Sin

Cross Day 11 Trinity

Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 27
John 1:1-18
John 14:7-21

Cross, Day 11

Prayers so intense, sweat became drops of blood.

Whip strikes, ripping the flesh from His back.

Thorns slipping beneath skin from the crown of thorns mockingly placed upon His head.

Nails piercing His hands and feet in order to hold Him to the tree.

His raw back pressed into the wood of the cross, imbedding slivers into shredded skin.

The inability to draw in breath as the agony of His angle slowly strangled the air from His lungs.

But the deepest pain of the crucifixion?
The weight of my sin, your sin, the world’s sin rested upon Christ’s shoulders
and God the Father turned His face away.

I’ve seen the Passion of the Christ and other depictions of the crucifixion, closing my eyes at the gruesome fate Jesus endured for my sake. The crucifixion process screams of brutality and a slow, painful death. The sacrificial lambs mentioned throughout the Word had far more compassionate endings than the one Jesus lived and died through as the sacrifice, once and for all, for my sin.
He willingly went to the cross for me.
He willingly experienced torture for me to pay for my sins.
Even now I am dumbfounded at His willingness to experience all of that for my sake, for your sake.

As I sit and process the cross today, sitting comfortably in a local coffee shop, fingers clicking away on my laptop, I sense the Holy Spirit stirring within me. My assignment is to look at the cross from the perspective of the Trinity, the Godhead three in one. Now, I readily admit I can wrap my mind around the reality of the physical aspects of Christ’s sacrifice; however, I can only begin to comprehend the agony that took place beyond the physical.

Jesus came to earth fully God and fully man.
As a member of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ death on the cross was both facilitated and experienced by more than Jesus alone. The entirety of the fullness of God in His three persons of Father, Son, and Spirit were perfectly unified in the plan to redeem us as sons and daughters.
Here was the reality:

  1. Sin had entered the perfect world originally created in the Garden of Eden.
  2. Because of the sin, a blood sacrifice must be made in order to cleanse all record of the sin and restore the relationship between God and man.
  3. The three persons of the whole oneness of God so loved handcrafted humanity, the sacrifice was worth the cost.

The cost of removing the sin barrier for eternity and thereby making way for restored relationship motivated the godhead to make the ultimate sacrifice. God the Son would become the perfect sacrifice, once and for all making atonement for mankind.

As I pondered the role of each person in the Trinity, quite possibly for the first time in my life from an emotionally engaged perspective, the cross and its impact on the godhead came to life.

I became a Christian when I was young and the horror of the physical pain Jesus went through stuck in my mind as the most difficult reality of the crucifixion story. However, as I reflect on the crucifixion from a more mature perspective, and with prayer to the Holy Spirit for His help in giving me understanding, the depth of sacrifice and the height of love involved in the plan of the cross began to overwhelm me.

Jesus left heaven to dwell among us and eventually die for us. He became the pure, spotless Lamb who died for our sins. He bore the agony of a brutal, physical death, but He also walked through the pain of rejection and separation from God the Father. As He became our sin, the separation sin causes required God the Father to sever the relationship until the sacrificial price had been paid.

Jesus paid that price and defeated the grave, death, and hell at the cost of breaking His relationship that had existed eternally with God the Father.
Jesus lived one side of the separation, but what of that for God the Father and the God the Holy Spirit?

I have seen my friends and siblings become parents.
I have watched them experience pain when their children are in pain.
I’ve heard them express how they would take their place if that were possible.
How much pain must God the Father have felt knowing He could have taken Christ’s place, but His love for us kept Him from destroying the only plan for our salvation?

The Father watched Jesus the Son be brutally murdered, then take on the world’s sin. His very nature requires holiness and sin cannot abide in His presence, hence the need for sacrifices to remove sin from the equation. As Jesus took on our sin, the other two persons of the Trinity were forced to turn away, forsaking the Son.
Sin must be rejected.

Christ’s love kept Him on the cross.
God the Father’s love demonstrated itself in the self-control required to follow through on the very rejection that restores our relationship with Him.
The Trinity followed through on the grand plan of redemption because of the joy set before them of restoration between humanity and God!
As I continue to envision the crucifixion’s impact on the Trinity, the role of the Holy Spirit keeps coming to mind as that of a midwife. Jesus promised the disciples that a helper is coming to them. Maybe that description came from experiencing that very help Himself? A midwife coaches a mother through the throes of birth. With each labor pain, the midwife encourages the soon-to-be-mom of the joy that is coming and cheers her on through the contractions. Might the Holy Spirit have been doing a similar work throughout the pain of the crucifixion?

