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Build Day 5 Building Faith

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Nehemiah 4
James 2:14-26
James 1:2-4
1 Peter 14:12-19

Build, Day 5

Did you know haters existed in the Bible? They did, and today I want to talk about two of them, Sanballat and Tobiah. Their target? Nehemiah primarily, but also the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile in an effort to resettle the city. Let’s see how Nehemiah’s haters operated.

The Israelites were minding their business, each working on rebuilding their assigned portion of the wall. Sanballat and Tobiah’s first line of attack against them was mockery and insults, trying to discourage the workers. (Nehemiah 4:1-3) Nehemiah, who was leading the building efforts, could have responded directly to them verbally or even physically, but he chose the way of wisdom and faith. He prayed. (Nehemiah 4:4-5)

Nehemiah trusted God to handle the opposition, instead of trying to handle them himself.  His response reminds me of someone else who prayed in response to His haters. Jesus, hanging on the cross, accused of being a liar and a fraud, turned to the Father in prayer instead of using His unlimited power against His haters.

“Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.’” (Luke 23:34)

I’m praying we can follow these examples and respond to opposition with prayer, instead of trying to handle it by ourselves. After all, God said, “Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay.” (Deuteronomy 32:35) We need to trust Him, relying on Him to handle the situation.

If you thought Sanballat and Tobiah were done, think again. As the Israelites kept on building (Nehemiah 4:6), the haters upped the ante, plotting with other nations to attack the Israelites. (Nehemiah 4:7-8, 11) Some workers grew discouraged at the opposition and the sheer magnitude of the task remaining. (Nehemiah 4:10-12) This time, Nehemiah did not pray alone as many workers prayed alongside him. (Nehemiah 4:9)

Then Nehemiah asked everyone, leaders and workers alike, to do as he had been doing and would continue to do, trust God, who had shown Himself faithful time and again. While also, joining God by taking appropriate action. They could act as guards and protect themselves and their families. (Nehemiah 4:13-18)

Nehemiah armed the people with prayer and encouragement as well as the practicalities of guards, weapons, and an alarm system. The people responded by returning to the work God had given them. (Nehemiah 4:15-21) Nehemiah embodies the promise found in James 1:2-4, “The testing of your faith produces endurance.” That endurance makes us “mature and complete.”

Nehemiah was definitely being tested as a leader through escalating opposition and discouraged countrymen. Yet he showed himself mature by demonstrating his faith in God through prayer and works. He prayed, made and implemented plans, and even worked alongside the people. (Nehemiah 4:21-23) Imagine how encouraging it is for workers today to have their boss stay late, roll up her figurative sleeves, and help out with that critical project. Now imagine how the Israelites felt having Nehemiah join in the work, all the while risking his own life too!

James 2:17 says, “Faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.” How is this reflected in Nehemiah’s story? Nehemiah shows a complete picture of trusting God to work on our behalf, while also actively putting that faith to action by using the wisdom He imparts for leading well. We can learn much about building from this prophet.

As we are building our families, ministries, and communities, what can we learn from Nehemiah’s experience?

As we trust, pray, build, and endure, we can stand confidently on His assurance He will never leave us nor forsake us!

“Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the LORD your God is the one who will go with you; He will not leave you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

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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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Sola Day 8 Sola Fide

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 53
Isaiah 64:1-6
Romans 3:20-28
Galatians 2:11-21
Ephesians 2:1-10

Sola, Day 8

I grew up Catholic. Though I visited churches of other denominations, I was steeped in Catholic doctrine. I learned Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I knew this basic belief was required to get into heaven.

But, as I got older, other Catholic doctrine didn’t make sense to me. My problem-solving bent kept me from reconciling what I knew to be true from the Bible with some of the teachings from the church. As a result, I left the denomination as a young adult.

My turning point happened in a high school World History class, of all places. We talked about the Roman Catholic Church and the idea of “indulgences.” And they made no sense to me. 

