard time understanding what it is or feel daunted in how to get there. Be honest with yourself and God and journal out your doubts, fears, and questions about prayer. The best way to begin developing a deeper prayer life, is simply to begin. Write out prayers, speak your prayers out loud, read Scripture and pray it out loud or silently. Wait for the Lord and He will faithfully reveal Himself to you! 

2) What have been your struggles with having a regular quiet time? What defenses do you naturally put up? What challenges regularly threaten your time with God? Make a list of 3-5 items that make it difficult for you to consistently engage with God’s Word then think through how you can overcome those. Perhaps it’s finding a specific spot or time, perhaps it’s finding a reading plan to help you navigate the Bible, or just setting a timer on your phone to remind you that the next few minutes are set aside for God Time. Share your plans in the comments and encourage another sister!

3) Together over the past 3 weeks, we have dug deep into what it looks like to practically dwell with God in regular, everyday life.  We’ve been equipped with new tools to help us engage in meaningful ways with the Creator through Scripture study and prayer. But all of that, as wonderful and important as it is, will neither transform us nor the world around us if we do not put into practice what we’ve learned. The gospel is meant to change the world, one heart at a time. Consider how you have grown lately and what you’ve learned about God. Pray and ask for ways you can creatively share what you taken in and steward it out

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   Psalm 91:1-2  back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2  I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Prayer Journal
Father, I’m humbled by Your extravagant love for me. The fact that You would pursue me relentlessly to save me from my own sin and go far beyond that to want a daily relationship with me is beyond my understanding! As I get busy, Lord, please call me back to Yourself. Remind me of Your intentional love for me. Grow my faith as you show me Yourself through Scripture.  
It’s easy for me to think that if I miss time with You, You become angry and annoyed with me, wanting to punish me with silence and refusal of Your presence. Lord, how false this is! Ground me in your truth and remind me of Your grace that always welcomes me!

Worship Through Community

Can we pray for you? Reach Out! We’d love to pray for and with you!
Send us an email at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Dwell Day 14 Quiet What: 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 Quiet What?!

The Questions

1) What do these verses reveal about Jesus’ pace of life?

2) Why did the author record such details about when and where and how Jesus prayed?

3) What do these verses reveal about Jesus’ purpose?

Mark 1:35-38

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying. 36 Simon and his companions searched for him, 37 and when they found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

38 And he said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”

Original Intent

1) What do these verses reveal about Jesus’ pace of life?
Quite a bit is packed into these few words. This tiny snapshot of Christ’s life compels us to slow down and linger here as we study Him. Jesus lived on earth for approximately 33 years and, as John records, He filled those years with so many things that “not even the world itself could contain the books that could be written” about Jesus. (John 21:25) Curious then, isn’t it, that Mark, who wrote the shortest gospel about Jesus, chose to record this small, seemingly meaningless detail. Then again Mark records a similar scenario in Mark 6:31-32. Mark was a disciple who walked with Jesus day in and day out for 3 years, he had a front row seat to watch the Messiah in the flesh respond to a million different scenarios. Mark knew Christ’s character, and he knew that this habit Jesus had of getting up early, and going away to a desolate place was critical. This was as much a natural routine for Jesus as it was for Him to breath, wake, and sleep. Getting away to pray was simply how Jesus functioned.

2) Why did the author record such details about when and where and how Jesus prayed?
First, Jesus was exceedingly intentional. Mark makes a point of telling us how crazy early it was when Jesus set out to pray. Don’t get side-tracked with the time of day, focus instead on His persistent intentionality. Everyone knows it isn’t easy to get up in the morning, let alone get up “extra” early to pray. Everything inside of us screams “warm beds and soft pillows”. But Jesus wasn’t going for comfort, it was simply more valuable to meet with God than it was to sleep longer. Second, Jesus “got up”. He didn’t lay on his mat and make a semi-half-asleep attempt to pray, He physically got up and went out; Jesus had to wake up and become alert before He could be fully present. Third, He “made His way to a deserted place”. He was purposed in having a specific location in mind. Specific time, intentional preparation, planned location. Fourth, He prayed. This is the obvious part, right? But Mark still includes it. Jesus set the time, prepared for worship, set out a spot, and followed through in connecting through prayer.

