angry

The GT Weekend! ~ Questions 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!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Prayer is mysterious, isn’t it? This speaking into air, or only in the quiet confines of our hearts, to a God we cannot see, yet Who sees every detail of us and listens to every thought, whisper, or shout. What is your perspective on prayer? Are there some prayers that work? Does God hear everything and choose not to answer some? Is God miserly, only choosing to answer those prayers He approves of as being good enough? Do you need to reach a certain level of holiness to pray? According to Scripture, God’s main purpose in inviting us to pray is we can know Him and enter into a deeper relationship with Him. If prayer is the doorway to knowing God better, do you want to walk through it? What could that intentional decision look like beginning this weekend?

2) Is God loving or angry? What is His perpetual disposition towards humanity? Towards you? Is He sometimes pleased with you and other times frustrated, annoyed, distant, or angry? Do you feel God is obligated to love you, but doesn’t really like you? Pull out your journal and set a timer for 5 minutes, giving yourself permission to freely write down every thought you have regarding these questions. Remember there is no one judging you for your honest questioning! The root question that, if answered, dramatically colors every other question we raise about God is, “what do you think of God?”. It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Try answering that question for yourself, especially in relation to how God views you. Then take your answers to Scripture and see what God says about Himself!

3) In the everyday running rhythm of our lives, we can feel important, as if life revolves around what we do or don’t do. Responsibilities are always present, decisions to be made, and consequences to live with as a result. In the grand scheme of the universe, however, our lives are so fleeting and temporal. Important people in society or in the world who enjoy popularity or power, likely don’t even know you personally exist unless you have a special connection. Your daily struggles are not known to them and neither do they care to know. Magnify their position to infinity, and you have a tiny glimpse of God. Yet, despite all logical thought, He is present with us and intimately aware of every single daily joy and struggle. How does this reality shape the landscape of your heart this weekend?

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Psalm 34:4-7 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

I sought the Lord, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Prayer Journal
Amid all the questions we’ve studied in the past three weeks, and all the questions that still poke holes in the corners of my heart, how comforting and sweetly good it is to know this solid truth, “I sought the Lord and He answered me.” You are gracious and kind, generously leading me to know You deeper. You embrace me and my question and every single doubt as you steadfastly hold me, continuing to teach me about Your good heart. Help me to hold onto what You’ve taught me to be true, and keep my focus on those things as most important. Help me not to get so caught up in my wrestling on smaller things, that I miss the bigger things: Your love for me is boundless, Your sacrifice covers my sin, and You have designed me on purpose to live boldly for You in telling others about You!

Worship Through Community

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

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

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Questions Day 14 Is God Loving Or Angry?: 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 Is God Loving Or Angry?!

The Questions

1) Who wrote this epistle, to whom, and why?

2) What is the difference between the wrath of God and the anger of man?

3) How can “invisible attributes” be seen? How does this make us without excuse? (verse 20)

Romans 1:18-32

For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.

Therefore, God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.

For this reason, God delivered them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. The men in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.

And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. Although they know God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die—they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them.

Original Intent

1) Who wrote this epistle, to whom and why?
It is universally accepted that the Apostle Paul wrote this epistle to the Romans on his third missionary journey as described in Acts 20:2-3. It was likely written somewhere between 53 to 58 A.D. This was during the reign of the infamous Nero who ruthlessly persecuted Christians and eventually had Paul put to death.  Paul was journeying to Jerusalem, but the Holy Spirit warned him of the awaiting peril on his life in Jerusalem. Possibly, he wondered if he would ever get to Rome and thought it necessary to write this letter. Different from other letters to the churches, which focused on church problems, this epistle seems to focus more on the attributes of God and His plan of redemption. Perhaps, in his realization that he may not ever be with them, Paul desired to write them about their need for salvation and that God had provided a Savior. It was a treasured letter and probably distributed to many of the early churches. [Guzik, Enduring Word]

2) What is the difference between God’s wrath and man’s anger?
Man’s wrath most often comes from being wronged or misunderstood. It is usually motivated by selfishness and focuses on punishing, hurting, or destroying people while perpetuating, or justifying, their own sin and selfishness. God’s Word says, “…the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God”. (James 1:19-20) Notice the connection between understanding and anger found in Proverbs 17:27, “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” The wrath of God is a righteous anger. It is “revealed from heaven” (verse 18). God is holy, righteous, and He cannot be in the presence of sin and evil. He is angered at the evil ways man has chosen to follow while He upholds all that is right and just. He is angered because He loves His people deeply, but sin has separated Him from mankind. (Isaiah 59:2) Under the law of the Old Testament, man could not live a righteous life because they would always fail to perfectly keep the whole law. The law reminded them daily of their sin. They felt the guilt and the wrath of God every time they broke the law. Every year they would return to the temple with sacrifices to atone for their sin as they asked God to forgive them. But it didn’t stick because the blood of animals can never atone for sin completely, only a perfect sacrifice could do that. (Hebrews 10:4) Sin and its guilt always returned. (Hebrews 10:2-4) But under grace in the New Testament, there is forgiveness once and for all because Christ, as the perfect sacrifice, gave Himself for us. (Hebrews 9:26) There is no condemnation for our sins when we are in Christ! (Romans 8:1-4) Christ, the High Priest, has opened the way for us to be completely forgiven, once and for all. (Hebrews 10:10-14) Because of this covenant of Grace, God’s love seems more prominent than His Righteous anger.

