Author: Rebecca

The GT Weekend! ~ Word Week 3

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The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “Do as I say, but not as I do” implying that the speaker’s life choices don’t necessarily align with their words. They likely see the wisdom of following a certain guideline, but find that in real life, it’s easier or more comfortable to choose a different action, even one that’s counter to what they advocate for with their words. In what situations have you witnessed this inconsistency? Identify some areas you are more prone to do this. In contrast, how does it make you feel knowing that someone’s life matches with full integrity to the words and teachings they verbalize? Would you be willing to trust a God who said one thing and did another? What does it say to other people who are watching your life when they see inconsistencies between what you “practice” and “preach”? Intentionally ask the Lord this weekend to open your eyes to where you tend to live inconsistent with what you assert to be true, then begin recognizing these patterns as they pop up in your everyday life.

2) Chosen. What feelings and thoughts do you conjure up with this word? What scenes from you life do you associate with chosen? What does it mean for you that God has chosen you? Are you living surrendered to His choice over you? What’s holding you back?  Appointed. We all hunger for purpose in our life’s story. What you involved in that fills your “cup of purpose”? What engagement makes you “come alive”. Do you feel boxed in or freed in knowing that the God of the universe has appointed you for work in His kingdom? Loved. Having a purpose is one thing, but knowing you are also dearly loved is altogether more significant. Do you view God has being Love? In what ways do you feel or know you are loved by Him? In what ways do you feel abandoned? Bring Him your honesty! Persecuted. We enjoy the feelings of being loved and adored, chosen, and appointed for a purpose, but the idea of persecution catches us off guard. What are your emotional, mental, and physical responses to the idea of persecution? In what ways do you feel these four descriptors are connected or in opposition to each other? Consider how you view Jesus, as God the Son, having demonstrated each of these. Look up Luke 6:40 as you process this.

3) I once worked for a librarian who left me with a pile of books that needed covered. She provided all the necessary materials, books, and a clear end goal. I snipped and trimmed and pasted and folded, spending significant time meticulously covering the books, but when the librarian returned she realized she’d forgotten to leave me with actual instructions. A task that should have taken minutes had turned into hours when I was left without an example to follow. What is something you learned just by watching someone else model a behavior or pattern for you? Did this process of learning effectively carry over into your own rhythms of life that you can identify today? In the same way, who has been influential in living out how to follow Jesus for you? Who has negatively impacted your perception of living a God-focused life? Can you identify some markers in your life where you are influencing others in their spiritual growth? We all follow someone’s spiritual example whether we realize it or not, therefore, we would be wise to make sure the people we are taking our spiritual faith cues from are those whose lives consistently align with the ultimate model of Jesus’s life.

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 John 21:15 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.”
“Feed My lambs,” He told him.

Prayer Journal
“More than these…” “Do you love Me more than these…” The words echo around my heart, Lord. Do I? Do I love you more than these? Show me my own personal “these”, the people and things and purposes I give myself for and the comforts that I love. As I consider next steps for our family, and some stretching possibilities that make me hedge in fear and discomfort, ask me again, Spirit, “Do you love Me more than these?”. It’s one thing to verbally confess that I trust You and I love You, but you don’t care about my lip-service. Will my life decisions, the big, scary ones and the seemingly insignificant ones, point brilliantly to a heart decision of trusting You or myself? Lord, align my heart with Yours. Teach my feet to follow in Your pathways. Guide my hands and heart to build Your kingdom, not mine. Hold me faithfully fast, even when I choose myself over You. Bring me back to following 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

Word Day 15 Follow Me

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Read His Words Before Ours!

John 21:15-23
John 8:1-29
John 8:30-59
Matthew 4:12-22

Word, Day 15

It’s an invitation as ancient as the beginning of time, gathering intensity and fervency as it rolls through the ages. Ever so gradually, the curtains have been drawn back by the hand of the Ancient of Days, allowing more light to slowly color the invitation with ever-deepening hues of brilliancy and splendor.

Follow Me.

True. In the arena of life, many sit in the audience, blithely conversing with their neighbor, caught up in the distractions of circumstance, utterly oblivious to the array of color and exuding joy sweeping around them.

What of these theatre seats?
What of the lighting?
Can you believe this horrible service?
Look at her! How did she get in here?

Some are gathered in pools of their own tears, awash in a grief so deep and terrifying, onlookers feign ignorance, blocking out pleas for compassion.

Some, shifting in dark shadows, lie in wait to attack the innocent, hell-bent on satisfying their own lustful desires of all kinds.

Still, the invitation awaits acceptance for all who listen.
Follow Me.

A lush garden. Perfect paradise sweeping across every butterfly antenna, every snail’s slime, every particle of rich dirt, and every blade of grass. Light cascades across each drop of dew and breezes frolic among the bushes laden with glistening fruit.

Follow Me. The Spirit breathes as delight and laughter embrace hearts and lift them to the Father who loves them. And delight they do in Abba, in each other, in the stunning creation around them. The invitation holds steady, winsomely inviting them ever deeper into knowing God in richer, more resplendent ways.