3) What do these verses reveal about Jesus’ purpose?
When the disciples approached him, crowds had already begun to gather. “Everyone is looking for you”, they said. Regardless of the peoples’ plan, Jesus had intentional purpose for His ministry plans that day, just as He did for His prayer time. Jesus responded with, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too.” His daily life was purposefully directed because He had met with God as His first priority.

Everyday Application

1) What do these verses reveal about Jesus’ pace of life?
Jesus had people looking for Him likely from the moment He had nestled Himself in His quiet place. (sound familiar?! I always have someone looking for me!) Notice what the disciples did not say when they found Jesus. “Where have you been?! We thought you had been arrested! We were afraid you’d been killed! What are you doing out here?!” No, the disciples knew exactly what Jesus was doing and why He was doing it. The disciples knew the pace of life for Jesus was crazy and chaotic and exhausting like they had never experienced. Crowds of people every single day, a constant barrage of beggars, wounded, terminally ill, and even parents of deceased children wanted to find Jesus. When they woke in the morning and found Jesus gone, they knew where He was. He had gone out again, as was His habit, to find silence and solitude somewhere and commune with His Father, just as He had been doing for all eternity. This wasn’t anything new for Jesus, this was how He did life. So, I ask you and I ask myself, if Jesus Christ, the Lord of All, needed daily, deep connection with God, what should hold us back from doing the same? Regardless of how crazy the chaos is…

2) Why did the author record such details about when and where and how Jesus prayed?
What comfort are you willing to give up in order to consistently and intentionally meet with God. Jesus gave up sleep and a warm house, He even left the house so He could be fully awake and prepared to connect deeply and authentically with God. Have you ever considered how we prepare for quiet time and personal worship? Being intentional is one thing, waking up and engaging is another. Before you sit down with God, think through what you personally need to do to “wake up, prepare, and be engaged”. Maybe it’s coffee, maybe it’s making the bed, maybe it’s going for a run, do what you need for the purpose of fully engaging God. Jesus stole away to a specific spot, do you have a location set aside for prayer and Scripture study? Finally, even if we do the first 3 (specific time, intentional preparation, planned location), sometimes the actual prayer and Scripture part can be left hanging. We get distracted by “to-do’s” as we finally sit down, kids come running, the phone rings, or our eye catches that dirty sock sticking out from under the bed. But we are faced with the choice, just as Jesus was, to either follow through or become distracted. What we really value most is made evident by our daily choices.

3) What do these verses reveal about Jesus’ purpose?
There will always be distractions, criticisms, mountains of “to-do’s”, and loud voices screaming for our attention, but the Lord has set up each day according to His rhythm and His purpose. All that’s required of us is to lean into Him, connect deeply, and live in step with His voice, letting all other shouts be drowned out as we practice tuning our ear to His lilting invitation to come away and be with Him. Dwelling with the Almighty, consistently, intentionally, and full of purpose, will find Him to be a refuge, a fortress, and a deliverer against whom nothing and no one can stand. (Psalm 91:1-6)

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Quiet What?!

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

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Dwell Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

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 :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Dwell Day 13 Quiet What?!

4 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

Dwell, Day 13

Matthew 14:13-33
Matthew 6:5-8 
Psalm 91
Mark 1:35-38

“The Lord knows everything anyways, why should I sit and talk to Him? Who has time to sit?!”

“I want to pray. Really, really pray with deep connection. How, Lord?”

“This is just a busy season; God knows I can’t stop to read my Bible.”

“I listen to Christian music when I drive around. That’s my quiet time.”

“I pray when I can.”

“I don’t want to be legalistic about quiet time.”

“There is no such thing as ‘quiet’ time anyways.”

