Misunderstood

The GT Weekend! ~ Relentless Week 1

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The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Sometimes reading the Bible is hard, Amen?! All those stories in the Old Testament can leave a picture of a ruthless God full of anger and spite if we read the stories through our own lenses of our own culture and time. In what ways do you wrestle with how the Bible depicts God? At what points would you agree or disagree that the Bible is written about humanity rather than written to you as an individual? How does that belief color the way you read and understand both the Bible and God? If God is relentless in His pursuit of you just as He was for Israel, what rises up inside you to push against that? Why?

2)  What does it take for you to trust the Lord’s instruction and obey with a whole heart? Some obediences are easier than others, right? Take a minute to journal briefly about those things you’ve learned to obey quickly and habitually in. Can you identify some sore spots where you struggle in following? Where do you pull back from following through and why do you think you do? Consider whether this willingness to go forward in following is tied to how you view God or how much you’re willing to trust Him. Be honest before the Lord of your hear; He is always present to hear you!

3) Take a few minutes to journal through how you view the relationship between love and discipline. What qualities do you see as being necessary components of a relationship for discipline to be effective? Do you see those same qualities in your relationship with the Lord? When has the Lord lovingly disciplined you to bring you deeper into a relationship with Him? What has He strategically removed from your life in order for you to more clearly see Him and His love for you? Is there something currently receiving more love, affection, and focus than the Lord?

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Psalm 46:7-8 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

The Lord of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Selah
Come, see the works of the Lord…

Prayer Journal
You are the With Us God. The ever-present Help. The always-able Almighty. Ever listening to our cries, You love us without end, pursuing our hearts to know You in more beautiful ways. Lord, God, hold my face, tip it up to You, and let me see Your radiant glory. Just a glimpse of Your majesty transforms and renews!
And as You do, make my heart overflow with urgency to invite all, “Come! See the works of the Lord my great and mighty God who loves to love!” Declare Your goodness through me, Lord, as You keep drawing me close. Tell Your story as you fight for me!

Worship Through Community

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

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

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Incorruptible Day 3 Worth It

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Peter 1:3-9
Ruth 1:6-22
James 1:2-3
Matthew 5:10-12

Incorruptible, Day 3

This Christian walk is challenging.
It’s scary and sometimes down right crazy.

I remember when my parents told me we were leaving our home country and moving to the US. I was shocked, terrified and downright upset.

How could my parents take me from the life I knew,
and the family I loved, to go to a strange place?
A place where I had no friends or family?

I remember asking them why and their answer will forever stay in my mind,
“We are Christians and we need to leave the comfortable life
we have been living to study God’s word.”

When we arrived, I remember feeling like an outsider, unable to understand the dialogue.
I remember being picked on and people telling me that I was an alien.
Kids made fun of my Bahamian lunches and my accent.
They also poked fun at the fact that I was a product of a mixed-race couple.

Why would my parents bring me to a place like this?
A place where we were outcasts and denied the “joys of life”?

They had a greater hope.
A hope that what Christ had to offer in the long term,
was greater than the temporal struggles.
This hope was worth their endurance.

The lesson I was learning from my parents, was the same one Peter taught.
He encouraged believers to endure through intense persecution in order that the testing their faith would reap heavenly reward and inexpressible joy.
Peter wrote described our hope in Christ as being greater
because our reward is heavenly not worldly.

During this time in history, there were a lot of people facing legal and social backlash from their communities for following Christ.
The cost to follow was Jesus was extremely high.
Yet, Peter reminded them, though their earthly rewards were slim to none, they could trust in the truth that they had an incorruptible inheritance.
The eternal reward freely given to those who call Jesus Lord surpasses anything Peter’s brothers and sisters or you and I could receive on this earth whether in material possessions or relational gain.

Today, believers are ridiculed and mocked for claiming the name of Christ,
yet we are told to endure.

Why?
Because the living hope of Jesus is worth our endurance

God has given us this truth in His Word.
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10)

Around 1300 BC, a woman named Ruth steadfastly endured in the face of heartache
because of eternal hope.
Ruth chose to return to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law after losing her husband.
She was a foreigner in a new place, yet she said to her mother-in-law,
“Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.”