An aging, childless man walks through his ordinary days, at first unaware of the seeping light, gathering momentum in the space of his everyday life. The holy invitation is coming for him. The fruit of his labors and that of his father, and his father before him, are everywhere. Sheep and goats far too numerous to count. The richest of foods at his disposal. Servants at the ready, listening for his every beck and call. Success is his, as evidenced by his respect at the city gate and position of influence. The invitation brightens in the call of whole-life surrender, Follow Me.

The stench of urine and wet fleece surrounds him on the crags of mountains and the sparse grasses of the rocky terrain beneath his calloused shepherd feet. He’s been hiding here for decades since he murdered a man in an act of zealous justice. He found shelter in the barrenness as he attempted to outrun the flames of his past. It was fine here, at least moderately so, living with the tentacles of his past strangling his heart in unending days of blistering sun and smothering silence.

Until the moment the grand invitation opened his 80-year-old eyes to see the brilliance drawing him in. The heat from the fiery proposal scorched his soul, burning away the past in the blaze of a holy encounter with the Living God. What once was dead, what once was scarred, what once lay in ashes, now suddenly quickened to life by the wooing invitation. Follow Me.

None who followed were ever the same.
Each journey became an astonishing beacon of the life into which the follower was welcomed.

Ordinary lives drawn into Light ablaze with vitality, now turned extraordinary.
Mundane lives actively awash with Life, now flooded with purpose.
The victim and the offender, the broken and the angry, the calloused and the crying, all.
All swept up into the un-ending luminosity of the incredible invitation.

To all
the Spirit’s voice crashes like so much water cascading over falls, Follow Me.

Come away and walk in the purpose for which you have been crafted.
Discover the thrill of joy rushing beneath the current of your everyday lives.
Available, this sweeping joy is oh, so available.

The cost is surrender.
The reward is the richest of joys and satisfying delights that escalate with ever-increasing hues of rapture as we know Christ more and follow Him closer.

Jesus Christ, God the Son, through whom stands the invitation to return to the sacred garden space of delight with God the Father.

He saw our shadowed selves, lying in wait for another’s demise.
He saw the shards of brokenness tattering our existence.
He knew full well it was our fault we sat in the theatre of life, insisting on our own twisted fascination with upholstery and self-service while the glory of the Almighty shimmered before us.
He knew we would turn away with mockery and disinterest.
He knew our sin-nature would make us love our sin more than the Savior.

Still, He came.
Intending to give His life as the necessary sacrifice to span the too-wide chasm between us and a loving God, gulfed by our own sin-loving-selves.
He came, knowing it would cost His total surrender,
but recognizing the reward would be calling us His own daughters and sons.

The cost would be surrender.
The reward would be unending delight and satisfaction in calling us His own.

Follow Me.
Are you in?

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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 Word Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Word!

Word Day 13 Chosen, Appointed, Loved, Persecuted

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Read His Words Before Ours!

John 15:9-25
Luke 7:17-30
John 17:13-26
Isaiah 42:1-9

Word, Day 13

The heady scent of roasted lamb mingled with melting wax as the disciples gathered around the low table with Jesus for another Passover feast. Though familiar, something entirely other stirred as Jesus prayed, broke bread, and passed the cup.

They ate, He served them, then, in sweet intimacy, Jesus prayed words of life over His brothers, these chosen ones…

You did not choose me, but I chose you. (John 15:16)

Chosen
When I was eight, a recurring nightmare haunted me for 3 consecutive nights. In vivid detail, I watched a gunman murder me, but then, after multiple nights, I saw Jesus stand in the gap, dying the death intended for me. Jesus chose me to be His. He invited me to believe that, though my sin separated me from the holiness of God, He still chose to rescue me and pay for my sin.

Scripture is bursting with biographies of those God has chosen for Himself. He delights in transforming the ordinary and broken, the shame-filled and forgotten, into lives brimming with hope and purpose.

Abraham, who waited decades for God’s promise to be fulfilled, was chosen.
Isaiah, the most well-known prophet to Israel, was chosen.
Mary, the mother who carried the very Son of God, was chosen.

Each was called out, away from the life they’d once lived, awakened to a new existence and ushered in by the delightful choice of the God who longs for all to call Him Father.

I appointed you to go and produce fruit. (John 15:16)

Appointed
Those who sit with me in conversation long enough to hear my heart know I’ve repeated, “I just want my life to matter.” Maybe it’s that I’m racking up the birthdays, or because my oldest is leaving home. The scenes of my life keep shifting and I wonder over and over, “Does this matter?”

The same love that motivated the heart of God to choose me, also appointed me, and all who accept His invitation. He smiles with pleasure as He intentionally floods each chosen life with purposed appointing. He appointed me to school my kids, gather women to study Scripture, make yummy meals (and some that set off the smoke alarm), and walk alongside my husband.

Here’s the incredibly beautiful thing about being appointed by God. It’s as variegated as African dresses and yet as uniformly connected as the constant elements of our universe.
Your appointment looks different from mine.

Zacchaeus was appointed to give away his possessions.
Levi was appointed to invite his friends to dinner, so he could introduce them to Jesus.
John was appointed to preach a message of repentance in the wilderness.

All who answer God’s calling of being chosen are lovingly appointed to bear fruit for His kingdom. Every fruit, regardless of shape or color, is seeded with love.

