Blessed

Pause VI Day 12 In Real Life

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Pause VI Day 12 In Real Life

Melodye Reeves

January 17, 2023

Blessed,Freedom,Future,Joy

Read His Words Before Ours!

Philippians 4:4-9

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5  Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.
9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Read More Of His Words

One day on a hillside near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus began teaching a group of people. What became known as The Beatitudes sums up Jesus’ teachings on earth. In essence, blessed are you if you need Me for you shall have Me. The reward and joy of the believer is Jesus! In the world as we know it, prosperity means bigger and better. It means accumulating more stuff.

But the gospel meaning of prosperity is different! Paul had more than wishful thinking for the Philippians. He had an assured hope, produced by longing, for them to discover the abundant life of knowing Jesus. Life with Jesus had become real to him, and his desire was for them to know the reality of life with Christ.

Paul’s genuine concern is seen in his many letters as he calls for gospel unity. In the previous verses, he specifically mentions a disagreement that had occurred in the church at Philippi. (Philippians 4:2-3) Real life happens, doesn’t it? But, Sister, disagreements don’t need to squash our joy. With the help of mature friends and the work of Jesus, we can restore relationships and renew our joy. We can discover and display the gift of grace and graciousness. (Philippians 4:5)

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

Always?! Who likes commands such as “always” or “never”? Usually not me. Unless it’s a reference to always experiencing my favorite thing and never experiencing a hard thing, these words feel so perpetually binding. What kind of joy is this anyway?! It’s essential that we realize that this kind of joy is a gift from God. It comes when we experience the delight of heaven in the real world of now.

The root word for “joy” in Greek is chara, closely related with charis for “grace.” Joy is both a gift of God and a response to God. Joy comes when we experience and relish the gift of grace through Jesus. Just like Paul, all believers live in an alternate reality once they’ve tasted the goodness of God. (Psalm 34:8) Joy is not seen only when circumstances appear favorable (i.e., a plastic smile), but it is sensed deep-down in the soul of a believer. “It is a well-being that abides in the heart of the person who knows all is well between himself and the Lord.” (preceptaustin.org)

So know this, dear Sisters: A life of joy is not only attainable, it’s sustainable through the Spirit of Christ. What do we get from our salvation? We get Jesus! What kind of joy does He give? The kind that sings about the goodness of God in the midst of real-life suffering and pain. (Acts 16:24-25)
This. Is. Our. Life.
… in Jesus.
Pause and dwell on these things, sweet Friend.

Today's Pause Challenge

1) Pull out your Bible and read Philippians 4:4-9 fully through 2 times. Go slow. Emphasize different words each time you read it. Savor the message and pray as you read. Write out the verses in your journal.

2) Each time you read it, write down everything that pops out at you, making special note of the word “peace.” When you’re finished, go back through and you’ll be amazed at the new things the Spirit is leading you into knowing about Him!

3) Pay special attention to the fact that these verses are written as commands from Paul. Note each instruction Paul gives. Consider how obedience in these areas is connected to knowing Jesus. Pray over how these can be more integrated into your life.

4) Memorize Philippians 4:4-5

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family,hope,possession,rejoice
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Pause VI
Day 11

Paul must have often preached to his own soul through his letters to the gathered believers in the churches he had planted. In Philippians 4:6, Paul tells the Philippians not to be anxious, but I sense his own anxious heart toward his friends. With tears, Paul prayed and pleaded for the believers not to be swayed by enemies of the gospel, those who would disrupt their fellowship or turn them from the truth about Jesus. (Philippians 3:18)

“… my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.” (Philippians 4:1)
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Sketched X Day 15 Coming Home

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 46:1-7
Genesis 46:28-47:12
Genesis 50
Romans 8:28
Revelation 21:3-4

Sketched X, Day 15

It was a day I thought I’d never see . . .

As I lay at the bottom of the well expecting to die;
as I came to grips with my new life of servitude in Egypt;
as I sat in jail, imprisoned for a crime I didn’t commit;
even as I knew success as governor of Egypt:
I never thought I would see my father again.

But, to my delight, after I finally revealed my identity to my brothers, Pharaoh told me to send them to get my father and the rest of the family. He offered them the best of the land of Egypt as their home. I could hardly wait to be reunited with my father at last.

I’ll never forget the moment I saw him. It was overwhelming. Both of us wept as we embraced one another, neither of us wanting to let go. So many years had passed, but the love between us had endured. He had believed me to be dead, and I had been unsure whether he was still alive. The pain brought by the years apart was eclipsed in an instant at the joy of being together again.

My father told me how God had spoken to him on the road to Egypt:

“I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. Joseph will close your eyes when you die.” (Genesis 46:3-4)

It reassured me that in the mess of our family’s complicated story, God was sovereign. He had gone before us, He was with us, and He had a good plan for us. We had seen God’s faithfulness.

There were many happy times together in Egypt in the years that followed. My brothers worked as shepherds, and I successfully led Egypt through the remaining years of famine. Our family grew and flourished.

It sounds like this should be the end of the story, the part where “they all lived happily ever after,” but of course real life doesn’t work out like that. My father was growing old, and all too soon, the time came for him to join his ancestors in death.

We had seventeen years together in Egypt; a blessing I never dared dream possible. My father saw his grandsons and blessed them; his final years were filled with joy and gratitude at having the whole family together once more.

Before he died, my father asked to be buried with his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac. He had never forgotten God’s promise all these years, “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back.” (Genesis 46:4)

Although he had prospered during his years in Egypt, Canaan was his home, the land God had promised, and he knew God would be faithful to His word. So, after seeking permission from Pharaoh, my brothers and I set out to lay our father to rest at home.

On our return to Egypt, I was surprised to receive a message from my brothers asking my forgiveness for how they had mistreated me. Didn’t they realise I had forgiven them long ago? Although I had assured them of this even before our father came to Egypt, it seems there was some lingering doubt causing them to speculate that now our father had died, I might decide to take my revenge!

