Known Day 10 Jehovah Rohi: Digging Deeper

July 21, 2023 by Stacy Winkler Leave a Comment

Known Day 10 Jehovah Rohi: Digging Deeper

Stacy Winkler

July 21, 2023

Comfort,Dwell,Enemies,Family,Fear,Fellowship,Shielded

Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 23, John 10:2-5, 14-18

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

2 “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.”

14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

The Original Intent

1) What is a shepherd in this context? (Psalm 23:1-4)

Jehovah Rohi means “The Lord is our Shepherd”. Most of us probably do not understand a shepherd’s job description and this beautiful metaphor of God as Shepherd might be difficult for us to deeply comprehend.

Shepherding is first recorded in the Bible early in Genesis describing Abel as a shepherd of flocks. (Genesis 4:2) Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jacob’s sons, and David were all shepherds. (Genesis 24:34-35, Genesis 26:12-14, Genesis 30:40, Genesis 37:13, 1 Samuel 16) Jacob explicitly declares that God had been his shepherd all his life. (Genesis 48:15)

In his book “Shepherds After My Own Heart,” Timothy Laniak writes that the success of the flock was dependent “greatly on the care, attentiveness and skill of the shepherd.” (Laniak, pg 98) The shepherd led his flock to “quiet waters” and a variety of “green pastures,” rarely driving them from behind. (verse 2)

Kenneth Bailey, in his book “The Good Shepherd”, writes, “The sheep appear to be attracted primarily by the voice of the shepherd, which they know and are eager to follow.” (Bailey, pg 69) Shepherds protected their flock from disease, injury, weather, and predators. (Isaiah 49:10) A good shepherd would not run from danger but stayed with the flock to defend and rescue. (verse 4)

David convinced King Saul he could defeat Goliath, telling Saul how he protected his sheep by killing predators and even rescuing them from a predator’s mouth. (1 Samuel 17:34-37)

The shepherd carried a rod and a staff. (verse 4) “His staff was useful for support, picking off branches, snagging a trapped animal with the crook, or redirecting misbehaving members of the herd…. (It) became a symbol for the protective presence of the shepherd.” (Laniak, pg 103)

The rod was a shorter club that “was a traditional shepherd’s standby for defense and the implement for counting sheep.” (Laniak, pg 104) A good shepherd was a symbol of self-sacrifice as he cared for, protected, and defended the flock he loved.

The Everyday Application

1) What is a shepherd in this context? (Psalm 23:1-4)

My friends, Rebecca and Vance, keep sheep at their homestead and their duties as shepherds are not that different from Old Testament shepherds. They must daily check on the health and welfare of their sheep making sure they have good, clean water.

They provide over-seeding and rotational grazing for fresh, clean, high quantity and quality food. They provide shade during hot summers and shelter during the cold winters. Electric fencing assures them that the sheep are kept in while the predators are kept out. Some shepherds also use livestock guardian dogs for extra protection. They trim the sheep hooves regularly to help their mobility and avoid injury.

Rebecca said, “Shepherds have to spend time with their flock to build familiarity and trust. When sheep know and trust their shepherd, they will come when called, and the shepherd can better care for them. Our more tame sheep love to get their heads and necks scratched. Their trust in us encourages the other sheep to trust us as well.”

Do you know the voice of your Shepherd? Have you experienced His care, attentiveness, and skill? (Laniak, pg 98) Do you go to Him regularly? Are others encouraged by your relationship with Him? Have you called upon Him to be your Shepherd?

Through His shed blood on the cross, all who trust in Him and repent of their sin have complete forgiveness. Yes, we walk through dangers and griefs in this life, but our Shepherd has promised His constant presence to comfort, strengthen, and provide for those who have been redeemed by His blood. (verse 4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Ephesians 1:7-8, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 Peter 5:10)

The One who has inscribed His beloved ones on the palms of His hands can never forget us nor lose us. (Isaiah 49:15-16)

The Original Intent

2) How is God the Shepherd of His people? (Psalm 23:1-4, 6)

Psalm 23 begins with David speaking about God. (verses 1-3) He writes that YAHWEH, the only true self-existent eternal God, is His shepherd, linking God’s most holy name with the intimacy of a shepherd caring for his sheep. (verse 1)

It isn’t that God simply provides, but David paints a picture of how He tenderly and faithfully provides. God “lets him lie down in green pastures” and leads him “beside quiet waters.” (verse 2) According to “The Good Shepherd” by Kenneth Bailey, sheep are afraid to drink from moving waters, so quiet waters are essential in keeping the sheep well hydrated and feeling secure.