You might be wondering what an indulgence is. The “official” definition is “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.”

In plain talk, an indulgence is work a person does to take away her earthly punishment for her sin. Upon its completion, a person owes no debt to the Church for sinning against God. She has paid the cost to satisfy God’s justice.

Indulgences were tied to the doctrine of purgatory. According to the Catholic church, purgatory is the place our souls go to suffer and make atonement for sins before going to heaven.

Even as I type these words, I think of Jesus and the cross.

Isaiah 53:5 says of Jesus,
“But He was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds.”

Jesus paid it all for us.

Furthermore, we can also look at Isaiah 53:11:
“After His anguish, He will see light and be satisfied.
By His knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many,
and He will carry their iniquities.”

If Jesus carries our iniquities, what more could we do?
If we could earn forgiveness for our sin, why did Christ die?

Our faith in God and in the finished work of Jesus saves us.

Nothing about our unredeemed selves is good or righteous in comparison to God.
Isaiah 64:6 tells us, “all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment.”

How then can an indulgence make us more righteous before God? Simply, it cannot.
John 14:6 declares Jesus is the only way to righteousness and eternity with God.

If we believe there is something we can add to Jesus’ finished work on the cross, then what do we do with John 3:16?
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. “ 

In the time of Pope Innocent III, people could pay for indulgences. In fact, sometimes the government would give them out. If citizens could not do what the indulgence required, they would donate money, pay for buildings, etc.

If we follow the logic of indulgences, the rich were able to buy their way into redemption before God. More indulgences, more righteousness.

But Romans 3:20-27 disputes this false logic. Instead, Paul teaches these truths:

  •     No one is justified by works
  •     Righteousness comes only through faith in Jesus Christ
  •     There is no distinction among people because we are all sinners
  •     We are justified freely by God’s grace
  •     No one can boast because of works

And Romans 3:28 sums it all up:
“For we conclude that a person is justified by faith
apart from the works of the law.” 

In other words, justification is given to us
through faith
not earned by us
through works.

No wonder Martin Luther had a problem with indulgences! Luther came to believe in justification by faith alone. His 95 Theses were based on his disagreement with the notion we can be justified by any means other than faith in Christ.

And I agree with Him wholeheartedly. If we are to live according to the Word of God, then we are called to embrace justification through faith alone with gratitude and confidence.

We can build our walk with the Lord on verses like Ephesians 2:8, which says,
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves;
it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast.”

Glory belongs to God. If we could create our own righteousness, the glory would be ours. But the Bible teaches there has been only one human who could claim glory.

Jesus, because He was fully God and fully man.

He alone is the radiance of God’s glory and the source of our purification from sins. (Hebrews 1:3)

It is so important, friends, to understand our position in relation to God and His Son, Jesus.
Jesus is the only Savior. (Isaiah 43:11)
We can never save ourselves.

And I am grateful the burden of justification has already been carried. The battle to defeat the power of sin has already been won. Let us lay aside our attempts to earn salvation, instead always grounding ourselves and finding rest in the finished work of the cross.

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Shielded Day 13 One Weapon

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 6:10-17
Romans 8:1-11
2 Timothy 3:16-17
2 Peter 1:16-21
Hebrews 4:12-13

Shielded, Day 13

Since the beginning of time, words have been used as a weapon. In the garden, the serpent twisted God’s words to tempt Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of life. From that time until now, lies, manipulations, half-truths, and slander have been fuel for the fire of pain and division.

In Ephesians 6:12 Paul reminds us,
“Our battle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

I’ve used my own words as a weapon against others, or even as a defense to keep people from getting too close and knowing something I would rather they didn’t.
My words have cut others and myself deeply.
They have burned bridges and destroyed friendships.

I think a lot about the conversations and words of the past and the impact I made because of them. I’ve been fighting the wrong enemy using the wrong weapon.
I’ve been duped by the real enemy – Satan.