This is what I command you: Love one another. (John 15:17)

Loved
We’d been married for seven years and were tanking fast. My husband was pursuing his dream of seminary, and I was fighting demons from my abusive past. In the midst of my self-hatred and spurning of God, my husband announced he was leaving seminary to fight for me. He said he had no plans to return; that I was more important. What manner of love didn’t expect my perfection, but just loved?

No disciple of Jesus escapes His mighty call to allow love to color every aspect of life. Pouring the cereal, changing the diaper, shopping for groceries, arguing with your spouse, listening to a friend, going to church, making coffee.
All of it has been designed as an act of worship, of love.

When Jesus overturned tables, pleading others to know the heart of God, He loved.
When Paul surrendered his position to become an itinerant preacher, he loved.
When Lydia opened her home to missionaries, she loved.

Every one of Christ’s disciples were chosen and appointed to lead lives of lavish love.

If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you. (John 15:18)

Persecuted
It’s not popular, this dying to self. Strange, isn’t it, that true, authentic, in-the-dirt-with-you love also carries the risk of ridicule. When we stand for the unjustly treated, when we invest in friendships with those of a different skin color, when we invite the trans-gender to dinner, when we sit at the bar with the promiscuous and hear their story, mainstream Christianity pulls back their religious garments in “righteous” outrage.

To follow Jesus is to fling wide the door of persecution, and understand that being chosen, appointed, and loved, means that suffering is worth it.

The faithful eleven who sat around Jesus that Passover night would all be persecuted for their faith. As they championed the kingdom work of spreading the news that God chooses, appoints, and loves, they would feel the knife of persecution.

But none felt it as deeply as Christ Himself.
All who follow Jesus with their whole lives are each chosen, appointed, loved, and persecuted, because Jesus was first.

This (Jesus) is my servant; I (God the Father) strengthen Him,
this is my chosen one; I delight (love) in Him. (Isaiah 42:1)
I will appoint You to be a covenant for the people. (Isaiah 42:6)
He (Jesus) was pierced (persecuted) because of our (humanity’s) rebellion,
crushed because of our iniquities. (Isaiah 53:5)

Sister, you, are chosen by the Christ who sacrificed Himself for you.
The God who crafted the color of your eyes has appointed you for good kingdom work.
The Jesus who sat at the Passover feast, sits with you now in the middle of your mess to say you are loved.
This same God knows that following Him results in persecution because it isn’t popular to love like Him. But He promises to fill you with His Spirit, strengthen you, and sing over you, “Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)

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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 Word 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 Word!

The GT Weekend! ~ Word Week 2

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The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) What was the last thing you ate? It’s a silly question, but what was your “why” for eating it? I know, crazy, right? But the answer might not be as easy as you think. Were you famished and ate the crusty piece of bread anyways? Were you stressed and ran for your secret stash? Maybe you were bored, or tired, anxious, or just available where food was present. Or, just perhaps, you were actually hungry and you intentionally chose to eat the specific foods you had specifically prepared for the purpose of nourishing and fueling your body. The everyday aspects of our normal lives provide a bit of a reflection into the spiritual realm. We regularly take in “food” to feed the soul-hunger inside each of us. Are we fueling love for Jesus and others by consciously considering, and preparing, what we take into our hearts? Are we slowing down enough to recognize when we are providing fodder for our insatiable pride, anger, or self-righteous indignation? What will you feast on today? And Why?

2) From a bush aflame with orange tongues of fire came a voice declaring His power, might, and complete authority over all. Period. I AM WHO I AM said the Lord God to a trembling, aging, forgotten shepherd. The bush bursting with heat from hungry flames, remained as green and unscathed as it had before the burning fire engulfed it. Authority over all. Period. Centuries later, a smattering of fishermen were caught on the waters in the midst of a storm. Waves sweeping over their craft, death imminent, and a solitary ghost-like shadow walking toward them, seemingly oblivious to the terror around them. Then, the voice, the same voice that had spoken ages before to the fearful shepherd, Moses, spoke again to paranoid sailors. IT IS I. Authority over all. Period. One greater than their storm had spoken, capturing their attention. The storm continued its rage. The flame continued its fury. But the Lord God held all authority, insisting that the forgotten and the bedraggled focus on the single most important Being. I AM. In the hush of now, as you quiet your heart in the presence of this very same God, consider, whose voice will you give your full attention?

3) Nothing can remain hidden when the brilliance of light is cast upon it. Shadows escape as all is instantly, relentlessly made known. Every crack in the windshield, every chip on our phone screens, every spot on the window pane. Nothing Hidden. But for the one who insists on running for shadows, forever fleeing the light, not wishing exposure, they not only miss out on truth, but also prevent themselves from dancing in freedom and forgiveness. Full exposure is terrifying because we all have secrets and shame we’d rather keep hidden away, forever unknown. Tossing aside your masks, what are the secret things you hide in your soul? On what does your shame hang? It’s easy to gloss over and say we have nothing, but then we only deceive ourselves. Sit with it; what hides in your corners, evading the Light of Jesus? Perhaps just as important, explore why you’re hiding it. Yesterday, Sara prayed for us, asking the Lord to give us eyes to really see. Eyes to see our sin, eyes to see Christ for who He is, and eyes to recognize that real life is found only in walking in the Light instead of hiding behind shadows. Where will you live and what will you choose to see?

