Author: Sara Colquhoun

Redeemed Day 1 Once Upon A Time

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Ruth 1:1-5
Judges 2:16-23
Isaiah 43:1-7

Redeemed, Day 1

My first wedding anniversary was nothing like I expected.

Just 365 days prior, I was running to my car with sparklers all around, looking forward to the rest of my life with my beloved.

Fast forward a year, my husband and I went out to dinner and headed back to our new home . . . my parents’ house.

You see, the first six months of marriage were great. We were living on our own, taking weekend getaway trips, and learning more about each other.

But then, we hit bumps.

We got pregnant, and at twelve weeks, lost our first baby.

Then, my husband got hurt on the job, causing him to be out of work and both of us to rely on my income alone. We learned he needed surgery, which would further delay his return to work.

Our plans for moving to a condo closer to the city disappeared just as fast as they’d come, and before I knew it, I was crying on the phone with my mom and dad, asking if we could put our stuff in storage and move in with them. It was all we could afford.

I don’t know about your marriage preparations, but we did not cover this scenario in premarital counseling. “What to do if you have to move back home” was not one of the weekly sessions.

Yet there we were.

Our happily ever after went from bliss to desperation in a heartbeat. 

We went from independence
to living with my parents,
my brother,
my sister,
my brother-in-law,
my niece,
and three dogs.
Talk about a full house. 

Our newly-tested faith was still in the wrestling stage as we dealt with the loss of our baby and mourned the life we’d imagined.

We were lost.

I wish I could tell you everything got better quickly, but this is a place of gracious truth.

We got pregnant later that summer and, after six weeks of hospitalized bed rest, we were blessed with our daughter. We brought her home to my parents’, and were able to move out a few months later. Hope began flickering to life as circumstances improved.

But darkness invaded the fledgling light as our marriage took a turn for the worse. I became afraid that redemption of our love and future might never take place. What should have been a joyous time with our newborn daughter was tainted with death and depression.

Death of what my marriage was supposed to be.
Overwhelming depression as I tried to pick up pieces of our very broken home.

My life was not supposed to be like this.

And neither was Naomi’s.

You see, once upon a time, Naomi had it all.
She was married and had two sons approaching adulthood.
I can imagine at this point in her life, she looked forward to her sons’ marriages and grandchildren in the near future.

But one day, her husband died.
And years later, her sons died, too.

From full house to empty within a decade.

Naomi’s story is touched with death and depression.
So much like my own story . . . and perhaps yours, as well?

Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, had moved their family to Moab during years of famine in Israel. What they believed was the right choice to provide for their family ended up being a death sentence.

Dreams of being a grandma, gone.
Dreams of growing old with her love, gone.
Dreams of having her family together, gone.
Dreams of financial security, gone.

Naomi’s life, on paper, was ruined.

She was a widow, beyond childbearing years, and most likely could not perform the physical labor necessary to provide for herself and her surviving daughters-in-law.

Her story could have stopped here. She could have stayed in Moab, empty, and waited to die.

But God.
God was moving in the heart of Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law.
And did I mention Boaz? He will be joining us soon.
Finally, while Naomi couldn’t perceive it, He was continuing to work out His plan for the redemption of all mankind through the life of one frail, hurting, dejected woman.

What could have been the end was only the beginning.

As we journey through the book of Ruth, I want to encourage you. Just like Naomi, my story did not just stop. 

When your world is all hurt and emptiness and death and depression, your story does not just stop.

The redemption woven into my personal years of famine would take hours to tell. There is life, love, joy, and a testimony that could only come from God Himself. My husband and I, with Christ in our midst, are walking forward with true freedom and joy at the way He’s written our story, and this summer we are celebrating six years of marriage.

I encourage you to dig into this Journey Theme over the next three weeks.
Naomi and Ruth’s story is only the beginning.
Let’s see how our redeeming God is at work in their lives, and in our own.

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

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Captivating Day 15 Life For Life

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 61:1-3
Luke 9:23-24
Acts 16:6-10

Captivating, Day 15

As I sat down to write this Journey Study, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Within an instant, I was taken back to twelve-year-old Sara (who actually went by Lizzie, but that’s another story for another day), sitting in the church sanctuary pew, tears streaming down her face. I was a wreck!
My church’s mission team was heading to Jamaica for a week and was in the process of presenting a slideshow detailing how they would minister on the trip.

I sat captivated by the testimonies, the preaching, the song and dance, and envisioned myself walking the roads and sharing the gospel.
The longer I watched, the more tears I shed.

My mom leaned over and asked me what was wrong, as I was clearly engulfed in emotion.
Four words mumbled from my mouth through silent sobs.
I need to go.