Up until this very last instruction from Paul, we are asked to take up pieces of armor that are defensive, pieces intended to protect our heart, mind, and soul.
But now, after fastening ourselves with this armor, we are invited to pick up a sword,
the only weapon we are to carry, the Word of God.

For the first two years after college, I was on a traveling music ministry team. After my two-year commitment was over, I was invited to help train the next set of teams who would go out to carry on the work that had been done by teams before us for the last 48 years. While I was on this training staff it came to our attention that many of the team members were suffering pretty intense spiritual attacks. A few of us decided it was time to fight.

In the chapel above the dining hall, there was a small costume and prop closet where I found myself a plastic toy sword, tucked it into my belt loop and joined other staff as we picked up our Bibles, and some old hymnals with scripture-based songs and decided to walk the path around the camp we were staying at and fight. I wore that sword in my belt loop for the rest of the 3 weeks of training. I didn’t realize it until writing this what a significant symbol and message to the Enemy this was.
We were armed with Scripture and we wouldn’t back down.
I would fight for those team members against his schemes,
and I knew we had the upper hand.

It may seem like an ineffective weapon.
How can a book of writings from a bunch of dead guys be our weapon?
Could this really be what Paul meant?
But when we take a closer look, we see there is more power to God’s Word than meets the eye.

Scripture isn’t just a collection of words from random people.
Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
God Himself, through the work of the Holy Spirit, guided men to write the truth, His truth, the world needed. The words in Scripture are God’s words.
The God who spoke all of life into creation.
The God who spoke and calmed the storm.
The God who spoke and raised the dead.
The God who spoke, “It is finished” into the air as He breathed His last, defeating the grip of sin once and for all.
These words are our weapon!

The same Holy Spirit who breathed these words into the earthly writers of Scripture and raised Jesus from the dead is the same Holy Spirit who makes His home within every believer when we embrace the gift of Salvation given for us.

How are you training for battle?
Are you relying on your own words to be your dagger?
Or are you picking up the unfailing Sword of the Spirit?

When we are armed with Scripture, we can walk out into the daily battlefield of life prepared to fight the spiritual forces of the heavenly realm with a fool-proof weapon.
Stay in the fight, Friend, His Word will never fail!

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Glimmers Day 8 Hope; It’s Coming!

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Habakkuk 2:2-3
Jeremiah 29:11-13

Glimmers, Day 8

Throughout the last few years, I have had a bit of a love/hate relationship with hope.

There were times when hope was the water level that buoyed me up and allowed me to keep moving forward. Other times hope felt like the very anchor that kept my head just barely above the crashing waves.
Those were the moments when hoping that better was coming
hurt more than enduring the pain of the season.

Yet, hope is a powerful resource, and truly without it I would have given up on the plans the Lord has for me long, long ago.
So, from where does my hope come?

First and foremost, the Lord as He speaks through the Bible and the Holy Spirit’s voice (Matthew 4:4). Beyond that, hope may rise from the encouragement of fellow sojourners, reflection on previous hopes fulfilled, and the decision to live life with a hope-filled mindset. What increases your hope?

For me, the words of the Old Testament prophets bring me hope.
Several times throughout my life, the Lord has brought verses to mind that come directly from the books of the Bible that are named after these prophets.

In Scripture, there are 17 books categorized as prophetic (written by prophets).
Five of those are called major and 12 are minor. This is due to the length of the books rather than the importance of the content. The five major prophet books are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The 12 minor prophet books are the last books of the Old Testament beginning with Hosea and ending with Malachi.

I find myself visiting these books frequently, receiving encouragement from the men who obeyed the Lord in announcing His will so many years ago.
The basic definition of a prophet is a person who declares the will of God.

Believers today have something those living during Old Testament times didn’t have: the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the role of the prophet was incredibly important as through these voices, lives, and written words, God’s people could know the Lord’s direction and desire. Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, His will had to be vocalized from an external source rather than an internal one.