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 Exodus 3:13-15 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

When Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

Prayer Journal
All inclusive. No exceptions. “I AM WHO I AM” With this name you encompass all things, all time, all authority, and all rule; there is none like You. How dare we look up at You? How dare we breathe without Your permission? Yet, in the un-imaginable narrative of Moses’ life, You come to him, speaking Your Name over him, mysteriously calling him into Your work. You hold all rule, life and death are in Your hand, with Your breathe You formed the intricacies of blood vessels and microscopic cells, yet You, with the greatest of all humanity and dramatic, radical love, spoke. With unquestionable power, You made Yourself known, not only to Moses, not only to Israel, but with the birth of Your Son, God in the flesh, You made Yourself known to all peoples. Oh Lord, whom I have the privilege, to call my Savior, fix the focus of my heart upon the magnitude of Your incomprehensible love, oh great I AM.

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

Word Day 6 How’s Your Worship?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

John 4:23-24
John 4:32-42
Galatians 5:16-26
Psalm 103

Word, Day 6

Put the praise music on. Turn up the Christian playlist.
Raise your hands in church. Sway to the rhythm.
Close your eyes.

Worship. Adoration. Emotion.
Is it? Is this worship?

Cease the lashing with your tongue and voice.
Yank out the bitterness.
Pull up the cynicism and critical heart.
Tear down that wall of self-protection and distrust.
Throw out the pornography and lusts of your eyes.
Break down the idols you love to serve.
Your jealousy, your tendency to stir up chaos as you self-love, the way you chase yourself, the little groups of ladies you gossip with, that clique you form to keep others out, the disdain in your eyes, get rid of it all. Trash, it’s trash. (Galatians 5:19-20, my paraphrase)

“I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:21)

Oh yes, that list is full of worship. Worship of ourselves as ruler, insisting all others bow to our power. No room for any other to take up residency with us, let alone instead of us.

Worship cannot be about us.
It cannot be about what we do, what we bring, what we say, or the songs we choose.
It cannot be what we have made it, so what is it?

Jesus speaks over us, His voice insistent, strong, and full of truth,
willing our hearts to listen and hear His Word.

“But an hour is coming, and is now here…” (John 4:23)
It’s present. The time is now. No more waiting. We are not free to pretend we’ll get around to true worship “later,” when we have more time. We cannot claim ignorance. The hour is here.

“… when the true worshipers…” (John 4:23)
The line of distinction is a real thing. There is an actual judgment call the Lord God is righteous to make. True worshippers vs everyone else. Faith vs Fake.

“… will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23)
Here’s the identifier for the true and the faithful worshippers. It’s found in Spirit and Truth.
What is flesh cannot beget what is Spirit. Only Spirit births what is spirit.

There are no true worshippers who are not born of Spirit. None. Zero. Zilch.
Sure, we can fake it, follow the motions, lift our hands, close our eyes, and sway to the rhythm, fooling our neighbor and ourselves.

But if our hearts are not re-birthed from the Spirit of the Living God,
Jesus is abundantly clear,
we are not true worshippers.

Is there a prerequisite for worship?
Yes!

Full surrender to the One who died for us, taking our punishment for sin upon Himself. He, who is blameless and righteous, willingly and humbly took upon Himself our long list of hideous sins that we might be whole, forgiven, and free to worship Him in Spirit.

Birthed by His Spirit,
sealed by His Spirit,
taught by His Spirit,
we who once were dead in our sin, are now awakened to
worship Him because of the Spirit alive within us who cries out, “Abba, Father!” (Galatians 4:6)

The One God, in whom no deceit is found (1 Peter 2:22), births worshippers who offer their surrender in truth. There is no place for lies here in the sacred space of holy adoration.

Emotion? Passion? Tears? Rhythm? Hands in the air? Prostrate on the ground?
These are not the identifiers of true worship, my precious sister.
These are not required by our God.

When we base the litmus test of true worship on the level of our emotional connection or the language of our bodies, we have removed ourselves from the realm of true worship.
We have added performance stipulations Christ never intended.

Angry? Celebrating? Hurt? Happy? Alone? Joyful? Afraid? Peaceful?
Truth, bring the truth of your real, honest, heart condition. Fling the masks far from you, burn them in the blaze of sacrificial offering. Offer the fullness of your honesty with your sacrifice of praise, realizing anew the beauty of the gospel. Here in this place of true worship, we bring our mess, confident we will be forgiven and set free in ever-deepening ways because of the very truth of the Christ Whom we worship.

Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. (John 4:23)
His Spirit draws us in, nearer to His consuming fire, closer so we can breathe in the familiar scent of the One our hearts blessedly call Father.

Home.
Here we are home, welcomed in the embrace of Abba.
Here we are made whole.
Here we are treasured children and beloved daughters.
Here we are known.
Here we lay down ourselves for the kindest, gentlest Daddy who holds our hands, our hearts, and our lives.

Here, we slip blissfully into true worship.

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

Amen and Amen. May our hearts ever resound with this truth as our lives are set ablaze with the evidence of our offering of true worship born of Spirit and declared with truth.

How’s your worship?

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 Word 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 Word!

