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The GT Weekend – Glimmers Week 1

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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) The enemy wooed Eve away from truth by questioning her view of God. Satan wanted Eve to think God wasn’t as true to His character as she had believed, he wanted her to think God was ‘holding out on her’. Think about some recent circumstances when you’ve been tempted question similarly. Consider the thought processes you go through when you are being led to believe a lie rather than truth. Pray over those areas and ask the Spirit to root your heart deep into truth as you prepare for future battles.

2) Do the words ‘hope’ and ‘surrender’ seem incompatible? When has your life situation appeared utterly hopeless while at the same time you felt incredibly powerless to make anything different? These are sweet spot for the Savior to do a mighty work! Read through Abraham’s ‘impossible’ and ‘heartbreaking’ situation in Genesis 22. Go slowly and put yourself in his shoes. Finish your time by taking your own impossibilities and surrendering them to the Lord of Hope!

3) What do you think about the Ten Commandments? What emotions rise up when you think about a lawmaking God? Remembering that how we feel and what we think of God is the most important thing about us. Take a few minutes to write down the honest adjectives on how you view God. Only honest answers count!

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 Philippians 2:6-8 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
as something to be exploited.
Instead he emptied himself
by assuming the form of a servant,
taking on the likeness of humanity.
And when he had come as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.

Prayer Journal
You, the Lord of ALL, God of all, Creator of all, Master, Ruler, Almighty God.
You, who owe no one anything.
You, who need nothing.
You, chose to empty yourself, become a servant, take on flesh like mine, become frail, tired, emotional, and hungry.
You chose death.
That I might live.
Oh Christ! How glorious You are!
If I have nothing else, oh King, if family is lost, if tragedy wraps me up, if my finances fail, and my health is lost, You Are Still Worthy of my praise.

So, here my Jesus, accept my uplifted hands.
I come to worship You for You.

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

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Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Glimmers Day 5 Hope Of A New Covenant

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Read His Words Before Ours!

John 15:12-17
Exodus 20:1-21
James 2:8-13
1 Peter 1:14-21
Matthew 26:26-28

Glimmers, Day 5

What comes to mind when you think of the Ten Commandments?
Laws?
A list of do’s and don’ts?
What about considering them in terms of a covenant?
A bond between God and His people.

The Ten Commandments are God’s covenant in the form of a gift given to a prince-turned-shepherd (Moses) for a people (Israel) He called to Himself.
Although we don’t typically think of a connection between these Ten and Christmas,
the link is one we should rejoice in, especially during Christmas.

The commandments were intended to draw the hearts of the children of Israel back to their God. After hundreds of years of slavery, the people had forgotten Yahweh and His covenant with their ancestor Abraham. The commandments served as a legal “contract” between them and God by giving the boundaries within which they would live as His children in the new land He had already promised them. The covenant God had made with Abraham, which was sealed by God’s Word and acted upon by Abraham’s faith, not his performance, was fleshed out by these ten laws.

The Ten Commandments provided the boundaries for Israel’s pattern of living.
They would distinguish God’s people, identifying them by how they lived according to God’s Laws. Israel would be markedly set apart from pagan nations around them.
Through their obedience and adherence to the laws of God, the children of Israel were to be a living, breathing witness of the character of God to these nations; nations that had long ago rejected God through choice or tradition.

God has always had a calling on His people.
In John 15:16 God the Son, Jesus, plainly states, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”
Before we even knew to choose God, He had already chosen and ordained us to bear fruit that would be lasting. This was one of the primary objectives for the Israelites living in the Promised Land, to restore the name and glory of God among those who didn’t Him.
They were to bear fruit in a spiritually desolate desert wasteland.

Although the commandments served as a standard by which to live (God’s holy standard), we as sinners are unable to keep the law perfectly. The Israelites broke the law immediately after receiving it.