I was overcome with sorrow at how worried they were, at how they must have tormented themselves over the years. Their actions were wrong and caused me great suffering, but, looking back, I see how, even in hardship, God was working for good. He led me to Egypt and put me in a position where I could save the lives of many people.

Through all that happened, God had been with me. How could I hold a grudge? I had known God’s kindness, the kindness  intended to lead to repentance (Romans 2:4), and I was more than happy to offer that same kindness to my brothers.

I comforted them and promised to care for them and their children, and I think this time they saw my sincerity.

As I look back over my life, I marvel at how God has worked and I’m grateful for how He has brought my brothers and me to this place of peace and flourishing. I trust God will keep His promise to bring my family back to Canaan one day, but I also look beyond Canaan to the day I will be reunited with my father again, forever this time, when we will dwell together with God at the great heavenly homecoming, the true happy ending.

“Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

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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 X Week Three! 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 Sketched X

Sketched X Day 14 Dinner & Identity: 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 Dinner & Identity!

The Questions

1) Why would Jesus wash Judas’ feet even though He knew Judas would soon betray Him? Why not just send him away immediately? (verses 2-3)

2) Why was Peter hesitant to allow Jesus to wash his feet? (verses 6-9)

3) When Jesus talks about following His example, does He intend us to literally wash feet? (verses 12-17)

John 13:1-17

Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 Now when it was time for supper, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray him. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into his hands, that he had come from God, and that he was going back to God. 4 So he got up from supper, laid aside his outer clothing, took a towel, and tied it around himself. 5 Next, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t realize now, but afterward you will understand.”

8 “You will never wash my feet,” Peter said.

Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”

10 “One who has bathed,” Jesus told him, “doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For he knew who would betray him. This is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothing, he reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.

16 “Truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Original Intent

1) Why would Jesus wash Judas’ feet even though He knew Judas would soon betray Him? Why not just send him away immediately? (verses 2-3)
It is impossible for man to fully understand God’s timing. While that seems like a “churchy” answer, this is simply the truth. However, we can draw some insights based on what else we know from Scripture about Jesus, this scene, and the revealed heart of God. The disciples never really understood who Jesus fully was or His plan to redeem mankind until post resurrection, which we see in part as this story unfolds. While they said they believed Jesus was the long-awaited Promised Messiah, they only knew part of the story, and their actions proved their understanding. Jesus, as God incarnate, perfectly represents God as love (1 John 4:16); there is no one God does not love, including Judas. Jesus Himself said, “I have come to serve, not be served.” (Mark 10:45) Every single word and action of Jesus carried deeper meaning and purpose than these twelve men realized. The plan written before the beginning of time needed to play out fully in order for Jesus to beat death and pay the penalty once and for all for ALL sin. Additionally, Jesus knew of Judas’ future betrayal even as He called him to be a disciple. He is God after all, which means He is all knowing. Perhaps the best explanation comes from Jesus who said, “I only do what the Father tells me”. (John 5:19) Jesus was obedient to the Father at every point, which included loving Judas.

2) Why was Peter hesitant to allow Jesus to wash his feet? (verses 6-9)
Peter didn’t understand Jesus’ often shocking actions and words. As a result, his pride often got the best of him and Peter was offended by Jesus. In this passage, Peter thought someone “lower” in rank than Jesus should be washing feet, which would have been culturally appropriate. It was the norm to have slaves do the unsightly task of foot washing, certainly not the Promised Messiah. It’s important to notice that Peter never once said, “Hey Jesus, I got this; why don’t you sit down while I wash your feet.” Peter did not yet understand true servanthood and humility. Offended, he balked at Jesus’ willingness to perform such a menial task. His limited understanding is even more evident by his next words after Jesus tries to gently lead him into understanding. Peter rashly responds, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” (verse 9) In Peter’s mind, he was raising his hand shouting, “I get it Jesus! I’m gonna’ let you wash all of me!” While Peter expressed a willingness to do whatever it took in that moment to be close to Jesus, he still didn’t fully understand what it cost to be a humble servant and do whatever God asked. This is evidenced later in Peter’s story by his anger at Jesus’ arrest and subsequent three denials. 

3) When Jesus talks about following His example, does He intend us to literally wash feet? (verses 12-17)
Yes and no. For the original audience this passage could be taken quite literally, given their culture. It was common practice for a slave to wash your feet when you came into a home, as most travel was by foot. However, there is always a deeper meaning to Jesus’ recorded words. In this scene, Jesus emphasized that His disciples have been called to a lifestyle of humble servitude to others, regardless of who the “others” or the situation. Numerous times, Jesus instructs these twelve men to follow His example in other teachings. He has invested time, energy, and countless hours training them to be His hands and feet. Now the time had come for them to “step up” and humbly serve others by getting low, just as Jesus modeled. In a way, Jesus was saying, “I don’t care how messy, how dirty, how sinful, how different people are; I’m calling you to humbly serve each and every one of them. So that you can then tell them about Me and the salvation I bring.”