3) How can “invisible attributes be seen”? How does this make all of us “without excuse”? (verse 20)
Mankind would suppress all truth about God and ignore the consequences of sin because our very nature is a slave to sin. Rather than focus on all His wonderful attributes, man wants to focus on God’s wrath and point to a terrible God. The God of the Bible, however, is not some angry character sitting on a mountain waiting to throw darts at sinners. God’s creation displays His attributes. (Psalm 8) While they were given instructions on how to live, no one had to tell Adam and Eve they were guilty. God asked them, “Who told you that you were naked?” (Genesis 3:11) When they came into the presence of the Most Holy God, they were keenly aware of their sin and its immediate affect to separate them in relationship to Him. What, then was God’s response? He lovingly made clothing for them and removed them from the Garden of Eden so they would not have to live in their sin forever. (Genesis 3:20-24) The psalmist, David, often used the attributes of God as a means of praise to Him (Psalm 103, Psalm 136) and as he repented from sin. (Psalm 51) God displays many of His attributes in His work of creation. As we observe His character by looking at creation we stand in awe of His glory and holiness while gaining an acute awareness of our own fallen sinfulness.

Everyday Application

1) Who wrote this epistle, to whom, and why?
Paul, through the Holy Spirit, was inspired to write to the Romans about the path to salvation. We must first become aware of our sin, which leads us to our need for a Savior who saves us from the wrath of God that we so rightly deserve. The letter of Romans has become for many, a turning point in their spiritual life. Many of the great preachers throughout history stated that Romans, through the power of the Holy Spirit, changed their life completely. When you read the writings of these great men of faith [Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley and many more] they state they found a deeper faith right here in Romans. Martin Luther praised Romans with these words, “It is the chief part of the New Testament and the perfect gospel… the absolute epitome of the gospel.” [David Guzik, Enduring Word] And truly it is! To this day, we use Romans most often to share the gospel. It would be wise to memorize these verses so you are ready and able to present salvation clearly as Paul outlined in his letter. (Romans 3:10-12; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:8; Romans 10:9-13)

2) What is the difference between God’s wrath and man’s anger?
Theologian, Andrew Murray says, “God’s wrath is the holy revulsion of God’s Being against that which is the contradiction of His Holiness”. We see the anger of mankind every day in the headlines and in our homes. Our society itself is negative and angry. We, ourselves, might say our anger is a righteous anger as we attempt to justify it, but is it really? Have we looked deeply into our motives and the reasons we are angry? Are we angry because of sin, or are we angry because we aren’t getting our own way? God made us in His image. He gave us all of His attributes, including anger, but sin distorts God’s image. Our sin becomes a selfish emotion leading us into more sin as we try to justify our own actions. However, when we allow Him to control every aspect of our lives. He can indeed teach us to control our emotions through His Spirit and make them righteous as He is, even in our anger. We know this is possible because He instructs us about anger in His Word. (Ephesians 4:26-27) (James 1:19-20) Let’s all search our hearts and be sure that we have given even our anger over to the Holy Spirit’s control.

3) How can “invisible attributes be seen” How does this make all of us “without excuse”? (verse 20)
All of God’s creation speaks of His love and mercy for us. Just in experiencing His creation we can know God exists. All His attributes become visible. The great theologian, Jonathan Edwards, made a practice of looking at everything in creation with wonder. He began to see God in the birth of a baby, the marriage of a couple, or the growth of a tree. It all pointed to God and caused Edwards’ love of God to grow greater and stronger. [Desiring God] If we look at God, and all His attributes together as one, we will find everything works together and is held together by Him. (Colossians 1:16-17) We see and understand how His love and mercy mesh together with His righteousness and holiness making His anger soften in our eyes. Ah, yes, note I said “understand” which was mentioned earlier in defining righteous anger. Ann Voskamp encourages us to keep a running gratitude list. She found that joy comes from gratitude, not the other way around. It really is true when we look at all the good blessings of God, we find Him to be an amazing and wonderful Creator. If you haven’t started a gratitude list, maybe it’s time to start!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Is God Loving Or Angry?!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

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

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
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Our Current Study Theme!