“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said,
“Come, make us gods who will go before us.
As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt,
we don’t know what has happened to him.”
{In brief, Aaron (Moses’ brother) says, okay! Bring me all the gold jewelry you can find. Aaron melted it down and fashioned a golden calf, presenting it to the people saying….}  
“These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
{Then Aaron announced…}
“Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.”
So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.
They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’  (Exodus 32:1-8)

Friends, can you imagine the horror when Moses heard from God and reached the based of Mount Sinai to find this scene?
Can you imagine God’s horror?
To break even one of these commandments is to break the covenant with God in its entirety (James 2:10) and leads to death (Romans 6:23).
But God, full of gracious love and tender mercy, knew we needed hope.
Hope by giving us a Savior to kill death for us, and give us righteousness where we had earned death because we had broken His covenant.
Hope that would bring freedom; not just for Israel in the desert, but for all of us, lost in the desert of sin, who would enter into the new covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ for all eternity. (1 Peter 1:17-19, Matthew 26:28)

Jesus is the Redeemer that freed both Israel and us.
The commandments and subsequent Mosaic sacrificial system were an ever-present reminder of our need for a Rescuing Savior.
The commandments provided the Glimmer of Hope.
Hope personified through Jesus Christ, born as God wrapped in flesh.
Born to die as a substitutionary atonement for all sinners.
Born as the only solution to the wages of death brought on by breaking God’s law and covenant.
We are the breakers of this law. Not just Israel, us.
We are the ones in need of a Rescuing Savior. Not just Israel, us.

Christmas and the Ten Commandments?
Absolutely!
The baby in the manger is the Rescuer we desperately needed because we are incapable of keeping the law of God.
Praise God for being both Law-Giver and Law-Fulfiller!
Praise Him for being our Hope!

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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 Glimmers Week One! 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 Glimmers!

Glimmers Day 2, Hope In The Darkness: 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 Hope In The Darkness!

The Questions

1) Who is the serpent and what is his tactic?

2) What does Eve’s response reveal about humanity?

3) God said they would die, the serpent said they wouldn’t, but no one died after eating the fruit. Who lied?

Genesis 3:1-6

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Original Intent

1) Who is the serpent and what is his tactic?
In reading the Bible, it’s crucial to correctly understanding it by remembering that the whole of it is one magnificent story. In verse 1, a cross-reference (the tiny hyper script letters) links the serpent reference to Revelation, the very last book of the Bible! Revelation is the apostle John’s record of his visions from God and His angels. In Revelation 12, John is recounting a war in Heaven (verse 7) between the angels. The angels are divided between Michael (and his angels) and the Dragon (and his angels). Michael’s angels win and the Dragon is cast out from Heaven forever. The serpent is here described as being “ancient” and “called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.” Going all the way back to Garden, we now have a fuller picture of who this “serpent” is as Satan himself! Satan’s tactic was to ask a penetrating question of Eve, making her question what she thought she knew of God. “Did God really say…” (verse 1) Eve replied and then Satan prodded her farther, completely contradicting what God had told Eve, “No! You will not die…” (verse 4). Going in for the final move to win Eve over, Satan goes beyond contradicting God, to make himself appear superior by having greater insight, “In fact, God knows that when you eat it…” (verse 5).

2) What does Eve’s response reveal?
This was God’s original command to Adam and Eve regarding the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, “you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Here is Eve’s response when Satan questioned her as to what God had said, “God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’” (Genesis 3:3) See the addition Eve made? “Or touch it”. Her words reveal that in her prideful humanity, Eve was willing to believe that God was more stringent and stingy than His character displayed. He had given a vast kingdom of beauty to Adam and Eve and showered them with delightful attention, generously providing them all of creation with only reasonable, loving boundaries. Yet in a moment of pressure, Eve willingly allowed her fear and pride to win over truth and God’s proven character.