 I had known about missionaries, and mission trips my entire life, but I’d always viewed it as something to do when I got ‘older’, whatever that meant.
It wasn’t until my sister gave us all hugs and said, ‘see you later’ I realized missions wasn’t intended for just some believers,
It was intended for every believer.

As mom and I talked, I couldn’t help but wonder why the emotion, and why the longing? It brought questions up in my heart, and I knew I needed to find answers. By the end of the night, we decided if I still felt the same way next summer, then I could sign up for my first mission trip.

Over the course of the next few months, I felt I heard the word ‘missions’ more than ever.
It’s beautiful the way the Spirit works to create a hunger within us, isn’t it?!
When you are increasingly sensitive to His leading, and really pressing into Him, He reveals His direction ever more consistently and clearly in our lives. From guest speakers, to videos, to Scripture, I felt drawn to missions more and more.

When the next summer rolled around, I had signed up for not one, but two trips. I was heading to El Salvador, and a couple weeks later, to Jamaica. It didn’t matter that it was summer and I was supposed to spend my days at the pool, what mattered to me was going. What mattered was obeying what God had told me to do.

The trip to El Salvador was overwhelming. To see how the world lives beyond my sphere was eye opening, especially as I wasn’t much older than most of those we interacted with.
I had spent one night on our trip praying and praying about what God wanted me to do with my life when I heard His voice for the first time.

I’ve called you to this, my daughter. To proclaim the Good News. To be a missionary.

I knew then, my life was forever changed.
This was why I was engulfed in emotion.
This was why the Spirit had been speaking to me for the last year.
He was preparing me to listen and obey.

The theme of the week in El Salvador was Vida por Vida, which means Life for Life.
Jesus gave His life,
So we can live our lives,
To tell others about Him.

This is the Gospel lived out!

If I wouldn’t have laid my own desires down, I would’ve missed what God created me to do. To make disciples, to teach them the Good News.

Following Him in obedience will always involve sacrifice.
But it will always be worth it!

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
The Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.
And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20

We were all created to go.
It could be within the walls of your home, in the checkout aisle, across the street to neighbors, or going to the 10/40 window, but the mission is the same.
To ensure every person on earth has heard the name of Jesus.

If you’ve never been on a mission trip before, I encourage you to pray about it, then follow through and sign up for one. It’s incredible to see the Lord working beyond your everyday borders.

Will it cost you?
Yes
Will it be worth it?
Beyond measure, friends, beyond measure, as you give your life for another life.

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

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

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Captivating Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Roads Day 6 Quest For Truth

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Romans 1:28-32
Matthew 17:1-13
Matthew 16:1-16 

Roads, Day 6

“I don’t really believe in any certain thing. 
But I’m a pretty good person, and that’s good enough for me.” 

If you’ve ever encountered this line of thinking, you’ve likely met a Universal Unitarian, whether they even realized it or not.  

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion characterized by a ‘free and responsible search for truth and meaning.’  

1) They assert no creed.
2) They hold to a 7-principle system for those in their community, but they consider it a “guide” rather than a “doctrine”.
3) Some believe in “a god”, but they are “openly revising their view on god as they learn and grow in their own lives.”
4) Their unity comes from a shared search for spiritual growth as they include congregants of various religious backgrounds including, atheists, agnostics, deists, Jews, Muslims, Daoist, Buddhists and many more others.
It’s a quest for truth, but without a measuring stick for what actually is true.  

Jesus? 
With such a strong core value of searching for truth, while, at the same time, necessitating that all views be accepted equally, the biblical view of Jesus is too intense. A universalist will gladly welcome conversation with you, but will maintain
Jesus was nothing more than a great prophet and teacher. 
He most certainly was not divine; He definitely is not the Son of God.

Many view Jesus as someone on an “All-Star” cast of teachers that has transcended through time, but acknowledging that Jesus could be the very Son of God would challenge their entire belief system. From a Universalist perspective, Jesus serves no other purpose aside from feeding the hungry and clothing the poor.

Trinity?
Unitarians entirely reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Which is understandable if your foremost value of self-knowledge is jeopardized by an all-knowing, all-present, all-powerful three-in-one God who Himself contains the fullness of truth and life and has created life as an overflow of His love that they might come to know and understand the fullness of His love.  

Life After Death?
When it comes to an afterlife, Unitarian’s believe that all roads lead to heaven.
They strongly promote universal atonement, meaning that there is no “divine judgement after death”, but if you happen to believe there is judgement, they won’t reject you from their community. This theory of universal pardon maintains that God, if there is a God, will not hold unswervingly to the conditions He has (presumably) laid down for righteousness. While He has threatened eternal condemnation for all those who do not accept Him, He will in the end relent and forgive everyone.
But, if even the existence of God is hazy, there can’t really be much hope for an afterlife can there? 

