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Follow Day 7 A Time To Act: 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 A Time To Act!

The Questions

1) Why is Nehemiah in Susa and who is the remnant? (verses 1-3)

2) Why does the unbuilt wall cause Nehemiah to weep and what did he do with his grief? (verses 4 and following)

3) In 2:2 Nehemiah is clearly afraid. What does he do with his fear?

Nehemiah 1:1-2:5

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:

During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile. 3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”

4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens. 5 I said,

Lord, the God of the heavens, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands, 6 let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive to hear your servant’s prayer that I now pray to you day and night for your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins we have committed against you. Both I and my father’s family have sinned. 7 We have acted corruptly toward you and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances you gave your servant Moses. 8 Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. 9 But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.” 10 They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand. 11 Please, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to that of your servants who delight to revere your name. Give your servant success today, and grant him compassion in the presence of this man.
At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.

2 During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, “Why do you look so sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.”

I was overwhelmed with fear 3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

4 Then the king asked me, “What is your request?”

So I prayed to the God of the heavens 5 and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”

Original Intent

1) Why is Nehemiah in Susa and who is the remnant? (verses 1-3)
As the book of Nehemiah opens we find him in the city of Susa, one of the Persian Empire capitals. Jerusalem had been overtaken in 586 BC by the Babylonians, who were later overtaken by the Persian Empire, and many of the residents dispersed into the existing empire. With this takeover and captivity, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. This destruction included Solomon’s Temple and the city walls. However, a remnant of Israel, God’s chosen people, was left behind in Jerusalem. This remnant was extremely poor and represented a significantly small fraction of the total Jewish population that had once lived in Jerusalem. God was working behind the scenes both in Jerusalem and in Susa as He stirred hearts to serve and follow Him as only He could. He was preparing to use Nehemiah in his perfect placement in Susa for His glory and for the benefit of the remnant.

2) Why does the unbuilt wall cause Nehemiah to weep and what did he do with his grief? (verses 4 and following)
Before Nehemiah asked permission from the king to personally return to Jerusalem, there had been two other waves of Israelites who had gone home and left Susa. These Jews had restored the Temple in their time there, but not the city wall. Nehemiah receives word of this destruction and is broken by the news. He knew the city wall was vitally important because without a fortified wall, the city was defenseless against any attack. The city would have also held no value in the ancient world without a wall. A wall also meant a gate for entry. These gates served as a meeting place and a city council type place to conduct business affairs. Without a wall and gates, the prominence of the city would have been obsolete. Nehemiah is broken for his homeland, even though he had actually never lived there. Nehemiah allows himself to feel his grief, but then he moves into action. Nehemiah 1:4 tells how he fasted and prayed, acknowledging the sin of his people and asking God for favor. His action doesn’t stop there, however, this was not simply an emotional response. Nehemiah asked the king for permission to return to Jerusalem with the plan to rebuild the walls. Nehemiah leads the charge to rebuild the city walls in 52 days; an absurd impossibility! What an incredible testimony of what God did through Nehemiah because he was willing to put his grief into action.

3) In 2:2 Nehemiah is clearly afraid. What does he do with his fear?
Nehemiah does not ignore his fear. Instead, he owns his fear. However, Nehemiah doesn’t get stuck in his fear. He chooses to turn to the “God of heaven” and pray. While earlier in chapter 1 Nehemiah shares his specific prayer with his audience in Nehemiah 2:5 we are not privy to what he said. His exact words are unimportant in the grand scheme of the situation. What is important however, is he took his fear to the God of the universe trusting him with what would come next in the conversation with the king. Nehemiah knew who was really in control and acknowledged that through his actions.

Everyday Application

1) Why is Nehemiah in Susa and who is the remnant? (verses 1-3)
Nehemiah had been born in exile and lived his entire life in the Persian Empire. Foreign lands were all he knew as home. He had risen to a position which placed him in direct contact with the king as the king’s cupbearer all while there was a small number of Israelites who had been allowed to stay in Jerusalem and continue living there. Nehemiah’s book opens with Nehemiah in a city in the Persian Empire hearing of what is taking place in Jerusalem with the remnant, or small number, still there. We see the stage being set for God to use Nehemiah right where he was even though he wasn’t in Jerusalem. As believers, we can be encouraged when we are surrendering our desire to control our life over to God. He will use us exactly where we are. Our circumstances, or even geographical location, may not always make sense to us, but God is able to use even these ordinary things for His glory when we allow Him to be our Lord over all.