3) God said they would die, the serpent said they wouldn’t, but no one died after eating the fruit. Who lied?  
In Genesis 2:17 God says, “you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” In Genesis 3:4 Satan insists, “No! You will not die…” To help us understand this confusion, we first need to remember the truth of Scripture’s teaching that Satan is the Father of Lies (John 8:44) and no truth is in him. That is our first anchor. Secondly, we look to the context of the Garden originally. It was designed for life, flawless, perfect, eternal life existing in the context of a beautiful and intimate relationship with God. In the midst of Eden was the Tree of Life, of which there was no prohibition to eat from until after Sin.(3:22) The Garden’s design was for eternal enjoyment of life, but for it to continue, sin could have no place. Innocence of evil must be maintained in order to enjoy the pure delights of righteousness, so a boundary was placed and a command given to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In that moment, Death would occur, because eternal righteous life would no longer be possible. The life they had known would forever be gone. With even one drop of sin, perfect righteousness could no longer exist. Death would enter, their physical bodies would no longer be immortal, and the spiritual death would be the most severe as it would sever the sweet intimacy of union between God and humanity. Yes, Death would reign. Adam and Eve died that day, along with the rest of humanity to come after them.

Everyday Application

1) Who is the serpent and what is his tactic?
The serpent in the Garden, the Dragon in Revelation, the devil, and Satan the Deceiver, are all names for the archenemy of every believer. Revelation 12 also describes him as the “accuser” who accuses believers “night and day before God.” (verse 10) Peter says the devil is our adversary who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Don’t be deceived, this enemy is very much real and alive and seeking to steal, kill, and destroy us. (John 10:10) The more we know about Satan, the better we can be prepared for his attacks and the quicker we can recognize his schemes in our everyday lives. Knowing that he is an accuser, helps us notice the lies of accusation. Phrases like “not enough”, “God doesn’t want you”, “you’re unlovable”, and countless others point to the deception of an accuser, not the truths of the God who died to save you. The more familiar you are with truth, the easier it will be to discern the enemy’s lies when he attacks. Be on guard, just as he did with Eve, Satan’s goal is to get you to question the goodness and reliability of God and His Word. Cling to truth!

2) What does Eve’s response reveal?
How deeply do you cling to truth? I mean, not your own version of truth when you’re arguing with your spouse or coworker, but the actual truth. It’s one thing to mentally attest to a truth statement like “God is good”, but quite another when circumstances appear to cast doubt on that belief. When you lose a beloved one, when the marriage dissolves, when the gossiping lies spread, when the bank account runs low, the deceiver’s voice comes in low and haunting, “Did God really say….”? Every time, we have a choice in our response, be anchored in truth or grab for an easy lie. A.W. Tozer said, “What come into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” If Eve had chosen to stay anchored in truth, rather than doubt what she knew of the Lord, she would have been kept from sin and its damning affect. The amount of Scriptural truth we take in and cling to will keep us from sin too!

3) God said they would die, the serpent said they wouldn’t, but no one died after eating the fruit. Who lied?
As noted earlier, the Bible is the compilation of one grand story, woven beginning to end with one incredible theme: the redemption of mankind. It all began here, in the Garden of Eden where the heart of God created a space for mankind to enjoy Him for all eternity and for Him to endlessly delight over them. As goodness and kindness demand, God would not force their love, He was present to be enjoyed of their own choice, and so He gave the gift of choice by planting the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. If His creation hungered to experience beyond what He, the Giver of Life, had given, they could choose to know the existence of Sin and the pain it would bring. And they chose it. What a tragedy it would have been for God to leave His treasures in that state of sin and separation from Him! But by His incredible grace, God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.” (Genesis 3:22) The Lord could not bear the thought of His beloved ones living forever in sin. So He banished them, not because He hated them, but that they might be preserved and have the opportunity to choose Him again. See, Hope was coming. Jesus would one day be their Rescuer and bring them back home. Extravagant Love!

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

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 Glimmers Week One!
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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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Worship IV, Day 8 Relentless Worship

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Read His Words Before Ours!

I Samuel 1-2:10
Psalm 31:19-24
Matthew 5:43-48
Romans 8:18-30
Lamentations 3:22-26

Worship IV, Day 8

Do you remember begging for a certain gift as a child?
What was it like when you received it?
Or didn’t?
Were you disappointed or was it exactly as you imagined?

What about now?
Is there something you desire more than anything?
Something you’re waiting for God to deliver?

When I’m feeling disappointed about unfulfilled desires, I think of Hannah.
Hannah was married to Elkanah, husband of two wives.
Peninnah, the other wife, had plenty of children, but Hannah, shamefully, was barren.
Adding to her heavy shame, Peninnah provoked Hannah, mocking her empty womb.
Oh, that hits your gut doesn’t it?!