David knows God provides him with everything he needs, including food, water, and security. He also notes that God leads him along the right paths for God’s glory and reputation. (verse 3) But here there is a change in the psalm as David no longer talks about God but begins talking to God, building even more intimacy into the psalm.

He knows there are dangers everywhere even as God leads him on the right paths, yet it is God’s presence that comforts and protects him in the midst of danger. There are metaphoric predators, bad weather, and injury but David is secure not in his circumstances, but in the God who is always with him. David confidently knows God’s goodness and faithfulness will pursue him all of his life, even when he is disobedient to God. (verse 6, 2 Samuel 11-12)

It is in this relationship that David declares how he longs to be with God all the days of his life. He is safe, secure, cared for, and loved by his shepherd.

The Everyday Application

2) How is God the Shepherd of His people? (Psalm 23:1-4, 6)

Though familiar to many, Psalm 23 isn’t the only place where a psalmist references God as shepherd. Elsewhere, the psalmist makes a connection between God the majestic Creator and God the caring Shepherd, declaring His worthiness of our worship and adulation because He is both magnificent and loving. (Psalm 95:6-7)

It is this majestic and caring, loving God who did what was necessary to rescue us from our predator, the devil. (1 Peter 5:8) Our Shepherd sent His one and only Son to live a perfect life and die in our place for the sins we committed, thus snatching us out of the jaws of our enemy, Eternal Death and separation from God. (Galatians 1:3-4) We are saved from the penalty of sin while we are saved to an abundant life. Jesus said He came to give us life and give us life in abundance. (John 10:10)

He is our Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Protector, Counselor, and constant Companion. (verses 1-4) It is His goodness and faithful love that pursues us for the rest of our lives and never lets us stray very far. (verse 6) Have you come to know Him for yourself?

Is he your Shepherd? If he is not, pray, and ask him to be your Good Shepherd and He will with joy receive you into His flock, never letting you go!

The Original Intent

3) How is Jesus our Shepherd? (John 10:2-5; John 10:14-18)

Just as God is the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23, Jesus declares Himself as the Good Shepherd in John’s gospel and reminds His audience of the attributes of a good shepherd.

The sheep hear His voice, He calls His sheep by name, and He leads them. (verse 3) He goes ahead of His sheep and the sheep follow Him trustingly because they are keenly familiar with His voice. (verse 4)

His sheep will never follow a stranger because they don’t know any voice but the shepherd’s. In fact, they will run from a stranger’s voice. (verse 5) A few verses later, Jesus says something staggering and nearly unimaginable, “I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father.” (verses 14-15) The relationship between the Father and the Son is one of thorough intimacy, full omniscience, and complete oneness.

It is the only perfect relationship extending from eternity past to eternity future. Jesus then says this is the relationship He has with His flock. He knows everything about each of His sheep. He knows what they are thinking, feeling, and how they have been hurt. He knows their sorrows and their joys.

Later in the text, Jesus tells the audience He is not only willing to lay down His life for His sheep, but that He will take it up again. (verse 17) He tells of both His impending death and resurrection, both of which are for the sake of His flock.

He willingly and painfully gives up His life in the greatest example of self-sacrifice man has ever known and picks it up again, proving eternal victory over Death, Sin, and the Grave; He then hands this victory to His precious sheep who trust in Him! (Romans 14:8)

The Everyday Application

3) How is Jesus our Shepherd? (John 10:2-5; John 10:14-18)

What do we do with this understanding of Jesus’ intimacy, love, and self-sacrifice toward us? If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, I want to remind you He knows you. He sees you. He knows your thoughts, your actions, and your feelings. Knowing all this, He still loves you with perfect love and open arms of forgiveness and joy in His presence. (Psalm 16:11)

Difficult circumstances may still exist, but His love and provision He shows while leading us on the right paths while providing constant companionship will never end. (Psalm 23:1-4) You cannot flee the Good Shepherd because He is always with you. (Psalm 139:7-10) If you have not trusted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, come into His flock and allow Him to be the loving, good, perfect Shepherd over you and your life.

