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Relentless Day 1 Relentless Pursuit

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Judges 2:1-23
Zechariah 1:1-6
Romans 7:7-24

Relentless, Day 1

If there is a book in the Bible that is just…strange.
It’s Judges.
One incredibly unique, mind-blowing ‘wow-that’s-weird’ story after another.
I mean, it’s opening verses tell of a king whose big toes and thumbs were cut off!

Judges tells the stories that would hit the tabloids with bold headlines and draw a crowd:
“Overweight king dies by a hand dagger!
Where’s the dagger? Enveloped by the king’s fatty abdomen!” (Judges 3:19-23)

“Random man walking out of his village, turns over his hometown to the enemy’s sword,
but is spared himself!” (Judges 1:22-26)

“Quick thinking woman kills seasoned army general by pounding a tent stake through his temple!” (Judges 4:21-22)

“Unknown man from weakest tribe seen tearing down Baal’s altars in the middle of the night! (Judges 6:27-29)

Tabloid headlines, read in our own culture as we walk through the checkout lines or scroll the internet, seem ridiculous and outlandish. We easily write them off as being scandalous, fake news with no other purpose than garnishing interest and inflaming readers.
The difference with Judges is that it had a very distinct purpose and there was nothing “fake news-like” about it. None of its stories, outlandish as they may seem, carried even a hint of falsehood.

As we read this Old Testament book of the Bible and study together in this Journey Theme,
we need to keep two things in mind:
1) God’s purposeful theme in Judges is to demonstrate His relentless love for His people
2) Every part of God’s Word is sacred and holy; it has been recorded and preserved for the intention of telling us more about Himself.

Yes, the stories feel weird.
Yes, they make us wrestle with our view of God.
Yes, they feel too shocking to be true.
But here’s the other great big, fat yes…..

These stories reflect the heart of a God, who has already and still does,
enter into our disastrous mess,
time after time after time,
for the purpose of relentlessly loving us.

His brilliant love is pursuing each of us personally and individually just as relentlessly as He pursued the ancient Jewish people thousands and thousands of years ago.

We read Judges and we see disaster. We see human sinfulness abounding. We see idiots making the same stupid choices over and over. If we look closely enough, we see us.

Theologians describe Judges as a book that spins on a cycle: (Judges 2:11-23)
Israel Serves the Lord –>
Israel Forgets the Lord and worships idols –>
Israel is Punished by the Lord –>
Israel Cries Out to the Lord –>
The Lord raises up a Judge to speak His Word and remind Israel of truth –>
Israel is delivered –>
and repeat for more than 300 years…..

What I absolutely love about the Word of God is that it never hides the ugly parts.
Scroll social media and “ugly” is pretty hard to find….
Struggling or broken marriages don’t make the Facebook newsfeed.
That ugly cry she had when a trigger phrase reminded her of the aching wounds inflicted by her father didn’t light up Instagram.
The grip of fear she felt as she watched the bank account continuously dwindle wasn’t shouted out on Twitter.
Ugly messes don’t take center stage in our Pinterest culture.

But God’s Word highlights humanity’s brokenness over and over
in different contexts,
different stories,
and dramatic depictions
because WE ARE BROKEN PEOPLE.

If we do not understand how broken we are, we will never see our need for a Savior beyond ourselves. This is an exceptionally dangerous mindset to hold.

Because hear this, my sister across the screen, I, Rebecca Adams, am irreparably broken.
I’ve lied, I’ve taken the Lord’s name in vain, I’ve lusted in my heart (which Jesus said is the same as adultery), I’ve coveted another’s possessions, her beauty, and her popularity. I’ve been angry in my heart, which Jesus says is the same as murder; I have fallen short of the perfect glory of God.
And I am much too broken to fix myself. Perfection like God’s is utterly impossible.

YET

In the middle of this mess I keep making, God pursues me with relentless love.
His brilliant brushstrokes of love keep coloring my mess, invading my brokenness, and making me new.