This is Questions Week Three!
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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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Questions Day 13 Is God Loving Or Angry?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 103
Isaiah 57:14-19
John 2:13-17
Romans 1:18-32

Questions, Day 13

Why is God angry in the Old Testament,
but loving in the New Testament?

It’s a question people often have as they study the Bible, and an understandable one. When we read of God flooding the whole earth or destroying entire cities in the Old Testament, His wrath can be hard to equate with Jesus’ compassion toward prostitutes and sinners as He ate with them, spent time with them, and told them of God’s grace in the New Testament. While the Old Testament has much to say about judgement, the New Testament appears to focus more on forgiveness, and it can be a challenge to reconcile the two.

How can we make sense of it all?
First, the Bible clearly states God is always the same;
He “does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

Furthermore, Jesus, who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), is also “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

The God of the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament.
To understand God’s character, it’s vital we consider the Bible as a whole,
rather than focusing on isolated incidents.

While God does show anger in the Old Testament, He is also described eleven times as slow to anger, and on many occasions, we see Him showing mercy while continuing to love and care for His people, despite their continued unfaithfulness.

For example, Psalm 103 is an eloquent expression of David’s gratitude for God’s gracious forgiveness and compassion.

God does express anger at times, but this serves to highlight the severity of sin and the destruction it brings, while pointing to our need for a Saviour. The consequences of sin can be harsh, but God’s ultimate desire is not to punish, but to save. 

The Old Testament is filled with promises and prophecies pointing ahead to a solution to the problem of sin, a solution God Himself would provide because of His love.
Again and again, He reminds His people the Saviour will come.

As we move into the New Testament, and Jesus is born as the fulfilment of God’s promises, the focus shifts more toward God’s compassion because the fulfillment has come! Scripture emphasizes the reason for Jesus’ coming and His death, was to deal with sin.
If we trust in Him, we no longer need to fear God’s anger against us:
“God proves His own love for us
in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
How much more then,
since we have now been declared righteous by His blood,
will we be saved through Him from wrath?” (Romans 5:8-9)

However, God’s holy anger is present in the New Testament as well. Paul describes at length God’s wrath against those who continue in sin and suppress the truth about God. (Romans 1:18-32)

We read of Jesus turning over tables in the Temple, driving out merchants and money changers in rage because His Father’s house, a place of prayer, was being treated as a marketplace.

Anger and love are both present in God’s character throughout both Old and New Testaments.

This tension can be uncomfortable. Anger is often seen as unacceptable because of the destructive effects of anger when it’s out of control, but God’s anger is different from our (often sinful) human anger, and is actually an important, and good, part of who He is.

While our anger does not accomplish God’s purposes, His righteous anger is intentionally focused against destructive sin. (James 1:20) This was brought home to me as I worked with a group of children, sharing the story of Jesus in the Temple. After hearing the story, they were instructed to transform it into a drama. At first, their presentation brought the story to life very well, but then one child decided to alter the ending.

As “Jesus” shouted and expressed His righteous anger, another boy went over and put an arm round “Jesus.” “It’s okay,” he said. “Calm down. Come outside and sit down, and we’ll talk about it.” 

In one way, it was a lovely, compassionate response, but it was also missing the point.
In some situations, the holy response is anger.
We, too, can be tempted to edit out God’s anger and focus on His love, but the truth is, since “God is love” (1 John 4:16), His anger is actually an expression of His love.

Jesus’ passion for His Father’s house was the driving force behind His rage at its misuse. God’s love for people is manifested in His anger when He sees them being mistreated or abused. If He failed to be angry over these things, then He would fail to be wholly loving. 

Surely, it’s a comfort to us, in the face of injustice or ill treatment, to know God
cares.
To know His anger on behalf of the innocent surpasses our own.
To know there are consequences for those who refuse to repent of their sin.

In Graham Kendrick’s song, “Come and see,“ he describes the cross as the place “where wrath and mercy meet.” Maybe the cross is where we most clearly see God’s anger and His love intertwined. Even as His anger against sin is poured out, His grace in sending Jesus to bear it in our place assures us of His perfect love.

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Focus Day 3 Wisdom’s Way

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Focus Day 3 Wisdom’s Way

Merry Ohler

August 21, 2019

Busy,Called,Captivating,Emptiness,Focus,God,Holy Spirit,Prayer,Scripture

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalms 119:140-145
Proverbs 21:19-23
Isaiah 32:17-20
Ephesians 6:10-17
James 1:19-27

“Stop shouting at each other RIGHT this MINUTE!”
The words forced their way across my lips, piercing the air over our dining room table before I even realized I was shouting. Three sets of wide eyes stared at me, and one toddler mouth hung open in surprise. 

I expelled the mouthful of air I didn’t realize I’d been holding in one great whoosh.
Perfect, I thought. I did it, AGAIN. Shouting at your children to stop them from shouting at each other…way to effectively parent. Lord, HELP. My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak.