The GT Weekend! ~ Word 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

Journal Prompts
1) What was the last thing you said aloud? What were you wanting to convey? Was your message received in the way you intended? What was the position of your heart as you said those words? Did your heart come across? We want our words to carry meaning. We want our hearers to know us, to really understand us, and not reject us in response. Hold onto these thoughts as you consider what God wants us to hear and know about Himself through His words. What does He really want us to know about Him? The Word of Scripture is replete with His message for us. He wants us to hear, to know Him, to really understand Him, and then walk in acceptance of His heart for us. Sit with a passage of God’s Word today, read it again and again, praying for Him to show you His heart. What does He want you to know about Him? (we recommend one of the references from Monday’s Journey Study, “Do You Believe?”)

2) Joyful surrender. Endlessly generous. Unconditional love. Total surrender for another. It sounds beautiful, doesn’t it? For someone to love us like this? Do we dare hope it’s true? Pause for a minute and think of the relationships that whisper of these riches. Who is in your life who loves you so well? Name them and draw up specific ways you’ve experienced their lavish love. Turn the page and allow the faces pass before you who have epitomized the direct opposite of extravagant love. Hurt. Wound. Stinging bitterness. Grief. Loss. Turn the page again; how do you see yourself? Name the scenarios where you’ve demonstrated rich love and then those scenes where you’ve been the self-seeking, self-protecting miser. It’s so hard to consider being endlessly loving, isn’t it? Parts of our heart recoil and justifications raise their hands with arguments as to why you can’t possibly love endlessly. Praise God, Jesus relied on none of those justifications, instead choosing total surrender for us. How does this shape the scenes playing out in your everyday life?

3) Jesus spoke the same language as Nicodemus as He waded into the familiar passages of the Old Testament that Nic had known since childhood. But Jesus added depth, shifted the lens to bring brilliant color and clarity and brought new focus to words that had become rote. The same Jesus who met a man full of questions that incessantly demanded answers under the cover of a starry night, is the same Jesus who seeks you out in this moment. Already know the Savior as your own? Never crossed the line of faith? Have a million doubts? Feel so irredeemably far from the One you once called Shepherd? It doesn’t matter. It’s the very same Jesus, and He is ready to bring newness. Fresh understanding. Depth and brilliant color to the words and traditions and Scripture passages and relationships and everyday rhythms your familiarity has rendered rote. Will you surrender your all to the totality of all He’s holding out? What’s keeping you back? Don’t breeze past the question, let it sink in to the corners of your heart. Meet Him under your own night sky and hold open your heart.

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 John 1:10-13 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, and yet the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

Prayer Journal
You came to Your own, but they did not receive You. You, the God who created, the God who humbled Himself and left the glories of Heaven to walk the sod You crafted and breathe with the lungs Your own hands had fashioned. You, the God who shaped and loved and breathed into humanity, it was You human hearts rejected. It was me. Me who rejected You. I chose sin. I still choose sin. But, oh Lord Jesus, how gracious, merciful, and kind that You would speak Your words of life over me! I praise You for Your Spirit opening my eyes to see the ways I spurn You. May Your words stir in me, sing over me, and speak light, life, and truth over my errant heart. Cut me with Your words, keeping me soft to listening and responding to Your voice, and Yours alone.

Worship Through Community

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The GT Weekend! ~ Enough Week 3

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The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Mandy shared on Monday about a piece that is missing from each of our lives. Take a few minutes and write down the “missing pieces” you long to be filled. What shape do they take on in your life? Making my list are a stronger marriage, knowing where to serve in ministry, and the ever-present ache for the little boy I never held. Wounds from the past, longings for what I felt should have been, and sadness over opportunities I’ve missed are all missing pieces I feel would make me more whole, happier, or satisfied. Mandy’s words challenge us to not only identify our missing pieces, but then to realize every jagged edge is meant to point us to our need for Jesus. Only One King can satisfy with abundance all the empty, wounded, lonely places of our hearts. This King is for us! If Christ is the ocean, what would it look like for you to intentionally leave those empty pieces behind you on the shore, trusting Jesus to satisfy you as you swim in His sea of abundance and fullness?

2) God intentionally, lovingly, gave His people, ancient Israel, a picture of His extravagant love for them in the sacrificial system He instituted. Yes, it was messy. Bloody. Animal sacrifices on the daily; visually repulsive. Yet, every single day, with every single sacrifice, God was turning their eyes to the innocent animal who gave its life that Israelite men, women, and children would be forgiven. Innocence slaughtered right in front of them that their sins might be paid for through the shedding of blameless blood. Every. Day. Sacrifice. Each Jew knew their sin carried a price, and every Jew knew it required a payment they could never muster on their own behalf for they were already stained with sin. Then, one day, outside of Jerusalem, the perfect Lamb of God offered Himself as the once and for all sacrifice to cover every sin and bind back every shame. God Himself lay slain on the altar of sacrifice. Whether you’ve long walked with Jesus, you’ve just begun, or you have lots of questions about faith, we must each decide what we will do today with such an immense sacrifice from such a lavishly loving God. Will we give Him our sin? Will we surrender the shame we carry? What will you surrender to the Slain, Resurrected Lamb of God?