“We have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
“Today they will be with us in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

In Galatians, the fruit of the Spirit is listed with love at beginning and self-control at the end. The entire process of redemption enacted by the Trinity through the cross demonstrated immense love and self-control.

As Christ bore the pain of the cross, the entire Trinity carried the burden.
For the joy to be gained by our own redemption, and for that, I am eternally grateful!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
Join our Facebook Community!

A Note About Cross
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters in Scripture and looked through their eyes as they saw the cross. We do our best to research the culture and times and all biblical support surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives as they watched the crucifixion, but we can’t be 100% accurate. These first-person stories are our best interpretation of how these characters viewed Jesus as He gave Himself up for us. Our hope is that by looking through their eyes, we will see the Cross differently as well, and be dramatically changed as we encounter the Savior!
Enjoy!

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 Cross 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 Cross!

Gospel Day 13 Will Not Perish

Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

John 3:16-21
1 Peter 2:21-25
Romans 3:23-26

Gospel, Day 13

While in community with other believers,
the question was posed,
“Why Did Jesus Die?”.

The simple answer is He died because He loves us.
He loved us so much He chose death on a cross (Romans 5:8) that we would not be eternally separated from Him.
The crazy part?
We are entirely, altogether, 100% undeserving.

Because we all have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
The penalty for falling short of perfect holiness (sin) is death. Not earthly death, as we all will die at one time or another, but more significantly eternal separation from the Father.

“For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 6:23

As we discussed this, someone told a story about a man by the name of Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest in Auschwitz, Germany, where a complex of concentration and extermination camps were built and operated by Nazis. Maximilian saved a man’s life by choosing to take his place. You see, the officers in the concentration camps needed to take ten men to a starvation chamber, because the prisoners were to be slowly and systematically starved to death. Franciszek Gajowniczek was one they had chosen, and he cried out saying his wife and children would never see him again.

When Kolbe heard him, he volunteered to take his place so Gajowniczek would live to see his family again. The officers agreed and took Maximilian to the starvation chamber instead of Franciszek. After fourteen days, Kolbe, one of four men still alive, was given a lethal injection.

This story took place in 1941, and to this day, Maximilian Kolbe’s name has been an example of ultimate sacrifice for another person.

After hearing this gut-wrenching story of Maximilian’s loving heart who would lay down his life for another, someone in our study challenged us by asking, “Why is it that the death of Maximilian causes a bigger emotional response for us than Jesus’ death on the cross?”

Honestly, I am not really sure why I minimize what Jesus did on the cross.
Maybe it’s because I can’t fully comprehend it.
Maybe it’s because I doubt it really includes me.
What about you?

Whatever it is, I believe anyone who claims the name of Christ can agree that:
We should be go directly to Hell for our sin.
Yet we won’t because of Jesus.
“Will not perish” is for us.

We should be forever separated from the gracious, good kindness of a loving Father.
Yet we aren’t because of Jesus.
“Will not perish” is for us.

We should never know the joy of belonging to the Body of Christ.
Yet we do because of Jesus.
“Will not perish” is for us.

We should never feel free to dance in boundless love.
Yet we can because of Jesus.
“Will not perish” is for us.

We should never feel accepted and free from condemnation and guilt.
Yet we are because of Jesus.
“Will not perish” is for us.

As believers in Christ, “will not perish” breaks every chain and washes us with a love we’ve never experienced because our Death has DIED.

What Jesus did on the cross was a manifestation of victory.
A victory He gave to us.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.”
(1 Peter 2:24)

By His wounds we are healed!
Furthermore, we are new creations!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is ja new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
 1 Corinthians 5:17

The old has been wiped away and we are now declared righteous before Him.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
2 Corinthians 5:21

The sinless lamb of God took on our sin.
He took our place.
Owned our punishment.
Jesus is our “Maximilian”, but infinitely greater as He declares us spotless where Sin once stained and where we were once orphans, He calls us His sons and daughters.
“and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:18

All because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross.
We “will not perish” is available to all!

Sisters, in full transparency,
I struggle daily with embracing the truth that I am part of God’s family.
I struggle with accepting He loves me enough to die for me.
I struggle to fully accept the reality that I have been made new because of His sacrifice for me.
But my struggle to hold onto truth, doesn’t change the truth.