A Unitarian website is quoted as saying,
“Why does life exist as we know it?” and “What happens after we die?” 
Unitarian Universalism won’t promise you ironclad answers to these questions.”
I don’t know about you, but that theology doesn’t seem nearly strong enough to support my eternity. 

Be that as it may, I can see how Unitarianism would be appealing in today’s society.
We live in a day and age where people crave control,
and want to manifest their own destiny.
Many people we come in contact with in our everyday lives have a belief system made up of personal experiences and in turn, handcraft their own religion from those experiences.
A quest for truth, waiting for something substantial, but does it even exist? 

Is being good really enough?  

Do all roads really lead to Heaven?  

Does the Trinity actually exist?
Was Jesus just part of an ‘All-Star’ cast as a glorified humanitarian? 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23
Even the best person among us falls, perpetually short of God’s holiness. 
God’s standard is absolute perfect righteousness.
No person ever has, or ever will, meet that except for one…..Jesus.  

Just one act of disobedience in an otherwise ‘good’ life, is all it takes to be found guilty and worthy of punishment in the eyes of God.
He is a holy God. Flawless. He cannot be in the presence of sin.  

But Hope!
“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
God’s forgiveness depends on faith and trust in Jesus, not on us or our works. 
Jesus alone earned it for us.  

In a previous Journey Study, I wrote:
“Jesus is both tolerant and intolerant;
utterly exclusive and wholly inclusive. 
He made it plain and simple in Scripture:
“No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
There are no other “gods” (Buddha, Gandhi, Muhammad..),
simply, only, Jesus.
Because He alone is able to save and stand in the gap and take our punishment for sin.
Jesus Christ lived the human life flawlessly in our place, being fully God, yet becoming fully human,
He alone could bear the full measure of God’s wrath upon Himself.” 

The idea that Jesus was just part of an ‘all-star’ cast couldn’t be more flawed.
You see, without Jesus, it would be impossible to have a relationship with God! 

The Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) has eternally existed. Complete. Fully in community with one another. One does not exist without the other.

If you’re on a quest for truth, of if you have the opportunity to connect with someone who is, Solid Truth is available.
No, we aren’t “good enough”.
But Praise God, there’s One who is, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Don’t shy away from sharing the Hope we have.
It isn’t hazy or uncertain, it’s true. 

Hungry for more on what we believe as Christ-followers and how to share it?
We spent an entire Journey Theme on Creed.  

We’d love to continue this dialog in the comments or through e-mail – reach out!   

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
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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 Roads 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 Roads

Misunderstood Day 15 We’re All God’s Children

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 7:13-23
Luke 13:23-30
John 1:9-13

Misunderstood, Day 15

You’ve probably heard it said that “We’re all God’s children.”
While this phrase is meant to be all nice, fluffy, and inclusive,
I feel like I need to let you know that it’s a lie.

Even typing those words makes me a bit uncomfortable,
but I since we’re all friends here,
I have an obligation to tell you the truth.

Kind of like if you had something in your teeth, or the tag was showing on your shirt.
I don’t want you to be blindsided and confused as to why no one cared enough to tell you
one of the biggest misconceptions we face in our daily Christian walk.

Our culture today has become incredibly focused on our political correctness,
even to the point of misleading and misguiding our fellow believers and those who don’t believe in Jesus.

Now before I go any further, I do want to clear a few things up.

God both created and loves every single human being on planet Earth.
He wove us together in our mother’s womb, and numbered every hair on our head.
But, God the Father, has only one begotten Son, Jesus.
The rest of us, must be adopted into God’s family, as it is written,
He is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)

In order to be a child of God, and in God’s family,
we must ask God, through Jesus, to adopt us.

We also can’t just believe in God.
James writes, “Even the demons believe—and they shudder.” (James 2:19
We have to accept Him and surrender to His lordship.
This means agreeing with God about our sin, recognizing that because of our sin we are eternally separated from the Holy God,
then truly want to repent, and turn away from our sin,
running towards the grace of Jesus.

Adoption isn’t about believing in God,
it’s about a relationship with God.

“But to all who did receive Him,
He gave them the right to be children of God,
to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12

Jesus is both tolerant and intolerant;
utterly exclusive and wholly inclusive.
He made it plain and simple in Scripture:
“No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
There are no other “gods” (Buddha, Gandhi, Muhammad..),
simply, only, Jesus.
Because He alone is able to save and stand in the gap and take our punishment for sin.
Jesus Christ lived the human life flawlessly in our place, being fully God, yet becoming fully human,
He alone could bear the full measure of God’s wrath upon Himself.