The lives these prophets lived and the words they spoke are captured in those 17 books at the end of the Old Testament. Throughout them you will find deep wisdom and truth applicable for today just as much as it did then. These prophets spoke the words the Lord’s Spirit gave them without knowing the big picture, but they obeyed regardless. The Lord challenged them to obey in ways that guaranteed social norms were at the minimum bent and in some cases shattered.

The examples of faith and obedience the prophets displayed is one way
hope grows in me.

The backbone of my faith is strengthened when reading their stories and, in turn, my hope rises.

I don’t know the full pictures of my life,
but just like the prophets of old,
I am to obey regardless.

I can discover the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living
as I follow Him,
even if He asks me to move outside my comfort zone.

(Side note: The Lord will never direct me to do something that contradicts His character as proven in the Word.)

Hope rises as we witness the faithful obedience of these ancient prophets.
Hope rises through the words the prophets spoke.
The words God ordained to be preserved for us to take in.

Several verses tucked into the pages of prophecy have become lifelines in the dark and clear directives for my next steps.
Hope rises here, anchored in truth!

“The Lord your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will be quiet in His love.
He will delight in you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17

“The Lord my Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like those of a deer
and enables me to walk
on mountain heights.”
Habakkuk 3:19

“Mankind, He has told each of you what is good,
and what it is the Lord requires of you;
to act justly,
to love faithfulness,
and to walk humbly
with your God.”
Micah 6:8

Isaiah.
Jeremiah.
Lamentations.
Ezekiel.
Daniel.
Hosea.
Joel.
Amos.
Obadiah.
Jonah.
Micah.
Nahum.
Habakkuk.
Zephaniah.
Haggai.
Zechariah.
Malachi.

These are prophets who faithfully obeyed the Lord, despite great cost to themselves.
Prophets who allowed the Lord’s hope to rise through their surrender.
Prophets who pointed, directly and indirectly,
to the Eternal Hope of the coming Messiah.

Challenge yourself to read through some of these hope writings in the coming weeks. Take note of the verses that bring you hope.
Who inspires you in your faith journey?
Is it Daniel in his obedience and faith as he stands amidst the lions?
Is it Hosea marrying a harlot as a representation of the Lord’s love for us?

May hope rise as you read of events declared before they would happen and then their fulfillment. Look for the glimmers that point to a coming Savior and take comfort in knowing that exactly what God declares, He brings to pass.
Hope; it’s coming!

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

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Sketched III, Day 9 Modern Day Hannah: 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!
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The Passage

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Mark 11:22-25 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.24 Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received it and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”

The Questions

1) How is this section on faith and prayer related to the previous passages about the fig tree and cleansing the temple?

2) What is Jesus contrasting when He says, “Have faith in God”?

3) What does it mean to not “doubt in your heart”?

The Findings for Intention

1) How is this section on faith and prayer related to the previous passages about the fig tree and cleansing the temple?
In verses 12-14, Jesus and His disciples come to a fig tree that has plentiful leaves, but no fruit. Fig trees simultaneously bear fruit while growing leaves; not one before the other. If there are leaves, there should be fruit. Plus, it wasn’t even the season for figs, so no one could have come along and eaten all the fruit, leaving it empty when Jesus arrived. Jesus uses this tree as an illustration to show how the Jews, God’s chosen people, especially the Pharisees, were displaying plenty of leaves without any actual substance. For all their knowledge about God, they still remained unchanged for God. In the temple scene, Jesus is righteously angry because His Father’s house, intended for prayer and communion between Himself and His people, had been turned into nothing more than a place for exchange of material goods. It was fully self-seeking, having nothing to do with intimate communication of prayer. Then follows our section on prayer where Jesus’ teachings are meant to be viewed in strikingly vivid contrast to both of the previous scenarios. The other two examples pointed to brokenness and misalignment of God’s intentional design, now Jesus teaches a better way.  