Ruth faced poverty because of her ethnicity,
yet God was faithful to provide.

Through physical eyes she had nothing,
but through spiritual eyes she was blessed beyond measure.
Eventually, she became the great grandmother of King David through whom the Eternal King Jesus would be born.

She clung to a greater hope. She endured. She was blessed.

Christians are spiritual foreigners in this world, just as my family and Ruth were physical foreigners. The United States wasn’t my home, Bethlehem wasn’t Ruth’s,
and this temporal world is not ours.
Heaven is.

We are called to be set apart;
to be in the world but not of the world.

Just as my cultural differences where very obvious to the people around me,
the differences in believers’ lives should also be exceedingly obvious.

James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:2-3)

While I lived in Virginia, I saw God’s miraculous hand of protection and provision.
When we did not know where our next meal was coming from,
boxes of food would show up on our door step.
When we had no money to pay my school fees,
we received notifications that the fees had been paid by anonymous donors.
My faith was tested and it grew.

Being a foreigner was difficult, but the spiritual benefits were so much greater.
Eternal hope was worth the endurance.

In my life now, those gifts that God blessed me with during difficult times
are the gifts I rely on in the good times, how sweet is that?
He takes us through the fire and we come out pure!
Sisters, this is a truth we must embed in our hearts!

We must remember as believers, as Sisters in Jesus,
that we don’t need to move to another country to be considered foreigners.
If we claim the name of Jesus, we are spiritual foreigners.
We will suffer and face trials for naming that Name.
Yet, be reminded: suffering for His name is considered sweet suffering, because the rewards it produces are much greater than gold.

So, Ladies let’s cling to greater hope!
Let’s endure!
Together!

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

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

Screenshot Day 9 Go Get The Sheep: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

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

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Go Get The Sheep!

The Questions

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

2) What is the significance of verse 13?

3) How did this passage affect the audience?

Jeremiah 29:11-14

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

Original Intent

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

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

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

Everyday Application

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

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

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

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

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

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

Digging Deeper Community

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

Our Current Study Theme!

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

Why Dig Deeper?

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

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

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

Study Tools

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

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

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

Memorize It!

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

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!

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

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

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

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into 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!

Misunderstood Day 14 On Death & Butterflies: 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 On Death & Butterflies!

The Questions

1) What is the tent?

2) What is the significance of saying, “we will not be found naked”?

3) What do “down payment” and “confidence” have in common?

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

For we know that if our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands. 2 Indeed, we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 since, when we have taken it off, we will not be found naked. 4 Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.

6 So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Original Intent

1) What is the tent?
Paul was an author, speaker, preacher, and teacher. He knew how to captivate an audience and he knew how to relate to them. One tool he often employed was the metaphor, skillfully painting a word picture to convey a spiritual truth to an audience who thought concretely. Paul was also a tentmaker by trade, when he wasn’t off preaching, teaching, and being chased out of town because of persecution. It came naturally to him to use the physical around him to describe the spiritual. He used the metaphor of a tent to describe our physical bodies on earth. Flimsy, temporal, fragile, but sufficient nonetheless. Paul didn’t shy away from the fact that our bodies will be destroyed one day by death, nor did he sugar-coat the fact that while we live in these temporal bodies, we groan. We ache, we hurt, we long for more, for better, for eternity. We were designed to hunger for a flawless existence!

2) What is the significance of saying, “we will not be found naked”?
Again, Paul continues with his metaphorical speech, drawing on something obvious and concrete to make a spiritual point. To be found naked would be an embarrassment and shameful (in Old Testament days and our own!); it would speak of being un-prepared and caught off guard. But Paul says, “we will not be found naked.” We won’t be caught off guard when our earthly, tent-like bodies are destroyed by death; neither will we be ashamed, embarrassed, or un-prepared. Why? Because the hope of our eternal dwelling, our forever clothes, our glorified, physical bodies are waiting for all those who put their trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation.