Sisters, all of these quotes are mine.
Uttered from my own lips, multiple times.
Sometimes only to the ear of God.
Other times when I felt I was actually encouraging another sister!
But there is no encouragement in those words.
Those words reflect a lack of relationship,
attempting to hide behind a makeshift smoke screen of justification.

Consider…
“True transformation cannot happen apart from the regular intake of Scripture.”
Tim Overby, pastor

“Take in the Word of God daily. No Christian is sound who is not scriptural.”
E. Stanley Jones, missionary to India

A spiritual life without spiritual discipline is impossible.”
Henri Nouwen, professor and Christian psychologist

“Prayer is friendship with God. Friendship is not formal, but it is not formless; (…) the casual mind kills it.” George Buttrick, pastor

“There is no Christian who does not have time for praying without ceasing.”
Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation

Sisters! Wow!
I dare you to read those quotes again and remain unchallenged.

I’ve been following Jesus for nearly 30 years, and I’ve always talked about the importance of quiet time,
but I’ve always had justifications handy for when I couldn’t be consistent.
Growing up legalistic, I pushed hard against the mindset that I needed to obey the “rule” of doing quiet time “every day”.

And I had a slew of justifications that fit that mindset beautifully.
Mom of 7.
Endless dishes.
Laundry all the time.
Full time home educator.
Pregnant and/or nursing for about 170 months (yikes!).
Church commitments.
And it’s seriously never quiet!

But then, keeping it completely real here,
my life became too broken for me to continue relying on smoke screen justifications.
I. Needed. Jesus.

I needed more than a worship experience on Sunday.
More than verses I memorized as a kid.
More than a few sporadic moments stolen when I could.
More than living on the fumes of my “come to faith experience”.
More than reading to read.
I needed depth.
I needed relationship.
I needed the everyday Jesus.

My marriage was broken, I felt alone, and I had nowhere else to turn.
In this desperation, the Holy Spirit met me in my mundane.
In the middle of the everyday task of brushing children’s teeth, it struck me that no one considers daily oral hygiene to be legalism.
In the same vein, no one would say an exercise routine was legalistic.
None would consider practicing an instrument legalism either.
These practices are simply a diligent, necessary discipline.

With this clarifying realization, I drew a line in the sand and committed to praying for my husband every day, reading Scripture, and journaling those prayers for him.
I was done with my excuses.
I determined that if God was serious about meeting with me, then I would be serious about showing up.
Everyday.
Noisy or quiet.
Crying kids or happily playing ones.
Kids climbing all over me, or my door locked and kids sitting on the other side of it.
Late to my day or starting on time.
I was finished with smoke screen defenses.

I need to tell you it was awkward; painfully so.
And it was never convenient.
I didn’t know what to write. My prayers were monotonous and….lame (in my opinion).
I didn’t know how to do it “right”, but I kept praying and kept showing up, awkward, but honest.

I can’t tell you about an “ah ha” moment when Jesus became everything to me.
I can’t point to a date in my teal journal where an obvious shift transformed my prayer life.
But I can tell you that what happened was genuine, real, and authentic.
Eventually, the space where I met with the King of Kings became sacred.

As quiet time became non-negotiable,
consistently sitting with the Lord
became as necessary to my everyday life
as food to my body.
I felt physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally weak without that intake of Scripture and prayerful communication.

I began showing up everyday to meet with God out of desperation for my marriage,
but it was me God changed in the process.

It began simple and awkward,
but grew to become beautiful, fluid, complex, deep, and sweet.

Was choosing to be consistent in my quiet time an act of legalism?
Sisters, it was the farthest you can get from legalism!
Aside from my decision to ask Jesus to be my Savior,
even above choosing to marry my husband,
this decision is the best one I’ve made. Ever.

If quiet time feels impossible.
Or superfluous, extra, and un-needed.
Think again.
There is absolutely nothing this life can offer me that is more precious than this time I spend daily with Jesus.

Pastor Tim’s quote is solidly true:
“True transformation cannot happen apart from the regular intake of Scripture.”