This.
This is the story of Judges.
Our brokenness. His Pursuit.
Relentless

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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 Relentless 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 Relentless!

Palette Day 6 All The Colors

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 67:1-6
Matthew 28:16-20
Revelation 22:1-5

“Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

This sweet little Sunday School song was something I grew up singing. It’s a beautifully simplistic view of God’s design for His people.
He loves all man-kind.
The end.
No exceptions.
No one unlovable.
We are all deeply and passionately loved by Him.

Similarly, the Psalmist pens these glorious lyrics:
“May God be gracious to us and bless us…that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.”
The Lord desires the free gift of salvation to be received by all.

A natural response to receiving the gift of salvation; praise.
“May the peoples praise you oh God; may all the peoples praise you.”
Not only does God long to be reconciled with everyone,
He longs to hear us praise Him collectively.

As humans, we have plenty of trouble loving people,
particularly those who don’t look quite like us.
This is something I’m guilty of as well.
It’s much more comfortable for me to walk up to someone who looks more similar to myself ethnically than someone that I might have very little in common with outwardly.

My husband is Korean, born in Korea and has lived in the States for 5 years this fall. We have two biracial children, one born in Korea, one born in the States.
For as much as we stay on top of racial issues in our family,
can I be real for a moment too?
Last week, I was returning my cart at Aldi, and I specifically did not offer it to the black lady that was walking towards the carts.
Ouch.
I always offer my cart to the next person and that day, I didn’t offer it.
I got in my car and cried, wishing I could go back and at least make eye contact.
Sadly, I couldn’t.

Having married outside my race, I observe people and situations with a different lens than before. I’ve noticed that when a new person meets my husband Joonseok and I, more often than not, they will not hold eye contact with my hubby. They will look to me as the leader of the conversation and start talking to me first. When Joonseok is out with the kids, they are often ignored. Nobody tries to make unnecessary conversation, nobody looks at them, in fact it’s as though people often look through them not even noticing them at all. Those subtle undertones are taxing for people outside of the ethnic majority to interact with on a daily basis.

Our family’s ethnic design has really pushed me to find ways for my children to use their “white privilege” for someone else’s benefit. In a group of other white children, I want my kids to be prepared to stand up for people teasing another child. We role-play these situations. We read books with girls in hijabs being made fun of, children of color feeling left out, or the Asian kids being mocked for their smelly foods.

Our favorite place to come back to in regard to racial teachings is the Great Commission. The disciples have just witnessed Jesus being crucified, buried, resurrected and walking among them in the flesh.
The emotions, questions and musings must’ve been plentiful!

Moments before Jesus would physically leave them, He declared His authority and then commissioned his disciples,
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
There’s no mistaking that, as believers, we are to share the love of the Father with all people, whether they look like us or not. Having these conversations with our kids isn’t fun or really all that easy.
The cost of not having them, and sweeping the issue under the rug, is just too high.

One of the easiest ways to start being intentional with people outside your ethnicity is to pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to move in your heart about making genuine relationships with people you don’t naturally gravitate toward. It’s easy to view this as a project instead of a friendship, but just do normal, everyday life together – go for coffee or share a meal.

Our family partners with a local ministry that loves on international students. This sub-group of college students are ready to experience all that Americans are doing. Since our faith, intentionality and love flow from our family-life, it’s natural to have students along to share in that. The Lord has literally brought the Nations to us in this ministry! It also provides the exposure of “weird foods”, people speaking different languages and unusual customs to our kids. Whatever you choose to do, I’m confident that Lord will bless both you and your new friends for intentionally choosing love over fear!

That situation with the shopping cart in the Aldi parking lot was a great reminder to be on guard for the little places the enemy is whispering lies.
I’m ready to fight those out of my heart, will you join me?

Lord, let my eyes see people as You do, created in Your perfect image. Give us a taste of the River of Life and the healing that will come to all nations. Embolden me to stand on the side of loving people, even when it’s not popular. For Your Glory, Lord.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

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 Palette Week Two! 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 Palette!