3) What do “down payment” and “confidence” have in common?
In yesterday’s Journey Study, it was noted that people are so desperate for hope they are willing to trust in “folklore and emotional feelings” in order to get it. Not so with Paul! He points to clear, solid reasons (not blind emotion) as to why we can have such sure confidence in life after death. Paul notes that we were intentionally designed to longingly ache for “mortality to be swallowed up by life” (that is, death to be defeated by life), and that Designer is God Himself! There is no greater final authority! He placed His seal, His signature promise, right on our very souls by giving us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, even these temporal tents. The Spirit is His down-payment, His proof of purchase over our eternal souls. The Spirit in us is proof that God will do what He said He would do: defeat Death with Life! Our confidence is rooted in the promise of the Almighty God.

Everyday Application

1) What is the tent?
Our bodies are incredible masterpieces, but no matter your age, your tent of a body has failed you, bringing about pain or frustration. Allow these weaknesses to remind you of the fleeting nature of our existence here on earth. Living with the reminder of death, may seem morbid, but the reality that our lives will vanish like morning mist should compel us to love well, making our temporal lives count for the eternal. Paul reminds us in verses 9-10 that regardless of living on earth or in Heaven, we should “make it our aim to please Him, for we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ.” Eternity is coming, how are we stewarding our time in this “tent” of a body?

2) What is the significance of saying, “we will not be found naked”?
Where in your life are you experiencing shame? Paul intended this section of Scripture to teach us about the eternal that was awaiting us in real, physical, concrete bodies, but there is a broader abstract aspect as well. If we are in Christ, we are new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17), we have been born afresh with a new Father, a new nature, no condemnation (Romans 8:1), and no obligation to obey the old, sinful nature (Romans 8:2). There is hope for the eternal, but also hope for the now. Take off the shame, the feelings of not enough, and wrap yourself tightly in the clothing of eternal hope because of Jesus who came to set us free! 

3) What do “down payment” and “confidence” have in common?
The concrete idea of making a “down payment” is something we can relate to easily in our culture. If something is valuable to us and we really want to purchase it, we are willing to hand over something of significant value to us to “hold our name” on that item until we can fully make it ours. The same is true for our souls in relation to God. He longs for unity with us, so God sent His Son to redeem us from sin’s grip and then went further to prove his love by making a down-payment of His Spirit, who lives inside of every believer. Understanding this truth and choosing to follow the leading of the Spirit as He guides us gives us incredible confidence, both for our eternal home and our temporary one. Believers know where they will go when they die on earth, and they also have confidence in daily living because the Spirit of the Living God abides within them. This is true, solid hope!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with On Death & Butterflies!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

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

Digging Deeper Community

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

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Misunderstood Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

Why Dig Deeper?

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

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

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

Study Tools

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

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

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

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
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Misunderstood Day 13 On Death and Butterflies

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Romans 1:18-25
Ecclesiastes 3:9-15
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
I Corinthians 15:35-49
John 3:16-21

Misunderstood, Day 13

Loss hits each of us in varying degrees.
Financial, emotional, relational, and of course, physical.

The ache of physical loss is so deep, we naturally long for something more.
Something to wrap us up, assuring us that everything will be okay, that death wasn’t the end.
We ache for hope.

When I lost my son, the brokenness was like waves, rising and falling, each crashing mercilessly on my unspeakable hurt. I found myself repeating,
“This is the new normal. I will always carry this loss. There is no “going back” to before now.”  

How to breath.
How to keep living.
Loss intensified my need for hope.

I am not alone, am I, sister?
You’ve been there, too.
Different stories, but the same need.
We each share it, this desperation for hope.

Someone I love was walking through loss, and one afternoon, she pointed to a butterfly and whispered through tears, “There she is”.
She wasn’t referring to the butterfly, but rather the loved one she’d lost.
She longed for hope.

Maybe you’ve wondered the same thing at some point.
A beautiful, fluttering butterfly. The soul of the one we love?
The coin on the street. Sent from Heaven with love from those gone before us?
The feather whispering through the air. A sign sent to us from above?

This life with all of its obvious brokenness and ugly,
gut-ripping hurt,
creates an ache for something
to staunch the flow of throbbing agony.