2) Why does the unbuilt wall cause Nehemiah to weep and what did he do with his grief? (verses 4 and following)
Jerusalem is in ruins, no longer a place of prominence in the ancient world. While the Temple has been rebuilt much of the city wall remained in shambles. The city was no longer the place of prominence it had once been and if left unrepaired likely would have become a city to never be heard about again. Nehemiah is broken by the news of his home. He chooses to feel his grief and mourn but he does not stay there. Instead, he chooses to move forward, using his position, to lead the way for change. Nehemiah was a cupbearer, a servant for the king, but that allowed him to be in audience of the king. He sees the opportunity he has and after spending time in fasting and prayer asks God to “give him success”. Nehemiah allowed himself to be used by God even as a servant. We too can be used by God regardless of where we are, what we do, or the grief we may be walking in. God used 1 man to change Jerusalem for the better and God can use us exactly where we are. We don’t have to be pastors to make a Kingdom impact we simply have to be willing to be used and leave the rest up to God. Nehemiah led a charge to rebuild an entire city wall in 52 days… a feat which seems impossible! This willingness to step into action shows us that while we need to feel our grief and take time to mourn we cannot stay there. We too must choose to step into action and God can do what seems impossible through our lives as well. The question we must ask ourselves is are we willing?

3) In 2:2 Nehemiah is clearly afraid. What does he do with his fear?
When standing before the king being given the opportunity to speak, Nehemiah was afraid. I imagine if faced with the same situation, I too would be afraid. In Nehemiah’s days you didn’t speak boldly to the king. Nehemiah could have chosen to become stuck in his fear, but instead he chooses to turn to the God of heaven. In that split moment we see Nehemiah acknowledge his weakness and turn it over to the One who is ultimately in control. Sisters, I don’t know about you but for me this year has been filled with fear, disappointment, frustration, and so many other emotions. We have lost loved ones, been asked to stay home, watched people suffer physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually and there are moments everything has felt completely overwhelming. At times, I have been tempted to give in to the fleshly emotions but these verses in Nehemiah remind me my God is bigger than my emotions. I can choose, just as Nehemiah did, to turn them over to God trusting that He knows what is best and is in control. When I do I find the same boldness Nehemiah found as he addressed the king. I urge you in those moments to make the same choice as Nehemiah and trust the God of the heavens. He is trustworthy!

The book of Nehemiah shows us the kind of significant impact one individual can have on a nation. Nehemiah served in secular offices, using his position to bring back to the Jews order, stability, and proper focus on God.

God uses all manner of people in all manner of places doing all manner of work. Do you feel you must be “in ministry” in order to serve God? Be encouraged; He is not limited by your vocation. In fact, God has placed you where you are for a purpose. Have this attitude about your work: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father”

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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!

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 :-))

Memorize It!

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Calling Day 13 One To Another

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 5:15-6:9
Mark 12:28-34
Psalm 133:1-3

Calling, Day 13

I saw the picture.
I bet you did, too.

George Floyd’s body on the ground, a police officer’s knee to his neck.

I. Can’t. Breathe.

And the Church began to move.

While racial injustice has soared for the United States’ entire existence and slavery built the understructure of our nation, we’ve been quiet.

Excuses.

“If only…”
“Well, if they hadn’t…”
“They should’ve…”

Until the injustice was so blatantly obvious we couldn’t ignore it any longer.

I’m ashamed it took the dying words of a lynched man to wake us up.

Our call to love, to submit, to live in unity within the Church is as old as mankind
because our God is a God of unity.

All throughout Scripture, God tells us to love. He shows us He is a listening and hearing God and since we were made in His image, we should be listening and hearing, too.

Yet.

We have women in abusive marriages begging for help.
While the Church looks away. 

We have children crying for parents to love and care for them.
While the Church looks away. 

We have Black neighbors decrying injustice and racism of all kinds.
While the Church looks away. 

Or, at least, it did.

In Ephesians, Paul calls the Church to action, disputing the idea we were ever given permission to turn a blind eye to the many dark injustices in the world.