2) What is Jesus contrasting when He says, “Have faith in God”?
With the fig tree example fresh in their minds, and the image of Jesus overturning tables in the temple engraved in their memories, Peter remarks, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered”, to which Jesus responds, “Have faith in God.” Jesus was pointedly teaching them that a relationship with God is foremost. No other idols, no other gods, only the One True God alone can satisfy. He is the only one who can bring true fruit from the inside out. He is the one who brings fullness in your life that far exceeds material things. Intimacy with Him, communion with Him, loving surrender to Him while allowing Him to grow you in depth and richness and fullness is the only way to find true, meaningful life that isn’t fraudulent.

3) What does it mean to not “doubt in your heart”?
The Greek word for doubt is “διακρίνω” (pronounced: dee-ak-ree’-no) and it means literally to divide or discriminate, making a distinction. James uses the same word in his letter when he also speaks of praying to God. “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting…..(For the doubter) should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-7) To doubt while praying is to be split in your heart, making a pre-judgement on whether God will hear and respond to you. Jesus calls us to pray with hearts full of unwavering “faith in God” and who He is.

The Everyday Application

1) How is this section on faith and prayer related to the previous passages about the fig tree and cleansing the temple?
Without taking the time to study the context of this passage on prayer, it would be easy to walk away with some big misconceptions on these verses. But, when we couch Jesus’ words correctly in context of Mark’s other recordings of Jesus, we get a much clearer picture of what Jesus was really intending to teach. As you spend time studying God’s Word, determine to be a good student of the Bible. Read verses in context of other, surrounding passages. Slow down and look for over-arching themes. Ask questions like, what does this passage teach me about God, about people, and finally, about me? Get some good study tools to help you read God’s Word well like studylight.org or ask a pastor or trusted Christian friend for help as well. Studying Scripture does take intentional work, but it is always worth it! Check here for why we Dig Deeper at Gracefully Truthful!

2) What is Jesus contrasting when He says, “Have faith in God”?
The disciples were learning, with physical examples right before their eyes, that Jesus was the only One worthy of their full faith and trust. Money would never be able to “buy” them intimacy with the Almighty; in fact, nothing material could. Neither could any outward act or deed grant them the fullness of a flourishing life in Christ. Doing all the “right Christian things” is meaningless without a genuine relationship with Jesus. The best we can hope to accomplish with outward “modified-Christian-like” behavior is imitation at best, with no life-giving fruit. Imitation that, at its core, is simply a pretty cover for ugly hypocrisy. (Matthew 23:27) Where are you covering up with pretty leaves? Hoping no one will notice that your lovely foliage is all there is? Are you fearful of being “found out” or do you find yourself worrying that you aren’t doing “enough” to please God? Rest assured that there is so much fullness waiting for you, and it all begins with faith in God.

3) What does it mean to not “doubt in your heart”?
A general lack of understanding about prayer, its purpose, and its effectiveness result in confusion when praying and wondering if it really matters anyways. Jesus’ teaching, as well as James’ through the Holy Spirit’s leading, remind us that prayer must first flow from a whole-heartedness, a 100% belief with no wavering. A belief in what? To use Jesus’ words, “faith in God.” (verse 22) Prayer was intended to rely 100% on God and on His character, not in a specific outcome. Praying for healing, and believing wholeheartedly that God will do it in exactly the way you are laying out in your prayer, is not a faith-based prayer according to Scripture. Praying with a heart of un-divided faith, lays our requests, from the very big ones to the very small ones (because nothing is un-important to the Father God –  Luke 12:6-7), trusting fully in WHO we are praying to. We are trusting that the Lord hears us, that He knows our aches, our groanings, our joys, and our sorrows, and that He intimately cares about every single detail. This is the God to whom we pray! Additionally, we pray trusting in God’s character to do exactly what He sees as best. We trust that God will absolutely act in accordance with His good character. To quote the great leader of the reformation, Martin Luther, “You should confidently expect from God one of two things: either that your prayer will be granted, or, if it is not granted, the granting of it would not be good for you.” ie: God will do a greater good in the not granting. Herein, lies the battle to trust in God, and not in ourselves, our wisdom, our understanding, or our sense of need (Isaiah 55:8-9). The Lord God invites us into prayer, He fights for that intimate relationship (Mark 11:15-17), He welcomes us to approach Him confidently (Hebrews 4:16), reminding us that He cares about every detail, wanting our hearts and our tongues to become un-burdened with our cares at any moment of every day (1 Peter 5:7). In the whole delightful process, He will show Himself to us, unveiling His heart for us, teaching us to become more like Him! Delight in prayer, beloved daughter of the Most High God!