3) Yesterday’s Journey Study begins, “A friend made a sign for me that said, “You are enough”. She meant to encourage me to not feel burdened to live up to another’s expectations. It sounds great, but not one of us is enough on our own, least of all me.” We all have areas of our lives we feel pretty great about. We’ve put in hard work and determination. We’ve made significant changes and grown in big ways. We want a stamp of approval, like the sign “You Are Enough”, emblazoned across our investment. What are those areas for you? While I strongly advocate for personal growth and I champion hard work and dedication (just ask my high schoolers J), Marietta’s words ring true, “…not one of us is enough on our own…” Perhaps you’ve also seen this at play in other areas of your life. No matter how hard you try, it still seems impossible to meet an expectation or climb that ladder of success. As you consider your experiences with this, allow these struggles to remind you we are each hopelessly far away from attaining our own righteousness, our own deep satisfaction, or our eternal salvation without Jesus Christ. He who came to sacrifice Himself and set us eternally free is the Only One Who Is Enough. The best part? He gives His own enough to each of us when we surrender to Him! Cease your striving, Sister, let His enough become your own.

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 2:5-8 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
as something to be exploited.
7 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,
8 He humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.

Prayer Journal
Oh Lord my God, how small I am often tempted to make You. Fashioning You in my mind to dwell only within a small box of my own making. How quick I am to imagine myself as able to avoid Your divine all-knowing, free to live my own life and be my own deity. Inflating myself, I make You lower. Lord, break my heart free from the folly of following myself! My chains to myself are many. Lust. Pride. Control. Self-satisfaction. Hard work. Gossip. Bitterness. Manipulation. Negativity. Self-promotion. Lord God, these are sins, every last one of them and many more. Slay them in my heart, Lord Jesus, making Yourself Lord in their space. Rule and reign with all freedom as You help me give ground where idols once rose high in my heart. Teach me full surrender here at the cross where You, the God of all, gave Your own full surrender to rescue me. Un-fathom-able LOVE. What grace. What mercy to free me from myself. Let it be so, Lord Jesus, let it be so. Amen and Amen.

Worship Through Community

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

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

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Enough Day 14 Sacrificial Lamb: 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 Sacrificial Lamb!

The Questions

1) What boasting is Paul referencing in verse 6?

2) Why does Paul care about cleaning out leaven (yeast) and new batches of dough? (verse 7)

3) What feast are we to be observing? (verse 8)

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Original Intent

1) What boasting is Paul referencing in verse 6?
When we read Scripture, it’s extremely important we first read for context. What does the whole passage say? What is the main point? If we fail to do this, we will quite likely run away with a poor understanding of Scripture, of God, and even ourselves. Then we try to apply this mis-alignment to our lives and end up with a mess! The church in Corinth, who first received Paul’s letters we’ve cleverly dubbed “1 & 2 Corinthians” had major issues. They had serious conflict, bad beliefs, and were known for blatant sins that ran counter to Christ and His gospel of love and unity. Yet, they still felt justified in boasting about how great they were doing. Paul’s admonishment was meant to sternly call them out for their lack of love and inconsistency in holding to truth and what it really meant to follow Jesus as His Church. In this specific instance, a man was committing a gross sexual sin by sleeping with his father’s wife, an action not even condoned by Corinthian culture outside the Church. Yet, inside the church, they boasted on how loving they were by not calling this man out for his blatant hypocrisy and sin as he claimed to follow Jesus and love people. (1 Corinthians 5:1-2) They felt they were doing the right thing by ignoring this man’s sin. It’s also very important to note that Paul makes a distinction in verses 9-13; he did not intend believers in the church to cast judgement on people who were not Christ-followers. “I did not mean the immoral people of this world (…); otherwise you would have to leave the world!” Christians are not meant to judge those outside the church, only God can do that! “For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? (…) God judges outsiders.” (verses 12-13)

2) Why does Paul care about cleaning out leaven (yeast) and new batches of dough? (verse 7)
We don’t use the word “leaven” much in today’s world, but it refers to yeast one would use in baking. Why does Paul care about yeast? Well, he actually didn’t; he knew his audience understood “yeast” to be a symbol for “sin”. In the Old Testament, God had commanded His people to rid their houses of yeast as they prepared for Passover, a special festival commemorating God’s rescue of Israel from slavery to the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:14-20) When Paul states, “Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough?” (verse 6), he wasn’t trying to mock them for their lack of scientific understanding. Rather, he was illustrating the extreme potency of sin and its deadly affects. If Christ’s Church was like a batch of dough, even a small bit of sin (yeast) would quickly spread throughout the dough. Because the Corinthian church understood yeast to be a metaphor for sin, Paul’s point was abundantly clear, they could not just “ignore” sin within their local church body for eventually, the entire church would be consumed with sin. No one would hold them accountable for their sin because everyone would just “accept” a lower standard and justify each other’s sinfulness. Paul instructed the Corinthians to “clean out the old leaven” by confronting sin within their churches. He reminds them they are indeed a “new, unleavened batch” (verse 7) because Christ has died for them, declaring them righteous! Jesus paid for their sin, so they should respond by fleeing from it and following Christ in living holy lives that honor Him together as a whole church. Out of great love for one another and gratefulness to Jesus, they should encourage each other to reject sin’s allure and run instead toward the life of fullness offered in Christ.