Everyday Application

1) Why would Jesus wash Judas’ feet even though He knew Judas would soon betray Him? Why not just send him away immediately? (verses 2-3)
Questioning God’s plans and His timing are an age-old issue. How many of us have said, “I just don’t understand what God is doing” or “I know this is God’s plan, but why is it taking so long?” or “Why wouldn’t God intervene?”. Like the disciples, we suffer from perpetual tunnel vision. We often focus only on what is right in front of us. We miss the big picture because we stubbornly refuse to see God working in hard things. Thank God, Jesus washed Judas’ feet! Consider for a minute if He hadn’t. What would it mean for us? It would mean there would come a point where we have sinned one too many times or our sin was too big to forgive. Jesus washed the feet of a man He knew would betray Him, just like He died for you and me, all the while knowing we too would betray Him. (Romans 5:8) Yes, those are hard words to hear, but each and every time we sin, we are choosing to betray Jesus. More so, sin is sin, from a white lie to murder each sin separates us for eternity from a perfectly loving God. (Romans 3:23) BUT Jesus died for it ALL! (Romans 8:37-39) We don’t need to understand His timing or His purpose, that desire to understand comes from our worldly thinking! We only need to understand, and fully place our faith, on the truth Scripture teaches over and over, Jesus willingly came to save each and every one of us. (1 John 2:2) He chose to be obedient to the Father’s call and submit to death, so that He could pay the penalty for our sin! “See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children!” (1 John 3:1)

2) Why was Peter hesitant to allow Jesus to wash his feet? (verses 6-9)
I love Peter! I am thankful he was so dense at times! His story gives me so much hope for my wayward self! If you’ve done much reading of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) at all you know Peter had a huge pride issue. This interaction over foot washing with Jesus is one of several in which Peter, thinking he had it all figured out, put his foot in his mouth and had to be gently, and sometimes firmly, corrected by his loving Savior. How many times have we done the same thing?! For me, too many to count. We are all guilty of it and some of us (not naming names, but me, Lori!) have a huge struggle with pride. Pride is one of those things that sneaks up on me, even though I know it’s an issue and try to be aware of its luring temptation. It’s deceptive and seems to sneak in under the radar until it gets fed and continues to grow and grow, pulling me deeper into sin and farther from Jesus. Then, just like with Peter, Jesus graciously points out my sin and gently allows me to see and understand its tragic depth. It’s not so much that Peter was hesitant to let Jesus wash his feet, he was hesitant to accept Jesus’ attitude of humility and servanthood and wear it himself. Let’s be honest, it’s hard to live with the same attitude as Jesus in our broken and messed up world, especially when we allow pride to trip us up.

3) When Jesus talks about following His example, does He intend us to literally wash feet? (verses 12-17)
Today’s application hasn’t really changed. We too are called to follow the example of Jesus by being His hands and feet. Hebrews 13:1-2 tells us “Let brotherly love continue. Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.” The truth of the matter is people and relationships are messy and hard; being humble requires full reliance on the Spirit of God at work within us. Look at Jesus’ life on earth and how many times He showed up in messy and hard situations to love others! We need not worry about how to love like Him, because it’s not us, but Jesus working in us as long as we are surrendered to Him! Our responsibility is to be willing and obedient to go where He leads, help those He puts in front of us, and even wash the feet of our enemies. (Romans 12:20) I can’t help but think about the passage in Isaiah 6, when the prophet is confronted with God’s holiness and it absolutely wrecks him. Isaiah’s response is exactly what ours should be today as we encounter the radical holy humility of Jesus, “Here am I, send me”. Jesus wasn’t forced to die to save us, He chose to obey His Father, which meant humbling himself to the point of death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8) The same is true for us, we aren’t forced to obey God’s call on our lives, but once we are truly confronted with the holiness of God and the depths of our sin, how can we not kneel and say, “Here I am, an absolute wreck, but send me, I’ll willing to go.”

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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!

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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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Sketched X Day 10 Perfectly Planned

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 41:33-57
Psalm 105:16-22

Sketched X, Day 10

When you’ve been through what I’ve been through, you come out on the other side a very different person. I can honestly tell you that I now know my God better and trust my God more as a result of what I’ve been through. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything, even though it was hard.

You see, I was sold into slavery in Egypt by my older brothers when I was a boy. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I was falsely accused not too long after I got there and thrown into prison. At any point along this road I could have given up on God, wondering what on earth He was doing and why it seemed that He was treating me so unfairly. But I’m glad I didn’t. Because I’m seeing now that all of my days were perfectly planned by Him before even a single one came to be.

The Lord, in His sovereignty and according to His plan for my life, gave me the gift of being able to interpret, with His help, the meaning of dreams. And would you know it – that is the very thing God used to finally get me out of prison once and for all after I had been forgotten there again and again for years.

When I interpreted Pharoah’s dream for him, telling him about the coming famine, I said to him, “Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”
Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting him to decide I was the wise and discerning man for the job! Not after all I had been through! But that is exactly what he did! In fact, he put me over his house and all his people!  He even gave me his signet ring and clothed me in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about my neck. I couldn’t believe it!

Now during the seven plentiful years which preceded the famine, I gathered up all the food and put it in the cities. I stored up so much grain that I couldn’t even measure it anymore! The Lord so blessed us that when the famine then spread over all the land, I was able to open all the storehouses and sell grain to the Egyptians even in the days of such a severe, all-encompassing famine. Our God is so good, and I am now so thankful for all I went through. He intended it for good, and I now know I can trust Him with all my days going forward.

Biblical Connections:
Daniel – The same God who revealed dreams to Joseph and gave him the divine wisdom necessary to plan for widespread rescue from famine is the same God I worship. When I was called on to tell King Nebuchadnezzar his dream and interpretation, I reminded the king that no human could do this, only the God who was willing to share His wisdom with me.

God- Mankind was enslaved by Sin, stuck in their rebellion against Me with no hope of escape, but I used all of history to lead up to My entrance into humanity’s timeline that I might rescue them. Because I am sovereign, I knew the precisely perfect time to send Jesus to live in the flesh perfectly and die for the sins of the world. My timing is never late.

Lazarus – I died from sickness, despite my sisters’ pleas for Jesus to come heal me. It seemed hopeless, but Jesus had other plans. My death and my sisters’ sorrow had a divine purpose for God’s glory to be displayed. His wisdom is far above ours. He is worthy of our trust – always and no matter what!


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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!

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 X 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 Sketched X

Whole Day 13 The Hope Of Wholeness

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Whole Day 13 The Hope Of Wholeness

Marietta Taylor

July 6, 2022

Believe,Blessed,Broken,Cross,Daughter,Forgiven,Freedom,Righteousness,Sacrifice

Read His Words Before Ours!