Butterflies are an amazing design.
Feathers hold stunning intricacies.
Money holds value.
But these created things were never meant to be an end,
they were intended to point us to the Creator. 

As I began my research for writing, pulling up website after website of what it meant to
“find a feather” or “see a butterfly” after loss,
the most blaring discovery wasn’t found in what was said, but rather what wasn’t.
Every website was full of emotional statements worded as facts, but none of them gave reasons for why they believed what they did.
Folklore, tradition, emotional feelings, these were the basis for their beliefs.

The questions hounded me as I read more stories,
“Wouldn’t you want to know? For sure?
Wouldn’t whatever truth you uncovered be better than a feel-good falsehood?”
Lies, no matter how wonderful they feel,
hold nothing more than a vanishing morning mist.
Life can’t be built on mist.

I’ve had questions about life and faith countless times.
What if life after death is a fantasy?
What if Christianity was just created to make us feel better?
I wanted the truth.

What we believe matters,
but what the truth is matters even more,
because it doesn’t change,
whether we believe it or not.

Through a lengthy process of investigation, I came to a place where I could solidly stand on the claims of the Bible.
The deeper I studied, the more I came to know the Bible was real,
not because I wanted it to be,
not because I was raised that way,
or because it made me feel good,
but because it was true.

And Sisters?
The Bible doesn’t sugar-coat our pain.
In fact, our pain has an explanation.
And so does our longing for hope.

Loss happens because we live in a world broken by sin and death.
It was a choice Adam and Eve made in the Garden of Eden when they chose to trust their own desires over God’s design. The sickness of Sin travels to each and every one of us from the babe whose heart stopped beating before he even took a breath, to the eyes of those who have seen 100 years pass before them.
Sin affects us all; always bringing death, brokenness, pain, and heartache.

So, yes, we all hunger for hope.
Because we are all irreversibly broken.

But God…
God in His love,
God in His goodness,
God in His mercy,
brought Hope.

Hope that says the grave is not the end.
Hope that says broken can be healed.
Hope that says our sinful hearts can be bought back.
Hope that says Love Wins.

What does the Bible say about Death and Souls?
It says that souls are eternal and life after death is real.
The Bible says that when we die, we will either spend our eternity
delighting in relationship with God,
dancing out the life we were always intended to live in real, physical bodies,
with significant purpose and meaning,
OR
we will forever be bound in Hell.

Hell, where real people live in real, physical, broken bodies experiencing eternal separation from the Creator. It’s a physical place of forever heartache, suffering, and pain.

Heaven and Hell.
Both are eternal.
Both are real.
Our destination is our choosing.

Rather than returning as a soul embodying a butterfly,
God designed our souls to be made perfect,
to indwell perfect bodies, free from sickness and pain.
He designed us for a full life!

For those left alive on earth, He brings us comfort.
Not from butterflies, feathers, or random coins,
but from the sure and certain, solid truth of His word.
Comfort much more satisfying than glossy butterfly wings.

The next time you stand amazed at a monarch, look past the creation, and see the Creator. Know He loves you.
Know He has a plan for life after death.
Know that in Him is found Hope.
Hope for those who admit their sin-filled hearts and accept the free gift of Righteous Life held out through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as He took the punishment for our sin on Himself.
Know that this Hope is solid and sure,
able to stand up under the heartache and joy of our everyday life
because Jesus Christ is our Hope!

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Misunderstood Day 12 Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness: 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 Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness!

The Questions

1) Why is important that Mary sat as Jesus’ feet?  

2) How was Martha distracted with “much serving”? 

3) What is the “right choice” mentioned in verse 42 and how can it be taken away?

Luke 10:38-42

While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So, tell her to give me a hand.”
41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Original Intent

1) Why is important that Mary sat as Jesus’ feet?
When Jesus entered the city of Bethany, He was needing a place to rest. Mary was enthralled with the truth of Scripture being shared and wanted to learn more. Her position at Jesus’ feet displayed a posture of eager anticipation. As a servant sits at the master’s feet, hungry to learn every last detail of the trade, so Mary was ready to grab onto every nugget of truth being shared.

