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Confidence Day 13 Confidence In Love

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Confidence Day 13 Confidence In Love

Christine Wood

May 3, 2023

Beloved,bride,church,Faith,Family,Joy,Love

Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 4:1–16
1 John 4:7–21
1 Corinthians 13
John 8:1–11

“Love is in the air, everywhere I look around,” croons musician John Paul Young. 

Sigh.

There have been more songs sung, poetry recited, novels written, and movies made about love than any other topic. We love a good love story. We love going to weddings, when two people in love promise to keep loving each other forever. We love hearing our children declare, “I love you, Mommy.”

I remember falling in love—the way I spontaneously smiled when our eyes met across the room, the way time stood still when we were together. My heart beat faster, my skin tingled, I dreamed about our future together. I felt alive.

We long to love, we long to be loved, and when love is lost, our hearts feel the pain deeply.

We also know what a lack of love looks like. We see it on the news every day. There is hate and division, war and oppression, selfishness and the pain it produces everywhere we dare to look. Without love, evil thrives.

We witness this dynamic at play between the very first siblings at the beginning of time. Adam and Eve, the first family God created, had two very different sons. (Genesis 4:1-16) One (Abel) was full of love, and the other (Cain) rejected God. Cain, jealous of God’s favour on his brother, murdered Abel. And the human condition hasn’t changed.

When Adam and Eve chose to trust in themselves rather than God, sin and death entered the world (Romans 5:12) and infiltrated every part of God’s perfect creation. We are surrounded by it and feel the weight of it every day. “The one who does not love remains in death.” (1 John 3:14) This death results in eternal separation from God, the author of love.

Although we may not have physically murdered our brother, each of us are also ruled by sin and death when we live outside of God’s love. We react to those who hurt us with anger and revenge. We pursue our own pleasure and advancement. We live for today, because we have no certain hope for our future.

Life without God, without love, is death. 
There is no life outside of love, just fear and pain. 
There is no life outside of love, because there is no God apart from love.
“The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8)

But there is hope for us, because God overcame sin and death with the gift of His love.
“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9)

We can have eternal life because of God’s love for us. When we accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness for our sins, our lives are transformed by His love. Everything changes. Sin and death are overcome by life and love. 

In relationship with God, we are ruled by love. Not just the kind of love we write songs and books and poems about, but the kind of love that changes everything about our lives. It’s the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13, love that is patient and kind, doesn’t envy or boast, a love that always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. A love that reflects the very nature of God.

This love is not just for ourselves. This love overflows.
“Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.” (1 John 4:11)

Because God loves us, and our lives are ruled by His love, we have the capacity to love others, even when they seem unlovable. Because that is what God did for us; He loved us when we were unlovable. (Romans 5:6)

When we have God’s heart of love, we respond to a hurting and broken world with love rather than our old sinful nature. We see the pain behind the anger, we see the fear behind the hate, and we can respond with the love of God rather than our own insecurity and fear.

This is illustrated beautifully when the religious leaders paraded a woman caught in the act of adultery before Jesus, hungry for the punishment of death to be carried out. (John 8:1–11) This woman, the victim of poor choices and complicated circumstances, had no legal recourse; she was guilty. Rather than demanding the death penalty she deserved under the law, Jesus responded in love. He paused, bending to draw in the dusty ground at His feet, reminding the accusers of their own shortcomings, and allowing the anger in the crowd to subside.

Rather than condemn this woman, Jesus gave her a chance to be transformed by His love. Jesus offers us the same second chance, and invites us to respond in kind to those around us who are still caught in the trap of their sin.

We are no longer condemned by our sin. We are forgiven and free, fully loved and assured of our hope for all of eternity. This love and hope overflows through us and spreads to the hurting world around us as we continue to be transformed daily by His power.

We can respond to sin and death with confident love
by loving one another the way God first loved us.

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commitment,confidence,love,promise,Truth
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Sketched IX Day 14 Costly Surrender: 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 Costly Surrender!