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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
Sketched III 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.
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See all past studies in Sketched III!

Woven Day 1 Threads Of Love

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Peter 1:10-12
Luke 24:44-49
Psalm 2

Woven, Day 1

The Bible is such a diverse book. Have you ever attempted to just sit down and read it like you would any other book? I mean, crazy, right? Creation is good and interesting in the beginning and the rest of Genesis has a lot of neat stories, but even those have some pretty….weird….things going on.

I mean, Cain gets this strange mark on him.
Noah gets drunk and naked. (yeah, maybe you didn’t read that far, did you?)
A dreamy staircase to Heaven appears out of nowhere while Jacob uses a rock for a pillow.
Sibling rivalry is a huge deal…. Esau’s hot-temper makes you wonder how Jacob even managed to stay alive at all.
Sure, the Exodus story is pretty amazing.
All the plagues and the Ten Commandments (and a vision of Charlton Heston dances in my head nearly every time I read it.)
But then, the reading plan plows into Leviticus, and *cringe*, Numbers….and it all seems to blur together as we find ourselves asking, “Why? And do we care about Elishama and Ammihud?”
(because, really, if we were honest, we would probably say, “No. No, I don’t care.”)

The Why is valid.
And there are solid reasons.
Reasons strong enough to make me want to devote my life to studying the Bible.
But the real kicker is here: what if the Bible wasn’t written “to” us?

Before you say I’m crazy…
Consider: what if the Bible is hard to understand because, while it was indeed written “for” us, its story is neither “to” us or “about” us in many ways.
Ancient civilizations.
Buried cities, some of which we haven’t even uncovered yet today.
Bones that have long since turned back to dust.
These were the Bible’s original recipients.

And if we are going to read their documents and their letters and then make current-day application from them, it only makes sense that we should first step into their shoes.
If we can see what the stories and letters and biographies meant to them, in their culture, we can make good application to our lives from this very living and active word of God!

That’s exactly what good students of the Bible do, and what we work hard to do here at Gracefully Truthful with every Journey Study we write and every Digging Deeper Study we dive into. As students of God’s Word, we’ve learned to ask good questions:
What does this say about God?
What did it say to its first audience?
What does this say about people in general?
And lastly, how can I live differently because of what I’ve learned?

This Word of God, these precious words written and down and sovereignly preserved are Life Giving.
Written so, so, long ago, yet because they are the true words of the Almighty Living God, inspired by the His Own Mighty Spirit, they hold life for NOW.

As we journey into Woven, we are inviting you to travel with us.

To put on new study glasses with us.
To learn how to ask good questions, make good applications, and sisters?
Fall more in love with the God who has chased after our hearts since the beginning of time!

We are confident that as you walk with us, you’ll discover with brilliantly colored brushstrokes, how deep and wide and passionate is this love of God for us.
Beloved, the Almighty God has pursued us from the beginning of time,
and we have been invited in to so much more.

So, come away with us, and see the Lord’s big picture.
Be willing to see the Bible as a single, cohesive, dramatic story of truly incredible love.
Get ready to be swept off your feet as you gaze into the majesty of an all-powerful, yet very good father from the first word to the last.