2) How was Martha distracted with “much serving”?
Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus were friends of Jesus’ and He frequently stayed at their home when traveling through Bethany. Martha was quite concerned about the business of her house; she had a standard to uphold and was consumed with having it done well. Martha knew the house needed cleaned and food needed prepared, but instead of completing the tasks and being satisfied, she “was distracted with much serving.” She was striving to go above and beyond her call of duty and as a result missed a chance to sit with the Son of God.  

3) What is the “right choice” mentioned in verse 42 and how can it be taken away?
Where Martha saw laziness and poor use of time, Mary saw a golden moment of deepening her relationship with the Almighty God in the flesh. The choice was open for both sisters to either sit with the Lord or be busy, but only 1 was the “right choice” for relational growth. Martha directly asked Jesus to “tell Mary” to help her, but here, Jesus says no. He refused to tell Mary to get busy “doing” rather than sit still “being”.  Jesus would not take away her choice to be with Him. Mary chose as the psalmist did, “The Lord is my chosen portion.” (Psalm 16:5) and she was protected by the Lord as He guarded and honored her decision to put their relationship above her busyness.  

Everyday Application

1) Why is important that Mary sat as Jesus’ feet?
When we spend time with the Lord, we are choosing to sit at His feet. He longs for relationship with us and hurrying through our devotional time compromises our ability to commune with the Living God. Sitting in a posture that shows our readiness to receive His word is important. We show that receiving the Word, being obedient to the Word, and submitting to the Word is a natural progression of our interactions with the Most High. The more we filled with the fruitful knowledge of God’s Word, the more deeply we will walk in intimate relationship with the Savior. If your spiritual life is feeling “lacking”, consider asking yourself how your time with the Lord is? Are you devouring His Word, hungry for more of Him? Or are distractions around you pulling you away, convincing you that time with God is boring and pointless?   

2) How was Martha distracted with “much serving”? 
Many earthly cultures value the habit of being busy, of doing good things because it’s expected. Heavenly Kingdom culture, on the other hand, says going slow, meeting the needs of others around us, and spending time with the Father are more important. Our commitment to spending time daily with God is a mirror of what our heart holds most valuable. Take a moment to assess what is distracting you by enticing you to serve beyond what the Lord has asked you to do. Ask the Holy Spirit to draw you back to the throne of God; sit and linger with Him today!  

3) What is the “right choice” mentioned in verse 42 and how can it be taken away?
While Jesus protected her choice, Mary could have felt unnecessarily guilty and chose to hop up and help her sister, but she didn’t. Neither Jesus nor Mary “took away” her choice to stay in communion with the Lord. How often do we “take away” our own choice to sit with God because of self-imposed guilt or a mis-prioritization on what is truly important?! Finding balance in life feels like an elusive fish to catch, but if we are to function well as healthy Christ-followers, feasting on the bread of life is absolutely critical! Jesus says, “Don’t work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you…” (John 6:27) The temptation to emphasize “busy, but important, stuff” over consistent, regular, lengthy time with Jesus is strong, which is why over the ages, time with God has fallen under the category of “spiritual disciplines”. It’s not easy to choose Jesus first, but denying our self-importance and learning to truly see Christ and our relationship with Him as supreme, will create a beautiful rhythmic dance for your life and ministry! Don’t take away the “good choice”, guard it just as Jesus did for Mary! 

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Catch up with Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

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

Digging Deeper Community

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Our Current Study Theme!

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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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Misunderstood Day 11 Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 10:38-42
Matthew 25:35-46
Hebrews 13:1-2  

Misunderstood, Day 11

“I have a gift for your girls! Are you home?” 
“Yes! Come over any time.” 
“Wonderful. I’ll be there soon. And Kendra? Do not clean a thing!”  

I sighed with relief as I looked around at my lived-in home. There was always laundry to be done, diapers I forgot to throw away lying around, and toys scattered about. It used to bother me much more, but when company comes over my stomach still turns a bit when they see… 
This is what my “real life” actually looks like.  

 That sweet friend came, armed with presents for my girls, and conversation about her days of young motherhood. With her son in college, her days of picking up toys are long gone.  

