abandon

If Day 3 Indwelling

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If Day 3 Indwelling

Rebecca Adams

July 14, 2021

Deep,Dwell,God,Holy Spirit,Jesus,Love,Rescue

Read His Words Before Ours!

John 16:5-15
John 14:12-31
Galatians 5:13-26

What if Christians were merely saved from sin?
Suppose we were rescued, then left alone to traverse the difficulties of life?

Divorce, loss, financial ruin, emotional trauma, grief, persecution, sinful temptations…suppose God rescued us only to leave us alone until we somehow crossed the line of Eternity?

Would He be a loving God?
One who came in the flesh, but left us utterly alone?

Does love abandon?
Does God?

At Gracefully Truthful, we care quite a bit about original languages. Some believe the Bible you hold in your hands, or read on your phone, has been “translated” so many times and is so far removed from the original manuscript, it’s impossible to know if anything we read in the Bible is factual. At first glance, this premise seems to build a convincing argument that the Bible is unreliable and nothing more than a fictitious collection of stories passed from generation to generation, modified by each storyteller.

This renders the Bible, God’s very Word to humanity, nothing more than a crutch.

Thankfully, none of that is true.
Ergo, original languages are our jam.

And if you aren’t living in the United States, allow me to translate the colloquial phrase “jam” as meaning, “thick, good stuff we love to take pleasure in; it’s our ‘happy place’.”

See, language, it’s more important than we might think.

When modern-day Bible translators are writing the Bible in a new language, they study from the original language copies that have been preserved for centuries. Yes, those Bible translators are reading copies that were in circulation while many of the original disciples were still alive. Still Alive!! This means they could have easily refuted what was being circulated if it wasn’t in keeping with the original. And we don’t have just one copy, or two, or even ten. For Shakespeare’s writings, we have roughly 235 surviving copies, and no one questions his authorship. For the New Testament books, there are over 5,000!

When GT authors share a word from the “original language”, take notice. This carries significant weight because the Bible is the living active Word of God preserved by the Spirit of God, spoken out by the Spirit of God.

This God wants to be known by us. Deeply.

The how He goes about being known…. Pause with me for a holy hush… Is by His Spirit.

Like looking at a pencil drawing, and then blinking as it floods with vibrant colors, brilliant 4D movement, and suddenly, personal, comforting, deeply knowing interaction with you. THIS is the Holy Spirit’s work, making the drawing of God on a page, come to life inside you, calling you to Himself, singing over you, moving you forward into the seemingly impossible, holding you up in the midst of tragedy, anchoring you in the eye of the storm, pointing you always towards understanding exactly who this God of the Bible really is.

The Spirit who hovered over the waters at creation’s dawn. (Genesis 1:2)
The Spirit who came upon David and drew him into dancing in the streets. (2 Samuel 6:14)
The Spirit who empowered Nehemiah to courageously lead in the face of intimidation. (Nehemiah 4:7-14)
The Spirit who made a donkey talk (Numbers 22:28),
gave Samson the power to tear a lion apart (Judges 14:6),
fueled Joshua to march around an impenetrable city, and watch it fall. (Joshua 5:13-6:7)
The Spirit who overshadowed Mary and brought forth Jesus. (Luke 1:35)
The Spirit who raised Christ back to life from the dead. (Romans 8:11)
The Spirit who fell upon the disciples, allowing them to preach in multiple languages they didn’t even know. (Acts 2:4)
The Spirit who permanently lives inside every man, woman, or child who calls out in saving faith to the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue them from sin and its deadly consequences. (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Holy things. Holy work.
All initiated, led, and accomplished by the Holy Spirit.
He is not separate from God, trying to translate God for you.

No.

When God came to earth to redeem mankind back to Himself,

He did not send a representative.

He did not ask the archangel, Michael, a great leader like Moses, or a great prophet like Elijah; He Came HIMSELF as Jesus, God the Son.

And this is exactly true of the Holy Spirit. He is not outside of God.

He IS God.

רוּחַ

These are the Hebrew letters forming the sound, “ruach”, which translators most commonly render as “breath”, “spirit”, or “wind”.

When we think of the Holy Spirit, we should think of the very breath of God.

His Spirit, His own Spirit is His wind, His breathing; the Spirit is the “everything of God”.

But, unlike our breath, which vanishes the moment we exhale, the Spirit of God is fully God, always present as God.

All the wisdom.
All the power.
All the understanding.
All of His always-never-leaving presence.

Co-equal. Co-eternal. Everlasting to Everlasting.

The Spirit of God, is the everlasting breath of God’s fullness, intended to show us who God is through personal engagement.

