compassion

Follow Day 13 Faith To Stay

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Mark 5:1-20
Matthew 16:24-28
Luke 14:25-35

Follow, Day 13

“What’s holding you back from following Jesus?”

It’s a question I sometimes pose when I’m deep in a conversation about spiritual things with someone who isn’t sure if they really want to trust Jesus with everything. Sometimes we just need to talk it out and lay everything in the open with raw honesty in order to gain real perspective.

More often than not, the reply is either “I don’t know,” which requires more prodding, or some variation of “I’m afraid of what He will ask me to do.”

We can probably all raise our hands to that fear. I’ve carried it myself at several points in my faith journey. This “all in surrender to the Living God” thing is, well, all-inclusive. The cost of following is high and we are right to consider the cost before we commit the whole of ourselves to Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “…every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33)

While we wrestle with our fears of “what it will cost,”
we must also consider the risk of not following Him.

Jesus pointedly asks, “For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?” (Matthew 16:26)

In essence, Jesus asks, “Your life is so valuable! What could possibly be worth your life?” and in the very same dialogue, He answers by pointing us to Himself: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

The counterintuitive solution to our desire to save our lives is found in complete surrender to the One offering our rescue.

Surrender is indeed a high cost.
However, the cost of rejecting the Savior of our souls is infinitely higher.

A Jesus-follower named Mark recorded the story of one man, deranged, chained, essentially dead to his family and friends, a danger to himself and his community, a laughingstock and a shameful outcast.
This is the man Jesus chose to have compassion on, lovingly heal, and set free from himself.
This is the man who wanted to follow Jesus as far away from everything he knew as he could get.

He was all in for following Jesus on his terms.
Oh, that hits close to my heart; does it for you?

I do want to follow, Jesus, but not to Asia.

I do want to follow, Jesus, but please, I can’t live in a smaller house.

I do want to follow, Jesus, but give me someone else to tell about You besides my family.

I do want to follow, Jesus, but let me live my life first for a few years.

One deranged man, his arms now healed where he had cut himself.
His body now clothed, where he had once run naked through the tombs.
His mind now clear, where minutes before it had been owned by demons.

This man’s healing was visibly dramatic, touching his mind, body, emotions, and heart,  making him new in every way. With such a story of redemption to tell, Graveyard Man was ready to follow Jesus wherever He went . . . as long as it was away from his past.

“As He [Jesus] was getting into the boat,
the man who had been demon-possessed begged Him earnestly
that he might remain with Him.” (Mark 5:18, emphasis mine)

But Jesus’ response begs us to pause, listen in, and sit in the moment, for here is the climax of the story. As the man would go forward, it was surely this moment that was the turning point in his life, even overshadowing his incredible healing. For here, Jesus turned kind eyes of compassion to the man’s and gently refused his request.

Wait, what?! Jesus said the redeemed man couldn’t follow Him?!
Yes.

“Jesus did not let him but told him, ‘Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you.’” (Mark 5:19, emphasis mine)

It would have been easy to flee his hometown and start over walking right beside Jesus, but Christ prompted him into deeper waters. This man would follow by staying.

Surely, it was intimidating to turn away from Jesus’ boat that afternoon and walk back towards the villagers who had fled at his healing, but the man’s newfound faith was flourishing as Jesus led him deeper.

Our historian, Mark, says, “So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.” (Mark 5:20)

Following Jesus wasn’t what the man expected, but as he obeyed, he found the faith to follow, even if it meant staying. The Lord was faithful and as the man shared his story,
all who heard were amazed.

Count the cost.
Find redemption.
Follow in Faith, even if it looks different than you expect.

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

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Follow Day 6 A Time To Act

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Nehemiah 1:1-2:5
Nehemiah 4:1-14
Nehemiah 6:15-16
Luke 10:30-37

Follow, Day 6

Life seemed to be going well for Nehemiah. As cupbearer to the Persian king, he was in a well-paid and influential position. He was highly respected, trusted enough to be privy to the king’s most important conversations, and even responsible for the king’s life. For a Jew in exile, his success was remarkable.

Yet when his brother arrives with news from Jerusalem, Nehemiah’s heart breaks.