The Questions

1) What does it mean to bear our own cross? (verse 27)

2) Why is it necessary to renounce your possessions to become a disciple of Jesus? (verse 33)

3) Why did Jesus use salt as an analogy? (verses 34-35)

Luke 14:25-35

25 Now great crowds were traveling with him. So he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

28 “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

34 “Now, salt is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty? 35 It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”

Original Intent

1) What does it mean to bear our own cross? (verse 27)
Crucifixion was an extremely horrific type of execution. It consisted of tying or nailing the victim to a cross until he died, usually hours or even days later. Before the actual crucifixion, the victim was flogged with a leather whip woven through with iron balls and sharp sheep bones. The scourging was meant to bring the victim to a state just short of death. (Robert Gidley) In this weakened state, the criminal carried the crossbar to the execution site upon his shoulders.  If he tripped or fell, he could not use his arms to break the fall and would most likely fall on his face to the ground, bringing further shame, humiliation, and pain upon himself. Jesus’ death by crucifixion shows the length and breadth of His rescue mission in order to save us from the punishment we each deserve for our sins, death. Christ’s death was the ultimate sacrifice because He, though completely innocent of all sin, chose to take on sin’s consequence out of deep love for us. To bear our cross, we must be willing to follow His example by dying (crucifying) to our sinful selves and living for Jesus in the new life He gives freely to all who surrender themselves to Him.

2) Why is it necessary to renounce our possessions to become a disciple of Jesus? (verse 33)
Before Jesus began His ministry, His cousin, John the Baptist, taught about money, possessions, and repentance. One day while baptizing by the Jordan, John told the crowd to share their clothes and food with those who didn’t have any. He instructed tax collectors to collect no more than required. He taught soldiers to not extort money and be content with their pay. (Luke 3:10-14) Jesus also told quite a few parables about the effects of accumulating wealth. For instance, the parable about the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21 teaches that focusing on storing up wealth for future use is senseless. The rich fool’s focus was not on God, but on himself and his accomplishments. So with all his plans, he died that very night, unable to enjoy the fruits of his labour, leaving everything he had for someone else. In Luke 18:18-25, a young ruler came to Jesus and asked Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to keep the commandments, to which the rich ruler replied he kept from his youth. But Jesus told him he lacked one thing, which was to sell his possessions, distribute to the poor, and come follow Him. This saddened the ruler because he couldn’t bring himself to part with all his wealth. These examples demonstrate that accumulating wealth can easily deter us from serving God whole-heartedly. Jesus wanted total commitment from His disciples; commitment that would be impossible if they insisted on holding tightly to material things.

3) Why did Jesus use salt as an analogy? (verses 34-35)
In the biblical days, salt was not as pure as it is today. It was mixed with different forms of impurities causing it to lose its saltiness. Therefore, nothing much could be done with it. According to Zondervan, “such salt does not complete its purpose, and it lacks the resource, the saltiness, to do the job it was intended for.” (Zondervan KJV Commentary) Jesus used what was common, tasteless salt, to teach His disciples that if they chose to muddy their lives with other “lesser loves”, they are no longer suited for effective Kingdom purposes, just like flavourless salt. Every Christ follower must be willing to live for and worship God alone, continuously surrendering to His purpose for their lives.

Everyday Application

1) What does it mean to bear our own cross? (verse 27)
The Roman execution method of crucifixion was a slow and painful process. When Jesus used this metaphor He knew exactly what He was talking about, and so did His audience. This wasn’t intended to be an emotionally encouraging pep talk. He was telling His disciples that following Him would guarantee intense persecution, even death. While many today, at least in the western hemisphere, may not experience this level of persecution, being a Christian still guarantees a cost. To truly follow Jesus means whole-life commitment and sacrifice, and living for Him does not mean automatic happiness and an easy life. I was the victim of a crime committed by a close family member. I wasted no time in reporting the matter. Other family members begged me not to take action, but I could not turn a blind eye to wrongdoing and did what I knew was right. As a result, I lost favour with family members, and my relationship with the perpetrator has been severed for almost two years. It has been really hard, but I do not regret the choice I made. We must not condone sin, no matter who commits it. Our calling as Christ-followers is to live solely for Jesus and not focus on money, possessions, or relationships that are out of alignment with God’s calling to live holy. We will experience difficulty for following God and His plan; we must be prepared and willing to endure hardship because Jesus gave everything for us. If we try to save ourselves from pain and heartache, we will not grow into maturity, thus missing out on our intended purpose in following Christ.