He loves you and provides grace and forgiveness and eternal salvation when you enter the safety of His fold. You are not too dirty, too sinful, or too far away that He cannot find you, cleanse you, and make you whole.

It is a strange thing, isn’t it, when we consider how Jesus is the Shepherd who willingly lays down His life for His sheep, and at the same time He is the Lamb of God whose sacrifice on the cross takes away our sins? He is both Shepherd and Sacrificial Lamb. This is how God showed His love for us even while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Meditate on and pray Psalm 23 and John 10. Ask God to show you how He has been your shepherd since before you were knit together in your mother’s womb. Thank Him and rejoice in your very Good Shepherd who loves you to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

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leading,love,quiet,rescue,sacrifice,shepherd

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The Lord is my King and Guardian Caretaker; I have everything I need. Even when I despair, He comes through and takes care of it all.

He leads me to His good blessings, whether they are basics like good food and clean water, or more complex as a loving community and purpose in Him. He gives me rest and eases anxiety. God guides every step and shows me the way to His goodness.

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The GT Weekend! ~ He Week 2

June 13, 2020 by Rebecca Adams Leave a Comment

The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

1) I have seen You, provide, Lord. But I have also seen You allow, even call for, things and people I love to be taken from me. Never, though, have I ever experienced an absence where YOU were not sustaining and upholding me. In every scenario, You have provided the fullness of Yourself to me. These are my prayer journal words to Yahweh Jirah, the Lord my Provider. What might yours be? Where can you look in your life and see how abundantly the Lord has provided? Where do you grieve deep loss? Where are you angry with the Provider for not giving as you saw fit? Lay all of these before Yahweh Jirah, and allow His Spirit to minister to your heart!

2) If you’ve ever driven a vehicle directly into the glare of a relentlessly brilliant sunrise or sunset, you know how suddenly you become aware of the small chips and dings in your windshield. There is no hiding the flaws, no matter how small, in the piercing light of the sun. The same is true for our hearts. We have no ability to sweep our misdeeds or our broken ways under a proverbial rug so the Lord God might not know, or care, how greatly we have mocked His holiness. What areas are you tempted to hide before God? Or even yourself? It’s much easier to pretend our sins are not as ugly as they actually are, isn’t it? But the only ones we deceive are ourselves in that game of pretend. Yahweh M’Kaddesh is the One Who Makes Holy. How incredible it is to know He is for us and not against us! He lovingly calls aloud to our hearts to come, and be made clean! How will you respond to such an invitation?!

3) When we think of the word “peace”, images of shields and attack-proof weaponry don’t spring to our minds. Yet, this is how Scripture intends for us to practically understand the peace of God. His peace is an impenetrable guard, a shield for our hearts and our minds. When opportunities arise for worry to seep in or for fear to flood us, bringing paralyzing anxiety along with it, the peace of God is intended as a great wall of protection for us to hide behind. Take a pen and write Yahweh Shalom on your wrist, or on a notecard, and allow the Holy Spirit to visually remind you of the strength that comes from the God of all Peace!

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 Ephesians 3:14-19 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Prayer Journal
You are the beginning and the end. You alone hold all power and authority, all rights to every human life. Yet, in Your absolute infinity, You choose to love and care for each and every human being who ever has been, or ever will be. You crafted each of us on purpose and set Your vast love upon us, pursuing us as individuals that we might know and experience the fullness of Your kind, generous Providence, the care of Your refining fire as You make us holy, and the firm guarding shield of Your all-surpassing peace. Such love lavished on such finite beings is incomprehensible, defying all reason. The only reasonable response is worship overflowing from a heart awash in gratitude and humility! Lord God, let my life worship You. Remind me continuously of this vast length, width, height, and depth of Your magnificent love!

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Hallel Day 7 We Will Bless: Digging Deeper

April 7, 2020 by Rebecca Adams Leave a Comment

Digging Deeper Days

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

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out We Will Bless!

The Questions

1) Why is trusting the Lord reiterated three times in verses 9-11 and what is the progression of specific people called out signify?

2) What is the significance of calling out specific groups of people? (verses 9-11)

3) Why would verses 17-18 have been especially meaningful or even confusing for the disciples as they sang these words at the last Passover with Jesus?