As I showed her my twin toddlers’ infamously messy room, with books and dolls strewn about, she laughed and told me something I will remember for the rest of my life. 
My friend is known for her immaculate house.
Her Christmas presents are wrapped in October with large, gold bows tied with precision.
So, I was stunned to hear her tell me this.  

“Kendra, if I had it to do over again,
I would spend less time worrying about how clean my house was,
and more time with the people who came to visit.
I can see now that I may have made family members and friends uncomfortable with my constant running around and picking up.
I wish I hadn’t cared so much about how clean my son’s room was.
I wish I would have just spent more time playing with him.”  

I smiled as I let her words run over me,
knowing I would return later to process what she’d shared.  

I began to think of Martha and Mary, the sister duo who welcomed Jesus into their home when He came to visit.  

Imagine that! 
Imagine Jesus literally knocking on your door.
What would you do?!  

I would probably pass out, which is totally biblical so that reaction would be justified. 🙂
Then, I would honestly welcome Him in,
while apologizing for my house being such a mess. 
I would excuse the clothes in the foyer, still needing to go into storage.
I would laugh off the toys on the stairs.
I would explain how I still needed to paint the top of the wainscoting we added.
Then I would invite Him to sit on my couch, while laughing about the fact that I was actually going to clean the cover tonight, so that’s why it was dirty.  

How do I know how I would respond? 
Because that is literally what I say any time anyone comes over. 
But sisters… Jesus doesn’t even care!  

How do I know?
Martha’s story. She began serving Jesus as soon as He stepped in the door.
Which sounds totally acceptable!
Except… she spent so much time serving Him, she wasn’t actually being with Him.

She offered Him coffee (Or chai or whatever they drank… Wine?)
She asked Him if He was hungry.
She swept up after Him, hurriedly cleaning,
and getting herself in a tizzy.
Soon, as it usually does, that tizzy turned into frustration. 
“Jesus! Don’t you care that I’m working so hard to make You comfortable? 
I’m working hard and Mary just sits there!”  

Jesus turned compassionate eyes on her, telling her she was getting herself in a tizzy.
He said she was anxious and worried and frantic and none of it even mattered.
He just wanted her to sit and to be.
THAT was her best service.  

There’s an age-old saying (which, incidentally, is not in the Bible!), that became popular thanks   to Martin Luther:
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”  

But is it?  

A pure heart, washed in forgiveness by the God of all righteousness?
Absolutely; that IS godliness!  

Having a clean home? Being a clean person?
Not. A. Chance. 

Honestly? Jesus was probably a pretty filthy man, physically speaking.
Barely bathing and walking everywhere, mixing sweat with dust will do that to a person.
(And you can’t get more Godly than Jesus because He IS God…so…) 

I digress… 

Having a clean home says nothing about your godliness.
Only the status of your soul determines that.
We will NOT get to Heaven and be drilled for those seven loads of laundry we didn’t do.
God will not ask why we didn’t put away that bin of clothes before our guest arrived.  

Instead, His Spirit is ready to prompt us now, just as He did with Martha….
Why are we spending so much time cleaning, serving, running, and doing
that we have a hard time slowing enough to listen to our guest?
Why not take the time to pray with them or show them HOPE?
Why work ourselves into an anxious tizzy (I’m clearly loving that word today)
by expecting perfection in our own appearance,
when the Lord has always cared only about the contents of our heart. 
God cares about our hospitality, NOT our house. 
Whether brick and mortar or skin and bones. 

I am so guilty of this, guys!
If Jesus came today, I would be Martha.
Trying to prove my worth by the appearance of my home and my ability to serve Him.
I would completely miss the opportunity to actually be enthralled with Him.  

Cleanliness is NOT next to Godliness. 
Cleanliness can get in the way of Godliness. 

The need to clean, the urge to perform, it can fill our minds, consuming our actions,
even becoming our idol. 
And that isn’t godly at all.

Don’t let pressure and performance hinder you 
from investing in people and being at peace with Jesus.  

*In my struggle to spend more time with people rather than focus on performance, I’ve found the app “The Fly Lady” to be a helpful reset. Give it a try! 