3) What feast are we to be observing? (verse 8)
Imagine the churches of Corinth gathering together in the homes where they regularly met for worship and preaching to listen to Paul’s letter. Jews, Gentiles, men, women, and children all came together under the freedom Christ had come to give them. This was the New Testament church! They had complex lives with countless temptations to sin, worship idols, and pressure to achieve more just like us today. The Jews present, who were probably fewer than the Gentiles, were as familiar with Torah (Old Testament) Law as the back of their hand. Though the Gentiles hadn’t grown up with God’s Law, they were still familiar with Jewish practices, sacrifices, and feasts because they played such a prevalent cultural role. When Paul wrote, “Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us observe the feast…” (verses 7-8), everyone listening immediately understood the connection between Christ and the Passover lamb. Christ was the One crucified on a Roman cross and resurrected from the grave three days later. The Passover lamb was the animal slain every year by every Jewish family during the Passover feast which commemorated God’s rescue of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Paul was tying these two together as the same symbol. Christ had become the Passover Lamb. Once Paul made this clear, he urged the churches to go out and live everyday lives in light of this incredible sacrifice. “Therefore, let us observe the feast…” The audience recognized the feast as Passover, but Paul wanted them to go deeper and understand that feasting was now meant to encompass the whole of the Christian life. Believers were now to feast on Christ as the Bread of Life (John 6:35) who has no sin in Him and calls those who trust Him to also leave behind all sin (yeast).

Everyday Application

1) What boasting is Paul referencing in verse 6?
It’s so easy to justify ourselves, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s just me who is always running ahead with ready defenses for every action, thought, or word. I’d much rather point to the shiny, pretty things I’ve done and completely ignore those sinful patterns I keep right on living with. Shockingly, I was given another opportunity to confront my sin just a few days ago as my husband expressed his frustration with how I consistently interacted with him. Regardless of the suggestion, dream, or feeling he shared with me, I was oh so quick to shut him down with my own counter opinion or critique. As he talked with me about his frustration, the Lord opened my eyes and I realized my husband was right. I was stuck in a pattern of criticism and harshness, but I had justified my attitude and sharp words toward him as me being allowed to have my own voice. Expressing myself was never the issue, my willingness to listen and encourage him was where I was deeply lacking. I’m sure Paul’s sharp words were hard for the Corinthians to hear; facing our sin is generally painful. As difficult as it was, I am so grateful for my husband’s willingness to point out my sinful pattern and for the Spirit enabling me to recognize how I wasn’t loving my husband despite my lengthy list of justifications. Where is the Lord pointing out your sin patterns? Resist the urge to boast in your justification and surrender to His conviction! Maybe you see sin habits in a brother or sister who loves Jesus. Make the loving choice and confront them, calling them to recognize their sin and turn away from it! Our churches desperately need believers to hold each other accountable to following Jesus and loving others! 

2) Why does Paul care about cleaning out leaven (yeast) and new batches of dough? (verse 7)
How often do you think about “getting rid of” the sin in your life? Probably not often! If we look at our sin patterns, we can feel overwhelmed and weighed down with impossibility of breaking comfortable habits. We choose to sin because it’s easy and we enjoy it, but we like it because we have forgotten the far greater delight of following the ways of the Lord. Psalm 119 is FULL of declarations on how joy-full (Psalm 119:14-16), wise (Psalm 119:23-24), life-giving (Psalm 119:25), freeing (Psalm 119:45), and even delicious (Psalm 119:103) the commands of the Lord are to His people who follow them. Proverbs says the path of those who reject wisdom leads to death. (Proverbs 2:19) Paul knew, and had experienced in his own life, that Jesus was always the Better, which is why, when writing to confront the Corinthians of their sin, he turned their focus onto the Sacrificial Lamb. (verse 7) Only when we keep Christ, His love, and His sacrifice that we could never repay in focus, do we become repulsed by our sin instead of drawn toward it. When you think of “getting rid of sin” in your life, begin in prayer and ask the Lord to show you His glory, goodness, and righteousness. As we gaze on Him, His Spirit will stir within us a far greater love for God than for our sin. Only in Jesus do we have victory to break the deadly pattern of sin in our everyday lives! (Romans 7:24-25)

3) What feast are we to be observing? (verse 8)
We don’t have the same contextual benefit the first New Testament churches had when they read Paul’s letters. Most of us don’t celebrate all the Jewish festivals, and we have no concept of an annual Passover Lamb, let alone daily sin offerings through animal sacrifice. While the first century church had real life visuals for these concepts, 21st century believers need to work a little harder to understand the original culture and context. Nevertheless, Paul’s connection of Christ as the Passover Lamb and his urgent call for the early church to reject sin’s pull and move forward into living as God’s holy people is a message for us today! Sin isn’t a plaything, something to be ignored, or passed over as insignificant. Our sin is what cost the Savior His life. If it wasn’t for our sin, there would be no need for Jesus to sacrifice Himself on our behalf, but because He did, we are free to reject sin and love God and others around us! Consider your role in your local church body as you think about what if you had been one of the first believers in ancient Corinth. Would you hear Paul’s Spirit-led words and become an advocate for addressing sin in yourself, your family, and your church body? Would you hunger for the sinless “bread” of Christ, desiring to daily feast on Him through studying His Word and developing a deeper relationship with Him? It’s one thing to claim you’re a Christian, it’s quite another to take your relationship serious enough to leave your sin behind and feast on the holy life God has called us to enjoy together!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
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Catch up with Sacrificial Lamb!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

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

Digging Deeper Community

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

This is Enough Week Three!
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Why Dig Deeper?