After years of displacement, the Jewish people have finally been freed from captivity and permitted to return home, but all is not going well. Although the people are back in their land, the city walls remain in ruins and the gates have been burned to the ground. They are “in great trouble and disgrace.” (Nehemiah 1:3)

Presumably, Nehemiah’s success in Susa had led him to remain there, rather than choosing to return to Jerusalem, but the impact of his brother’s words is profound, revealing the concern Nehemiah still has for his homeland and people.

“When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.” (Nehemiah 1:4)

His prayer is passionate and heartfelt, appealing to God’s unfailing love and pleading for restoration.

Nehemiah’s compassion for the Jewish people and his grief over their situation also prompt him to act, and he asks God to grant him the king’s favour.

It is not until five months later that his opportunity comes, but it is clear the situation in Jerusalem has remained on his mind and in his heart. On this particular day, the depth of his sorrow becomes evident to the king, and as Nehemiah begins to explain the situation and request the king’s help, he demonstrates he has also thought through the details. He has a plan to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and he knows exactly what he will need from the king to turn his vision into reality.

It is a costly plan, one which means leaving the luxury of the palace to go on a long and arduous journey. It will involve effort and sacrifice.

Yet there seems to be no doubt in Nehemiah’s mind his passion and calling have come from God, and he knows his plan will only succeed by God’s grace. His compassion for the Jewish people and his desire for restoration mean he is willing to follow wherever God leads.

What about you? Is there a situation where you feel sorrow and compassion? A longing for justice or restoration?

Often, that’s a sign God is moving.

For me, one of those areas of compassion is women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. It breaks my heart to see the wounds inflicted on so many, and I long to point them to hope in Jesus and to see restoration. This passion has built over the years, even when I had no idea what to do with it. As with Nehemiah, it has involved seeking God, praying about each step, and waiting for the right moment.

One day, as I listened to the parable of the Good Samaritan, the familiar story struck me in a fresh way.  Just like the Samaritan, I was moved by compassion to take action, to do what I could to help the bruised and the broken, to be willing to inconvenience myself to help them to a place of healing. I knew I had to find a way.

Eventually, I completed a mentor training course with Journey to Heal Ministries and launched the programme in my church. Like Nehemiah before the king, I was terrified. It is difficult to raise a topic no one wants to talk about yet, I couldn’t let go of the call to “speak up for those who have no voice.” (Proverbs 31:8)

And like Nehemiah, I experienced God’s favour. I was able to begin mentoring someone straight away and I witnessed God’s healing power. Others came forward to offer help and support in various ways, and I saw God at work in ways I would never have imagined . . .

. . . And then COVID . . .

As I write, it has been six months since lockdown restrictions paused our work, and it may be several more months before it can resume.

In some ways, it’s comforting to recognise Nehemiah faced challenges, too. In his case, the difficulties came not from a global pandemic, but from people who opposed the rebuilding.  As soon as the work began, so did the mocking and reviling, and it continued throughout the rebuilding process.

Yet Nehemiah persevered. Despite facing ridicule, mocking, and even death threats, he was determined to keep looking to God and he encouraged the people to do the same. (Nehemiah 4:14)

He kept taking the next small step of obedience and,
one brick at a time, the wall was built.

What a day that must have been when, after 52 days of hard work (not to mention the months of prayer and preparation), the wall was finally finished!

Following God brings no guarantee of an easy life or a straightforward path, but Nehemiah’s story encourages us to keep seeking God for the next step, to follow where He leads, and to trust He will bring to completion the work He has begun.

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The GT Weekend! ~ Reveal 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!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) 2020. The year that will be forever marked with loss for many, and confusion and chaos for nearly all of us. In what ways has the Covid-19 pandemic gripped you with loss? Even the loss of normalcy significantly impacts each of us in different ways around the globe. Together, we share in this experience of loss. Maybe for you, just seeing the word loss makes your eyes swim with tears. Perhaps you’ve dreaded this Christmas season because the weight of absence feels impossibly heavy. We often move into the tendency to manage how we feel about loss rather than deal with it, allowing it to become part of who we are. What would it look like for you to acknowledge your loss this December? What if, instead of trying to stomp out the embers of ache and emptiness, we allowed them to swirl around us unhindered. What might the Lord Jesus reveal about our hearts, and our always constant need for Him, in the light of those flickers of brilliant loss? Make space this weekend to journal about your emptiness and aching places as you walk into December. Weep and be held by the Lord of Life and let Him comfort you.