Have you been there, Love?
You try to juggle all the balls, and somehow you are almost completely unaware of how stressed you feel until the very moment your angry outburst bubbles up and over to scald the nearest person. Adding insult to injury? The person (or in my case, little persons) you scald, has absolutely nothing to do with whatever is your breaking point.
Oh, how the instant regret cuts deep.
And often, Regret is accompanied by her hovering little sister, Shame.

There’s an old saying, “There’s nothing new under the sun”, which is entirely true for the history of humans who struggle to refrain from angry outbursts. We can trace all the way back to the first set of brothers, Cain and Abel, and find the bitter, dangerous fruit that grows from unchecked anger. 

In the New Testament, James provides sound advice for believers, gently admonishing us to both hear the Word (Scripture) and obey it. Isn’t it fascinating that as he expounds on this topic, his first instruction is:
“This you know, my brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”
James 1:19b-20 NASB

Everyone who has ever lashed out in the heat of the moment knows that when anger begins rising, quelling it is incredibly difficult. Here’s where James’ divinely dictated instruction truly shines. We are challenged to do two things before we even reach his instruction to be slow to anger. 

First, we are to be quick to hear.
James doesn’t mean merely listening to spoken words. He means listening with understanding of another’s heart behind their words, but James is also calling us to keep an ear tuned to Holy Spirit’s voice. What is God speaking to us in that very moment when what is happening in the natural, as well as what is happening in the spiritual, verges on angry explosions.

When we begin living and responding from a position of listening first to Holy Spirit’s truth, we will naturally follow the second instruction from James and find ourselves slow to speak. As we slow, we process what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears, as well as listen attentively to what Holy Spirit is showing us. As we test everything we think against Scripture, this slowing down practice will result in new pathways as our thought patterns shift to become more like the Lord’s.

As we continue through James’ instructions, a constant theme begins emerging:
we are called to more than knowledge; we are called to obedience. 

For the people in the back, I’ll say it again. 

Sister, we are called to more than knowledge.
Every one of us is called to obey.

We are called to hear what the Bible says, and then called to action.

We are called to humbly receive the Word, and then allow transformation to happen.

We are called to gaze at the perfect law of freedom, and then called to persevere in it.

We are called to stay in living relationship with the Lord, and remain unstained by sin.

We are called to recognize position, and then called to honor all.

So, how do we go about doing these actions which are counter-culture, stretching, and one hundred percent opposite of what we might naturally strive to attain. Further, we are talking about a shift in heart posture here.
This is not something we are capable of manufacturing on our own.

Proverbs 2 gives us rock-solid wise counsel that goes hand in hand with James’ words. When we accept and study Scripture, meditate on the Lord’s instructions and allow them to sink deep into our souls, the Lord responds with favor.
When we ask the Lord to speak; He will reveal Himself through the Bible.
Then, we listen.
We press in and place value on the wisdom He freely gives.
As we turn our hearts toward Him, Scripture says He draws near to us, protecting us and blessing us with wisdom, knowledge, discretion, and understanding.
He will guard us from paths leading to destruction and danger by setting our feet on Wisdom’s Way.

You might be thinking, “This all sounds great in theory…but if I were honest, the truth is I simply do not desire to study Scripture. I try. I read it. I want to know what it’s like to long to soak in it, to hear directly from Him. But He’s just not speaking to me.”

Sweet sister-friend. I’ve felt the same.
Can I encourage you to do something different today?
Something that might feel outside your comfort zone?
First, carve out a few moments and find a quiet space.
Talk to the Lord. Have a real conversation with Him.
Tell Him where you are and ask Him to help you, then trust He is faithful and will respond to His beloved daughter!

Lord, thank You for Your Word that brings life and light. Thank you for giving us a way we can hear directly from You. Forgive me for the times when I have not valued Your instruction. Father, I want to hunger for your Word; I want to be the kind of daughter who is transformed when I hear You speak. Show me any areas of my heart and life that aren’t in alignment with Your heart. I yield every part of my life, time, and schedule to You.
Teach me to be more like You.
In Jesus’s Name, amen.

Tags :
anger,angry,listening,scripture,study
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Focus Day 4
Digging Deeper

Jesus is the literal embodiment of wisdom as He, being fully God, took on our flesh while maintaining His deity, which includes all wisdom. The more we take in of Jesus Christ, the more we naturally are moved towards sharing how sweetly wonderful it is to know and experience Christ!

Is Jesus sweet to you? If so, you’ll want to share Him! Maybe you’d like this sweetness, but it just never seems to be a reality for you no matter how hard you try.

As Merry invited yesterday, “carve out a few moments and find a quiet space. Talk to the Lord. Have a real conversation with Him.
Dig Deeper!

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