2 Corinthians 5:1-7
Revelation 22
Psalm 34
Luke 11:33-36
Psalm 19:7-14

Hope.
Trusting in, waiting for, and looking for.

Those who are broken hope for wholeness.
And aren’t we all broken in some way, big or small?

In seeking wholeness, we easily find ourselves looking for healing from wrong sources.
The Bible talks about our misplaced gazes so we can recognize them and reject them.

We look to idols such as
money (Luke 16:13),
popularity (Galatians 1:10),
politics (Matthew 22:21),
and possessions (Luke 12:16-21).

We try to heal ourselves through things like
willpower (Romans 7:19-20),
sex (Hebrews 13:4),
ambition (1 Corinthians 8:2),
and a host of others (Colossians 3:5).

Do any of these actually heal our brokenness?
Absolutely not. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

We look everywhere but the one true place to fix our eyes and be made Whole.

Only one place exists where our hope for wholeness can be perfectly fulfilled. 

The apostle John described it like this,
“Then he [an angel] showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, and there will no longer be any curse.” (Revelation 22:1-3)

Of this place where Wholeness knows no end, Jesus said to His disciples,
“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going.” (John 14:1-4)

Where was Jesus going?
Do we know the way to where He went?
Absolutely!

He was going back to His Father, Our Father God, in heaven.

Heaven, where we will be…
wholly united with God.
wholly worshiping Him.
wholly free from fears, tears, and suffering.
wholly unbroken.
(Isaiah 25:8-9)

This is the place we long for as we suffer many things in our “earthly tents”.
2 Corinthians 5:2 says, “Indeed, we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling.” We groan because here we are broken and not whole.

Yet, we are not without hope for Jesus is our Living Hope.
(1 Peter 1:3)

Through His sacrifice on the cross we are able to enter Heaven, despite the load of brokenness and sin we carry. His blood paid the price for our sin, cleansing us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is the key to turning over our brokenness and allowing Him to usher us into wholeness.
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.” (Revelation 22:14) Our dirty robes of sin and death are washed clean by the blood of Jesus, “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

We live today with our brokenness while focused on the guarantee of wholeness in Heaven. But how do we live today, while longing for eternity? Scripture gives us direction, if we’re paying attention.

Truthfully, I’m not always paying close enough attention. It’s easy to get wrapped up in your own brokenness and the sharp edges of those around you. Add in the broken world we live in and we become even more distracted from Scripture’s clear commands that light our paths. (Psalm 119:105) But the Bible is our lighthouse, our beacon, our “you are here” map with the star planted squarely on heaven as our destination.

Psalm 19:7-14 tells us these things about the Word of God, the Bible:

  • The perfect Word of God revives our souls
  • The reliable Word of God makes us wise
  • The “rightness” of the Word of God should cause us to rejoice
  • The pure Word of God enlightens us
  • The fear of the Lord (as we read the Word of God) is cleansing and proves eternal
  • The rules of the Lord (found in the Word of God) are true and righteous
  • The Word of God is worth desiring more than anything on earth
  • The Word of God should cause us to read, study, memorize, apply it to our lives and share it with others

This is what we desire so deeply at Gracefully Truthful. We want every one of those statements to be true for everyone’s life. We take this verse to heart as we study alongside you, “If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.” (Luke 11:36)

We want the Word of God to shine so brightly in and through you that people are drawn to it and gain their promise of wholeness through faith in Christ. We want it for ourselves, for each person in our ministry, each of you reading this today, and for every person we encounter.

God came to save all (2 Peter 3:9) and He invited us to be part of that effort. (Mark 16:15-16) What a privilege that He would make us co-laborers with Him in His redeeming work. (1 Corinthians 3:9) We cannot neglect this incredible opportunity!

Bless and praise Him always.
Boast in Him, not ourselves.
Proclaim His greatness, not ours.
Seek Him when we need rescuing.
Have reverential awe of Him.
See that He is good.
See that He is Provider.
Keep our tongue from evil and deceit. (Psalm 34:1-13)

“Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it.” (Psalm 34:14)

Do all these things, not alone, but by the power of the Holy Spirit living within us.
This is how we live broken with an eye on wholeness.
We boldly share this Hope with others so the nations, each incredibly broken on earth, can be healed by the leaves of the tree of life in Heaven.

I want us all to rejoice on that day. So, shine forth your light from your beautiful, broken lantern and give His light to the world!

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broken,eternity,hope,Sin,whole
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Champion Day 1 The Barren And Broken

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Champion Day 1 The Barren And Broken

Kaitlyn Wright

May 30, 2022

Believe,Birth,Blessed,Love,Righteousness

Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 15:1-6
Genesis 15: 17-18
Genesis 18:1-15
1 Corinthians 1:27-31
Galatians 3:1-9

Abraham is introduced in Genesis 11 as Abram, the son of Terah. (Genesis 11:26) He is a descendant of Shem, residing in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram and his relatives did not know the Lord, yet the Lord called to Abram and told him to go to the land of Canaan. God promised He would make him a great nation and give his descendants the land of Canaan as their possession.

“I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you […] all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you [. . .] To your offspring I will give this land.” (Genesis 12:2-3, 7)

God’s promises of blessing, land, and offspring pointed toward a hopeful reversal of the curse of sin. (Genesis 3) The true Hope and true Champion of this story is not Abram, but Christ. Jesus is the Promised One through whom all the peoples on earth will be blessed. (Galatians 3:14)

God chooses ordinary people to fulfill His plan of redemption. At the time God called Abram, we aren’t told why he was chosen, but we are told Abram’s obedience was credited to him as righteousness. 