2) Heartache isn’t a word we love to talk or write about with languishing love. The very word signifies we have traveled a long path, a weary one, a wounding one.  While most of us can easily describe some of our past experiences as bringing burdening ache to our hearts, we don’t often consider the heartache of God. Jesus came as a squalling babe in a rough manger, experiencing our heartache from the moment His holy lungs breathed their first earthly breath. Then, hanging on a cruel cross, knowing your sin and mine was being paid for in His righteous flesh, His heart continued breaking for us to come near and know His peace. As we walk through suffering, often made raw again at Christmas, be reminded the Savior knows you deeply. Pen the words of Psalm 90:14 on a card and make it a visible reminder to ask the Lord to satisfy you with His love this Christmas!

3) Ancient King Solomon wisely summarized, “Hope delayed makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12) What have you waited for? I mean, really waited for? A baby? A husband? A healthy marriage? A new position at work? Peace in relationships? Joy to return? Israel waited for the One promised by God to come and free them, but their expectations were so far off they missed the Savior entirely, even crucifying Him. I know I’ve done the same thing with my longings. For nearly two decades, I longed for my husband to act a certain way within our marriage. As Solomon wrote, I was indeed “heart sick”, but God graciously revealed how many good qualities I had missed completely because I wanted my “hoped for” to look as I expected. As I shifted my gaze to the Giver of all things, He opened my eyes to so much more! What if we each decided to surrender our hopes and dreams to the God who perfectly fulfills every heart that trusts in Him?!

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Luke 1:78-79 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness
and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Prayer Journal
Ah Lord God, my view of myself and my circumstance is often so magnified compared to how I view You. I forget You are sovereign. I forget You are loving, good, and always for me. Oh Lord, I do believe You, help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24) Sometimes, I think of those shepherds on that first Christmas, or of Mary and Joseph, all of whom saw angels with their own eyes, and heard glorious tidings of good news! How easy it must have been to believe them! I forget, Lord, how long they had waited as an entire people for Your coming. How many times had they doubted? Even in the middle of Your very presence in their lives, how often did the “ordinary” feel too mundane to be holy? Seep my heart in Your presence so deeply, Holy Spirit, that I begin to see my regular life from Your vantage point. I wait for much, yet You are never delayed nor out of touch. I grieve, yet I know You hold every tear in Your safekeeping. I’ve lost much, but I know redemption is Your good work. Though I cry out, “how long, Lord?” and beg You to “turn and have compassion on Your servant”, “let Your work be seen by your servants and Your splendor by their children.” You alone are holy, sovereign, and always love, and I praise You!

Worship Through Community

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Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Sketched VIII Day 11 Giver Of Sight

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Mark 8:22-26
Psalm 27:13-14
Lamentations 3:25-26

Sketched VIII, Day 11

The sound of familiar voices woke me, but opening my eyes revealed nothing but more darkness. Even after all this time, each morning brought a renewed longing to see the faces of loved ones. I feared forgetting them.

Estimating the time by the temperature in the room, I sat up and felt my surroundings, getting my bearings. My sandals sat by the bed, and I slid into them, one foot at a time.

Excited energy crackled in the air. Outside my window, I heard people walking, but I didn’t know what was happening. Everyone seemed to be heading east, chasing after someone or something.

What was going on?

My friends’ voices grew louder.
They were inside now.

“Berel, hurry! You must come with us now. Jesus is coming! He is here in town.”

I’d heard of Jesus. Stories of Him were spreading throughout Bethsaida and many claimed He was the Promised One. But I wasn’t so sure. A carpenter from Nazareth was not the Messiah I envisioned from the prophets’ description.

Besides, I wasn’t sure healing was part of my story. How many times had I prayed from the psalms, asking God’s forgiveness and for my affliction to be removed? How many times had my friends fasted on my behalf on the Day of Atonement, with no resulting change? Hope was buried somewhere deep within me, and seemed too dangerous to reach for again.