First, he calls us to unity, instructing us to be wise and clear-minded. He exhorts us to speak to one another with the music of heaven threaded through our words and to worship together, offer our thanks to the Lord, and …
submit to one another in reverent awe of Christ. 

Did you catch the lack of distinction?

Submit.
Every. Single. Believer.

The world tries to put the Bible within the context of its own darkened, limited, sin-stained understanding. Unfortunately, many Christians believe the world, instead of reading the Bible and commentaries and seeking the perfect understanding of the Holy Spirit. (Example: the world likes to say, “Only God can judge me.” But we know from Scripture, that is a misrepresentation to excuse sin.)

So, it’s no surprise we’ve believed the world’s pronouncement that submission is archaic, antifeminist, and oppressive. The idea of submission can leave us with a bad aftertaste if we refuse to learn what the Lord truly means by the beautiful dance of submission.

The Lord’s desire for us to submit, each to the other, whoever the “other” is, regardless of gender, heritage, race, position, or ethnicity, is born out of how God holds submission within Himself as a triune God. Each member of the trinity actively submits to the other to bring about whole oneness and perfect unity.
A lovely, holy dance of submission, one to another.

If we, as Christians, submitted “one to the other”, we would look a lot more like Jesus than we do right now.

Biblical submission is not archaic, antifeminist, or oppressive.
It isn’t abusive, it’s beautiful.

Submitting means putting others before ourselves.

In fact, the idea of biblical submission is closely related to meekness. Before you start thinking this means weakness, here’s the definition Jesus referenced for the Greek word for meek:

“Intentionally choosing to lovingly, gently defer in order to esteem and value another.”

Meek submission requires strength of character, complete reliance on God to supply our needs, and a tender, compassionate willingness to pause and listen to others’ words and respond to their needs. Meek submission lovingly and intentionally lays aside our own arrogant need to be right and instead, elevates the other person.

In order to live this way in our everyday lives, we must first submit to God by fully grasping His will for the Church to live as one unified Body.

Now here’s the thing… when I say the Church looks away when injustice reigns, I don’t mean every church or every person in the Church, but shouldn’t we be unified in opposition to injustice?

When People of Color within the Church speak up on division, shouldn’t the whole Church hold each other up?
That’s unity.
That’s submission.
That’s meekness.

Paul goes on to explain wives are to submit to their husbands, children are to honor and respect their parents, and slaves are to obey their masters (or employees to employers), all of which looks like a big, heaping spoonful of beautiful, godly, strong and gentle, meek submission.

Before Paul really gets into details, he first instructs us to speak to one another in love, give thanks, and submission to one another.

No distinction. No qualification. No excuse.

All of us are to submit to one another. 

And all are to submit to Christ.

“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.”
–Jesus

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Palette Day 9 Side By Side: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days...are a pretty big deal at GT!

We search God's Word together, ask questions as we read, dig around to find the original intentions at the time of writing, and then make some applications to our everyday lives.
Along the way, we hope you'll pick up some new tools to study Scripture and you'll see truth in a new and accessible way!
Dig In!

The Passage

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Journey Study?
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Psalm 97:10-12 English Standard Version (ESV)

O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

The Questions

1) What is the motivation for “hating evil”?

2) What does it look like to “hate evil”?

3) Who is the one doing the actions in these verses?

4) What is the heart response of the righteous one?

The Findings for Intention

1) What is the motivation for “hating evil”?
In the historical setting of this psalm, God had purposed that His people, Israel, would be set apart, be holy, and reflect the heart of God’s love to all other nations around them. There was much evil taking place around the nation of Israel, and it stemmed from worship of false gods and idols. In the preceding verses of this psalm, the author paints a powerful, striking picture of the glory and righteousness of the One True God, especially in comparison to worthless impotent idols. God’s people were called to hate evil because of their purpose to live a life of love.

2) What does it look like to “hate evil”?
The prophet Amos sheds some light on the idea of hating evil when he says, “Hate evil and love good. Establish justice in the gate.” (Amos 5:15) To hate evil is to love good, to love the way of the Lord, to seek righteousness. Amos’ reference to “in the gate” is significant as well. The gate was the epicenter of a city in ancient times. If the gate was governed by love and justice, it was a strong indicator that the city and its rulers were as well.