All these stories, all their words, all those endless names in Numbers, the crazy rules in Leviticus, the flood waters that destroyed all but 8 people on the face of the earth, yes, even God’s wrath and His anger unleashed, right alongside God’s prophecies of peace and coming hope, all are threads of the same masterpiece.
One Story.
One Redemption.
One God and Father of us all who gave His all to be our Great Rescuer.

Love.
Woven.
From the beginning of time,
knitted tightly along into your everyday,
sewn steadily on until the Day of Christ’s Return,
and on into glorious eternity.
Love.
Woven.
By the hands of the Master Weaver.

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

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

The GT Weekend – Creed Week 1

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The GT Weekend

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

Journal With Us!

Journal Prompts

  1. When it comes to teachings from the Bible, what questions do you walk away with? Have you voiced them? If not, find someone you trust and ask them or email us at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com . There is so much freedom waiting to be experienced after you release those fears by physically voicing them. What are you waiting for?!
  2. If you’ve already decided to accept salvation, reflect on your encounter with Jesus. Linger in that moment and allow God to stir up your heart in revival! If you’ve not accepted salvation, reflect on what connotations that word has to you. Check out this journey Study again to see “salvation” and “justification” unpacked.
  3. Discipline is not a fun word to hear; often it brings up negative emotion. However, there is great reward for digging in and doing the difficult work of growing in the disciplines of the faith. Remember to think of the disciplines of Scripture as being “training” instead of “punishment”! Which do you need to focus on cultivating today? Prayer, fasting, scripture reading, worship, or service?

Worship In Song

Music Video: Ryan Stevenson’s “The Gospel”

Pour Out Your Heart

Lord, Your amazing magnificence scares me sometimes. How can a God so big and all-knowing, know everything about me and still love me so personally? Your precious Word shows me how and the Holy Spirit living inside me points me back to Your hand at work in me. Thank You Lord Jesus for the many gifts you’ve given me. Of Your Word, of salvation and redemption back to You, of the Holy Spirit moving in my life. I’m blessed by Your outpouring of love!

Father I thank you for community. Thank You for my ladies that hold up my arms when they are weary, for the ladies lifting prayers and petitions to You on my behalf. Bless them for pushing me to keep growing and investing in my relationship with You. Reveal more of Yourself to us Jesus. Spur us to action and obedience in growing these disciplines in our lives; we are look longingly for the reward of spending eternity at Your feet!

Pray With Us!

In everything, with praise and thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God!
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We are committed to praying over and walking with you!

Journey With Us

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Creed Day 5 Perfectly Pure

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Creed Day 5 Perfectly Pure

Rebecca Adams

July 14, 2017

Believe,Faith,Flawless,God,Gospel,Grace,Hope,Life,Meaning,Peace,Power,Purpose,Security,Trust,Worship

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 119:41-48
2 Timothy 3:10-17
1 John 1

Mr. Nilius was my high school music director and he also taught Bible my junior year. Aside from my English teacher, whom I was mostly terrified of, but secretly admired his adherence to strict grammar, Mr. Nilius was my favorite. In lieu of my own emotionally abusive and in many ways absent father, I allowed Mr. Nilius access to speak into my life as a father figure (likely unbeknownst to him).
In one particular Bible class, Mr. Nilius challenged us to think critically of our own beliefs. What did we believe, why, and could our “why” really be supported with our answers.

My faith was largely a piggy-back off of what I’d learned at home at this point, and I’d never been allowed the privilege of truly questioning it.
My parents were simply right.
About everything.
Mr. Nilius suggested that for every answer we could give for our “whys”, we respond to ourselves with “well, how do you know that’s true?”

He was leading us to test our beliefs that we might discover on our own, and know and hold onto, exactly what was true and solid for life.
Could our beliefs hold up under the fire of criticism?  

As a child I’d often wondered, but never voiced,
“What if all this Bible stuff wasn’t true?
Suppose there really wasn’t a God or a way to Heaven?
Maybe there wasn’t even Heaven at all.”

They were all valid questions, and as I grew older I realized that they deserved to be answered.
I deserved to know the truth.