Yet, beautifully.
Gracefully.
This Truth of the gospel is for everyone!

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

The narrow gate to Heaven is wholly inclusive.

As I’ve prepared for this journey study I spent more hours than I’d like to admit diving into the teachings of pastors like Rob Bell and Joel Osteen. These men are widely known, and followed by masses, yet they continuously preach a false Gospel message of inclusivity.
“Universal Salvation”, they preach; claiming that “love” wins.

The idea that everyone ends up in heaven is false doctrine, Sisters.
And we need to be know the truth!

But is Rob Bell’s love…..really love?
A love that doesn’t insist on justice?
A love that says there is no consequence for sinning against the Holy One?
Is it love that declares Hitler innocent?
No, it isn’t.

Is it love that says everyone can go to Heaven?
Everyone who has sinned?
Everyone who has spit in the face of God?
Shunning His ways, rejecting His truth, stomping on His righteousness and boasting in ourselves instead?
No, it isn’t.

Praise Jesus for the gospel!!
Only in the gospel do we see the vast love of God married to the flawless justice of God,
overflowing in abundant invitation of adoption to all.

Our sin, which requires death, demands justice.
And because we could never pay the penalty, Christ did it for us in our place.
Justice.

It’s love that holds out nail-pierced hands, wounded for our transgression,
and invites with deep, unknowable love, “Come to me, all of you.”
Love.

Being a child of God means that we:
Love Jesus John 8:42
Believe that Jesus is the Savior 1 John 5:1
Love well John 13:34

Are His Own Galatians 4:6
Adoption.

Justice + Love = Adoption
THAT is how love wins!

Jesus warns, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers! (Matthew 7:21-23)

Charles Spurgeon says it like this:
“Many loud professions of faith will count for nothing in that day of judgment.
All of us must see to it that we have more than a mere profession of belonging Christ.
There is no hope for (the one whom Christ does not know).
To be unknown to Christ is to be devoid of hope forever and forever.” 

The good news here my sisters is that there is hope.
There is room for each of us in the family of God.
Are you His?

Want to chat more about this?
Comment here or send me an e-mail.
Let’s hold onto truth, as we wrap ourselves in grace!

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

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

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

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

Bride Day 10 The Unrepentant Life

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 51:10
Hosea 6
Romans 1:18-28

Bride, Day 10

I’m currently walking through a season of being still before the Lord.

After years of heartache, frustration, questions, and emptiness, the time has come for me to stop talking to the Lord about all the wrong in my life and
start listening to His truth and who He says I am.

I felt strongly that in order to start off this season of quiet, I first needed to repent.
To cleanse my heart of all that had a hold of it.
And so I sat down and listed them off, one by one.

God, I am sorry for thinking that I can be the best mom, wife, friend, sister, daughter, while serving on worship team, writing for a blog, and leading a small group without spending enough time in loving union with You.
Self-Reliant.

God, I am sorry for not acknowledging You for the help that we have received in the midst of job transitions, church commitments, being out of town, or a simple date night. None of those would have been possible without You.
Thankless.

God, I am sorry for not listening to you when You told me to keep loving my husband and serving him the way You have called me to.
Selfish

I’m sorry for not extending grace to my daughter as she stops to learn something new, causing us to be late yet again.
Prideful.

God, I am sorry for using the gift that You have given to me without letting You be used through me every single time.
Arrogance.

I was blind to how my sin added a soul crushing burden to my everyday life. Looking over the list I had just made I knew it was time to hear what the Lord wanted to say, and so with that, I turned the page.

And isn’t that so true of all of us?
We walk this life carrying bitterness towards someone who offended us years prior.
We hold grudges towards our spouse because of something said in an argument.
We try and navigate our life without the One who is the Giver of life, because we feel we are better guides.

We have become a people who think if we haven’t done ‘wrong’ by worldly standards,
or by the girl’s next door,
then we haven’t done wrong at all.
But sweet friend that isn’t true.

The Father’s heart is for His children to come back to Him,
releasing the sin that we have a hold of.
The sin that has a hold of us.

As we’ve journeyed through the book of Hosea for the last two weeks we can see an overall theme of unrepentance woven throughout. From Gomer, to Israel, to us as God’s people, unrepentant hearts are the constant.