Have you been in her shoes?
Maybe you’re Hannah with the ache, marked by shame, carrying shards of broken dreams,
dragging around lost hope.
Or perhaps you’ve worn Peninnah’s shoes a few times too, provoking just to stir up trouble, finding a sense of satisfaction in what you have instead of another’s “have nots”.

Each year the family traveled to Jerusalem for worship.
This particular year Hannah was so distressed, she refused food.

I see much of myself in Hannah.
I too have carried shame and broken dreams, losing hope along the way.
I too have had a “Peninnah” in my life, so distressed I hurt.
Hannah responded as each of us should, she worshipped through prayer.

Broken, empty, hungry, and weeping Hannah entered the temple, and bowed before the One True God
and worshipped. (1 Samuel 1:10)
Hannah opened her heart to her God, praying God would remove her shame and fulfill her dreams.
She asked God for a son, promising to relinquish him back to God for service in the temple his entire life.
Eli, the priest, saw her, was moved by her worship, and spoke the Lord’s word to her,
she would have a son!

Some time later, Hannah held her fulfilled promise in her arms, naming him Samuel, meaning “God Has Heard.”

No longer marked by shame and lost dreams, Hannah held the little boy hand of her dream-come-true, entrusting him to the Lord as she left him at the temple to serve the Lord.
Later, her dream son, given back in worship to the Lord, would become a wise judge and humble prophet, mighty in spirit, leading Israel.
Happily Ever After.
The End.

No, Hannah’s story does not stop here.
I’ll be honest, I usually stop here.
But if we close the book in chapter 1, we miss the pinnacle of Hannah’s heart in chapter 2.
We miss her worship.
Hannah continued a hymn of worship that had been her relentless song from the moment she first cried out to her God.

In verse one, Hannah rejoiced in God.
She did not rejoice in Samuel.

She rejoiced in the Giver, not the gift.
In fact, in all of Hannah’s prayer, she didn’t specifically name Samuel even once,
instead she focused on the character of the God who had heard her.

Hannah rejoices in her “horn.”
Just as the horn of a bull signifies its strength, Hannah declared that the Lord had removed her disgrace and weakness, replacing it with His own mighty strength.

Was Hannah strengthened because she could prove her value to Peninnah?
No, her strength was God.

Speaking of Peninnah, is she even mentioned?
No, because Hannah didn’t need to.
She didn’t carry bitterness and slander because worship had shifted her focus.

I wonder if we let worship shift our hearts as well?
In the midst of everyday life, will we relentlessly worship or relentlessly slander and self-focus, eager to return hurt for hurt, carrying the burdens of bitterness and un-forgiveness.
Hannah’s example proves we can’t worship and grudge-carry.

Verse 5 of Hannah’s song declares, “Those who are hungry have ceased to hunger.”
God was Hannah’s sole supplier.
This wasn’t about physical food, Hannah was hungry for relief.
She was hungry for her shame to be lifted and her emptiness to be filled.
What are you hungry for?

We know the ending of Hannah’s story.
We know she was freed from shame and filled with the Lord Himself.
We don’t know our story’s end.

We ask, will I ever be delivered?
Will I always be empty?

Scripture answers,
“Because of the Lord’s faithful love
we do not perish,
for His mercies never end.
They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness!
I say, “The Lord is my portion,
therefore I will put my hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24

Hannah wasn’t faithful to God because He was faithful to her;
she chose relentless worship before He answered her prayer.
Hannah prayed for years.
She worshipped for years.
Yet, she didn’t give up.

We may not receive exactly what we desire or when we desire it,
but our faithful God will deliver, free, fill us.
Until then, we relentlessly worship!

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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 Worship IV Week Two! 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 Worship IV!

Incorruptible Day 7 Inner Shift: 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 Inner Shift!

The Questions

1)  How does having a mind “ready for action” impact our holiness? 

2) What does being “sober-minded” have to do with hope and holiness? 

3)  Why is it important we set our hope on the grace we received in Christ?