Moses removes his sandals. (Exodus 3:5)
Holy

Isaiah weeps. (Isaiah 6:5)
Holy

Peter falls down. (Luke 5:8)
Holy

Every person who calls on the Name of the Most High God trembles. (Isaiah 66:2)
Holy

This Holy Spirit of the Living God has taken up residency within believers (Romans 8:10-11),
sealing them forever (Ephesians 1:13),
promising to hold them all the way into eternity (John 10:28),
guaranteeing to never leave (John 14:17),
to always bring His comfort (John 14:16),
to always teach (John 14:26),
to always remind (John 14:26),
to always reveal more about God (John 14:21).

Holy

This is the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit, given to all who truly trust the risen Savior, Christ the Lord. It is His holy work in us, making us holy like Him, that we may live and move in Him! (Acts 17:28)

When you read His Words in Scripture,
when you raise your hands in response to Him,
when you pray fervently as He bids,
when you stand hushed at His holiness,
you are moving in cadence to the Holy One.

No, we are not left alone.

We are forever knit together with the very fabric of the Living God woven into our souls. Here, in this sweet union with God Almighty, we dance together with Him.

Let’s enter His rhythm and live in step with the Spirit!

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abandon,Bible,Does God,He is,If,Indwelling,Language,Living Word,Preserved,What iF
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Screenshot Day 13 The Story Isn’t Over

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 13:24-30
Matthew 13:36-43
Job 1:6-12
Hebrews 4:15-16
John 16:25-33 

Screenshot, Day 13

I often hear my husband say, “Don’t put a period where God has put a comma.” 
Sometimes, I’m tempted to give up when I can’t see progress.

In ministry, it’s disheartening when someone who once followed Jesus wholeheartedly, has abandoned those ways, choosing to chase the world instead.
Especially after you’ve invested time and energy into that relationship.
I’ve been discouraged, questioning what I may have done wrong, or could have done better.  The following story of Jesus reminds me never to lose hope,
remembering that what I can see isn’t the whole story.  

Jesus tells the story of a farmer who sowed wheat in his field. In the night, an enemy came and contaminated the field with weeds.  As they both grew, it became apparent there were both weeds and wheat in the field so the servants asked the farmer if they should pull the weeds.  The farmer told them to let both grow together.
At harvest, the reapers would bind and burn the weeds, while storing the wheat safely in the barn. 

Unlike most parables, we get the benefit of Jesus’ interpretation of this one.
Since He took the time to give its meaning, we should listen closely!

“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 
the field is the world; 
and the good seed – these are the children of the kingdom.  
The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.  
The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels.  
Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness.  They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom.  
Let anyone who has ears listen”
Matthew 13:36-43 

God is the one responsible for planting the seed. 
He alone is responsible for salvation and already knows the eternally fate of every person He created. Regardless of our desire to see the ones we love and serve begin a relationship with Jesus, we do not have the power to save them.
Only Jesus does.
Certainly, we have a responsibility to share the gospel and pray for them.
Remain faithfully obedient in that task, no matter how long it takes! 
But only Jesus has the power to save.  

Evil exists in this world.
God has allowed Satan certain liberties on earth for a time, and the Enemy has not wasted his opportunities to sow weeds of Death and Destruction.
In the book of Job, Satan, intent on stealing, killing and destroying (John 10:10), is busying himself with God and His people.  After a time of roaming the earth, Satan appears before the Lord, which makes it clear that he answers to God’s authority, not the other way around.
During their conversation, God asks if Satan has considered Job, to which Satan replies, “Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns?”
He concluded by saying that, without all the blessings from God, Job would not be a faithful follower.  God then gives Satan permission to do whatever he desires with Job’s possessions, but not to touch Job himself.  

Nothing can come into our lives that hasn’t passed through the loving thought of our Heavenly Father.
Weeds from the Enemy are abundant in this world, 
but we are not abandoned by our Heavenly Father!
While He does not cause evil, He does allow certain things to enter our lives to refine us, grow us, and ultimately bring Him glory. (Romans 8:28)

We also must remember our Savior is not immune to our suffering.
Hebrews 4:15, teaches that Jesus knows and understands our pain for He was tempted and tried in every way as we are.
Because He has experienced our suffering, He invites us to come boldly to Him in our need!  

I have a friend with a challenging parenting situation.
She and her husband have made some tough decisions concerning their child and much pain has been involved. It’s hard to understand why they’ve had to endure such difficult circumstances and I’m sure they’ve asked “why” many times.
Just as each of us have at various points in life as well. 

My friends both serve and love God, having purposed to parent according to godly principles.  And yet, for a season, their difficulties make it appear the enemy has prevailed.

But, as my friend continually reminds, “the story is not over”.
Her hope is not in what she sees right now,
but in the One who has full authority over what is allowed to enter our lives.
She views the pain of her present situation through the lens of God’s final authority and goodness, choosing to remain faithfully committed to Him, despite the weeds growing around her.  