He’s right, my friends.
Are you ready to sit with the Savior?!
Radical, deep, life-giving transformation awaits!

**Ready to go deep and be challenged in your quiet time?
Check out Thomas Kelly’s Testament of Devotion!
I also highly recommend Devotional Classics, compiled by Richard Foster.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
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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 Dwell Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Dwell!

Dwell Day 12 The Prayer Challenge: 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 The Prayer Challenge!

The Questions

1) What do we learn about God in this passage? 

2) According to verse 5, a baby can be sinful. How is this possible? 

3) What is the heart attitude of the writer?

Psalm 51:1-10

1 Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.
2 Completely wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned
and done this evil in your sight.
So you are right when you pass sentence;
you are blameless when you judge.
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self,
and you teach me wisdom deep within.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Turn your face away from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.
10 God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Original Intent

1) What do we learn about God in this passage?
In these ten verses alone, we learn that God is gracious, He gives faithful love, He shows abundant compassion, He is powerful to cleanse a person of their sin, He is able to judge, He is blameless, He is righteous, He is forgiving, and He is wise because He can teach wisdom. Our God is complex, but as we spend time with Him in regular prayer and Bible reading He will reveal more of Himself to us.  

2) According to verse 5, a baby can be sinful. How is this possible?
When something strikes us as odd or seemingly out-of-place with what we know to be true from the rest of Scripture study, it’s important to take a step back and slow down the process of jumping to conclusions. As with every Scripture passage, it’s vital we begin with original context. Here, David had just been confronted by his friend and prophet, Nathan. Sent by God, Nathan helped David see the depths of his sinful affair with another married woman, Bathsheba, as well as the plotted murder of her husband. Psalm 51 is David’s heartfelt, remorseful response to God’s holy conviction. David wasn’t making a statement about babies in the way that we might initially conclude, he was grounding himself in the theological truth that we are all sinners. It wasn’t actions that made David sinful (though, of course the actions were morally wrong), it was the fact that he had a sinful nature that was the problem. The emphasis isn’t that David did wrong, David simply was wrong because he was born with a sinful nature like all of humanity. David’s reference to being guilty and sinful from birth is to emphasize that his nature itself is hopelessly sinful, and will always choose to gratify his own fleshly desires rather than the heart of God, unless God Himself gives him a new heart and mind. Are babies’ actions seen viewed as sinful? No, but, like the rest of humanity, they are born with a sin nature. None of us are “born good” and gradually become corrupted; corruption is our identity.

3) What is the heart attitude of the writer?
David wrote this psalm to God, pouring out his heart, recognizing that his sin was against the Lord, and asking to be made clean. He repented of his sin. He was desirous to be in relationship with God as he had been to this point. David was known as a man after God’s own heart, meaning he wanted nothing more than to have an intimacy with his Creator.

Everyday Application

1) What do we learn about God in this passage?
How many times have we heard that God is love? While that is true, there are so many other aspects of the character of God that often go unnoticed, even disrespected. David touched on a few in this passage, but as we spend time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer, we learn more about Him. Have you sensed His comfort, dear one? Have you noticed that He is perfect, without fault? Do you find Him trustworthy? Try making a list of the attributes of God that you have either personally experienced or read about in Scripture. Our Father is much more than one-dimensional! 

2) According to verse 5, a baby can be sinful. How is this possible?
If it were only actions that made us sinful, we should be able to clean ourselves up and do enough good to become holy. But we cannot, it’s impossible for us to attain to righteousness. We Are Sinners. Period. Born into sin, we are trapped in the Kingdom of Sin and Death with no hope for freedom unless Jesus Christ sacrifices Himself on our behalf.
Which, praise God, He does!
Jesus, as God the Son, came in human flesh with the identity of Perfect Holy Righteous God, to live the human life on our behalf, but He did it flawlessly. His perfection for our imperfection. His strength for our weakness. His righteousness for our sin. His perfect God-nature for our fallen human-nature. As Jesus willingly spilled His own blood, sacrificing Himself for us, we are given hope as He extends to us a new nature: His Own. By asking Him to be our Savior and Lord, He redeems what once was death and gives us life! Yes, we all begin life with the nature of Sin, but because of Jesus, we can be redeemed through the Righteous Nature of Jesus Himself on our behalf! Sister, which nature is your identity?