3) Who is the one doing the actions in these verses?
In verses 10-11, 5 actions are discussed: hate evil, preserve life, deliver life, sowing light, and sowing joy. Those who loved the Lord are called to hate evil and as a benefit of living this life of love, God declares the work He does in a heart given to Him. The Lord will faithfully “preserve life, deliver life, sow light, and sow joy” in the life of those who love Him.

4) What is the heart response of the righteous one?
Verse 12 reminds the “righteous one”, the same ones who “love the Lord”, meaning all those who have crossed the line of faith, to rejoice and give thanks. We praise the Lord for being a God who we can love because He is so loving, so good, the source of our security, our strong deliverer; this is our faithful God and we can rejoice in Him!

The Everyday Application

1) What is the motivation for “hating evil”?
God’s purpose for His people as believers today is no different than it was centuries ago as Israel was being formed. We are called to be set apart as a people, shining as lights in the darkness around us. We don’t accomplish this by lists we create on what we think holiness looks like, we shine light by doing exactly what the first part of verse 10 declares, “love the Lord”. When we truly love the Lord in increasing fashion, there is no room for arrogant self-righteousness, we simply love others and hate evil.

2) What does it look like to “hate evil”?
While it may be easy to look outward at our cities, our neighbors, our churches, or just “others” in general to find evil, the psalmist and the prophet remind us that “hating evil” must begin in our own hearts and lives. Instead of busying ourselves with hating evil in others, if we focus on hating the evil in our own lives, we will find ourselves leaning ever closer to the righteous God as we see our need for Him.

3) Who is the one doing the actions in these verses?
The Bible is very clear from Old Testament to New that it is God alone who works in us to produce strong fruit of righteousness. If we could produce righteousness on our own, we would have no need for a Savior! When we say “yes” to Jesus and choose to love Him with our whole selves, we naturally begin to hate that which we once loved. We hate evil, we hate sin, both in ourselves, and in the world around us. The more we lean in to this love and justice work that God is doing in us, the greater the fruit He bears in our lives. The benefits of following the One True God are boundless, but the few quoted in this psalm can bring stability and focus into our everyday chaos of life. Eternal security, safety from evil, clarity and peace, and joy are just a few of the grace gifts God gives us when we depend on Him!

4) What is the heart response of the righteous one?
Sometimes when life gets so messy and chaotic, the idea of being thankful and rejoicing sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard. We aren’t called to give thanks for all circumstances, rather, in the words of Paul, “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Because we serve the One True God, who never falters in His character of love, faithfulness, and kindness towards us, we always have reason to rejoice in Him, despite the ugliness happening around us. Make a list today of ways God has shown His good character to you and rejoice in Him!

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I Can Do That!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
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!

The Community!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Palette Week Two!
Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

The Tools!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

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. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? 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 :-))

The Why!

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.

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

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Palette!

The GT Weekend – Freedom Week 3

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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!

Journal With Us!

Journal Prompts

1) Loving a sister costs something. Often it is our pride that needs sacrificing in order for us to experience true brotherly (sisterly!) love. Reflect on the reasons you hesitate to love deeply.

2) It is easy for us to get distracted by the lies the enemy is whispering in our ears. Make a list of your enemies you face today.

3) Love one another. Serve one another. These are tough commands given by Paul and they are our charge to take on in this world. Who is difficult for you to love? Who can you not stand to think of serving? Pray for your heart to soften towards that person. Work this week to show them love!

Worship In Song

Music Video: United Pursuit’s “Simple Gospel”

Pour Out Your Heart

Lord Jesus, my tendency is to protect myself. I don’t want to open up and show my needs, I would much rather serve others to the point of exhaustion. That makes me look great but steals all the glory from You. Forgive me for being so protective of my pride. Let me lay it all out there for my sisters that you have given me in Biblical Community. I want to give you the glory for what You’re doing in my life!

In the next few days, bring someone to mind Father. Someone who I struggle to love on but needs to see Your love through me. Show me practical ways to bless them. I want to walk as a person free of my chains so that I’m walking free of people’s judgement of me, my fear of rejection or my dread of doing something less than perfect. I walk forward this week in Your Freedom!!!