As I’ve written this Journey and explored the question of “Why Jesus Died” has grown my belief to trust what God says. I pray His truth anchors you deeply as He is teaching me!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
Join our Facebook Community!

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 Gospel 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 Gospel!

The GT Weekend! Glimmers Week 3

Leave a Comment

The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) When you think of Jesus coming as a baby, consider what aspects of his birth and growing up do you perhaps glorify or add a “glossy touch” to? Jesus being fully human and fully God means that nothing about our human experience was different for Him than it is for us, with the exception that He never chose sin. His birth was messy, His growing up was poor, He went through puberty and struggled with acceptance amongst His peers just like every other human being. It’s one thing to know this, but another to remember and apply it when we struggle in our humanity. All of the everyday frustrations from small to big, the Savior came to be with us in the midst of them. What things are you tempted not to talk with God about because they are “too insignificant”?

2) Have you ever struggled with feeling incapable of sharing the gospel or telling others about what Jesus has done in your life? What are some of the fears that prevent you from sharing? The shepherds were the first to hear of Jesus’ arrival; they were the lowest in societal rankings, yet they were also the first missionaries declaring His arrival! The least likely to tell about Jesus were the very ones God entrusted to do exactly what they never expected to do. Who would possibly listen to and believe a smelly old shepherd? It didn’t matter, they were compelled to share. Who might it impact for eternity if we were as bold as those shepherds?

3) Describe in your own words how Christ’s birth was an act of love. Go slow and really consider what it was about His birth that was so loving. If it was an act of immeasurable love, how does it affect your everyday? How might that love transform your waking, your eating, or the way you see yourself and others? Keep in mind Christ’s entire purpose in coming. Have questions or find some parts that don’t make sense? We’d love to walk with you as you think through them! Send us an email or message us on Facebook!

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 Luke 6:35-36 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Prayer Journal
It’s so easy to take Your love for granted, Lord. You sustain us, holding all of creation together by Your hand, and yet I go about life and my focus shifts so quickly to my agenda, my plans, and me needs or wants that I forget how You uphold my existence with Your breath. Recapture my attention, Lord. Bring me, once again, to a place where I stand in awe and wonder of Your unfathomable love.

Then teach me to love others as You have loved me. You are “gracious to the ungrateful and evil”, which is me, Lord. That’s me: ungrateful and evil all on my own seeking my own good and my own way. Father, Your Love Is Magnificent! And keep my heart humbly seeing how undeserving each of us are of Your love. None of us has more merit than another. Teach me to love as You have loved 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

Glimmers Day 6 Hope In The Should Have

Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 107:1-22
Psalm 108
Judges 2:11-23

Glimmers, Day 6

“There’s that ‘should’ word again.”
This phrase is forever drenched in the loving sound of my husband’s voice as he makes a move towards me. To which, I insistently pull away.
He dramatically shakes his head and moves forward again, a smile teasing his lips.

“Oh my goodness”, he soothes. “Will you just….relax?!”
Tears threaten on my side, my body tightly unyielding as he works to draw me near.
He doesn’t understand.
He doesn’t know how much I’ve got to finish, how behind I am, and I continue babbling on.

I’m pretty hard on myself; it comes naturally to me.
Always better, always more, I use “should” more often than I…should. Oh wait…
Should have done this.
Should have been better.
Should have made that choice.

“You’re so frustrating sometimes, you know?”
But his voice holds nothing but winsome endearment as he resolutely folds me tight against him with no escape.

I wrap myself up so securely with my ‘shoulds’, it becomes nearly impossible to see clearly. I often can’t even recognize the Love standing right in front of me, beckoning me to stand down and rest.

My husband is a constant reminder of the Lord’s love for me and His relentless pursuit.
Even when, or especially when, I “should” be performing better.

The period of the Judges was a crazy, wacky time for the nation of Israel.
If anyone really should have had a laundry list of should haves and must dos, it was these people!

If you’ve never cracked open your Bible to the Old Testament book of Judges, you should try it! It’s more intriguing than you might imagine. Chock full of strange stories, Judges will make you scratch your head in curiosity, leave your mouth hanging open at the wild true stories, and make you wonder what else might be hidden in the pages of the Bible.
An incredibly obese king who dies when a dagger is plunged into his belly and the whole blade is swallowed up by his fat.
A brave housewife who kills the commander of the enemy army by driving a tent stake through his head after she gave him food and drink.
A woman who rose head and shoulders above male leadership in a male dominant society to guide God’s people with her humble faith.
An ordinary man with no societal favor, leads the entire nation to victory with only 300 men by smashing empty jars, yelling, and using torches.
A rash man’s vow that cost his daughter’s life.
Samson’s incredible strength.
And of course, everyone’s favorite, the talking donkey who saw an angel.