1 Peter 1:13-16

13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

Original Intent

1)  How does having a mind “ready for action” impact our holiness?
Peter writes this particular letter, “to those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad…” (1 Peter 1:1).  His audience consists of believers who have been displaced from their homes due to their faith, and who are thus familiar with hard circumstances and persecution.  In their time of struggle and need, Peter doesn’t tell them to take a break or that their trouble is over; instead, he tells the exiles to live a holy life within the battle.  How are they to do that?  First, be ready for action.  Peter understands that when God’s people are ready to take action in battle, they will already be on the defensive, looking out for the enemy, and ready to put up a fight.  With the next potential battle as their focus, Peter understands that these disciples will be more likely to resist the schemes of the devil by living lives that are focused on God and His standards for holiness.   

2) What does being “sober-minded” have to do with hope and holiness?
Peter follows his call to be prepared for taking action with the direction to be calm in spirit.  He says that not only do we need to be ready to act, but that those actions should be accompanied by a mind that is even-tempered (see Thayer’s definition).  He calls for the people to refrain from overreacting, even in the midst of difficulty and an uncertain future.  Peter knows that if the people of God fail to be sober minded they will be unlikely to come across as holy to the watching world.  Not only that, Peter understands God’s people would risk detracting from the hope others might find in Christ.     

3)  Why is it important we set our hope on the grace we received in Christ?
Peter’s final admonition to the people is to have the right focus before them: hope in the grace offered through Christ Jesus.  First, Peter desires for the people to have a right view of themselves,  as sinners in need of salvation.  When hope is placed in Christ, Peter understands the people will be less likely to try to save themselves, do enough, or be enough.  Instead, he wants them to know that they can do nothing apart from Christ.  Second, Peter desires for the people to have a right view of Christ:  as the Savior.  Not “a” savior.  Not an option.  THE Savior.  One and only.  Peter grasps the truth that a mind set on the salvation and hope that come from grace through faith in Christ alone offers a much more accurate and appealing image of Christ to others as they watch us navigate difficult times in life.

Everyday Application

1)  How does having a mind “ready for action” impact our holiness?
Looking at this passage begs the question:  am I ready for action?  Peter continues this idea later in this same book when he says we are to be, “…ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you,” (1 Peter 3:15).  Are you ready to answer questions others may have?  Are you ready for the next battle you may have to face?  Are you prepared to put up a good fight?  Are there areas of your life and walk with Christ you need to shore up?  Does your response to difficult circumstances in your life cause others to ask why you are different? 

2) What does being “sober-minded” have to do with hope and holiness?
Cool, calm, collected.  It’s a favorite phrase of mine and a friend.  We tend to use it as a joke, but in the context of this scripture, it’s quite serious.  Why?  Because that’s exactly what being sober minded looks like.  When you consider the application of that truth in your life, ask yourself some hard questions.  Do you give yourself space to THINK before you react?  Would people look at your social media and be able to call you sober-minded by what they see?  Or would they see someone who speaks before thinking?  Or speaks to provoke and argue?  Or seeks attention for themselves?  Take a sober minded look at your posts during the last battle or difficulty in your life and ask Jesus to help you see what He sees.  Are you attracting others to Christ in your words, or pushing them away? 

3)  Why is it important we set our hope on the grace we received in Christ?
If my focus is on the grace I have received through Christ, I will understand my place as a sinner in need of salvation.  For some of us, there is discomfort in seeing ourselves as sinners.  We want to think we’re better than that.  Or perhaps we are tempted to believe that though we are sinners, we must work to save ourselves.  Neither of those stand up to the truth of scripture that Jesus is the only one who saves sinners like each one of us.  He is the only one who can do that work.  He is our only hope for rescue.  Are those ideas clear in your mind, or do you sometimes struggle with those truths?  What evidence is there in your life to support your answer?  Do others see and hear you articulate that during the difficult times in your life?  Or do they encounter someone who is constantly striving and working to control or manage life and its difficulties?  Will they see someone who is self-focused, or someone who points them to the hope of Christ? 