Psalm 115:9-18

Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and shield.
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the Lord—
small and great alike.

14 May the Lord add to your numbers,
both yours and your children’s.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens are the Lord’s,
but the earth he has given to the human race.
17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
nor any of those descending into the silence of death.
18 But we will bless the Lord,
both now and forever.
Hallelujah!

Original Intent

1) Why is trusting the Lord reiterated three times in verses 9-11 and what is the progression of specific people called out signify?
These verses immediately follow blatant descriptions of idols made by human hands and how foolish it is to worship them. (verses 4-8, Isaiah 44:9-20) They are proven untrustworthy and utterly incapable of bringing about any change in real life, let alone protection or blessing. With night and day contrast, the psalmist presses in, “….trust in the Lord! He is a help and shield!” In Scripture, when a word, phrase, or series of phrases is repeated, it is meant to underline its importance. It’s the equivalent of lifting the chin of a child and emphasizing, “Hey, look at me, I’m serious about this.”. This phrasing isn’t repeated once, but three times. This level of importance trumps all others. Pay attention, this is for real. Repeat it. Memorize it. Tattoo it on your arm. “Trust in the Lord! He is a help and shield!”

2) What is the significance of calling out specific groups of people? (verses 9-11)
The progression of specific groups of people is interesting, and important to notice. “House of Israel” (verse 9) is beseeched first, calling the entirety of the nation of Israel as a whole. All of God’s chosen people, hello, pay attention here! Then the focus narrows to, “House of Aaron” (verse 10), signifying the Levites, which would be all the leaders within the Tabernacle. These were a smaller margin of people, who had also been especially set aside by God, to minister to Him in the temple and minister to His people. They had a pivotal role to play in spiritual leadership, and through the psalmist’s words, God calls them away from trusting in themselves or their idols. Trust Me only, says the Lord! Finally, the focus spotlights every person as an individual. “You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is a help and shield!” (verse 11) The progression of people being called out calls into focus God’s perspective on people and the high importance He places on His people as a whole, while not neglecting the beauty of a deep and intimate relationship on a personal level. In the end, all are called to trust in the Lord and have no idols before Him, none are excluded from this high calling.

3) Why would verses 17-18 have been especially meaningful or even confusing for the disciples as they sang these words at the last Passover with Jesus?
This phrasing of “it is not the dead who praise You”, is used frequently throughout the psalms as the writer is pleading to God for life. In the previous verses, it is the blessing of life that is most evident. Life from the death of slavery. Life for a nation who wasn’t previously a nation. Life for a new generation from those who had died in the desert wanderings. Life in the new Promised Land. These were all blessings from the Lord in the form of life. Therefore, in contrast, the writer calls for the Lord to see that those who are dead cannot praise Him. Psalm 6:5 asks, “who will praise You from Sheol (meaning the grave)?”. The question itself is a plea for the continued blessing of life to be given, and protected, by the Author of Life. In an incredibly ironic scenario, the disciples heard from Jesus Himself on multiple occasions that He would be handed over to be crucified. This One, Jesus, whom the disciples had come to know as God Himself, the Source and Sustainer of life, would now, willingly, be put to death. Unfathomable!

Everyday Application

1) Why is trusting the Lord reiterated three times in verses 9-11 and what is the progression of specific people called out signify?
How often in your day to you wish you could pull back from it all? Maybe you wish you could run and hide? Maybe it’s not that intense, but you might be caught rolling your eyes or tossing a sharp verbal barb. When situations or relationships in everyday life go south, our first instinct is to suit up defensively and either wait it out while hiding in the armor, or get angry and start pushing back. These natural human instincts quite often don’t actually help strengthen our relationships or right our situations, rather they just delay the pain by trying to mute it, or make the whole thing worse. Suppose instead, we followed the strong, emphatic call from the wise psalmist and chose to “Trust the Lord!” while remembering ”He is a help and a shield!”. What can you do to start incorporating this shift? Maybe you aren’t tattooing it on your arm, but maybe you decide to write it in erasable marker on your bathroom mirror. Maybe you make it your phone’s lockscreen. Or maybe you grab a sharpie and you do write it on your arm! Whatever you do, this is worth taking seriously. It can change your focus, your relationships, and how you view your circumstances! Trusting the Lord is the doorway for His peace to fill you!