2) Why is it necessary to renounce our possessions to become a disciple of Jesus? (verse 33)
True repentance means a radical change of lifestyle especially as it relates to money and possessions. As mentioned above, I was a victim of a crime. My entire life savings was stolen from me. While I had no choice to report the crime, the Lord told me to not attempt to retrieve the money. With His guidance, I rebuilt my finances and became financially stable once more. It took time, but during that time, the Lord provided and worked out His goodness in my heart as He taught me to trust Him instead of my finances. One passage of Scripture I have seen fulfilled in my life is Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you”. The whole incident of theft changed my life. I drew closer to God and He has demonstrated to me that He will take care of me once I give my life wholeheartedly to Him. By surrendering to Jesus, He proved a faithful Provider. If I had chosen to trust money instead, I would have missed out on the better thing, which will always be Jesus. Placing Jesus first in your life ahead of family, career, and wealth means building a relationship based on faith, trust, and commitment to God. Is it difficult? Yes. But this sacrifice means living a life of purpose and meaning far more valuable than money or human relationships could ever provide.

3) Why did Jesus use salt as an analogy? (verses 34-35)
Being a Christian means more than just saying, “I believe in Jesus Christ”. We are called to be doers (active followers) of the Word of God, not simply hearers only. (James 1:22)  Being a disciple means fulfilling the calling God has for you, whatever that may be. If you begin your journey of walking with Jesus, and then become distracted by other things along the way, you have lost your saltiness. There was a season when I spent a lot of time in Bible Study and sharing what I learned through writing. Distraction set in and “life” got in the way. My excuses were plentiful. I had children to raise and a career to develop, and I allowed “following God” to take a backseat. Just before the theft incident, I would have said my life was great. It was when my whole world turned upside down, God lovingly used that hardship to correct my course and bring me back to Him. I have returned to daily Bible Study and have begun writing and sharing about Jesus once again. I am fulfilling my purpose and the calling the Lord has given me. In the words of Zondervan, “Believers must determine never to be “useless Christians”, like salt that has lost its flavour. (Zondervan KJV Commentary)

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Costly Surrender!

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!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Sketched IX Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

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!

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

Beloved Day 4 Radical Love Of Marriage: 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 Radical Love Of Marriage!

The Questions

1) What does the woman singer mean by “set me as a seal on your heart and your arm”? How does this relate to the strength of love? (verses 6-7)

2) What is implied with the language of walls and towers in verses 8-11?

3) What makes this shared love so radical, wild, and free?

Song of Solomon 8:5-14

5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on the one she loves?

Woman
I awakened you under the apricot tree.
There your mother conceived you;
there she conceived and gave you birth.
6 Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death;
jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol.
Love’s flames are fiery flames—
an almighty flame!
7 A huge torrent cannot extinguish love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If a man were to give all his wealth for love,
it would be utterly scorned.

Chorus
8 Our sister is young;
she has no breasts.
What will we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build a silver barricade on her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with cedar planks.

Woman
10 I am a wall
and my breasts like towers.
So to him I have become
like one who finds peace.

11 Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon.
He leased the vineyard to tenants.
Each was to bring for his fruit
one thousand pieces of silver.
12 I have my own vineyard.
The one thousand are for you, Solomon,
but two hundred for those who take care of its fruits.

Man
13 You who dwell in the gardens,
companions are listening for your voice;
let me hear you!

Woman
14 Run away with me, my love,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices.

Original Intent

1) What does the woman singer mean by “set me as a seal on your heart and your arm”? How does this relate to the strength of love? (verses 6-7)
Solomon spends his entire poetic song declaring and describing the fantastic love between a husband and wife that is unlike any other love relationship. Verses 6-7 speak specifically to the radical commitment strength of marital love that is also not found in other relationships. The word translated “seal” from Hebrew is used multiple times in the Old Testament. When we look up other instances of any word used in Scripture, it helps us gain helpful insight for how the original author intended the word to be defined in their writing context. “Seal” is most often used in connection with a ruler’s “signet ring” like in 1 Kings 21:8. Soft clay was placed over the opening of a scroll containing an important edict or message from the king, then he would press his royal ring into the soft clay. A king’s seal was recognized throughout his land and declared that no one could repeal what he had declared. A king’s seal was the undisputed and irrevocable “final word”. Uniquely, Solomon wrote that the Bride herself was the husband’s “signet ring”. Her living self was the promise of love that would not be defeated and her invitation to her Lover to “set me as (your) seal” is the hope of a covenant love that will be irreversible.