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

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 Incorruptible Week Two!
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! – Incorruptible Week 1

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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) Our lives are fleeting and we are indeed exiles as Christians in a world we weren’t designed to dwell in forever. What emotions stir in you as you think through these implications? What fears or concerns arise? What are you grateful for about this reality? As you journal these out, also consider what things you may be holding onto too tightly for such a temporary place of residence. Pray through what the Lord would have you hold loosely.

2) Jesus makes it clear throughout Scripture that there is a cost associated with being His disciple. Total surrender. But He also promises that whatever the cost is for us personally, it is worth it because He alone holds all victory and He shares that with us! What is costing you right now as you follow Him? Where are you tempted to think the cost of discipleship is too high? Challenge yourself to read through 1 Peter 1 every day this week and be reminded that following Jesus is worth it!

3) With such a shifting culture, political environment, and changing relationships all around, it can be easy to think that nothing is absolutely trustworthy. In what areas of your life is it easy to fall into fear because hope seems tremulous? How would it change your perspective if your foundation was solid and unshakeable? What if God is exactly who He claims to be? What if He as the righteous God, holds eternity in His hand? What if He is unimaginably loving? Take hold of timeless truth and let it wrap around you today!

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 1 Peter 1:5-7 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith —more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire —may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Prayer Journal
Father, it’s beyond my ability to understand those first four words of 1 Peter 1:5. “You are being guarded…” Constantly You are guarding me, saving and preserving my soul for all of eternity despite every circumstance that comes my way. You know it all, You see it all, and still Your power guards me. Lord God, for this incredible mystery I praise You!

I admit that I don’t feel it all the time, God. Relationships are tumultuous, words hurt, loss aches, death stings, but still Your word stands firm, Your promise absolutely unchanging! Remind me to cling tighter to truth than I do to my feelings, Jesus.
How I praise You for being such a gracious and loving God!
I’m here for Your glory, Abba, use 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

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!

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 Incorruptible Week One! 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 Incorruptible!

Roads Day 14 True Hope In An Age Of Enlightenment: 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 True Hope In An Age Of Enlightenment!

The Questions

1) How can an evil spirit predict the future? Do Satanic forces know everything like God does? 

2) The girl seemed to be proclaiming truth about God, why was Paul “greatly annoyed”? 

3) What does the phrase “hope of profit” reveal? 

Acts 16:16-19

16 Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” 18 She did this for many days. Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away. 19 When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

Original Intent

1) How can an evil spirit predict the future? Do Satanic forces know everything like God does?
It’s important to know that Satan and his demonic angels, or spirits, cannot know the future. Satan is not omniscient (all-knowing); only God is. Satan knows only what has been revealed by Christ since the beginning of Satan’s existence. Satan prowls as a lion, watching his prey, studying his prey like the commander of an army would study his opponent to know his weak points. This long-time study of human interaction and patterns allows Satan to use this information in cunning ways to make it appear that he, through his demonic forces, can “tell the future”. Examples of false prophets and deceptive prophesies that appear true, but end up being lies, are strewn all throughout Scripture. Only what comes from Christ can be absolutely trustworthy. Jesus is quoted as saying Satan “was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) 

2) The girl seemed to be proclaiming truth about God, why was Paul “greatly annoyed”?
This was not a one-time incident between Paul, Silas, Luke (the eyewitness author of Acts), and the girl who was possessed by a demon. Paul and his duo were regularly going to the place of prayer by the river to meet with believers, preach the gospel, pray, and encourage the saints. The girl, led by the demon, found them out intentionally, and followed them chanting, “These men, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” It was obvious to all on-lookers that this girl was demon-possessed, which was not an uncommon sight. Even though the message was indeed true, its messenger was from the “father of lies”. Paul wanted nothing to do with publicity from a false source. The gospel Paul was preaching and teaching of Jesus did not need “help” from a deceiving demon to proclaim. The gospel of Jesus is altogether other, full of light, life, hope, and most importantly, solid truth. This message had no place coming from the mouthpiece of a deceiver.   