2) What is the significance of calling out specific groups of people? (verses 9-11)
Often, in the Western hemisphere, we place a supreme importance on individuality and personal freedom, ability, and expression of self. This has many strengths associated with it, but one major downfall is isolation with the idea that we don’t need anyone but ourselves. We can’t trust anyone. We don’t need anyone. We are self-made. This idea is completely counter to God’s view of people in Scripture. He didn’t intend for us to live in isolation, but together, always in community. Community with Himself and community with other brothers and sisters within the global Body of Christ are paramount and foremost. If we miss the bigger, broader picture that every believer is only a part of the whole, we have missed God’s heart for us as a people. Together, every Christian across all of time make up the singular Body, the Bride of Christ, His Church. This is critical to understanding how God sees us! In this part of the Hallel, we can be reminded that, as a Church, God is calling us to shift our eyes to Him, and off our impotent idols. He is worthy of our praise and He alone is trustworthy, a help, and a shield! Today, we don’t have the office of Levite, but we do have leaders within our church. Pastors, elders, deacons, and teachers are all called out precisely because they are the lead examples within the life of the Church. They are to model this full trust in the Lord! Finally, as individuals, having been reminded that we are one part of a whole, are to make sure our life is being lived out in the everyday through the lens of trusting the Lord. Big or small issues, He alone is trustworthy, He is worthy of worship, He is our help and shield! Trust the Lord!!

3) Why would verses 17-18 have been especially meaningful or even confusing for the disciples as they sang these words at the last Passover with Jesus?
As impossible as it was for the disciples to understand in the moment, we can see the full picture through reading the rest of the gospel story. In laying down His life, in dying our death, Jesus made true life available for all! His was the death that brought life. The death of Jesus actually did bring glory to God, because through it, no one would need to die and cease praising the Lord. In fact, just a little farther along in the Hallel, the psalmist emphatically makes this point by declaring, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” A believer who has trusted Jesus for their salvation blesses God through their physical death because they have transitioned from being apart from God, while in their body, to being in the very presence of God in Heaven! Bless the Lord with your life while you are still breathing by choosing the eternal life He offers to all and trust Him as your personal Savior from sin and eternal death and separation from Him!

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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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Hallel Day 6 We Will Bless

April 6, 2020 by Merry Ohler Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 115:9-18
John 13:21-38
Genesis 15:1-6
Revelation 19:4-10

Hallel, Day 6

“O Israel, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.

O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.

You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.”
(Psalm 115:9-11)

Our ears tingled as the somber song spilled over lips and filled the heavy air, reminding us to trust in Yahweh. Our bellies were full, but rather than the comfortable sated feeling we expected, every nerve reverberated with a tension we couldn’t quite explain.

Only moments ago, Judas had run from the room, practically upsetting the whole table in the process. There was a significance to be found there, but it was clear no one understood what it could be. Every word we sang resonated in our trembling hearts as minds spun to process what Yeshua had said.

What He was saying.

“Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in himself and will glorify Him at once. Children, I am with you a little while longer. You will look for Me, and just as I told the Jews, so now I tell you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
(John 13:31-35)

Confusion reigned and dark eyes sought each other’s gaze in silent query.
What does He mean? Where is He going? Why did Judas flee so suddenly?

Our song continued.

“The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.

He will bless those who fear the Lord,
The small together with the great.”
(Psalm 115:12-13)

Simon Peter was first to ask the thought weighing on each of our spirits as we reclined around the room and listened to Teacher. “Lord, where are You going?”

Yeshua replied, but His words sparked more questions.
“Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.”

The following exchange left us reluctant to ask anything more as we considered what we heard.

Peter would deny him thrice?
Simon Peter?
Peter, who leapt out into the stormy sea when he saw Yeshua walking on water?
Peter, who wanted to erect tabernacles to Yeshua, Moses and Elijah in Caesarea Philippi, the very epicenter of paganism in the land?
Peter, who only moments ago had boasted to our Lord that He might wash his head and hands, as well as his feet?

Cold, unspeakable dread coiled in each belly as He continued to speak things which confounded us. What could Yeshua mean? What was coming?

Our customary Hallel rang out again.