Judges reminds me how God pursues His people by any means necessary.
Regardless of how far we run or how hard we push against Him.
Israel was known for being stuck in a cycle (can I get an Amen? I know cycles!)
Theirs went like this…
1) They abandoned the Lord, did their own thing, and ran furiously away from God.
2) God justly punished them by bringing a foreign power to oppress them.
3) Israel begged God for deliverance from oppression, promising to live for Him
4) God answered by raising up a Judge to deliver them and lead them back to Him.
……and then they did it all again!!

For nearly 400 years this cycle of running away, being punished, returning, and drawn back continued on. Generations died in this cycle.
Yet God kept on pursuing.
He loved Israel again and again. Even though He knew they would again break His heart and turn away, blinded by their own selfish ways.

Sisters, I am exactly the same.
Sure, it’s easy for me to sit here with my hot drink, my journal, and my Bible open to Judges to not only gape at their incredible stories, but also judge their inexcusable, repetitive behavior.
How could they?
What were they thinking?
Were they thinking??
Yet there was the Lord, loving them again. Pursing them again.
Despite every ‘should have’ they never followed through on.

And here our stories cross.
My should haves, my repetitive sin cycles, my insistence to trust myself and my way look just as absurd as Israel’s.
Yet, just like my husband’s insistent arms, the Lord draws me back again and again and again.

The poet of Psalm 107 had this cycle thing figured out. Maybe he had cycle issues too.
The whole psalm is built around 4 repetitive occurrences: people suffering, people cry out, God rescues, their grateful response.  I would quote it here for you, and break it all down, but that kind of steals the fun of discovery from you. So, go read it right now for yourself.

Where do you relate?
Do you see the Rescuer?!
Sit with the people’s heart response.
And when it happens again, think of the deeply loving pursuit of arms that refuse to let you go.
No matter all the should haves you pile up, the sins you hide, or the shame you carry.

Maybe one of these times, you’ll decide to fall into the embrace that keeps on waiting.
Maybe you’ll see the God of Freedom for exactly who He is and finally,
you’ll love Him back because you will have discovered that all this time,
He has loved you in the should have.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
Join our Facebook Community!

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 Glimmers 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 Glimmers!

The GT Weekend – Glimmers Week 1

Leave a Comment

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

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

Glimmers Day 2, Hope In The Darkness: Digging Deeper

Leave a Comment

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

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

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Glimmers 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.

Glimmers Day 1 Hope In The Darkness

Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

John 1:1-5
John 1:12-18
Genesis 3:1-6
Hosea 6:4-7

Glimmers, Day 1

My five year old looked up from the Jesus Storybook Bible he held on his lap. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were a little teary.

“Mama, I don’t understand. If God knows everything and He is always good, then why did He let Eve and Adam sin in the Garden of Eden? If He really loved us, why didn’t He just make that not happen? He could have done it. I KNOW He could have. So why didn’t He just do that?”

I pulled him on to my lap and hugged him. “It’s hard to make good choices, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yes,” he huffed. He was just coming out of a time out, and his thoughts were centered around a poor choice he had made a little while earlier. No doubt, he was thinking about how much easier life would be without the opportunity to make a bad choice.

I can totally relate to how he felt. And maybe you can, too?

Sometimes, after I’ve said a harsh word or entertained a negative thought, I wish my own fleshly feelings could be cancelled out completely. I mean, how much easier would this life be without any opportunity to do or say the wrong thing? I think I could win that game. Right? How about you? Do you find yourself frustrated when you haven’t made the choice the Lord would have you make?

The kind choice.
The honest choice.
The forgiving choice.
The loving choice.

If we’re being honest? I think we can all agree that this refining fire of the Holy Spirit-filled life stuff is exhilarating and so necessary. We need His constant teaching to shape our hearts as He trains us to turn from sin. At the same time, it doesn’t always feel good. In fact…(and maybe I’m speaking only for me here) often it is painful. As He works and refines us, it’s easy for us to subscribe to the feeling that our sin has hooked us so deep, we will never be able to separate ourselves from it.

But Loves? That’s because we can’t.
No matter how hard or long or mightily we try, we will never be able to remove our own sin.