3) What is the heart attitude of the writer?
David’s plea for a cleansed heart is often cited as a model prayer for repentance. I use it often myself. It would be wonderful if I could just ask God for cleansing once and be done forever, but because you and I live in a sinful state (by birth) and in a sinful world (and becoming increasingly evil), it is impossible for even the most faithful saint to remain unaffected by sin’s temptation (Proverbs 20:9). Isn’t it wonderful to know that no matter how many times we repent, the Lover of our souls will always be faithful to forgive us and allow us back into right relationship with Him?!
He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works. Titus 2:14

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with The Prayer Challenge!

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

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
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Our Current Study Theme!

This is Dwell 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 :-))

Memorize It!

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Dwell Day 11 The Prayer Challenge

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Romans 8:26-27
1 Samuel 1:10-19
Psalm 51:1-10
Daniel 6 

Dwell, Day 11

“Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I’d do. I’d go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods, and I’d look up into the sky – up -up – up into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness, and then I’d just feel a prayer.”  ~Anne Shirley 

I’ve been reliving my childhood fancies lately; escaping into the ever-magical, imaginative world of Anne Shirley. After a difficult upbringing by incredibly strict grandparents, author Lucy Maud Montgomery married a Reverend and wrote many books, including my all-time favorite, Anne of Green Gables. Montgomery’s bold theological statements often pointed out how reverence and worship aren’t what we tend to make it.  

Since re-reading Anne’s quote about feeling a prayer, I’ve done just that many times over. 

My life feels a little as if it’s spinning out of control right now.
I’ve tried to paint a perfect picture of my life for the outside world to see,
but inside, a tornado rages.. 
Many days, I feel like I can’t even think what to pray.
So, I’ve closed my eyes, imagined myself in a massive field, and just felt my prayers. 
I’ve felt the glory and wonder of God and what He has created.
I’ve felt the loneliness and instability that quakes my soul.
I’ve felt the insecurities and I’ve felt the joy.
And I’ve felt myself releasing it all and giving it to Him.  

All without saying a word.
How is that even possible?
Because God knows. 

He knows my every thought and every feeling.
He knows me.
The Spirit Himself prays for me. (Romans 8:26), 

In this blessed assurance, I’m free to saturate my chaos with intimate moments of communion with my Savior, while He calms my storms and brings peace.  

I feel the tornado slowing. The tension is leaving.  

Because of prayer. 
Not perfect, holy, well-thought through words. 
But connection, groanings I lack words for, shared to the ear of God through the Spirit who dwells within me. 

Centuries ago, Christians practiced the discipline of prayer through “Daily Offices”. Believers marked off specific times throughout the day, generally the third, sixth, ninth, and bedtime hours, dedicating them to prayer. At each interval, they put aside their daily tasks to spend time saturating themselves with the Lord.
Prayers of praise.
Prayers of worship.
Prayers of joy.
Prayers of need.
Prayers of longing.
Prayers for others.
Prayers for themselves.
Prayers of confession.
Prayers of angst.
Intimacy and relationship. 

What if we prayed like Hannah? 
She bitterly wept before the Lord, thinking her prayer,
unable to even audibly speak!
She was heartbroken with infertility. She poured out her soul to the Lord, all of her deep anguish and grief.
The vulnerability!  

What if we surrendered our deep anguish and grief all throughout the day?
Suppose we told Him our ache for a lost brother, or the way our arms feel empty for the child we’ve never held, or how our soul feels crushed from the weight of a seemingly hopeless marriage?

Enter into that intimacy with the Lord, Sisters.
Hearts are changed here.  