Pray With Us!

In everything, with praise and thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God!
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Repurposed Day 15
Faith In Action

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Read His Words Before Ours!

James 1:22-27
James 2:14-20
Jeremiah 31:31-34 

Are you ready for some encouragement to live more effectively for Jesus? The book of James has been a great resource to me, bringing so much delight in the Scriptures.

We have been remade after His heart, repurposed for His kingdom,
what are we waiting for?!

If you’re anything like me, you wish you read the Bible more, studied it better, and more often. Not to mention, had someone really break it down for you, point out the highlights, and give you something to ponder on as you go through your day.

Take it from me, I’m not a Bible scholar, and even just a couple of years ago would have told you that I had no idea how to study or read the Bible with understanding. But, with practice, intentional study, and Christian community around me, the Bible has come alive! Be encouraged that Bible study is for every Jesus follower!

James was a leader in the Jerusalem church, and the half-brother of Jesus Christ (since Jesus didn’t have an earthly biological father). His book outlines the importance of faith through genuine fellowship in community and daily living to “see beyond ourselves” as we interact with the world around us.  Good works aren’t the reason one gets into Heaven, but walking in faith, living by the Word of God, doing good for others and God, as well as engaging in a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, prove the authenticity of saving faith.

It’s faith in action!

Studying James helps us discover how we can equip our hearts for action as we engage in real life circumstances like hardship, temptation, guilt, conflict, gossip, fear, pain, conviction, and so much more.

James’s letter makes living the Christian life super practical. We all walk through tough stuff in life, but James teaches that the purpose of a test or trial is to point us to God. It’s in fire that our character is built and, if we allow Him, He will train our hearts to lean into His sufficiency.
The testing of our faith produces
perseverance, maturity, wisdom and strength. James 1:3-4

Little else reveals our heart as clearly as the temptation to compare ourselves to others, especially as women. Whether it’s comparing our appearances, our possessions, or our spiritual gifts, pride has no place in the life of a Christ-follower. Rather, James calls us to take pride in our position as believers in Christ.

“Believers in humble circumstances
ought to take pride in their high position.” James 1:9-10

Sisters, nothing gets us in trouble faster than the tongue! James says it is set ablaze from the fires of hell! As James talks about this little muscle that does so much damage, he identifies the meaning of words and the way we use them.
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father,
and with it we curse human beings,
who have been made in God’s likeness” James 3:9
We are called to tame our tongues, using words to praise our Lord, be kind and spread God’s love and faithfulness because of the great gift of love Christ has unleashed in our hearts! By submitting to the Lord and resisting the devil, we can have victory in taming the tongue!

The theme of James is faith, yet faith and good deeds are both significant.
“As the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without deeds is dead.” James 2:26
Dead. Flat-lined.
A new creation cannot be called “alive” if their “life” is proving nothing but death.
Christianity is characterized by both faith and good works.
According to James, genuine faith in Jesus and fellowship in community allows us to perform good deeds for others and God.

It’s faith in action!

That life-transforming faith shows up again when James talks about patience in suffering and faith-fueled prayer, which brings blessings from the Lord who is compassionate and merciful.  Through faith and prayer, God will bring healing!  Through suffering, God will not leave us, but provide us with the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
That’s real confidence for life!

God’s Word is powerful, living, and active!
Take just 60 seconds and let the Spirit encourage you through His Words!

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:
Everyone should be slow to speak and slow to anger,
because human anger does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20

“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge,
the one who is able to save and destroy.
But you – who are you to judge your neighbor?” James 4:12

“My brothers and sisters,
believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ
must not show favoritism.” James 2:1

“Don’t grumble against one another,
brothers and sisters, or you will be judged.” James 5:9

“Therefore confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

While it is easy to get wrapped up in the busy world, God-honoring deeds become a lifestyle, rather than a to do-list when fueled by faith.
Allow your faith to be active and sincere, not useless!

Do actions save us?
Does plugging in and using our gifts
to further God’s kingdom score us spiritual points?
Not in the slightest!
But, lean in ladies, if our lives aren’t diligently chasing after Christ and the proof isn’t seen in the life choices we are making, then we should carefully consider whether our faith is sincere!

Faith in action.
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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 Repurposed Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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