3) What does the phrase “hope of profit” reveal? 
“When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.” (Acts 16:19) This display of anger boils down to 2 things, control and worship. Satan had given them the false idea that they were in control and were planning their own wonderful destiny by making large amounts of money through their scheme. No doubt they were self-assured, confident, and adept at knowing how and when to best promote their “propaganda”, the slave girl and her false demonic prophesies. When it was stripped of them, their indignant response was anger because their plans had been foiled, their false sense of control had been seized from their hands. Their source of power wasn’t solid and unshakeable, it was only found in their ability to manipulate and attempt to control something outside themselves for their own gain. The focus of their worship was not the unchanging God of the Universe, it was money, power, and self-gratification. If these men had been intent on worshipping the One True God, they wouldn’t have time or desire to worship lesser things.

Everyday Application

1) How can an evil spirit predict the future? Do Satanic forces know everything like God does?
Satan’s craft of choice is deception; he will stop at nothing to lure us into his lies. He is called the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) for good reason. Not because he is all-powerful like God, but because he hungrily seeks to rule this world with his limited dominion and turn every human heart, along with all of creation, away from the God who loves us, and towards anything else. Satan’s success is our demise as we are deceived into worshipping things, people, and desires that will absolutely never satisfy like the One who crafted our hearts for perfect union with Him. With all of this deception swirling around us from the “father of lies”, how can we possibly know whether we are being tricked, or where our hearts are worshipping something other than the God of the Bible? Scripture is the solid answer. The whole of Scripture is effective for teaching us how to live, and how to differentiate between truth and lies. From various belief systems, to cultural messages, and even good things we do, Scripture helps us understand our heart’s worship and which lies we are believing. Truth is available; it’s solid, sure, and life-giving, and worth seeking out!  

2) The girl seemed to be proclaiming truth about God, why was Paul “greatly annoyed”?
We too, like Paul, should be “greatly annoyed” when truth becomes jaded because of the source from which it comes. Whether it’s religious beliefs that use Christian language, a preacher who distorts truth, or leaders who use the Bible to make falsehoods appear “true and biblical”, all of it should feel like a punch to the gut. We, as believers, are called to act boldly, to love deeply, and not shy away from firmly taking a stand for truth and its ultimate Source, the Almighty God. Respectfully and lovingly? Absolutely! But we cannot hold loosely to truth so as not to offend someone. Sisters, share the full truth of the gospel with love and grace! Eternity is at stake. Speaking truth isn’t about winning a religious argument, it’s about saving friends, family, and those around us for eternity as we point each one to the solid hope we have in Christ! This Journey Theme, Roads, has tackled 9 religions and given us practical tools, equipping us to have good conversations with others. Use these tools, dig into Scripture, and hold firm to truth, Sister, hold firm! 

3) What does the phrase “hope of profit” reveal? 
When we hold firmly to truth, circumstances no longer hold us captive because we are personally in a living relationship with the Author of Life. Our very lives are held in His mighty hands. The men in this story worshipped themselves, and were held captive by Satan and his lies. They had been deceived into thinking they really did have power and and control in life, but they didn’t. Satan was simply using them to further his own twisted purposes of leading people astray and far away from the glorious truth and hope of Jesus Christ. These men were “owned” by a slave owner, just as they were “owning” this slave girl. And so are we, all of humanity is under the rule and reign of Sin and Satan. It is only through the offer of salvation by grace alone through faith alone by Jesus, fully God, fully man, sacrificially offering Himself on our behalf that we can be freed from the Slave Master Sin! In this incident in Scripture, when Satan lost to the power of Jesus Christ, these men lost too. Not So With Jesus! Sister, is God the Son yours?! For all who call on the Name of Jesus Christ, salvation belongs to them. Not a Jesus who is only “a” god. Not a Jesus who was created. Not a Jesus who holds no standard of right, wrong, or justice, but the Jesus of the Bible. It is only through this Christ, and this Christ alone, that our victory is forever won!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with True Hope In An Age Of Enlightenment!

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 Roads 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.

Screenshot Day 9 Go Get The Sheep: 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 Go Get The Sheep!

The Questions

1) Who was the audience and what was their situation?

2) What is the significance of verse 13?

3) How did this passage affect the audience?