In fact, the heading in my Bible over chapter six says:
A Call to Repentance
“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for He has torn us, that He may heal us;
He has struck us down, and He will bind us up.
After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live before Him.
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
His going out is sure as the dawn;
He will come to us as the showers,
As the spring rains that water the earth.”
Hosea 6:1-3

Charles Spurgeon notes in his commentary of this passage:
Tender fathers seek first to train their children by gentle means.

The Lord, in His patience, dealt kindly with His stumbling Israel, sending them favor after favor and blessing after blessing. But the more He multiplied His blessings, the more they multiplied their iniquities.
So they spent the mercies of God in sacrifice to their idols and committed transgressions with the false gods of the heathen, consuming with their lusts the mercies God had sent to bring them to repentance.

Walking through this season of being still before the Lord,
of being called back to repentance,
has caused me to realize all of the areas in my life that
I had taken God’s mercies for granted.

And as I turned that page in my story, falling before the throne of the God, with tears, with a broken heart over my sin,
do you know what I didn’t hear?
Condemnation.

You know what I didn’t feel?
Pushback

Oh I surely deserved it.
Sisters, our Holy God is rightfully wrathful to the offensiveness of our sin! (link rom 1:18)
I deserved much worse when I look face to face upon the sin I have loved and then compare it to the pure, un-adulterated, endless holiness of the Lord God Almighty.

But no.
In that moment as I turned my unrepentance into repentance, there was….
Peace.
Forgiveness.
Intimacy.
Love.

Because His wrath against my sin had already been pacified.
With blood.
Not mine, but my Savior’s.

Forgiveness is mine because my Savior pursued me, even in my sin, He pursued.
He fought for me.
He chased me, again and again and again.
And when I turned,
He. Was. There.

With peace.
With forgiveness.
With intimacy restored.
With love un-imaginable.

And right there is the tragedy of Gomer and Hosea.
Of Israel and her Shepherd King, Yahweh.
Love was waiting.
But she kept running.

Israel’s story, Gomer’s story, they don’t have to be ours.
Turn around, sister, lay your sins, one by one, right there at the foot of the cross of Christ,
and stand forgiven, redeemed, and at peace with the Almighty God!

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

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

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

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

Bride Day 5 Jealous Love

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Hosea 2:1-13
Romans 5:6-11
Haggai 1:1-11

Bride, Day 5

Growing up, I felt as though my parents gave my siblings and I a pretty healthy dose of freedom and responsibility.

If we were playing outside away from the house, we were to be home before dark.
If we wanted to be able to stay out later with friends, we needed to check in and assure them we were doing exactly what we’d said we would do.
If we didn’t do those things, then we weren’t allowed back out until we could prove we were responsible enough to handle their guidelines.
These checks and balances allowed them to continue to trust us, as well as gauge if we could handle an increase of freedom.

In fact, I don’t remember being told no much during my middle and high school career.
Now before you go on thinkin’ I’m a goodie-two-shoes, I’m generally wired to be a people-pleaser. If you were to do a study on birth order, you would come to find out I’m about as middle child as they come.

Middle children tend to be the peace-keepers and often possess traits like agreeableness and loyalty. Whenever I did do something wrong, the loyal, peace-keeper inside of me immediately felt guilty.

For example, one weekend as a middle schooler, a friend invited me to watch some movies I knew weren’t allowed at my house. Embarrassed to say no, I gave in and we watched 3 unapproved movies in 1 day.

The following week, I couldn’t rid myself of the nagging feeling inside. I couldn’t eat, had a hard time sleeping, and I was short and rude in conversations. When I finally got up the courage to tell my mom, I was in tears before I even said a word.

As a believer in Christ Jesus, we have access to the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of us. My mom explained that the sick feeling I had been experiencing was like the Holy Spirit’s nudge in letting me know something wasn’t right. In its purest form, it was conviction, and I needed to ask forgiveness.

When talking to my GT sisters about writing this Journey Study, they pointed out something I had never realized before. The nagging feeling (Holy Spirit) that I had inside of me then, and even now, can be directly related to the burning jealously God feels each time we do something that takes our focus away from Him.

Think about that for a minute…
God.
The Most High.
The Holiest of Holy
He, too, gets jealous.

He is jealous of what rightly belongs to Him.

“Do not make an idol for yourself,
whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above
or on the earth below or in the water under the earth.
Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them;
for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” Exodus 20:4-5

“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:24

“I am the Lord. That is my name,
and I will not give my glory to another
or my praise to idols.” Isaiah 42:8

Worship
Praise
Honor
Adoration
Service

Those belong to God alone, because He alone is worthy of it.

In Hosea, we clearly see that God is not only jealous,
but zealous about protecting what is precious to Him.