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

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

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

Study Tools

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

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

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

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Enough Day 13 Sacrificial Lamb

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 118
Exodus 12
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Mark 11:1-11

Enough, Day 13

“Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar!”
(Psalm 118:27)

This was the concluding chorus of King David’s praise song, preceding his final stanza, “You are my God, and I will give thanks to You; You are my God; I will exalt You.” (Psalm 118:28)

Then, arms flung wide, inviting all to join him in praise at the Passover festival, the King shouted victoriously the timeless familiar refrain of God’s chosen people, “Oh! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever!” (Psalm 118:29)

Israel’s King David, known for his whole-hearted passion for God, his musical ability, his songs of celebration and laments, his sin and his forgiveness, was leading his nation in another Passover feast.

The hingepoint?
The binding of the Passover lamb.

One sacrifice, given on behalf of all, to atone for their sinfulness and free them from the slavery of sin and the cords of death.

Each Jew in attendance imagined the mighty Red Sea rolling back on itself at the command of Yahweh, so Israel could pass on dry land.

Freedom was coming, even as Pharaoh’s militia followed them, effectively sequestering them between two death traps, the sea or the army.

I can imagine Israel’s intensifying fear coiling within them. Mamas, hushing babies as their own tears flowed and panic pounded in their ears. Fathers, knowing they were helpless, pushed their families behind them, certain there would be no mercy from Egypt’s finest soldiers.

Israel knew these faces.
They’d seen them every day.

These Egyptians didn’t just ride chariots and fight Pharaoh’s battles; their hands held whips and their voices laughed as Jewish blood spilled under their abuse. These were the taskmasters. These were the men who spit on the Israelites and cruelly dictated every aspect of their lives.

Freedom from this nightmare seemed utterly impossible, until one afternoon Moses announced Yahweh had heard His people’s cries.
Mercy was coming.

But now, with desert sands quaking beneath them from the thunder of oncoming horses’ hooves, mercy seemed like a cruel joke. Where was Yahweh now? Where was His great freedom? Death from the sea on one side. Death from the ruthless Egyptian army on the other.

Then, in one unthinkable act, the Lord breathed a pathway through the Sea while His cloud moved to block the army, lavishing an entire nation of runaway slaves with incredible mercy.

In the place where Death had reigned, mercy ruled.

“Lord, save us!
Lord, please grant us success!
He who comes in the name
of the Lord is blessed.” (Psalm 118:25-26)

Hundreds of years after the Red Sea victory, David’s voice carried across the nation sprawling before him on Passover, his words a prescient echo of centuries beyond, when another crowd gathered before another King.

Palm branches waved, excitement electrified the atmosphere, and the same prophetic words reverberated through the air, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” (Mark 11:9)

Victory seemingly swelled, but the cheering participants were oblivious to the pervasive Death around them. Two Death Traps.

Death was the rightful consequence, earned like a paycheck, for even one sidestep from God’s standard of righteousness. And sins were aplenty. Lies, gossip, lusting hearts, and manipulative tongues named only a few.

An impassable chasm stood on one side, separating every person, of every color, every language, every gender, every sin from the glory of freedom and delight found only in the presence of the God of everlasting, enduring love.

On the other? Eternal Death. Unending darkness, unceasing punishment, and the fullness of God’s wrath poured out without pause for grace or mercy.

Mankind was hopelessly caught between Death on either side; yet freedom was coming.
In one unthinkable act, God Himself left His rightful glory and humbled Himself to stand between the ones He loved and the relentless onslaught of Death’s fury.

“Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar!” (Psalm 118:27)

Impossibly, the sacrifice of God Himself was bound to a Roman tool of unthinkable torture.
His blood spilled to pay for our sin. Mercy had come.

Mercy to take the eternal blow of death.
Freedom unleashed as Christ’s once-dead body flooded with the warmth of life.
Death lost and Life won as Christ rose to victoriously conquer the grave, forever.

Mercy ruled where Death once snarled.

“There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the righteous:
‘The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!
The Lord’s right hand is raised.
The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!’”
(Psalm 118:15-16)

The Lord God had done, again, what mankind could never accomplish. Just as He forged the path of mercy through the Red Sea, so He paid the consequence of Death in His own body, allowing Himself to be bound as the Sacrificial Lamb. In His offering, He became the gate of Life, declaring “righteous” all who enter through Him, trusting Him as their sacrifice on their behalf.

By the blood of the Sacrificial Lamb of God, we are emancipated from the slavery of Sin’s whip, shame, mockery, and reign to run forever free in the rich flood of Christ’s unabashed mercy and love. And so my lips will ever shout King David’s refrain,

“I will not die, but I will live
and proclaim what the Lord has done!”
(Psalm 118:17)

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Here’s a link to all past studies in Enough!