When we find ourselves feeling trapped under the weight of a sin we can’t seem to escape, or fighting despair as we stand at the altar, wondering how we are in the same place, again, or feeling hopeless in the face of our frail humanity, we must remember Whose responsibility it is to save us from our sins… and turn toward Him.

That sovereign, weighty duty belongs only to Jesus.
He paid a hefty price, and for us to attempt to shoulder the weight of our salvation on our own shoulders is both foolish and wrong.

What my five year old didn’t fully grasp (and many of us may sometimes forget) is that Jesus was always ever “the Plan.” God wasn’t surprised by Adam and Eve’s sin as they chose to live by their rules instead of God’s design. He knew it would happen. And while His heart undoubtedly broke (and continues to break) at that separation, He also wrote glimmers of hope into His story.

I mean, if any of us could have ever walked without sinning, it would have been that first son, Adam, and his Eve, right? They had no outside influences. No violent television shows or easy access to pornography. They didn’t have broken families or spend time with other broken people who might portray broken lives for them.

And yet, they fell.
Just as we fall.

God knew, all along, that the only One who would ever walk this earth without falling would be He, Himself.

Emmanuel, God with us.

God the Son, come down to His people in the form of the weakest of beings: a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. He was the powerful King Who had been foretold from generation to generation, but He was not the King anyone expected.
He was Jesus: perfect love and our everlasting Hope.

Loves? God never expected us to save ourselves.
He never expected we could live a sinless, perfect life, but He longs for us to choose Him above all else! His passion for us runs deeper than any we can imagine. Read His words about you in the book of Hosea if you have any doubt, and know that the God of the universe feels those things for you and me, His Bride!

From the beginning of His story until now, the fall of Eve and Adam has always pointed straight to the eternal hope we find in Christ Jesus, the sinless Son of God Who gave Himself to pay for our sins and secure our eternal citizenship in Heaven!
Grab hold of this hope and share it today, Sisters!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
Join our Facebook Community!

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 Glimmers 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 Glimmers!

Worship IV, Day 5 Singing Israel’s Song

Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

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

Worship IV, Day 5

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

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

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

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

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

You know… 

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

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

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

I would. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hallelujah! 

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

How could it not?!

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

How could we not praise Him? 

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

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

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

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

Hallelujah!
Let’s sing on! 

Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
Join us for every Journey Study by signing up!
Looking for yesterday’s Journey Study?
Share your thoughts from today’s Study!

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 Worship IV 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 Worship IV!

The GT Weekend! – Incorruptible Week 3

Leave a Comment

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) Think about your appetite for God’s Word. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being untrue, 5 being perfectly describes me), answer these questions. (1) Each day I notice that I long to talk with God. (2) Sunday’s sermon feels like plenty of Scripture to fulfill me all week. (3) Just reading a few verses doesn’t seem like enough, I want to know more. (4) Regular prayer and Scripture intake isn’t something I’ve considered before. (5) Regular prayer and Bible reading is something I do, but sometimes it feels like a burden. Use your answers to help you create specific goals for how you want your relationship with God to grow.

2) When you think of “suffering for Jesus”, what images or thoughts come to mind? Do you think anything in your life could be described like that? Now consider what Sara shared to be “pantry-like-encounters” and re-evaluate areas of your life. What areas of suffering do you need to surrender to the Lord, waiting for just such an encounter with Him? Suffering can bring sweetness, when handed over to the One who loves us deeply and intimately. 

3) Are spiritual battles something you consider happening in regular everyday life? If you were to make a shift in acknowledging that reality as Scripture teaches, how might you prepare differently for the battles you could face in your day? Would Scripture reading become a non-negotiable? How might asking the Spirit to clothe you in His love make your everyday life different? Be specific, write it out, and then pray over your day, asking the Lord to arm you with His love as you walk confidently in hope!

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 4:7-11 back to the Lord and let His Spirit speak to you through it!

The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.  Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining.  Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.  If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer Journal
Lord, I admit that being alert and aware of the spiritual battles raging around me isn’t what I naturally consider. It’s easy for me to believe the tempting, sugary lie that my prayers don’t matter, so I give the time of my inner thought life to other things. I want to grow and change here, Lord. Remind me, Spirit, of the truth that praying is essential to our relationship and is effective in the spiritual realm far beyond what I see.  
 
Fill me with Your strength this week, Your words, Your mind, and Your heart as I go through my days. I long for You to be glorified Jesus; use me and shape me to make Your name known. I love you, Abba! Remind my tongue to praise you endlessly this week! 

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