One friend challenged me to consider that if God wasn’t big enough to handle my questions, my poking, and prodding, then He really wasn’t big enough to save me or be worthy of my trust.

As I began the process of testing my faith, my biggest question surfaced to the top,
“Is the Bible true?” 
If I was going to build my life and base my future on one set of beliefs, I had to know if the Bible really was true and solid enough to support life and the eternal destination of my soul.
Fear pricked my heart and made my stomach churn as I considered what might happen if I studied this whole “Bible thing” and discovered it was bogus. What then? But as sick as that possibility made me, I had to know.

The Bible itself claims to be “inerrant”, meaning fully without error.
A pretty significant boast.
The Bible claims to be perfect, true, trustworthy for salvation, for godliness, for everything we need to be wise, and holding supreme value in correction and training in righteousness.

But I had a problem with that.

The grammar was off, in a lot of places. It clearly wasn’t perfect. (hey, I love English)
There were so many translations, and sometimes the different word choices made for different conclusions.
Sometimes the stories didn’t line up. Matthew would tell of a supposed “eyewitness account”, but Mark’s “eyewitness account” had different details.
Who to believe?
More importantly, how could this book be reliable for anything?
Let alone eternal salvation.

The more facts I discovered, the more my skepticism dissipated. Turns out that my questions had solid answers.
Grammar and Syntax – The grammar was off exactly because I was reading it in English, whereas it was originally written in Hebrew and Greek.

Accuracy – Archeologists have proven that the Bible is the most accurate historical document in existence.

Authorship – There is significantly more evidence to support the authentic authorship of the Bible than there exists evidence that Shakespeare wrote his plays, yet no one questions that.

Preservation – The Bible has been translated since the time of the New Testament when the first five books of the Old Testament (originally written in Hebrew), were translated to Greek. Paul himself, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, told Timothy that the Word of God he studied from was perfectly reliable. The document Timothy studied from was itself a translation! God preserves His Word through translations in order to extract His intended meaning that all languages might know Him.

Uniformity – The Bible was written by 40 different authors across a span of 1,500 years, yet there is one, main recurring theme that exists from the opening line to the very last word: the redemption of mankind. Only a single author could produce that kind of continuity, and only One author is timeless…the Lord God.

Reliability  – Eyewitness accounts are given significant weight both in Biblical times and today, even just 2 or 3 eyewitnesses make a huge difference in the reliability of a story’s authenticity. In the case of Christ’s post-resurrection appearances, there were over 400 eyewitnesses who saw and interacted with Jesus Christ after His death and resurrection. And the fact that a few story details don’t match other accounts is actually a voice proving the reliability of the Bible. These minor differences weren’t “edited out” to make “identical” re-tellings of the same story, but were left in because they were recounted from different people with different perspectives. The Bible is about authenticity, even when it comes to varying perspectives on events!

Inspiration – Scripture is God-breathed according to 2 Timothy 3:16, meaning that God alone is the ultimate author. Yes, humans wrote it down as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, but every letter has the handiwork of the Father crafted into it. It is preserved by His hand, fueled by His Spirit, and because it is authored by the Almighty, its message is wholly reliable.

We hold the Bible, I hold the Bible, to be fully without error (inerrant) in its original language, which is why translations are so important. (Here’s our recommended translation list!)

Precious sister on the other side of this screen, this Word of God is for you!
His story is for you!
His redemption is for you!
He wants you to know Him, to love Him, to see Him for who He is.
And His Word is the means to accomplishing all of that!

Here’s the thing, if the Bible isn’t 100% true, we are wasting our time reading it,
let alone studying it.
But if it is true….
Then it demands our full attention,
our voracious study of it,
and our all-consuming appetite for its message.  

For a little more on the doctrine of Inerrancy, we recommend checking out the girls at Thinking and Theology. Read their post on how the Bible is Better Than Google!

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Bible,doubts,faith,genuine,gospel,question,trustworthy,Truth
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