God said to Abram, 
“‘Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then [God] said to [Abram], ‘Your offspring will be that numerous.’ Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” 
(Genesis 15:5-6, Galatians 3:6) 

To establish this promise, or covenant, it was custom for animals to be cut in half and the two persons of the covenant could walk between the halves, binding them to the terms of the covenant lest they become like the animals. Rather than Abram walking between the split animals, God put Abram into a deep sleep, and God himself passed between, assuming the full burden of fulfilling the terms of the covenant. (Genesis 15:7-21)

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning “father of many,” and expounded on the promises and requirements of the Abrahamic Covenant. (Genesis 17) Although God’s intent to establish Abraham’s lineage was clear, Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was old and barren, so she doubted, “But the LORD asked Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, “Can I really have a baby when I’m old?”’” (Genesis 18:13)

Abraham and Sarah were only human. They saw limitations. They feared. They doubted. For example, when Abraham let Pharaoh believe Sarah was his sister, he essentially gave her as a sex-slave to Pharaoh to protect himself, proving he still had much to learn about fully trusting God and His promises. (Genesis 12:10-20)

Furthermore, Abraham and Sarah assumed that since she was barren, the promised offspring must come through a different woman. 

“Sarai said to Abram, ‘Since the LORD has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.’ And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.” (Genesis 16:2) Their attempt to fulfill God’s promise themselves caused immense suffering.

Abraham and Sarah aren’t the heroes of the story here. There is One Hero, the Almighty One. “Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year [Sarah] will have a son.” (Genesis 18:14)

God did not choose Abram to be the father of the nations because He saw Abram as capable, wise, and strong. 

No, quite the opposite. 

Abraham was old, his wife was barren, and he was incapable of fulfilling the covenant requirements. 

No human is. 

“Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world–what is viewed as nothing–to bring about what is viewed as something, so that no one may boast in his presence. 

It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us–our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption–in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the LORD.” 
(1 Corinthians 1:27-31)

The Bible is full of weak, foolish, sinful people God used to fulfill His plan of redemption. God didn’t choose Abraham in order to give him a platform to be a hero. Rather, God chose Abraham to show God is the Hero. 

To show God is able and wise and loving.

He alone could redeem His children; just as God alone traversed the split animals in Genesis 15, Christ alone could fulfill the requirement of the law and bring us salvation. 

Galatians 3:8 tells us the gospel was preached to Abraham when he was given the promise. This is the Gospel: on our own we are weak and foolish, but God has sent us His Own Son to be our strength and wisdom. We, the Gentiles, are blessed in Him if we repent of our sins and have faith in His finished work on the cross. 

Let that sink in. 

Thousands of years ago, God declared His Gospel promise. If we become His daughters through faith, we will be redeemed through Christ, the Promised Seed of Abraham. 

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humility and repentance.
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Worship X Day 15 The Eternal One

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Hebrews 10:1-18
Matthew 8:23-27
Psalm 73:23-28
Psalm 32:6-8

Worship X, Day 15

Thomas O. Chilsolm is the author of Great is Thy Faithfulness, the hymn we’ve been unpacking in this Journey Theme. Converted to Christ during a revival service, Chilsolm went to work for the Pentecostal Herald. He later became ordained with the Methodist Episcopal church and wrote an astonishing 1200 poems, having more than eight hundred of them published in various periodicals.

Today, we’ll take a closer look at the third verse of his poem-turned-hymn:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine with 10,000 beside
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Pardon For Sin
In the Old Testament, the Lord instructed the Jews to obtain forgiveness for their sins by bringing offerings to sacrifice on the altar at the temple. (Leviticus 16) However, Hebrews 10:1-4 explains these sacrifices only served as a temporary placeholder, needing to be repeated again and again as people continued to sin. That’s where Jesus came in, paying the price for your sin and mine, once and for all time:

“But this man [Jesus], after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. [. . .] For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:12-14)

Therefore, the apostle and preacher Peter made a great call for repentance, found in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Peter’s words echo through the centuries, urging each of us to experience the transformative power of repentance and seeking forgiveness from God.

A Peace That Endureth
With this pardon for sin, we can rest in God’s peace which will endure. In the Old Testament, both David and Gideon found peace in God, despite harrowing circumstances. (Judges 6:23-24; Psalm 4:8)

In the New Testament, three Gospel writers share an example of how great the Prince of Peace, Jesus, truly is by describing how He calmed a storm at sea. (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25) We can rest in the assurance that our God, Who calmed a storm in the middle of a sea, is ever-present with us through our storms.

“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)

Thine Own Dear Presence To Cheer
When we walk in the peace and the presence of God, we have an awareness of Him.
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

The knowledge that He’s with us has a way of cheering our souls.
“But as for me, God’s presence is my good.
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge[.]” (Psalm 73:28)

And To Guide
Just as Gideon was given instruction by God to outwit the Midianite army (Judges 7:12-23) and Pilate’s wife was aware God spoke to her in a dream about Christ (Matthew 27:15-19), God continues to guide His people today.

“I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
With my eye on you, I will give counsel.” (Psalm 32:8)

Strength For Today And Bright Hope For Tomorrow
David, a young shepherd, had the strength to fight the militant giant Goliath, simply because David knew God was bigger than any giant, and he acted on that faith. (1 Samuel 17) Today, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives gives us divine strength.
“Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.” (Ephesians 6:10)

With Christ as our Savior, we have a glorious Hope for tomorrow!

Blessings All Mine With 10,000 Beside
It’s easy to mistakenly consider blessings as only that which is tangible, costly: a large house, a boat, a seven-figure income. And these certainly can be blessings, but what if there’s much more to blessings? What if the blessings God has given us can’t be measured by financial cost? 

Consider the blessings of our children actively seeking the Lord.
Or a family member set free from addiction.
What if the blessings of the Lord are found in breath for another day?

Even in the midst of trials, if we focus on Him, we can see all the blessings He lavishly bestows.
His transforming forgiveness and peace,
His unending presence and guidance,
His unfailing strength and hope.
When we survey these many blessings, we can join Thomas Chilsolm in worshiping, “Great is Your faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”

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Eden Day 2 Ex Nihilo: 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 Ex Nihilo!