“May the Lord give you increase,
You and your children.
May you be blessed of the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.”
(Psalm 115:14-15)

And as He always did, He answered our thoughts as though they had been spoken aloud. His piercing, gentle gaze fell on one, then another.

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.

You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe.

I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world is coming.
He has no power over me.On the contrary, so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do as the Father commanded me.”
(John 14:27-31)

Night had fallen; the absence of the sun was fitting. As we made ready to leave together, we could not escape the sense of finality echoing in our footsteps. Yeshua’s indescribable voice was kind as He spoke about abiding in the vine, but His eyes held great sadness.

“The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,
But the earth He has given to the sons of men.
The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor do any who go down into silence;
But as for us, we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
Praise the Lord!”
(Psalm 115:16-18)

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Questions Day 10 Why Does Evil Flourish?

February 28, 2020 by Kendra Kuntz 1 Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 37
Proverbs 21:6-7
James 1:2-4
Psalm 92:6-7

Questions, Day 10

Friends, to be perfectly honest, as I began writing this study, I chose this question, “Why do evil people flourish?”, and held it in my hands, turning it this way and that, wondering why I was even writing this Journey.
My heart isn’t bent out of shape.
I haven’t lived my life frustrated because evil people seem to get ahead, while good people sometimes can’t catch a break. Really, I’ve never thought much about it…

And yet…

When I began reading Psalm 37, the prickling in my eyes started almost instantly.

Maybe I do need to remember the truth found in Psalm 37.
Not maybe …
I do need this truth.

I’ve spent much of the past year asking God,
“Why me? Haven’t I kept Your commandments?
Haven’t I upheld Your name?
I thought I was making all of the right choices.
So … why me?
Why does it feel like my life is crumbling around me?”

I keep getting pummeled. Every time I turn around, another disaster hit me square in the face. I held up my hands, bracing to protect myself, but to no avail.

But when I look a little to my right …
“she” has it all together.
“She” has a healthy and whole family.
“She” manages to have a clean house, a perfect body, and a successful husband.
And when I look a little to my left …
“she” has a successful career, plenty of friends,
and all the money to live the lifestyle she desires.

Then, I look down at myself, my hands still shielding my face from yet another blow. I look at my body, which has gained some weight, responding entirely differently than it did to the first crisis I encountered.

I look at my worn jeans, my sister’s shoes on my feet, and my painted hands.
My jeans are worn because they’re the only pair I own.
I wear my sister’s shoes because she died eight months ago and I inherited some of her clothes. My hands are painted because I’m working on my daughters’ Christmas present, a castle I bought second-hand and am painting to make it feel new and special.

When I look in the mirror, I see lines that didn’t exist a year ago, seemingly permanent dark circles, and …

And I see joy.
There, in my eyes, is joy.

People who haven’t faced crisis and disaster are not evil, not at all! And truthfully, none of us travel this life unscathed, especially those who follow Jesus.
Yet, James exhorts us,
“Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
(James 1:2-4)

We can count it all joy because we get to experience more fully who God is, even, no, especially, in the darkest of places. Psalm 37 describes our active God.
He doesn’t sit back and watch us suffer and ache.
He is fighting for us.
The Lord upholds the righteous for He is a knowing God; He knows the days of the blameless. The Lord is our help, our deliverer, and our refuge.

Psalm 37:25 makes my heart beat a little faster:

“I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging for bread.”

Imagine standing at a coffee bar, filling your cup next to an elderly man. As you begin talking, you can almost see the wisdom dripping from him. He puts his wrinkled, weathered hand on top of yours, and you look into his eyes.

He pats your hand and says, “I’ve been your age, and now I’m just an old chap, but I’m telling ya’, I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for food. The Lord has always provided.” His eyes gleam with unshed tears, his little smile reveals his perfect dentures, and you just know he’s lived a lifetime filled with heartaches and yet here he is, testifying of the goodness of God.

Sounds like a scene from a Hallmark movie, doesn’t it? But it describes exactly what David is doing as he pours out his heart in the psalm to the Knowing, Listening, Present God. David has faced battles, he’s lost children, he’s suffered from the mistakes of his youth,
but he will still declare the goodness of God.

The enemy is crafty and tricky, and an incredibly good liar, and sometimes, it just seems like evil always wins! This world is fallen and broken because sin has destroyed, killed, and stolen life and delight as we were intended to enjoy when God first created. Because of this reality, we will always be hit with shrapnel from explosions happening around us.