But my friends were hopeful and relentless. They pushed me toward the door as my inner monologue of doubt and questions shouted in my ears. Regardless of what I thought, my friends believed this man could heal me, and they were not going to miss this opportunity. Even if it meant dragging me down the road to the carpenter.

Resigned to their efforts, I allowed them to lead me. The day was already hot as we made our way down the dirt road and I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead. After we’d walked about half a mile, I heard my friend Alon cry out, “There He is! It’s Him!”

His hands left mine for a moment and I sensed he was using them to plead with Jesus.

“Please, Rabbi. If You could just touch him. Please. He has been blind many years, but we know You can heal him.”

Time seemed suspended as we stood in the street. I had a feeling Jesus was looking at me assessing my need, and perhaps even my faith. Then, before I had the chance to speak or plead my case, my eyes were wet with a slimy residue. What was happening?!

I began protesting, but strong fingers pressed against my eyelids. Warmth permeated from them and when He removed His hands, I noticed something. The darkness that had been my world for years was no longer pitch black; light began filtering in. I could see shapes where before, I saw nothing.

Something I barely recognized pulled at my heart. It had been so long since I felt it, I almost pushed it back down.

It was hope.

Was this man capable of healing me? Was this the beginning? A juxtaposition of fear and possibility overtook me; I knew a crossroads of choice had come.

“Do you see anything?” (Mark 8:23)

Jesus’ question interrupted my warring thoughts. His voice was calm and centered, and I felt He already knew the answer. Although I didn’t fully understand it, I knew the question went beyond my physical sight: He was asking me to make a decision. I also knew honesty was the only way to answer Him.

“I see people; they look like trees walking around,” I said. (Mark 8:24)

I wanted to see. I tasted it and now I longed for it with everything in my being. Hope and firm belief sprang to life in my spirit, silencing doubt and fear. This Messiah could indeed heal me, fully and completely. The soft light and blurred shapes were only a fragment of what He could do. I knew it.

My body trembled as He reached out again. I could make out the shape of His hands this time. His fingers caressed my eyes again, but this time I had no doubts about His ability. As soon as He removed His hands, my belief was confirmed. Tree shapes became people. Masses devoid of detail became faces and I saw hope in everyone’s eyes.

Suddenly, my body felt lighter, as though a weight was lifted. This Jesus saved me! He was the One.

My friends jumped with excitement as they realized I was healed. I looked at the face of the man who changed my life forever. I will never forget how His eyes spoke of kindness and compassion, but there was something else. A sadness. As if He knew something I didn’t. I hoped I wasn’t a part of it.

A posture of worship overtook me, and I wanted to shout my story from the center of town. After all, if this Messiah restored my sight, what could He not do? Everyone needed to know about Him.

Jesus had other plans. He sent me home with instructions not to tell anyone about what happened. Why? I didn’t understand it, but somehow I knew I needed to listen to Him. So even when my neighbors questioned me about my healing, I remained quiet.

But my quietness could not hide the transformation inside of me. Every morning when I woke up, my renewed sight brought fresh cause for worship.

People around me witnessed the change, too. They saw hope, once buried, now resurrected.

And they went looking for this man called Jesus.

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A Note About Sketched
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters throughout history. Some are biblical, some are well-known in modern day times, and some are people our writers know personally. We do our best to research the culture and times surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives on life and the world, but we can’t be 100% accurate. “Sketched” is our best interpretation of how these characters view(ed) God, themselves, and the world around them. Our hope is that by stepping into their everyday, we will see our own lives a little differently!
Enjoy!
And keep watching for Sketched Themes to pop up throughout the year!

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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 Sketched VIII Week Three! 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 Sketched VIII!

Blessed Day 8 Blessed Are The Merciful

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 30:18-19
Matthew 9:18-22
Matthew 5:3-10
1 John 1:5-10

Blessed, Day 8

She could feel the atmosphere of the group change. The crowd drew closer to the street and the volume began to swell. He was coming closer.

Jesus, the one who had brought healing to so many, was coming. She joined the crush of people as they drew closer to where He would be crossing in front of them. Maybe, just maybe, I can reach out as He passes by. Maybe just touching the hem of His garment will bring healing.             