2) What is implied with the language of walls and towers in verses 8-11?
In the ancient culture when Solomon wrote his poetic song, virginity was highly valued. In fact, you couldn’t be honorably married if you weren’t a virgin. The chorus singers in verses 8-10 are poetically speaking of a young woman who isn’t yet of age to be married or carry children. The young girl depicted as a “wall” and then a “door” symbolizes her virginity protecting her (like a wall or door would protect a house) for a one-day-coming marriage. As a community, they sing “we will build a silver barricade on her (wall)” and again using the door illustration, “we will enclose her with cedar planks.” Together, the community agreed to honor God’s design for marriage and together lovingly protect the young girl and her virginity until it was time to give the gift of sex to her husband. Given the type of material described for poetically protecting the girl, we get the idea the community was acting in tender love, not a hardened fist of legislature. Instead of “iron”, the community sings of “cedar planks” and “silver”. In verse 11, the Beloved Wife sings that she herself is her own wall and instead of her body needing safeguarding for a future husband, her breasts are her own “watch towers” and she has found peace in the giving of sexual love to her husband.

3) What makes this shared love so radical, wild, and free?
To our ears, it sounds pretty far from romantic for a wife to say to her husband, “be like a gazelle
or a young stag on the mountains of spices” (verse 14) To the listening audience of this ancient culture, however, both a gazelle and a young stag depicted beauty, vigor, and grace, so we get the picture of a handsome and strong, yet gentle Lover. Equally as strange to us is the idea of “a mountain of spices” and we shrug our shoulders and move past the weird imagery. Solomon actually didn’t have huge piles of cinnamon in mind when he penned these words. Rather, “mountains” were used earlier in the song to describe the woman’s two breasts. (Song of Solomon 4:5-6) Also earlier in the book, spices carried the idea of delightful sexual intercourse where the “spices” were associated with sexual arousal and pleasure. (Song of Solomon 1:12, 5:1, 5) Understanding how these images were first understood gives us a very different perspective on this love poem! Earlier in the song, before the two consummate their marriage vows, the Lover husband looks forward to “going away” with his Beloved to make love and enjoy each other. (Song of Solomon 4:8) Here, at the close of the song, the relationship has deepened inside the sacred space of marriage and the wife, now free to love her husband sexually, owns this capacity to the full and finds pleasure in inviting him to run away with her and enjoy their love together. In God’s view of marriage, the relationship between spouses is meant to flourish and grow deeper over time, allowing for ever-greater exchange of intimacy.

Everyday Application

1) What does the woman singer mean by “set me as a seal on your heart and your arm”? How does this relate to the strength of love? (verses 6-7)
While much of Song of Solomon seems to our western eyes and ears to be based on merely feelings of heightened sexual love, these verses shout a bold contradiction. The love shared between Lover and Beloved was enduring, not based on feelings or circumstance. The strength of their love was not found in emotion, but in a covenant seal that could not reversed. While humans experience the sensation described as “falling in, or out, of love”, Solomon’s song affirms a far deeper, much more radical commitment. Beautifully, this type of human love relationship is intended by the Lord to reflect the love He has for us, as His very own chosen Bride. Jesus gave us His living self as the single greatest display of covenant love when He chose to take on our consequence for our sin at the cross. Here, He willingly laid down His life to make us His Bride, washing us in His forgiveness. (Ephesians 5:25-27) Marriage between a husband and wife is meant, by design, to last for as long as either partner lives. If you’re married, stand firm in your marriage covenant relationship. If you’re divorced or single, be reminded that the Lord Himself will never break His covenant love with and for you. As is sung throughout Scripture, His love endures forever! (Psalm 136) If you’re in a marriage relationship where you or your children are experiencing abuse or abandonment, we urge you to please seek safety and wise, Christian counseling. God’s design for marriage is beautiful, and He continues working out His incredible plan through broken, imperfect, and sinful people, but God has never intended marriage to be a place where one spouse is ruled, controlled, or abused by the other spouse. If this describes your marriage, or that of a friend’s, please seek help and know that there is no condemnation for doing so!