What if we prayed like David? 
King David had an affair with a married woman, yet with the deep convictions of his heart, he cried out to God to wash him of his iniquity and cleanse him of sin.
In prayer, David begged the Lord to restore the joy he’d once known.
The repentance! 

What if we recognized our great sins and ugly failures, confessing them to the Lord multiple times a day? Would we become more aware of our pride, quickly confessing and running from it? Would our hearts begin to grieve as we recognized and confessed our lust again?

Enter into that intimacy of giving the Lord your sins, Sister.
Hearts are changed here. 

What if we prayed like Mary? 
With the news of her pregnancy, and the coming Messiah,
Mary worshipped!
Perhaps she knelt to sang. Maybe she danced, rejoicing loudly while exclaiming the fulfillment of Yahweh’s promise! She celebrated her worship!
The delight! 

Sisters, imagine if we were to take intentional time to thank God, celebrate Him, and declare His name throughout the day!
EVEN IF we don’t feel like it.
EVEN IF we have difficulty believing what we say.
Imagine how the thanksgiving we surrender will grow in our hearts, overflowing onto others, and shifting our perspective as we praise the Lord throughout the day.  

Enter into that joyful intimacy with the Lord, Sister.
Hearts are changed here! 

What if we prayed like Daniel? 
Nothing could stop Daniel from praying throughout the day. 
Not distractions.
Not hunger.
Not inconvenience.
Not even the LAW or the threat of his LIFE.
Daniel met the Lord three times, everyday, windows open to the world, unashamed of his God.
The integrity!
What if we said no to distractions having priority over prayer?
What if we paused our lives several times a day to approach the throne of God.
Even WITH kids screaming in the background.
Even WITH a messy house just beyond our closed eyes.
Even WITH a meeting that will last all day.
What if we kept the conversation going on road trips, on business trips, in the grocery store, in the car.  

Oh, let’s go there, Sister! Enter into that precious intimacy with the Lord.
Hearts are changed here. Yours and those around you! 

I want that in the middle of my messy chaos.
Join me in my Prayer Challenge: 

Choose 3 times a day for your phone alarm to go off.
I’m doing it right now setting it for 9 AM, Noon, and 3 PM.
When those timers go off, we pray.
Even if all we can muster is our deepest feelings, a groan, or a cry.
Let’s specifically, intentionally, prayerfully, enter into deeper intimacy with our King. 

Watch out, Sisters.
Our hearts and lives are about to change! 

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
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Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

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 Dwell Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Dwell!

The GT Weekend! – Dwell Week 2

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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) God’s Word is amazing, rich, and deep with layers of insight and fullness of life awaiting us as the Spirit makes His words come to life!  Take time to linger with the Lord today by choosing a few verses, reading them slowly, several times through. Pray while you read, and ask the Lord to speak to you. Try emphasizing a different word each time you read aloud the Scripture section. Consider speaking your prayers out loud to God, sharing your heart response to His Word. Ask the Lord to stretch you as you focus on growing your relationship in deeper ways!

2) Corporate worship, when a large body of believers come together to adore God is beautiful, life-giving, and an important part of every Christian’s life. If you’re in a pattern of regular attendance to a local church, the opportunity for corporate worship is available every week. How often are you engaging in private worship, time alone to focus solely on Him? Spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith like silence and solitude, prayer, worship, fasting, and Scripture study, date back all the way to the Garden of Eden as Adam and Eve walked with God daily. Choose 1 new spiritual discipline and begin incorporating it into your time with God this weekend!

3) These week, each of our Journey Studies was woven with an undercurrent of thankfulness and worship. Journal your thoughts on fasting, its purpose, benefit, and why it’s always coupled with prayer and worship in Scripture. Consider Mary’s challenging remark that Jesus expected His followers to include fasting as part of their regular journey with Him. Spend time praying and asking the Spirit to lead you into fasting.