Desperation spurred her on. Twelve years of questions as the blood refused to stop. Years of being called unclean and hope dwindling with each attempt to find healing. She surged forward, ducking under arms and dodging feet, defying all social norms. She reached the edge of the crowd just as Jesus crossed before her.

The force of the crowd pushed her closer and enabled her fingers to graze His garment. He immediately stopped and turned to look behind Him. His eyes caught hers and held her attention. She sensed He knew her thoughts, yet no fear washed over her.

“Have courage, daughter. Your faith has saved you.” (Matthew 9:22)

The compassion in His eyes, and the loving tone of His words, felt like a compilation of all the love and inclusion she had missed out on for the last twelve years. She felt her chin rising as her confidence grew. Everything had changed. Time would prove all the changes, but she knew this encounter with Christ would forever be with her.

This is all Scripture shares of her story. Back then, there were no reality shows to visit the woman a year later to learn all about her new life. However, the lack of information challenges and encourages me more than knowing every detail of her transformation. Instead of focusing on the outcome, we set our eyes and hearts on her encounter with Christ.

In Matthew 5, Jesus declared the merciful are blessed, for they will be shown mercy. In verse 7, the Greek word for “mercy” is eleos, which emphasizes a deep, gut-level response to someone’s suffering, even beyond compassion. On the flip side, a person with a cry for this level of mercy is one who recognizes her complete incapability to help herself.

The story in the Word of the woman with the blood issue is a perfect example of giving and receiving eleos, mercy.

The suffering woman’s desperation for healing must have been incredible. The combination of hope for healing through Jesus mixed with the panic of what might happen if the opportunity was lost created a desperation cocktail that would have left others frozen in fear.

Yet, she moved forward with courageous faith and complete awareness of her need. Jesus was her last and only hope. In the end, she received mercy and healing.

In healing this woman, Jesus demonstrated how to pour out mercy. True eleos mercy is sourced from heart depths, not just head strength. It is empathy, not sympathy.

When Jesus healed the woman, it was not because she had anything to offer Him in return. Therefore, this was not a business transaction.

The woman did not formally ask for healing or present any logical arguments as to why she should receive healing and mercy, so this was not an intellectual interaction.

No, this was the Lord responding with intense compassion for this woman. This short encounter carried with it a depth of heart, which is the foundation of the mercy referenced in the Beatitudes. The original Greek word for “mercy” describes this deep level of heart response.

Does anyone else yearn for this level of mercy from the Lord, while also feeling overwhelmed by our complete incapability to pour out this mercy on others without His help? The source of this spirit-deep, gut-wrenching mercy, whether for ourselves or extended to others, is God alone.

Lord, today I humble myself before You. I cannot earn Your mercy. I cannot manipulate a response from You. Forgive me for the times I have approached You with wrong mindsets, Lord. 

Only You can bring my healing. Regardless of my current need, only You can make me whole. Abba, I cry out to You today with surrender, leaving the outcome of this prayer and Your method and timing of response in Your hands. You know what saving me looks like in this moment, and a year from now. 

Lord, teach me how to receive Your mercy in my desperation and create in me a heart longing to share the same mercy I have received. May I become a vessel through which You answer others’ cries for mercy. Attune my heart to sense Your compassion for those around me. 

Thank You for knowing the beginning from the end and for loving me from the depths of Your heart. May You be glorified, Lord.
Amen.

So let it be.

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

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Neighbor Day 14 Wounded One: 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 Wounded One!

The Questions

1) Who is the expert on the law and what does he want to know?

2) According to this parable, who is my neighbor?

3) What can be learned from Jesus’ illustration?

Luke 10:25-37

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Original Intent

1) Who is the expert on the law and what does he want to know?
Luke simply identifies this man as an expert of the law. We don’t know his exact job or role, but we do know he would have been well versed in the law of Moses, or the Torah, which are the first 5 books of the Bible. He comes to Jesus wanting to know how to gain eternal life. He was likely looking for a checklist of what he needed to do in order to earn eternal life. However, Jesus turns the question back to this man, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”. The man answers by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. This dialogue leads the expert to ask, “who is my neighbor?” He is looking for a box to check in effort to prove to himself that he is keeping the law and worthy of earning eternal life.