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

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

Misunderstood Day 10 Not Your Average Graduation Party

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Jeremiah 25:1-9
Jeremiah 29:1-29
Isaiah 55:8-9 

Misunderstood, Day 10

Graduation season has arrived! 

It’s the time to celebrate accomplishments, bittersweet endings, and hopeful new beginnings. Graduations represent lines in the sand. Once crossed things will never be the same: good, bad, or ugly. Sometimes the change is abrupt and sometimes it is a slow, gradual shift from what once was to what is becoming.

Perhaps this is why Jeremiah 29:11 has become the graduation verse of choice.
Scared about the future? I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.
Excited for the adventure to come? I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.
Glad to be done with the old season, but still undecided on the next?
I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.

And not just plans….
“Plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

This verse provides much encouragement.
A future.
A hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 lends itself so well to graduation season as bright futures and hope seem to be the foundation upon which post-graduation plans are built.

This verse, however, is not for the faint of heart,
nor is it a promise of prosperity.

In fact, as I have grown in the Lord and learned how to study the Word in greater depth,
I have found this verse to be an invitation,
a challenge, and promise on which to stand,
especially in some of the hardest seasons of my life.  

I first learned this verse as a child, and it has been a favorite since.
I loved knowing that He had plans me.  

As I grew older and encountered more challenging seasons, my love for it grew when I studied the verses following it and found the promise that I would find the Lord when I search for Him with all my heart. 
Not only does He have plans and purposes for my life, He promises to let me find Him.

He is the creator of the Universe.
If He wanted to stay aloof and out of reach,
He could easily ensure that I would never draw close enough to find Him.
Instead, He promises to be found when I search for Him with all my heart.
And so, I fell more in love with the hope of His words in Jeremiah 29:11-13. 

However, the strength and depth of these verses truly struck my heart when I learned the true context of those verses. 
It was not when the Israelites walked out of Egypt after 400 years of captivity.
It was not when they finished wandering in the wilderness and actually entered the Promised Land.
It was not at the completion of the Temple in Jerusalem. 

No, the Lord spoke these words through His prophet Jeremiah to the Israelite exiles living in Babylon, exiles who found themselves serving a foreign king due to their repeated disobedience.
Not only did the Lord speak these words to the Israelites when they were in a place they did not want to be, He spoke them at the beginning of 70 years of exile.

These words were not the noted embarking of some joyous, new adventure.  

These are not prosperity gospel verses.
They note the start of the natural consequences the Israelites chose after repeatedly ignoring the Lord’s warnings. For all intent and purposes, Israel had just been put in timeout for 70 years.

Yet, even in the midst of disciplining His chosen children, the Lord shows His love.
He does not remove the consequences, but He promises to be found in the midst of them.
He promises to eventually restore the Israelites.
He promises that in, through, and from those 70 years, He would produce a future and a hope for them.
Yes, He would restore their fortunes, which is a promise He did not have to include.
Yes, they would go home, out of exile, they could rebuild their temple, they would not be destroyed. 

The same Lord who both promised and fulfilled His word for Israel,
also proves just as faithful and true for us today .
He will indeed give us a future and a hope, we can be assured of it.
His timing may not be our timing, His ways not our ways,
but His faithfulness is true and His promises are sure.

These riches of His steadfast character 
cannot be quantified with a price tag. 
We sell the Almighty short when we equate His promises 
with finances or perpetual ease.  

Where do you find yourself today?
Finishing one season or starting another? You have a future and a hope.
Discovering the consequences of decisions? You have a future and a hope.
Praying for a struggling child? You have a future and a hope.
Analyzing how your marriage has reached its current state? You have a future and a hope.
Weeping through a miscarriage? You have a future and a hope.
What scenario(s) fit your life currently? You have a future and a hope.

A future and a hope found in Jesus Christ and His endless supply of faithful love and mercies. Search for Him, dear sister.
Search with all your heart.
With tears streaming, nose running, emotions flying, voices rising,
questions increasing, and even potentially, with hope fading.
You will find Him.

And even in the darkest of days, He will remind you,
“For I know the plans I have for you, plans for your well-being,
not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” 

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

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