Israel.
His people.

God did not want to share her with anyone else. So, when she worshiped other gods, committing spiritual adultery, God, motivated by jealous love, takes action.

God wasn’t narcissistically stuck on Himself, somehow needing Israel to worship Him so He could feel good about Himself.
Neither was God lonely and, out of His emptiness, was stirred to chase after His chosen Bride.

No, the Lord was jealous, and acted zealously to pursue His people, out of Pure. Love.
My parents made the rules they did, not to make them feel better about themselves, but because they deeply loved me. They chose certain movies to be on the “do not watch” list because they knew me. They knew I would love others better if I wasn’t trapped in my mind by the things I had seen.

The Lord.
The precious and powerful God Almighty.
He knows our lives will function to their fullest when we delight ourselves in Him,
because He’s the one who designed life.
He’s the One who knows our hearts.

Out of His great love, He chose pursuit.
He chose to woo Israel back time and time and time again,
not out of His neediness, but because of THEIRS.
 
Oh, this is love!
What would Israel gain?
Peace, fullness, abundance, inheritance.
What would the Lord gain?
Simply the delight of a relationship with His Beloved.

Sweet sisters. He is jealous for you.
Not because He is needy.
Not because He is lonely.
But because He purely loves you.

He knows how to bring your life to its fullest, most satisfying place.
He knows what will bring you delight.
And He knows it all begins and ends with Him. (Revelation 22:13)
Because He’s the author of it all.

With my middle-school choice, I turned away from my parents to fulfill my own desires.
With Israel, their choices reflected the same thing, they had longings they thought they could fill up with a million other loves.
With us, today, right now, we have hearts aching with desire, holes we would do anything to fill up. Longings we are chasing with a million other loves.
But One Is all we need.

A God who loves us jealously.

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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 Bride Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Sketched III, Day 8 Modern Day Hannah

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Samuel 1
Mark 11:22-25
Hebrews 11:11-12

Today could be the day.

Sketched III, Day 8

The day I’ve been waiting for.
The day we’ve been waiting for.
With every month that passes by a new wave of excitement, nervousness, and hope plague me. The biggest desire in my life has yet to be fulfilled.
But still, today could be the day.

My drive home from work seems to be taking longer than normal, and I let myself reflect on how I got to this moment, today.

Growing up I pretended to be the mommy to all my little friends in the nursery.
I hung on every word my mom said, as to make sure I gained as much knowledge from her as possible.
I babysat as often as I could, because in my mind, you could never have enough kid experience.
I took care of my body, and was hardly ever sick.

Which makes it so hard for me to believe even after all this time, it still hasn’t happened. I’m a woman and this is the one thing we as women are supposed to be able to do.
Yet, I’m unable.

As I’m jolted back to the present, the tears start to fall in the quietness of my car,
as this is the only place I allow myself to truly feel.

I feel sorry for myself—is this desire selfish?
I feel sorry for my sweet husband as we’ve talked about having children since our dating days.
I feel sorry for my parents who long to be grandparents.
I get angry sometimes with God, unable to understand why we have to go through this hardship and why He’s allowed negative test after negative test.

I’ve heard it all.
“Maybe you’re not meant to be a mom and God has another plan for you.”
“It will happen one day, just you wait and see.”
“Stop thinking so much about trying; just relax.”

While those words are meant for comfort,
they provide only a tiny Band-Aid over an already gaping wound.
A wound laced with shame and sadness.

I want to put on a brave face and act like the pregnancy announcement posts on social media don’t bother me, but they do. I’ve spent the last few years coming up with excuse after excuse as to why I can’t make the baby showers and birthday parties I’ve been invited too, and I’m so tired of the lies.

Maybe having a baby isn’t in my story.
Maybe my husband should’ve stayed with his first wife.
At least she bore him children.

Knowing that my mood has suddenly taken a turn for the worse, I make a pit stop.
I pull into the church parking lot where I’ve been a member for most of my adult life.
These walls have heard my cries of triumphant joy as I wed my husband,
as well as the mournful sobs at the inability to conceive.

With a heavy heart, and a foggy mind, I sit down on the front pew in the sanctuary.

I expect the prayer to come easy, but it’s not.

In a desperate attempt to unpack my thoughts, I start to mutter, choosing to simply abandon all I know of myself onto all I know of the Almighty. The words stumble at first, awkward, but as I sink my shaking heart into solid truth of who God is, the words no longer matter, who might be watching no longer matters, I need the Father God. I’m entering His throne room by the sheer gracious goodness of God; He’s inviting me here in the middle of all my brokenness.