2) According to this parable, who is my neighbor?
While the Samaritan man who helped is the obvious answer, we need to understand the relationship between Jews and Samaritans in order to see the significance of the point Jesus is making. Samaritans were despised by Jews. Israel had been split into 2 kingdoms, the southern and the northern. In the northern kingdom, people married from the hated Assyrian empire. Due to that they were seen as a mixed race, people who were not true, pure bloodline descendants of Abraham. This created a separation between these two groups of Jews. Jesus uses this parable, intentionally selecting the characters of His story to be religious people pitted against a Samaritan to show not only who a neighbor is, but also how to be a neighbor. It would have required a true act of love for the Samaritan to take care of this man regardless of the cost. Jesus is forcing the expert to look inside himself and realize radical love would require caring for others no matter who they are or where they come from.

3) What can be learned from Jesus’ illustration?
The obvious answer is how to love our neighbor. However, when we look deeper into the parable, we see it is often easy to justify unloving behavior. The expert was looking for justification for his behavior and confirmation that his rule-following was enough to satisfy God. However, it never would be and Jesus uses this illustration to show the expert exactly this reality. We learn what a true expression of love looks like from the parable. In this case, it is loving beyond ourselves to meet the need of another. Sometimes the need is obvious, as it was with the injured man. Other times a need is only recognized in a relationship with others as the Holy Spirit gives us insights. Either way Jesus’ point is simple, care for one another with radical, humble, generous love.

Everyday Application

1) Who is the expert on the law and what does he want to know?
The expert has all the head knowledge of what the Old Testament contains. He is all about living in the legalities of what Scripture says. This expert is attempting to live a “good enough” life, one that will earn him salvation, on his own. However, being a true believer is not about checking boxes and living a “good enough” life. The truth is, none of us are capable of living a good enough life, because the standard is impossible high. Only absolute perfection is acceptable, which is why God, in His great love, sent Jesus to perfectly fulfill what we never could. Jesus offers His own righteousness to us, while He takes our imperfections. The question we must wrestle with is will I be like the expert, trying to do it on my own, or will I surrender, allowing God to live and love through me?

2) According to this parable, who is my neighbor?
Mark Black writes, “The astute reader recognizes this Samaritan is acting just as Jesus has acted: he has compassion, he touches the ‘unclean’, he heals, and he uses his possessions for the benefit of the needy.” Jesus was the perfect neighbor during His life on earth. The Samaritan in the story took care of a man who would have despised him. The reality is, Jews and Gentiles alike treated Jesus with contempt in His last days, yet Jesus still loved them enough to die on the cross. He was still willing to give up His life for us. When we look at Jesus, we see He was unconcerned with race or lineage, but instead He was concerned with our need, specifically our spiritual need. If we behave as Jesus did, we will live a life that shows love to all peoples regardless of race, religion, social status, or anything else we often allow to divide us. It means treating all of humanity as our neighbor.

3) What can be learned from Jesus’ illustration?
Matthew Henry writes, “It is the duty of every one of us, in our places, and according to our ability, to succour, help, and relieve all that are in distress and necessity.” As I reflect on these verses and the quote from Matthew Henry, I cannot help but relate them to the time we are living in. I cannot think of a better time in our lives to be a neighbor. We are in the midst of a global pandemic. While this pandemic demands we live life practicing a new concept of social distancing, it is not an excuse to deny love to others. It is not a pass to forget about our neighbors. If anything, this illustration shows us how we need to look beyond what is right in front of us, instead looking for the need. It requires us to lean in to how God is asking us to be His hands and His feet in a time when people are so desperate for truth and answers. The needs may be obvious, or they may only be known in a relationship, or as the Spirit prompts our hearts. This isn’t a time to withdraw into ourselves, but instead offer help and love as we are able. The question is, are we rising to the challenge of loving our neighbors with the same radical, humble love demonstrated by the Samaritan and Jesus Himself?

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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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Neighbor Day 11 The Neighbor Who Wounds

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 10:25-37
Luke 9:51-53
Luke 4:14-30

Neighbor, Day 11

“The one who showed mercy…” 

I read “wounded” and my heart reels.