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 Ephesians 3:16-19 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Prayer Journal
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace. (Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, hymn)

Father, Your Word is precious. The gift of intimacy You so graciously give us as You personally and corporately invite us to experience You is beyond description! Lord, it’s so easy to shift our eyes to the temporal, the right now, the long list of ‘must do’s’ and ignore Your invitation. Remind me, Spirit, teach my heart, to desire You in my deepest parts. I praise You for your love, good Father! Amen.

Worship Through Community

Can we pray for you? Reach Out! We’d love to pray for and with you!
Send us an email at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Dwell Day 10 Clearing The Clutter

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Corinthians 7:1-6
Acts 13:1-3
Esther 4:13-17
Joel 2:12-17 
Ezra 8:21-23

Dwell, Day 10

Here’s a fun confession for you: I sometimes wish I was a nun. Granted, this desire tends to flare up in those especially chaotic moments of life. You know the ones: all the kids are crying, the oven timer is beeping, the dog just ripped open his food bag… In moments like these, the idea of dedicating my life to quiet servitude sounds very appealing.

While God clearly had other plans for my life, I do find myself longing to dwell in His presence amid the mundane. But with all the distractions of work and motherhood, I have struggled to discover a way to do this. How can I dwell in His presence while still being fully present here on Earth?

I believe these two spheres collide within the practice of fasting. When we fast, our physical needs and longing ushers our souls into His presence; and it is in His presence all our needs and longings are met.

May I share one more confession with you? Until writing this article, I never fully understood or practiced fasting; so please know, I am not an expert.  However, what I share with you below has changed my heart and I now understand it’s place and power.

Why should we fast?
Matthew 9:14-15 is perhaps the clearest picture of Christ’s stance on fasting.
“Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come with the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

According to these verses, there are two reasons we fast.
First, Christ expects it. In these verses, He makes it clear it is not a question of “if” His disciples will fast, but “when”. Sister, hear this: as disciples of Christ, we should be fasting. It is an integral part of our walk with Christ.

Secondly, we fast because we are waiting expectantly for our bridegroom. One day He will return, and we will no longer fast. Instead, we will be brought to His table and together we will feast! Until that day we will watch, wait, and fast.

John Piper once said fasting adds an exclamation point to our prayers. Daily we petition Him with our needs: “Lord, we need healing! We need guidance! We pray for your return!”. Fasting physically demonstrates our spiritual longing. It shows God we desire those things, we desire Him, more than we desire worldly comfort and sustenance.

Ultimately, fasting reminds us who is our true source of life and comfort. Food can easily become a sort of idol. We turn to food when we are hungry, celebrating, sad, and bored. We even have a term for what happens to us when we don’t get enough food: hangry. When we step away from this crutch, even for a short amount of time, we can lift our eyes up and glance at the One who we ought to turn to with all our emotions. This practice keeps us dependent on the true Bread of Life.

When should we fast?
Christian fasting is not simply done for the sake of fasting. It is done with a specific purpose in mind. Before you begin, you need to determine what you are bringing before God during your time of fasting. Are you repenting from a deep-rooted sin? Are you seeking His guidance through major transition? Are you simply trying to clear out the mental clutter and hear His voice?

Queen Esther called for a fast just before she dared approach her husband, the King, to save the Jewish people. She does so by telling her friends, “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

She was desperate for God to act on behalf of her people. She knew lives hung in the balance. To demonstrate the intensity of her need, she and her people fasted for three days.

Must it be food?
No, 1 Corinthians 7:5 makes this clear. You can fast from anything you find yourself clinging to. Perhaps that is technology, television, sleep…sex. As 1 Corinthians suggests, fasting from sex for a short time to petition the Lord together as a married couple is quite powerful.  It is not what you fast from, but what you move towards that is important.

Here is my challenge for you today: start small. Ask the Lord what He would have you fast from and when. When I did this, I determined I would give up one lunch, once a week. I would use this time to seek the Lord in whatever way He laid on my heart that day.

I believe if we obey Christ in this way, we will see some of our deepest prayers answered. Through regular prayer and fasting, we will find ourselves dwelling in His presence even in the mundane.

Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
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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 Dwell Week Two! 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?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Dwell!