The Questions

1) How did God establish the foundations of the earth? (verse 5)

2) What is meant by God watering the mountain from His palace and satisfying the earth from the fruit of His labor? (verse 13)

3) How does God give all creatures food at the right time? (verse 27)

Psalm 104

My soul, bless the Lord!
Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with majesty and splendor.
2 He wraps himself in light as if it were a robe,
spreading out the sky like a canopy,
3 laying the beams of his palace
on the waters above,
making the clouds his chariot,
walking on the wings of the wind,
4 and making the winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.

5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be shaken.
6 You covered it with the deep
as if it were a garment;
the water stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke the water fled;
at the sound of your thunder they hurried away—
8 mountains rose and valleys sank—
to the place you established for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
they will never cover the earth again.

10 He causes the springs to gush into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.
11 They supply water for every wild beast;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live beside the springs;
they make their voices heard among the foliage.
13 He waters the mountains from his palace;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of your labor.

14 He causes grass to grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate,
producing food from the earth,
15 wine that makes human hearts glad—
making his face shine with oil—
and bread that sustains human hearts.

16 The trees of the Lord flourish,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests;
storks make their homes in the pine trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the cliffs are a refuge for hyraxes.

19 He made the moon to mark the festivals;
the sun knows when to set.
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals stir.
21 The young lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises; they go back
and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until evening.

24 How countless are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.
26 There the ships move about,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play there.

27 All of them wait for you
to give them their food at the right time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your breath,
they are created,
and you renew the surface of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works.
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains,
and they pour out smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and wicked people be no more.
My soul, bless the Lord!
Hallelujah!

Original Intent

1) How did God establish the foundations of the earth? (verse 5)
In Psalm 104:5, the author wrote of God’s creation when he declared, “He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be shaken.” David Guzik explains how “The psalmist understood that God was the Creator of all things, and that it was He who laid the foundations of the earth. It did not happen by chance or random events.” Before creation, there was darkness and void (Genesis 1:2), but God spoke and commanded everything into existence (Psalm 33:9). Charles Spurgeon marveled, “the earth is so placed in space that it remains as stable as if it were a fixture. (…) What power must there be in that hand which has caused so vast a body to know its orbit, and to move so smoothly in it.” It is difficult to comprehend that our amazing world, with its intricate design and complex functions, was established and maintained by Words spoken by the Creator. Yet, Scripture is very clear that every created thing was made by God (John 1:3) and is sustained by Him (Colossians 1:17). As we contemplate the wonder of God’s creation, we can rejoice with the psalmist how the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory! (Psalm 72:19)

2) What is meant by God watering the mountain from His palace and satisfying the earth from the fruit of His labor? (verse 13)
Psalm 104 paints a beautiful picture of Creation and the subsequent care God provides His creatures. In verse 13 David writes, “He waters the mountains from his palace; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of your labor.” While it may sound strange, this describes how God provides rain for all living things so they have the food and water necessary to sustain life. Even “The mountains themselves, even their highest tops, are not left dry. Where springs cannot reach, rain falls from God’s ‘chambers’ in the sky, and spreads equal refreshment.” (Pulpit Commentary) God provides everything the land needs to grow and thrive from the highest heights to the deepest depths. Because this Psalm also discusses Creation, some people are confused by this reference to rain when there was none during Creation. (Genesis 2:5) In fact, the Bible doesn’t mention rainfall until the Great Flood. (Genesis 7:11-12) But this account doesn’t contradict the Creation account because it isn’t referencing Creation, but instead depicts how God uses rain to sustain His Creation. Walter Zorn explains, “Following the order of creation as given in Genesis, [the psalmist] shows how God, in successive stages, was preparing for the welfare and comfort of his creatures.” In Psalm 65:9, the psalmist proclaims God visits “the earth and waters it abundantly, enriching it greatly. God’s stream is filled with water, for you prepare the earth in this way, providing people with grain.” In Acts 14:17 God “did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food. . .” Every rainy day is a reminder of God’s provision, just as every dry season points to our need for reliance on God in everything.

3) How does God give all creatures food at the right time? (verse 27)
When David asserted all created beings “wait for [God] to give them their food at the right time” (verse 27), he described God’s provision for everything He had made. Philip Harrelson suggests David “is portraying a direct dependence of all things, all life, upon the active presence of God, in every moment, for all time.” God created all living things and made provision for them to grow and develop by giving the food they need when they need it. (Psalm 136:25) God gives all creatures food, but He also supplies all the needs of His people. (Philippians 4:19) Andrew Murray explains how “It is the very place and nature of God to be the continuous supplier of the creature‘s every need. Likewise, the very place and nature of the creature is only this—to wait upon God and receive from Him what He alone can give, what He delights to give.” God longs to give us good gifts when we seek Him and wait upon Him. (Matthew 7:11) He lovingly provides us with strength (Philippians 4:13) and grace (James 4:6) in our everyday lives. God wants us to turn to Him for everything we need (Isaiah 45:22) because He is everything we need. (Psalm 16:5) God supplies our physical needs by assuring our food grows as we need it, and He supplies our spiritual and emotional needs so we grow in His grace and the knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18) God wants us to have what we need so = we can do all the good works He set out for us to accomplish in His strength. (2 Corinthians 9:8) What a relief knowing that everything we need, from the food we eat to the plan for our lives, comes from the gracious hand of God!