In Psalm 37, and many other places throughout Scripture, we are reminded God will not forsake His saints (anyone who’s given their life to Him!).

The best part?
We have the promise of eternity with Him, where evil will no longer run rampant.

Yes, evil flourishes here on earth…
but ultimately, we already KNOW the battle has been won.
We know God has won the battle.
God wins.

So maybe it feels like evil people will always flourish.

Maybe it feels like we, devoted followers of Jesus who entrust our lives to Him, just can’t catch a break. But the Lord is ever faithful.
Lean in and hold fast because He will never forsake you,
He will never leave you,
and one day,
our success will be our testimony to, and declaration of,
the incredible goodness of God.

Evil flourishes here, but it does NOT have the final victory!
Only Our God holds that!

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Shielded Day 15 With All Boldness

February 14, 2020 by Merry Ohler Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 6:19-20
Isaiah 26:3-4
2 Corinthians 3:12-18
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Acts 20:25-28

Shielded, Day 15

“Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this, I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.” Ephesians 6:19-20

We’ve studied the different components of God’s armor as we’ve journeyed through Shielded together: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, sandals of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Every piece of armor evokes powerful imagery of what spiritual warfare looks like when battled God’s way, and it looks nothing like what we might picture on our own.

In a nutshell, He shields us with His armor as He fights for us. We have only to stand firm.

Following such an impassioned illustration and instruction, Paul’s plea for the Ephesians to pray for his own boldness feels…a little out of place. In fact, it brings several questions to mind.

If Paul was indeed adequately covered and “suited up” in the armor of God, why would he need to beseech other believers to pray for his boldness in speaking the gospel? Wouldn’t the presence of spiritual armor automatically make him bold? What does this imply about the overarching purpose of the armor itself?

All good questions; let’s unpack them. Paul’s illustration of the armor of God is intended to give us solid imagery regarding who our battle is against: the enemy and his forces, and how we are to withstand him: by keeping our minds and wills submitted and purposed in the Kingdom as we go about our daily lives. We know all Scripture is God-breathed and inerrant, so with that in mind, what can we conclude from Paul’s plea?

To answer that question, we must dig a little deeper.

Every human is comprised of body, soul, and spirit. Our body is made up of flesh, blood, and bone; our soul consists of mind, will, and emotions. and our spirit contains wisdom, communion, and conscience. Paul gave a nod to this distinction when he wrote about the constant tension he found himself living within.

In the verses we’re studying today, Paul is talking about two of the different components of our being. As he expounds on the spiritual armor, he is addressing our – and his – spirit. When he asks the Ephesians to pray for his boldness, he is addressing his personal battle within his own soul, which is the mind, will and emotions.

Can you relate? I know I can. The sad, and very real truth, is the vast majority of us are far less concerned with anything the enemy might do than we are concerned about what other people might do or say.

Ouch. That manages to make me wince and be comforted simultaneously; even Paul warred with himself in the same way. His plea for boldness may as well be my own.

Or yours, too, maybe?

Think about it. Have you ever found yourself stirred by the Spirit? With sweaty palms, your heart pounding in your chest, and stomach rolling because you knew you were being moved to respond, to speak, to give, to share, to witness, to love…but then you didn’t do it? Have you felt the wave of sorrow that rushes over you when you failed to submit in the moment?

My friend. You’re not alone. I’ve been there. And Paul was there, too.

But do you notice what he didn’t ask the Ephesians to pray for?

Paul didn’t ask for safety.
He didn’t ask the enemy’s plans would be foiled.
He didn’t ask for his survival, or to be freed from chains, either.
No; instead, he asked for boldness.

Paul knew God would fight the real enemy for him, so he asked for help battling his own mind, will and emotions so he would be able to accomplish the task he had been commissioned for: preaching the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike.

Where do you stand, Sister? Do you find yourself shying away from the opportunities the Lord gives you to be a light in this dark world? Do you battle your own anxiety, or fear, or worry about what others may think?

Confess your worry and fear to the Lord, and ask Him to bolster your spirit. Then, reach out to someone you trust to pray for you, and do what Paul did: ask them to pray for you to be bold! The Lord is faithful and He will strengthen you!

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