I know wounded.
I know slowly retreating to care for the deep cuts and sharp blows I’ve endured.
I know sprinting away from the lashes against me.
I know wounds so deep they begin to look healed on the outside, but still throb and gape.
I know wounded, friend.

I bet you do, too.
But no one knows wounded quite like our Jesus. 

In Luke 10, Jesus tells a fictional story about a Jewish traveler attacked by robbers and left for dead.

Wounded. 

Two men passed by the nearly lifeless body, a priest and a Levite, both religious and both the same race as the wounded man, but they didn’t stop.
They saw him, and they chose to look away.

Wounded. 

Then a Samaritan man enters the scene.
The original audience of the story possessed the context to understand this Samaritan man was wounded, too. But, like so many of us, his wounds weren’t visible.

At the time Jesus told this parable, Samaritans and Jews had a long-standing rivalry, spanning hundreds of years. Due to the mixed Assyrian and Jewish genealogy of Samaritans, Jews resented Samaritans’ “impure blood line” and often treated them like trash.

We know from a true story in Scripture that Jews and Samaritans never interacted with one another (John 4:9), and even Jesus wasn’t received by Samaritans when He was heading into Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51-53)

We don’t know the kind of ridicule this Samaritan endured from Jews, but undoubtedly, the hatred seething from the Jewish community cut him deeply.

Wounded.

Yet, we see the Samaritan man, wounded by the Jews, breaking barriers of racism by caring for the physically wounded Jewish man.

We’ve all been wounded.
Maybe, like the Jewish man, we’ve been physically and emotionally wounded from abuse.
Maybe, like the Jewish man, we’ve been spiritually wounded by “religion” and people in leadership positions who’ve told us we’re too dirty and too damaged to be worth helping.
Maybe, like the Samaritan, we’ve been wounded by society, or racial and economic barriers.
Or maybe we’ve been wounded by something else….
friends, family, business deals, jobs, the government. 

But Jesus?
He was wounded by it all. 

He took on the sins of the world when He suffered on the cross,
eventually dying from the extreme torture He endured.
He was wounded physically and emotionally.

He was wounded by the religion bearing the same name as His nationality,
and He – who IS God – was killed by the religious people who claimed to worship God.

Jesus knows wounded, friend.

He knows the sharp pains piercing our hearts by betrayal. (Luke 22:3-6)
He knows the hurt embedded in us when grief becomes part of our story. (John 11:32-36)
He knows the rejection of people who have loved us and known us for our entire lives. (Luke 4:14-30)

Jesus knows wounded.

Because Jesus knew wounded so well, because He allowed Himself to be wounded beyond recognition, so badly He eventually died …

We don’t have to live a wounded life.
We have hope.

So, what do we do about the people who hurt us?
What do we do with this story about a wounded man loving another wounded man?
How do we love those who have wounded us?

Mercy.
Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. 

The Samaritan had every excuse to ignore the beaten man on the side of the road. This Jewish man had spent his entire life scoffing and scorning Samaritans, believing they were a lesser people, unwanted by God. And even if he didn’t believe it, his people did.

No one would’ve been surprised if the Samaritan kept walking.

But mercy.

Mercy isn’t just the Samaritan’s compassion, but the forgiveness he displayed toward a man he could’ve left for dead.

Mercy is the forgiveness God offers to us, even though we deserve death.

Mercy is hard, isn’t it?
I get a knot in my stomach just thinking about loving the people who inflicted my deepest wounds.

Friends, I cannot go on without emphasizing that forgiveness and even love are completely possible while still maintaining strong boundaries.

Sometimes, you can love someone best by enforcing boundaries, and forgiveness does not mean boundaries must be removed or even lowered. Abusive and toxic relationships can cause some of our deepest wounds, and we can forgive abusers while still protecting ourselves.

I want to be “the one who showed mercy”. (Luke 10:37)
I want to live ready to show compassion and offer forgiveness to people who have wounded me. I want to love my neighbors, even the ones who have wounded me.

Merciful love is going to take all of me, and all of you.
It’s going to take all of our strength.
But it’s worth the struggle because of
Jesus, the One who showed us mercy.
If He can be merciful to us, surely, with His strength, we can extend mercy to others.