Jesus concludes His parable by reminding us that in the end, God wins.
Evil will be bound and burned.
God’s children will “shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom”.
What a beautiful hope we have!

Yes, my friend, weeds will grow around you, 
but be reminded, “The Story Isn’t Over!” 

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Passionate Day 8
Forsaken

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Philippians 2:1-11
Hebrews 12:2
Isaiah 53:10-12
John 1:29
2 Corinthians 5:21 

I’ve known the loss of our unborn baby. Ached to touch fingers I never would. Wept for a smile I would never see. Saw in my mind a little boy whose features I would only ever dream of. I carried him inside for a short while, his heart beating strong and steady, his body growing and then his heart beat for the last time and his short life was over. He was with me and then he wasn’t. I carried him safely, and then his body was gone from mine, leaving me empty in a way I never had been before.
I know that one day, I will see all that God had planned for my little boy. I will see his face. And I will be astounded by God’s majesty through it all. But for now, I wait. Sometimes weeping, sometimes smiling for the joy of that future hope, but always holding that place in my heart carved out for Elijah James.

My God knows what it’s like to lose a son.
Perhaps you too know the grievous hallways of loss.
But the depths of His pain are infinitely greater than my own.
The scale of His loss infinitely higher.

The relationship I have with my other children, the one I have with my husband, the ones I cherish with my friends are only darkened mirrors reflecting the depth and intimacy of the relationship and unity among the persons of the godhead as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As humans, we simply cannot fathom the sheer delight of community, the intricate intimacies that are shared, and the wholesome unity that exists between the persons of the Trinity, our 3-in-1 God, but we do know that it is perfect.

But a choice was made.
An intentional one.
To break unity among the godhead.

The impossible was planned to become possible.
The agony would be unlike anything we are capable of knowing.
The rendering of perfection would literally shake the heavens and the earth.
Because unity, because community, because relationships are what the Creator longs for with His created.
Intimacy.
Fellowship.
Perfection.
Bliss.

But that intimacy wasn’t possible,
that glorious relationship between the Master and His Beloved.

Sin marked each of His creations by their own prideful, arrogant choices.
And a wholly righteous God can have no part of sin, cannot tolerate even a drop. So separation existed, from the first sin until this moment. Every wicked thought, every murderous action, every lie, every evil deed, word, and motive bringing eternal separation, a breaking of that divinely desired intimacy.

There was only one hope.
A redemption.
The Perfect would have to take the place of the imperfect.
The Holy accepting the consequence of evil in our place.
Your sin and mine. Our collective shame.
The innocent One would bear the charge of guilty.
Gentleness dying the death of the gossiper.
Kindness carrying the weight of Hateful’s wicked schemes.

The lies you’ve told, the temptations you’ve given into, the times you’ve cheated, the rudeness, the self-seeking, the bitterness, the murderer, the thief, the abuser, the manipulator, the rapist, the drunk, the addicted one, the lustful one, the adulterer, the angry one.
All the consequence.
Every sin.
Jesus bore it all in His blameless body.
For. Us.
The weight of our rebellion pressing down on Him.
The shame laid on Him.
The hell of separation digging a chasm between Himself and the Father as He drank the cup of God’s wrath….intended for us. Rightly judged to be our own.

And in that moment, as the Son hung naked, cloaked only in ugly disgrace,
The Father Turned Away.
He could not look at His only Son, because all He could see was our sin.

“My God! My God! Why have You forsaken me?”
Jesus cried out in deepest agony.
It wasn’t for the pain of impending death that Jesus yelled from the cross;
it was for the torture of disownment and broken unity.

He was separated, so we wouldn’t have to be.
He accepted our separation from the God of Life, so we wouldn’t die in it.
He was abandoned, so we could have fellowship.

Why was this sacrifice enough?
Just one man pitted against the world’s sin.

Yes, one perfect, flawless man, who was also God.
A righteous and holy and blameless God who took on sin,
carrying its punishment in His body,
dying its death,
but rising to defeat it!

Death could not kill the author of Life.

And so, for the joy set before Him, of extending the offer of righteousness to us, the godhead chose to forsake the Son, to cut him off, to lose Him entirely, to give Him over to Death, in order to make a way for us to never be lost.

Oh, but Beloved, that choice is ours.
The whole problem of sin separating us from God exists because He graciously allowed us the freedom to choose to love Him….or not.
He will not force His love upon us.
And without accepting His sacrifice, we are still utterly lost in our sin, destined for eternal separation.

Let the Son’s anguished cry be the balm that soothes your own agony.
Choose to never be the lost, abandoned daughter, curled up in Death’s grip.
Come away to Life and the Fullness of His eternal relationship with us!

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

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