2) What is implied with the language of walls and towers in verses 8-11?
Far from teaching “safe sex” practices, the community in Solomon’s day took it upon themselves to together fight for God’s design for sex and marriage. As women, we are very uniquely positioned to link arms together and do the same by championing the sacredness of sex and marriage for the coming generation. Whether you have daughters yourself or maybe you serve with a youth ministry at your church, talk with young girls openly about sex and how amazingly beautiful both sex and their bodies are. Talk about how God handcrafted this gift of intimacy to be explicitly shared between a husband and wife. While it will likely feel awkward for you to begin these conversations, be encouraged that the young girl in your life is indeed listening. When we decide together as Jesus-loving women to honor sex and marriage as a model for younger girls, we are living out biblical community in radical ways!

3) What makes this shared love so radical, wild, and free?
God’s design for sex and marriage is far from boring; it’s radical. It requires a willingness to trust Him and His plan over ours, love our spouse unconditionally, and find delight in a monogamous sexual relationship. Here in this sacred place, the best experiences of both sex and marriage are discovered and enjoyed! If you’re married, consider writing a love poem to your spouse, or even just making a list of things you enjoy about him. Nothing is off limits here as this is shared between, God, your man, and you. Include character traits you admire, moments that have made you feel close to him, and, of course, be creative and include physical attributes you enjoy and why! I’m guessing you will both enjoy the process! I have the high honor of knowing several vibrant, Jesus-loving single women. They have shown me much about Jesus and His love in ways I never would have discovered on my own. If you’re single, whether by divorce or not, be encouraged that your intentional time developing intimacy with the God of the Universe, and knowing yourself, are gifts to the Church. Yes, girl, the Church. Share what the Father is uniquely teaching you through your relationship with Him as you come alongside your married friends. Jesus’ Bride, the Church, needs all of us. Certainly not just married folks. I know this will feel bold and daring to many, but regardless of whether you’re married or single, this challenge is for all of us. Make space for a few evenings to write down the attributes about your own body that you enjoy. This isn’t a place for criticism and there is absolutely no judgment. What you write is for you and God to share in a sacred space. He crafted your body and wants you to celebrate in it!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Radical Love Of Marriage!

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!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Beloved Week One!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

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!

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

Sketched Day 14 Laura: Digging Deeper

Leave a Comment

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 Laura!

The Questions

1) How will God preserve and save?

2) What “purposes” do the Lord have?

3) What are the “works” of God’s hands?

Psalm 138:7-8

If I walk into the thick of danger,
you will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.
You will extend your hand;
your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.
Lord, your faithful love endures forever;
do not abandon the work of your hands.

Original Intent

1) How will God preserve and save?
There is no guarantee anywhere in Scripture that those who give their lives to the Lord will experience material wealth, physical health, and smooth relationships. If it were true that all who accepted Jesus as Savior benefited in these ways, everyone would see and take notice and want in on Jesus too. But, that would be a business deal, and that is as far from what the heart of God wants for us as the east is from the west. What God desires is a deep, faithful relationship of commitment with our whole hearts. (Isaiah 29:13) If we miss the relationship aspect, focusing instead on what we can get from following Jesus, we’ve missed the point so completely we might as well have the integrity to admit we don’t actually want to follow Him. The reality for every Christ-follower is that our surrender to Him will cost us our lives. (Matthew 10:38-39) Salvation is free, (Ephesians 2:8) but obedience is about total surrender of every aspect of our everyday lives (Luke 14:33). To help us with this impossible “handing over of rights”, is the Spirit of God who lives inside every believer, teaching them what it means to give up control. The sweet spot?! In that surrender, we experience a richness the world could never possibly provide!

2) What “purposes” do the Lord have?
The Lord God, being all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present has always had a Master plan. His purposes are deep and unfathomable, far too lofty for humanity to begin to comprehend the breadth and depth of them (Isaiah 55:8-9), but that doesn’t stop Him from inviting each believer into His work of accomplishing those purposes. By studying Scripture, we can see enough of His purposes to give us the direction and guidance we need to follow Him. For example, He purposes for His kingdom to be built on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10), He purposes for all to know Him (1 Timothy 2:4), He purposes for the Church to be unified in love (John 15:12), and He purposes for believers to grow in faith and understanding of who He is (Ephesians 1:17-18). These are only a few examples of the purposes God has revealed in Scripture. While He has intentional plans for the world, the human race, and the Church, He also has plans for every single person who gives their life to Him. (Ephesians 2:10) These purposed intentions are designed to work in connection with His larger purposes. We all have a role to play in His plan!