Jeremiah 29:11-14

11 For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.”

Original Intent

1) Who was the audience and what was their situation?
This passage of Scripture is a portion of a letter written by Jeremiah to the Israelites who had been taken into Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah gave them the Lord’s instructions for this period of time away from their homeland. They were to be exiles in Babylon for approximately 70 years (see verse 10) and the Lord wanted to use this time to strengthen His relationship with them. In verses 4-7 He instructed the people – both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel – to build homes and families and to work to prosper the city, but most importantly to pray for Babylon. The prosperity of Babylon would mean that they, too, would prosper. Conversely, if the city suffered, so would the exiles (and all residents).
But God would not leave them forever in this foreign nation. In His grace, He even made it known to the exiles that He would bring them home again after a set number of years. The entire Israelite nation had become “the lost sheep”, but God sought them and would bring them back.

2) What is the significance of verse 13?
Prior to their exile to Babylon, the people of God had been prostituting themselves to other gods, primarily Baal (see 1 Kings 18:18-40; 2 Kings 10:18-28; 2 Kings 21:1-3). They also gave ear to false prophets, believing lies they were told. God reassured His people in verse 13 that He can be found, and He will be found…if they give their whole heart to Him. The Lord would not share His people with false prophets and false gods.

3) How did this passage affect the audience?
The exiled people of God knew, from this passage, that the Lord had not forgotten them. Even though they suffered captivity in a foreign land for their idolatry, God still loved them. He had a plan and a purpose for the Israelites even before the creation of the world, and this little speed-bump would not alter it. God’s reassurance to them allowed them to continue living, even inside of consequences, without being fearful of their circumstance.

Everyday Application

1) Who was the audience and what was their situation?
This passage, especially verse 11, is often plucked from its context and applied however someone wants to apply it. While modern-day Christians can certainly make good application, we must remember the original events and circumstances prompting the inclusion of this text in the body of Holy Scripture. Often, people read “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” and believe God will keep them from any and all pain and their whole life will be sunshine and roses. This is simply not true.
While we, in America, have not experienced foreign conquest and captivity, you may have been relocated for a job or to care for family. During that time, did you feel as though God had forgotten you? Maybe even that He had banished you? I do hope that you were able to take comfort, by reading Jeremiah 29, that the Lord sees your circumstances and uses them to grow you. God’s plans for us go far beyond physical comfort, to our spiritual development in relationship to Him!

2) What is the significance of verse 13?
God wants a relationship with each of us, and He wants us to give Him our whole heart. Let’s put this in perspective: for the married among us, you surely don’t talk to your husbands just one day a week. And surely you don’t share the same kind of intimacies with other men as you do your spouse.
The Lover of Our Souls is jealous for our time, attention, and devotion like our spouses, but even more so! He knows us significantly better than anyone (even a spouse), because He created us. He knows every thought, even if it isn’t verbalized. He knows our desires (even the secret ones), our fears (why do we still have those?), and our insecurities (Lord, help us!). He understands our pain and empathizes; He recognizes our needs and longs to provide. Why do we not go to Him?
Dear one, regardless of whatever you have given priority above Our Sweet Lord, please put it in its rightful place – under His control.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)

3) How did this passage affect the audience?
God does have a plan and a purpose for every single person…ultimately, that purpose is to bring glory to Himself (John 12:28). Practically, for Christ followers, we are to be salt and light, illuminating the Truth and making it desirable (Matthew 5:13-16). We are His tools, His craftsmanship, to find His “lost sheep” whether they were in the fold, but got lost and need to be returned, or have never experienced Him as Shepherd.
It is good to look to Scripture for guidance regarding your purpose, but don’t expect specific revelation on who to marry, what job to take, or where to live. Those decisions are expected to be made in the context of a living, vibrant, intimate relationship with Him. The more you spend time with the Lord, the more He tunes our hearts to understand His purposes. What you will find in Scripture, sweet sister, is that people from all backgrounds, in all circumstances, both rich and poor, have worshipped Our Lord, proclaimed His name, and lived their lives for Him. May we do the same as we pursue a relationship with Him, as He has already pursued after us, His lost sheep!

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

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 Screenshot Week Two!
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.