‘God, You know.
You know where I am at right here in this moment. You know the immense depth of my affliction and in a desperate moment of feeling completely forgotten and alone, please, don’t forget me. I know You never abandon the work of Your hands. I know my every longing, every ache, every joy, is known completely by You. You hem me in on all sides. There is no darkness with You. Lord, this desire of my heart to be a mom, I know You placed it inside of me. I know You are good, even if this desire isn’t fulfilled in the way I dream. Whatever happens, Lord, I want to honor You as King. Lord, if you give me a son, I will give him back to You all the days of his life. Peace, Lord, give me peace.’’

I look up through my tears and see my Pastor standing quietly off to the side, with a hand raised in my direction, and I can tell that he is praying for me.
Our eyes meet, and I see his lips whisper, “Peace, go in peace.”

I feel that still small voice speak to my heart:
You’re not forgotten, beloved.
Peace.
Be Still.
Know that I am God.

I wipe my tears and walk back to my car,
longing to linger in this moment of sweet worship.

My husband’s waiting for me when I get home, anxious for the next three minutes as we wait for one more test result.

I place the test on the bathroom counter, set a timer, and walk to the living room where we begin to pray that no matter what happens, God is still good.

With a deep breath in and then out, I feel as though my eyes deceive me.
Positive.

I’m pregnant.
We’re pregnant.
I’m going to have a baby.
We’re going to have a baby.

Oh, Abba, thank you.

Peace.
Be Still.
I Am God.

—
This is a modern take on one woman’s real-life journey who lived centuries ago. Hannah ached for a baby, but she knew Yahweh alone held her sufficiency. She struggled with longing, she was bold in her request of the Lord, but her “ask” grew out a relationship, a knowing that the Lord God was indeed good. And she chose Him, even over her heart. No matter our struggle or our aches, let’s follow the brave example of Hannah and choose the Lord, waiting for His peace.

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A Note About Sketched
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters throughout history. Some are biblical, some are well-known in modern day times, and some are people our writers know personally. We do our best to research the culture and times surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives on life and the world, but we can’t be 100% accurate. “Sketched” is our best interpretation of how these characters view(ed) God, themselves, and the world around them. Our hope is that by stepping into their everyday, we will see our own lives a little differently!
Enjoy!
And keep watching for Sketched Themes to pop up throughout the year!

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 Sketched III 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 Sketched III!

Woven Day 5 The Rescuer

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 6
Psalm 139:13-16
John 3:16-18 

A few months ago, I shared with you sweet sisters some of the struggles I had been facing in my marriage, as well as how I was doing my best to put one foot in front of the other. I opened up about how I was worshipping through this trial and standing on God’s Word, even through the darkest time of my life.

Choosing to trust God, even when my life was in shambles wasn’t an easy choice to make. I wanted so desperately to stick my fingers in my ears and pretend like I wasn’t hearing God ask me to continue to push forward, and to honor and respect my husband through the trials we were walking through, but I didn’t do that. (Not to mention I’d probably look a bit silly.)

I knew in the back of my mind that God had my best interest at heart and that He wanted redemption for us. So instead of acting like my nineteen month old, I listened to what God was asking me to do.

Silently, I obeyed the Almighty.
I prayed.
I cried.
I served.
I worshipped.
I was respectful.
I honored.
I didn’t give up.
God saw.
And our marriage was spared.  

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries.
Noah walked with God.

I was recently gifted a Charles Spurgeon edition of the Christian Standard Bible and the way Charles describes Noah was too good not to share. He states:
God keeps His eyes on the sons of men, and He searches among them for certain individuals on whom He delights to fix His gaze.
When God speaks of having seen Noah, he speaks of having seen the kind of man for whom He was looking, namely, a righteous man.
There is not a righteous man on the earth whom God does not see.
He may be anything but famous, but as long as he is righteous, God delights to look on him.
In an age of violence and oppression, Noah alone was a righteous man.
He was no oppressor.

How incredible is it that those are the words that began Noah’s introduction to us?
He is described as the son of God that he is and God delighted in him.
Noah wasn’t chosen because he was a prince, or famous, or had a ton of talent.
He was chosen because he was consistent in his walk with the Lord.
He believed in communion, prayer and meditation and knew right from wrong.

In the end, it was because of his faith, lived out in obedience and righteousness, that Noah found favor with God and was chosen to build the ark and ultimately, be saved from the destruction of all mankind.

The flood, which admittedly can be viewed as devastating,
still paints a beautiful picture of God’s love for us.
It’s a picture filled with promise that continues, even to this day,
that shows us we are worth pursuing,
and that we needed to be rescued.