3) What are the “works” of God’s hands?
The psalmist concludes his song with a plea for God not to forget the work of His hands. David full well understands that just as God has initiated this sweet, tender relationship with him, just as God is David’s source of rescue and salvation, and just as God’s purposes are at work in Him, so is David the very work of God’s own hand. How precious! David’s life was hidden there in the protection of the Almighty! (Psalm 91:1-4) As is often found in the Psalms, David was praying a truth he already knew. God never abandons the work of His hands, and David already knew this. He still cried it out to God to remind himself of God’s character as he was in the presence of God. Also, David adds his plea for God to never forget him on the tail end of stating two other immoveable realities, God’s faithfulness to fulfill His purposes and God’s enduring love. David was speaking with the Lord much like a small child would to a parent in the face of fear. I know you are good to me, Daddy, I know you will always love me just like you’ve told me, please, please, don’t leave me. Of course, the daddy won’t leave the child, he is too good of a father and has proven his love over and over. The same is true of the Father God and David. God had proven His love, proven His faithfulness, and of course, He would never abandon David, the precious, delighted over, work of His hands.

Everyday Application

1) How will God preserve and save?
As we relinquish ourselves, the Father becomes the holder of our very hearts. He lovingly teaches, gently corrects, constantly shapes us to reflect Him, wraps us in tender love, and fights for us. He is not a distant God, rather He is the with us God who sees our every hurt, knows the depth of our anguish, and sits with us there to protect our hearts as we sit in His shelter. While the outside may crumble away, the Lord renews our inner soul, giving us His own courage and the promise to never leave. (2 Corinthians 4:16) His promise to preserve and save as referenced in this verse begins here, in the sacred ground of our relationship with Him where He is both Lord and Father, and we are both slave and precious child. The inside soul is where He fights for us first and foremost. Additionally, the Lord is indeed abundantly gracious in the physical realm just as He is in the relational and spiritual realms. He provides food, strengthens relationships, brings conviction, gives us the common graces of finances, medicine, vehicles, housing, and clothes. Again, the Lord sees all and knows all, and will provide what we need. Often, however, we focus solely on the physical, expecting God to give us what we perceive we need. These are the times to remember God first is fighting for our hearts, teaching us to trust His good character. Seek His face, ask Him to grow your desire to learn His heart, and practice sitting still with the Lord studying His word. This is the beginning of His rescue!

2) What “purposes” do the Lord have?
It’s important to know that while God has lovingly crafted plans for each of us to walk into for our everyday life that ultimately fulfill His larger purposes, we can neither fulfill these purposes on our own strength, nor can we mess them up beyond His redemption. The Lord’s master plans will never be thwarted. (Isaiah 46:10) What He chooses to accomplish, will come to pass in His way and in His time. However, there is a tension involved here, because He also gives us freedom of choice. Esther had the choice to stand in the gap for her people or watch them be slaughtered. Moses had the choice to walk forward in faith, believing God would use him in his weakness to lead Israel out of slavery or push back and tell God he couldn’t because He wasn’t a good speaker. Esther chose obedience and God used her small choices to accomplish His larger plans. Moses chose to push back, and although God still used Him, He also brought in Aaron as Moses’ mouthpiece and it was Aaron who later led Israel to sin by worshipping a golden idol. With Moses, God still used him and His purposes were still accomplished, but He allowed for freedom of choice. In Judges, God had given clear victory over to Barak against his enemies, but He also gave Barak freedom of choice, and because Barak chose fear over faith, the victory went to a common woman named Jael, whom God used to accomplish His purposes, despite Barak’s personal choice. We each have a choice to make when it comes to God’s purposes. If we submit to His rule, choosing to follow His ways, He will faithfully work His purposes through us. If we choose our way instead, He will still finish His work, but we will have missed out on being an active participant with Him in that work.