Everyday Application

1) How did God establish the foundations of the earth? (verse 5)
According to Nasa.gov, Earth has the nickname “the Goldilocks planet. In the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, a little girl named Goldilocks liked everything just right. (…) On Earth, everything is just right for living things. It’s warm, but not too warm. And it has water, but not too much water.” How is it that earth happens to be “just right” for life? Surely no accident or happenstance could produce a planet capable of sustaining life for animals, plants, and humans! Scripture tells us it exists this way because of its Creator. The Lord God formed the earth and set its place in the heavens. Colossians 1:16 informs us “everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Astronauts who have witnessed what earth looks like from space report feeling overwhelmed by the beauty of the “blue marble” and the sight of it suspended in space. Astronaut, Michael Massimino, described his mission with the shuttle Atlantis as “I felt like I was almost looking at a secret . . . It’s too beautiful. There’re no words to describe how beautiful things are out there.” This sentiment echoes the words of David in Psalm 19:1 who announces, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.” The order, beauty, and design of Earth and all creation declares the handiwork of a Divine Creator, whether your view is from the plains of Kansas, the mountains of Ethiopia, or the window of a shuttle whirling through space.

2) What is meant by God watering the mountain from His palace and satisfying the earth from the fruit of His labor? (verse 13)
Looking back over the 50 Midwest summers I have enjoyed, many of them have included hot, dry months without enough rain. Kids weren’t allowed to run through the water hose or fill the wading pool because water needed to be conserved. My farmer-Grandpa watched the weather forecast and worried over the continued drought. I remember prayer meetings where the saints all cried out to God to make the rain fall. I also remember the joy and relief when precious raindrops finally pelted the dry ground! The psalmist David blessed the Lord for His provision of rain, recognizing the simplicity of rain as part of God’s plan for life on earth to flourish. David Guzik notes how “The psalmist considered how the water, plants, and animals of the earth each find their place in God’s plan and order. (…) He saw a good, harmonious world in nature and knew Yahweh was responsible for it.” Because we require rain to water the vegetation that feeds people and animals, God waters the earth so it can sustain us. (Isaiah 55:10) When we consider how it’s God who “gives the seasonal rains, both autumn and spring, who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest” (Jeremiah 5:24), we should be thankful and wonder at God’s goodness and power.

3) How does God give all creatures food at the right time? (verse 27)
I loved visiting my Grandpa’s farm as a little girl. I chased chickens, rode horses, traveled in the cab of his tractor, and even watched baby pigs being born. I jumped at every chance to visit the farm. But one Christmas, as I watched Grandpa pull on his boots to set out for the farm, I asked him why he was farming on Christmas. He laughed, saying the cows want to eat every day, even on Christmas! That memory of Grandpa feeding his cattle reminds me of the psalmist David’s words that all created beings “wait for [God] to give them their food at the right time.” (Psalm 104:27) Like a farmer caring for his livestock, God makes sure His creatures are cared for as needed on a daily basis. The Bible tells us God feeds the birds, and since we matter more to Him than they do, we shouldn’t worry because God knows what we need (Matthew 6:32) Jesus proved this care for people’s physical needs when He fed a crowd of more than 5,000 who had come to hear His teaching. In blessing 2 loaves of bread and 5 fishes, Christ fed the masses. (Matthew 14:19-21) More than just providing food for us, our loving God “richly provides us with all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17) Alexander Maclaren asserts, “So manifold are the aspects of God’s infinite sufficiency, that every soul, in every possible variety of circumstance, will find there just what will suit it.” No matter who we are or what we need, God has us covered! He ensures our physical needs are met, and He invites us to ask Him for our “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), which refers to all the needs we depend on God to satisfy.

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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!

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Why Dig Deeper?

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

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

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

Study Tools

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

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

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

Memorize It!

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

Sacrifice Day 7 The Blood Path: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out The Blood Path!

The Questions

1) Why would Jesus say the bread is His body? (verse 22)

2) Why would Jesus refer to the wine as His blood of the covenant? (verse 24)

3) What does Jesus mean that the blood is poured out for many? (verse 24)

Mark 14:22-24

As they were eating, he took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Original Intent

1) Why would Jesus say the bread is His body? (verse 22)
Mark 14 depicts two Jewish feasts, The Feast of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, commonly celebrated together as one 8-day holiday. Passover commemorates when God “passed over” the homes of the Hebrews who covered their doorposts with the blood of a lamb, saving their firstborn children from death. (Exodus 12:12-13) The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:17-20) commemorates Israel’s exodus from slavery in Egypt. David Guzik explains, “When the bread was lifted up at Passover, the head of the meal would say, ‘This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let everyone who hungers come and eat; let everyone who is needy come and eat the Passover meal.’” At the Passover just before His crucifixion, which we call the Last Supper or the Lord’s Supper, Jesus “took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.” (Mark 14:22) Jesus explained the bread of Passover as representing the sacrifice He was about to make in taking the world’s sins upon Himself at the cross. Jesus associated the bread with His body to symbolize what we learn in Colossians 1:22, that “now He has reconciled you by His physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.” Kenneth Wuest suggests “the bread symbolized Him as the spiritual nourishment upon which a sinner may feed and have eternal life.” Jesus called Himself “the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51) Whenever you take bread at Communion, remember the incredible sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for us all!

2) Why would Jesus refer to the wine as His blood of the covenant? (verse 24)
As part of Jesus’ observance of and participation in the Passover, He lifted a cup of wine. Brian Bell explains that Passover “requires 4 cups of wine, 2 before the meal and 2 after. (…) The cup of wine that would have been raised during the meal that is now remembered when one commemorates the Lord’s Supper was the cup of redemption.” Raising the cup, Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” (verse 24) The “blood of the covenant” referred to the way the Jews made covenants with one another and God. (Exodus 24:6-8) Kevin Williams explains, “In the [first five books of the Bible] and throughout the ancient world, covenants were sealed and confirmed with blood. This is no less true in the Gospels. Symbolically with the cup and literally through His blood shed at the crucifixion, the Messiah proclaimed the beginnings of a new covenant predicted by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34)” Jesus’ shed blood on the cross would mark a new covenant with those who would place their full faith in Him. Through faith, Christ forgives sins (Ephesians 1:7), indwells believers with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) and guarantees eternal life (John 3:16). His blood poured out in sacrifice demonstrated the loving commitment He made to redeem the world. Hebrews 9:22 declares, “According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” By shedding His own blood to make a new covenant with us, Christ paid the price to cleanse us from our sins and present us blameless to His Father. (Ephesians 5:27)