My marriage was worth the pursuit, so redemption could take place.
The baby you will hold one day is worth the pursuit, so redemption can take place.
The family member you’re praying for is worth the pursuit, so redemption can take place.
The spouse you’re saving yourself for is worth the pursuit, so redemption can take place.

I imagine those who saw Noah building an ark in the middle of the desert ‘because God told him to’ would’ve made fun of his actions. No one wanted to admit that Noah was right and their world was corrupt, full of sin, and in desperate need of rescuing.
So, instead of listening, they pointed and laughed.

It’s true of my story, and I’m sure some of yours as well.
We’ve been on both sides.
The side where we are listening to God and following His directions.
The side where we watch someone we know make radical choices for the Kingdom and internally point and laugh because surely, they’ve gone insane.

But here’s the good news friends.
God wasn’t surprised when everything went wrong again after the flood.
So, before the beginning of time, He had another plan, a broader plan.
A plan not to destroy the world, but to rescue it.
A plan to one day send his own Son, Jesus, the Rescuer, to save us all.
From Noah to Jesus to You and me, the story is all woven together.
There isn’t a B.C. or A.D.
There is simply Jesus in the midst of every story written.

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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 Woven Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Here’s a link to all past studies in Woven!

Chase Day 10 The Chase That Restores

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Jonah 2
Psalm 51:10
Matthew 18:12-14 .   

res·to·ra·tion- the action of returning something to a former condition.

Around seven years ago after returning from my first trip to Kenya, I felt the Lord tell me that my time on the mission field wasn’t finished yet. I had just gotten used to the feeling of warm water, flushing toilets, sleeping on a mattress, and air conditioning again when I heard from Him, and to be honest, I wasn’t surprised.

I was called into missions at thirteen years old and now that I was old enough to pursue this calling, I felt as if I was ready to go wherever the Lord was going to lead.

About two months later, I was approached with the opportunity to be a junior leader that summer on another overseas trip with the same organization and I said yes instantly.
But then something unexpected happened.
I started to run away from God’s calling.

Just as Jonah was anxious to flee to Tarshish after hearing what God had asked him to do, I decided that financial stability, leaving my job, and saying goodbye to my family and friends was going to be too hard to give up again. Ultimately, these were more important than what God had called me to do. I made up excuse after excuse and ran in the opposite direction.

While I’m happy to report that I never physically ended up in the belly of a whale,
I did feel as if I had spent some time feeling similarly to Jonah during that season.

I was distressed in a dark place, with no one to turn to except for the Lord,
and even that felt unfamiliar and awkward.

My life was not over because I did not lead that summer,
but being outside of the will of God is not a place we should strive to be or choose to linger.
The months following my decision to not go,
God continuously pursued me.
Because His reach of grace doesn’t fall back when we choose another Love.
His chase on my heart and life showed me that He cared for me, and that He wasn’t going to give up on me. He knew that following His heart, was the most abundant life for me, and He refused to just “let me go my way”. One of the ways He chased me was by the people He was placing in my path.

A few of the teammates I had gone to Kenya with surprised me that summer and all flew to Atlanta for a mini reunion as well as to celebrate my 19th birthday. Towards the end of their stay, we turned on worship music and had a night of prayer and singing praise to Jesus together in my basement.
It was a holy and beautiful moment I’ll remember forever.
It was during this time, one of my former teammates bravely asked me why I was resisting God’s calling over my life so much.

Whoa.

He told me that he felt the Holy Spirit’s prompt to ask the question
and when the crocodile tears began to fall,
I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
I explained the entire situation, start to finish, and the very next morning I woke up and applied to lead another trip.
Through this night of praise and worship,
a night I wasn’t expecting,
God began to restore me from the inside out
as His chasing heart caught up to me.

Looking back on that moment from seven years ago,
I’m reminded of how beautiful it is to be pursued by a loving Heavenly Father,
especially when we don’t deserve it.

I was downright disobedient towards God,
yet He never stopped loving me.
He never stopped chasing me.

Worship is the key to restoration. Through those desperate moments of weariness,
God invited me into restoration as I chose worship to be my sacrifice of love.

While writing this, I’ve been listening to Reckless Love by Cory Asbury on repeat. The chorus and bridge go like this:

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

 There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me.

After Jonah had been inside of the whale for three days and three nights, he was vomited onto dry land. Upon this, Jonah heard from the Lord for the second time and ran straight towards Nineveh, never looking back.

Through worship and restoration, there is redemption in the Father’s embrace!
He’s chasing after you, Beloved.
And It’s okay to be caught.

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

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Worship Week Two! 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 Chase!