We, too, can be . . . the ones who show mercy. 

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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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Questions Day 13 Is God Loving Or Angry?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

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

Questions, Day 13

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Worship VI Day 1 Is He Worthy

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 53:1-12
Revelation 5:1-14
Revelation 7:9-17

Worship VI, Day 1

I have felt the brokenness of the world with my own two hands. I have grasped at broken pieces as they crumble and fall in little heaps on the floor.

I have seen darkness closing in on me as shadows become darker until, it seems, I can’t even see my own hands before my eyes.

I have heard the groans of creation come forth in the sounds of broken-hearted mothers weeping and sirens moaning while babies wail for compassion and children scream for love.

You have, too, haven’t you? You’ve felt the brokenness, seen the darkness, and heard the groans. You’ve ached so deeply in your soul that you’ve felt it physically manifest inside your body. You’ve longed so earnestly in your will for redemption that your beating heart has felt a pull and made your breath catch.

I see you.

It feels hopeless, sometimes, doesn’t it?

Take heart, dear one. The darkness doesn’t stop the light from shining through. No matter how small the light, the darkness will never fully encompass it.
Light always perseveres.

A friend introduced my mom and I to the modern-day-hymn, “Is He Worthy?” about nine months ago, when the brokenness, darkness, and groaning was pouring its way into our lives at every corner. Seven months later, more brokenness, more darkness, and more groans as we prayed my sister into Jesus’ arms and released her earthly body into the same earth we were created from.

Over the last three years, I’ve written many Journey Studies for Gracefully Truthful. The more I write, the more I learn about the Almighty, which overflows into deeper, more intimate worship to Him because I more fully comprehend the words I’m singing.

I’ve learned that Jesus coming from the “line of Judah” means that way back in the Old Testament, when Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, had twelve sons, the twelve tribes of Israel came from each son, and Jesus’ genealogy goes all the way back to Judah. In that line is Rahab, the prostitute who God saved because she feared Him, and King David, the shepherd who eventually became King of Israel and was a man after God’s own heart. I know Him better, so I can worship Him deeper.

The chorus of “Is He Worthy?” is taken from Revelation 5.

Is anyone worthy?
Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave
He is David’s root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave
From every people and tribe
Every nation and tongue
He has made us a kingdom and priests to God
To reign with the Son

Jesus is the Lion of Judah.
Jesus conquered the grave when He rose from the dead three days after dying.
Jesus is the unsuspecting King, just as David was. 
Jesus died to ransom you and I, who were slaves to our sin and thereby sentenced to eternal death.

Jesus is the great rescue, the Redeemer, and our answer.
Jesus has made a way for every people, every tribe, every nation, every tongue.
When we choose to let Him cover our sins, we join the Heavenly Kingdom, we are made priests to God, and we are heirs with Christ Himself.

Jesus is our living hope!

When the brokenness, darkness, and groans feel like they’re just too much,
when our world seems utterly hopeless…

Take heart!

We are never without hope!
That hope is Jesus.

Our hope exists because the Light of Christ will always overcome darkness!
Our hope is that the world will be made new!
Our hope is that, though the enemy wins battles…
Our God has won the war! 

The Father loves us.
The Spirit moves in and among us.
Jesus is alive and we will dwell with Him one day.

This song has moved and rolled and tumbled inside of me as I’ve listened to it again and again… and again. So. Much. Hope.

I had the privilege of writing about Living Hope – who is Jesus – and the inner shift that happens when we start focusing more on Him. Maybe the darkness doesn’t seem so dark, maybe the closing in isn’t quite so tight.

Because of incorruptible Living Hope.

Because He is King,
Because He is God Himself,
Because He is,
Jesus is worthy. 

He is perfect and holy.
Flawlessly without sin.
And He gave His life so you and I might have life!

He is worthy! He is whole!
He is breaking the seal and opening the scroll that will begin the transformation from old world to new…

We have hope because He is worthy.

Sing (and probably cry) along with me, sisters, as we listen to this song with new understanding and enter into a time of worship that is so much richer, because we know Him more deeply!

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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 Worship VI 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 Worship VI!