3) What does Jesus mean that the blood is poured out for many? (verse 24)
When Jesus raised the Passover wine and stated, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (verse 24), He was signifying the sacrifice He was about to make for the whole world to be reconciled to God. Just a short time after this declaration at the Last Supper, He would hang on a cross, pour out His blood, and take on the sins of all humanity. ”The idea of poured out implies a violent outpouring as did in fact occur on the Cross. For many speaks of the millions and millions of souls who have placed their faith in Christ and His fully atoning blood shed on Calvary” (Preceptaustin.org) Father God’s rescue plan to vanquish sin and death was to make Jesus the sacrificial lamb, effectively atoning for the sins of every person on the planet. (John 1:29) However, only those who embrace Christ as their personal Lord by faith and surrender can experience the benefits of total atonement and eternal forgiveness. The prophet Isaiah foretold that God would punish Jesus for the “iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6) and the Messiah would bear the sins of many when He came (Isaiah 53:11-12). Jesus said of Himself that He came to seek out the lost and save them by giving His life as a ransom for many. (Luke 19:10) 2 Corinthians 5:15 tells us, “Christ died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.” Jesus’ blood was shed so we could live a life free from sin and death! (Romans 6:23) I rejoice to be “one of the many” set free by His sacrifice, and I purpose to let others know the Good News!

Everyday Application

1) Why would Jesus say the bread is His body? (verse 22)
In my childhood church, the Lord’s Supper consisted of grape juice and tiny wafers, passed down the pew by an usher. I looked forward to taking communion from the shiny silver tray as it passed by me. I understood we were thanking God for dying on the cross for our sins, but the idea of the little square of bread symbolizing Christ’s body (Mark 14:22) didn’t really impact my young mind as we gave thanks for the elements. Once I grew older I would grapple with the concept of the Word (Jesus) becoming flesh and dwelling among us. (John 1:14) It’s astounding that God would send Jesus to earth as fully God and fully man (Colossians 2:9), especially knowing the pain and suffering Jesus would endure in His body and spirit when God’s plan of salvation unfolded at Calvary. (Luke 23:44-49) D. Edmond Hiebert notes, “The bread which had been given them, after being broken, stood symbolically for His body, or rather the sacrificial giving of Himself for them.” Understanding more about this sacrifice, this willingness of Him who knew no sin to be made sin for us (Romans 8:3) makes taking communion more impactful for me as an adult. Author Ann Voskamp, in her book One Thousand Gifts, says of the Lord’s Supper, “In a very tangible, physical act, aren’t I enacting my thanksgiving for His pain? In a very real way, in a digestible, consuming-oneness way, I’m celebrating greater gain through great loss”. (pg 37) Though I may never fully comprehend the depth of God’s love and the greatness of His sacrifice on this side of Heaven, these days I give deep thanks for His saving grace when I stop to observe the Lord’s Supper.

2) Why would Jesus refer to the wine as His blood of the covenant? (verse 24)
I am a bit squeamish about blood. I cover my eyes when there is a surgery on TV, and I look away during blood draws for lab work. I feel blessed to buy meat at the grocery without needing to butcher animals myself. Given my aversion to blood, reconciling myself to the idea of a blood covenant in the Bible proves challenging. I sing about the blood of Jesus, but do I understand what it signifies? In the Bible, making a blood covenant was a serious matter. “In covenant, the shedding of blood demonstrated as nothing else could the intensity of the commitment. By cutting covenant the two parties were bound for life. Thus, the shedding of blood in the cutting of covenant established the gravity and binding nature of this transaction.” (Preceptaustin.org) By pouring out His blood for us, Jesus evidenced His great love and enduring faithfulness. Making this sacrifice was no easy thing. Twice Jesus asked His Father to “let this cup pass from Me”. (Matthew 26:39) Not only did He know the physical horrors He would face on the cross, but the perfect, sinless Savior was about to be made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21); this was the real agony of the cross. However, Jesus chose God’s will over His own and embraced God’s plan of sacrificing His only Son to reconcile sinful people to God. (John 3:17) That precious blood He spilled was given out of a love so deep I cannot fathom. I can only happily and humbly accept the grace He gives, love and trust Him in return, and share about His great gift with those I encounter.

3) What does Jesus mean that the blood is poured out for many? (verse 24)
One criticism against Christianity is that it’s too narrow with too many rules and requirements. The argument is that all roads (should) lead to Heaven, not just the narrow way of the Bible. (Matthew 7:14) I argue that Christianity is probably the least narrow religion because literally everyone is welcome. Jesus poured out His blood to save many, not just a select few. True, not all will accept His offer of total forgiveness and new life, but their decision doesn’t negate His offer. While there are commandments and directions on how to live like Jesus in the Bible, salvation is a free gift to anyone who believes the message of Christ. (Ephesians 2:8) Acts 10:34 tells us God doesn’t show favoritism. He doesn’t invite just one gender, race, or nationality to become children of God, but He gives that right to all who receive Him and believe His name. (John 1:12) 2 Peter 3:9 assures us the Lord “does not want any to perish but all to come to repentance.” Romans 10:13 promises salvation to everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. Ann Voskamp suggests “Christ rises with His scars because your name is written right into His scars and He can’t bear to leave you behind—He means for you to rise too.” Besides inviting anyone and everyone to follow Him, maybe the most amazing thing is that Christ gave His life for us to become His children while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8) He died to redeem every person on the planet, whether or not they would ever choose to accept His amazing gift. This kind of love is staggering and should be shouted from the rooftops!

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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!

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This is Sacrifice Week Two!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Studies

Why Dig Deeper?

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

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

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

Study Tools

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

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

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

Memorize It!

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