3) What are the “works” of God’s hands?
Just as David was the delighted over son, so are we. If you have given over your heart to the God was has faithfully loved you since the moment He knit you together in your mothers’ womb, He is yours and you are His. He has proven His love to you time and time again. Can you see His hand? Count the ways He has loved you, write them down as reminders of His good love towards you that never ends! He has proven He will always fulfill His purposes in you if you’ve given Him reign over your heart and life. Where have you seen His purposes coming to fulfillment? Have you grown in your faith? Have you learned to love more like Him? Have you reached out and encouraged another to grow in their faith as well? These are His purposes! His kindness towards His adopted sons and daughters endures forever; His presence will never leave! But, I know, we don’t always feel that way do we? This was certainly true for David. Sometimes we find him shouting praise and dancing, and other times we find him in the pit of despair wondering where God was. But, every time, we find David recounting what He knew to be true of this God who loved him and rescued Him. We would be wise to do the same!

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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!

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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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Captivating Day 3 Community Calling

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Ruth 1:15-18
2 Corinthians 2:4-17
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Galatians 5:7-15

Captivating, Day 3

Sadly, we in the church today oftentimes have a wrong view of friendship. I hear sentiments like the following all the time (and perhaps they will sound familiar to you as well):

I’m too busy to cultivate friendship.

Did you hear what she did? Did you hear what he said to her?

That person hurt me, and I have had enough. I’m cutting my friendship ties with her.

I’ll pursue friendship when I’m in a less busy season.

Spending time with mom friends is too hard and impractical in this season of raising littles.

Friend, may I gently remind all of us, myself included, that the Lord has never once viewed friendship as optional or as something we can safely let go of, refuse to pursue, or not take seriously?
“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.
For if either falls, his companion can lift him up;
but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.
Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him.
A cord of three strands is not easily broken.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

Biblical friendship was intended by God to fortify, sustain, encourage, sharpen, grow, and equip us in our daily walk with Christ. We see a beautiful example of this in the story of Naomi and Ruth, a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who were also dear friends. Following the death of their husbands, widows Naomi and Ruth faced seemingly impossible challenges and yet, through their friendship and commitment to each other and their mutual faith in God, were able to overcome them.
Ruth gives us a beautiful picture of their friendship in Ruth 1:16-17 when she says to Naomi, “Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live;
your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.
May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

This is what the winsome institution of friendship is designed to be, a captivating fragrance and picture of Christ and His love for His people. Our friendships are to be the kind of relationships wherein we present the watching world with an example of what it looks like to love each other with the unconditional love of Christ. In these friendships, we are to create a place of safety where others can share thoughts and feelings without fear of harsh or critical judgement. We were designed to walk alongside, carrying one another’s burdens, rejoice with one another’s victories, and intentionally investing in one another, and pointing each other to Christ all along the way.

We are not too busy for friendship.
Rather, the responsibilities on our shoulders are too cumbersome to not have friends to walk along the journey with us. Frankly, the stakes are too high for us to live outside biblical community, only feigning at true friendship.

This type of solid, Christian friendship is not easy to cultivate.
I have learned this myself in deeply personal ways over the past year as I experienced a friendship be nearly destroyed as a result of gossip, judgment, and legalistic expectations. Another friendship has become challenging as narcissism has been brought into the mix.
It’s been a rough year for my friendships.

Yet, far from throwing in the towel, I am inspired by the passages above to pursue the ministry of reconciliation and extend the love and grace that covers a multitude of sins. While boundaries are important in relationships, and sometimes friendships with unsafe people must come to an end, these instances are oftentimes fewer and further between than we think in this age of un-forgiveness and criticism.

I don’t know what your friendship experiences have looked like thus far, dear reader, but I do know this: the Lord desires for you to enjoy friendships throughout life that will inspire and encourage you in your relationship with Him.
He wants to see your faith strengthened, your heart sustained,
and your mind invigorated through these friendships,
and He wants the watching world to be pointed to Him when it sees you and your friends.

Yes, it’s a high challenge to intentionally cultivate friendships like these, and they sometimes take years to deepen to this level, but it is worth the work and investment!

I can honestly say I would not be the woman I am today,
with my faith in Christ matured to the point that it is,
or my heart encouraged and invigorated to joyfully follow Him as I am,
if it weren’t for the dear friends in my life who are more like family to me now.
After years of intentionally and regularly pouring into them (and vice versa!),
it is resoundingly worth it!

You may have been burned in the past.
You may find yourself with a seemingly lack of time in the present.
Your future may be uncertain.
All the more reason to invest in friendships and begin building biblical community!
Pray and ask the Lord to send godly Christian friends your way.
That is a prayer He delights in answering!

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